By TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer Walgreens is chopping its dividend nearly in half as the drugstore chain looks to strengthen its balance sheet. The health care giant said Thursday that reducing its quarterly payout to shareholders to 25 cents per share will help free up capital to spend growing its pharmacy and health care
Continue ReadingBy JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Extremely cold temperatures compounded by strong winds and snow are wreaking havoc across the Nordic region, leaving thousands without power while others braved the cold for hours stuck in their cars along clogged highways. Serious problems with rail services have been reported as a result
Continue ReadingBy YURI KAGEYAMA and MATT OTT AP Business Writers Markets on Wall Street drifted higher early Thursday in search of their first gains of the new year. Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.1% before the bell, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average moved 0.3% higher. With earnings season still weeks away from kicking off,
Continue ReadingBy PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The longest planned strike in the history of Britain’s state-funded National Health Service has entered its second day of six with doctors in England at loggerheads with hospitals over requests for some to return to work to cover urgent needs during one of busiest times of the
Continue ReadingBy Laura Paddison and Robert Shackelford, CNN (CNN) — Parts of Europe are experiencing an extreme start to the new year’s weather. As some countries struggle with devastating floods, others have been plunged into extreme cold, causing chaos. Hundreds of flood warnings are in place in the UK after heavy rainfall battered swaths of the
Continue ReadingBERLIN (AP) — There’s a bit of post-Christmas cheer on the menu for elephants and other tenants at the Berlin Zoo: they can chomp on Christmas trees that didn’t find a home. The tree treats were unwrapped Thursday in what has become an annual event. Elephants tore off branches with their trunks and either gobbled
Continue ReadingBy MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writer Computer keyboards are making room for an artificial intelligence chatbot button as Microsoft unveils its first major keyboard redesign in three decades. Starting this month, some new personal computers that run Microsoft’s Windows 11 operating system will have a special “Copilot key” that launches the software giant’s AI chatbot.
Continue ReadingBy DUSAN STOJANOVIC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s military wants to reintroduce obligatory military service as tensions continue to rise in the Balkans. The army command said in a statement Thursday that the proposal for compulsory service of up to four months is made “to increase the defense capabilities of the Serbian Armed
Continue ReadingBy CHRISTOPHER BODEEN Associated Press HSINCHU, Taiwan (AP) — With Taiwan’s presidential and parliamentary elections less than two weeks away, the island’s alternative party candidate and chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party, Ko Wen-je, is promoting a policy of patience toward China, which has been upping its threat to annex the island by force. Ko,
Continue ReadingBy SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press PARIS (AP) — A French report says the United Kingdom is not sufficiently coordinating with France in efforts to reduce the number of migrants illegally crossing the English Channel in small boats. The report from the Court of Account released Thursday also points to the “uncertain effectiveness” of illegal migration
Continue ReadingBy Jeff Zeleny, Veronica Stracqualursi, Arit John and Steve Contorno, CNN Waukee, Iowa (CNN) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies have hammered former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on the campaign trail and the airwaves – and she has fired back – as the two seek to emerge as the strongest alternative to
Continue ReadingBy ELAINE KURTENBACH and MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — The swift and safe evacuation of a Japan Airlines jet that caught fire after hitting a Coast Guard aircraft while it was landing Tuesday at Tokyo’s Haneda airport reflects the carrier’s dogged dedication to safety, born of hard experience. The Aug. 12, 1985, crash
Continue ReadingSYDNEY (AP) — The largest male specimen of the world’s most poisonous spider that boasts fangs powerful enough to pierce a human fingernail has found a new home after being discovered north of Sydney, Australia. The Sydney funnel-web spider found only in Australia has been donated to the Australian Reptile Park help save lives by
Continue ReadingBy Christina Maxouris, CNN (CNN) — Powerful storms can be dangerous, in some instances cutting off heat, power and communication services for days — and sometimes even longer. To make sure you’re best prepared, start with some basics: Learn how to keep your pipes from freezing by open cabinets under sinks to let heat in
Continue ReadingSAN ANTONIO (AP) — A father and son in Texas have been charged in the killings of an 18-year-old pregnant woman who disappeared before Christmas and her boyfriend, who authorities say were fatally shot in the head before their bodies were moved and discovered days later in a car. The arrests Wednesday night came more
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By Chandelis Duster, CNN (CNN) — The US Mint released commemorative coins honoring abolitionist Harriet Tubman Thursday. The coins include $5 gold coins, $1 silver coins and half-dollar coins that commemorate the bicentennial of her birth. This is the first time the US Mint has honored Tubman with coins, according to the agency. “We all owe Harriet Tubman a
Continue ReadingKABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A Taliban spokesman says authorities have arrested women in the Afghan capital Kabul for wearing “bad hijab.” It’s the first official confirmation of a crackdown on women who don’t follow the dress code imposed by the Taliban since they returned to power in 2021. Thursday’s development is the latest blow to
Continue ReadingBy Alexandra Banner, CNN (CNN) — NASA has grand visions for the year ahead, including a mission to send astronauts deeper into the solar system than anyone has ventured in more than 50 years. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. 1. Border battle The Biden
Continue ReadingCNN By Abbas AlLawati and Tara John, CNN (CNN) — ISIS has claimed responsibility for the deadliest attack in Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution, which has shaken the Islamic Republic and led to angry calls for vengeance. On Wednesday, at least 84 people were killed and 284 others injured in the Iranian city of
Continue ReadingCNN By Alexandra Banner, CNN (CNN) — NASA has grand visions for the year ahead, including a mission to send astronauts deeper into the solar system than anyone has ventured in more than 50 years. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day. 1. Border battle The
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