MEXICO CITY (AP) — A drug cartel in central Mexico has kidnapped 14 local residents, including four children, in apparent retaliation for an uprising by angry farmers earlier this month that killed 10 cartel gunmen, officials said. Farmers in the village of Texcaltitlan and a neighboring hamlet had apparently grown tired of cartel extortions. Armed
Continue ReadingBy AAMER MADHANI, PAUL WISEMAN and ELAINE KURTENBACH Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — There’s been no shortage of tough news for China’s economy as some of the world’s biggest brands consider or take action to shift manufacturing to friendlier shores at a time of unease about security controls, protectionism and wobbly relations between Beijing and
Continue ReadingBy CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — For election officials preparing for the 2024 presidential election, the list of security challenges just keeps growing. Many of the concerns from four years ago persist: the potential for cyberattacks targeting voter registration systems or websites that report unofficial results, and equipment problems or human errors
Continue ReadingBy Jackie Wattles and Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — SpaceX’s hulking Falcon Heavy rocket returned to the skies Thursday evening, and this time it launched a mysterious spacecraft for the US military that will carry out cutting-edge research. The rocket lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 8:07 p.m. ET, carrying the
Continue ReadingSOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria and Romania have received permission to join Europe’s passport- and visa-free Schengen Area, starting in March, the governments of the two countries said. The move initially will apply only to travelers arriving by air and sea, while Austria has committed to continuing negotiations over the need for border checks when
Continue ReadingCNN By Ebony Davis, CNN Berlin, New Hampshire (CNN) — Nikki Haley on Thursday sought to clarify her comments about the Civil War one day after a voter in New Hampshire called her out for not mentioning slavery as a cause of the war. “I mean, of course the Civil War was about slavery,” Haley
Continue ReadingBy VALERIE GONZALEZ Associated Press MATAMOROS, Mexico (AP) — Mexican immigration officials are clearing out a migrant camp on the banks of the Rio Grande as U.S. pressure mounts to limit a surge of people reaching the border. The operation using heavy machinery and workers with machetes across from Brownsville, Texas continued this week as
Continue ReadingBy MATT OTT AP Business Writer More Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, but not enough to raise concern about the labor market or broader economy. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims rose to 218,000 for the week ending Dec. 23, an increase of 12,000 from the previous week. The four-week average
Continue ReadingBy The Associated Press The nightlife of Russia’s elite has long been famously rakish but a recent party crossed an invisible line and provoked a public scandal. One pop star ended up in jail while several others issued public apologies. A lawsuit was launched, demanding a fortune in reparations. The scandal erupted after a TV
Continue ReadingBy HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press Gypsy Rose Blanchard, the Missouri woman who persuaded an online boyfriend to kill her mother after she had forced her to pretend for years that she was suffering from leukemia, muscular dystrophy and other serious illnesses, was released Thursday from prison on parole. Blanchard was released early in the day
Continue ReadingCNN By Ebony Davis, CNN Berlin, New Hampshire (CNN) — Nikki Haley on Thursday sought to clarify her comments about the Civil War one day after a voter in New Hampshire called her out for not mentioning slavery as a cause of the war. “I mean, of course the Civil War was about slavery,” Haley
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A suspected shoplifter crashed into an Indio police E-Bike while trying to flee a shopping center parking lot Wednesday afternoon. The incident happened at around 1:00 p.m. at the Five Below in the area of Avenue 42nd and Jackson Street. According to acting Lt. Lisa Courtney of the Indio Police Dept., an officer on an
Continue ReadingCNN, KSAT By Sara Smart and Eric Levenson, CNN (CNN) — Police in San Antonio said Thursday they are looking for two people who were seen on surveillance video near where the bodies of a pregnant teenager and her boyfriend were found dead earlier this week. Savannah Soto, 18, and Matthew Guerra, 22, were reported
Continue ReadingBy David Culver and Norma Galeana, CNN Jacumba Hot Springs, California (CNN) — Brian Silvas’ three dogs were usually the first to alert him that large groups of people were walking onto his San Diego County property. He’d wake up at all hours to Whisky, Soldier and Freedom barking incessantly. Today, the trio keep quiet
Continue ReadingCNN By David Culver and Norma Galeana, CNN Jacumba Hot Springs, California (CNN) — Brian Silvas’ three dogs were usually the first to alert him that large groups of people were walking onto his San Diego County property. He’d wake up at all hours to Whisky, Soldier and Freedom barking incessantly. Today, the trio keep
Continue ReadingBy JEFFREY SCHAEFFER Associated Press PARIS (AP) — The Tour d’Argent already boasts a 320,000-bottle wine cellar, a world-famous duck recipe and a storied 441-year history. Now, the legendary Paris restaurant is about to serve up its “plat de résistance”: a front-row view of two of the biggest events of 2024 — the renaissance of
Continue ReadingBy LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military on Thursday opened a new chapter in how it investigates and prosecutes cases of sexual assault and other major crimes, putting independent lawyers in charge of those decisions and sidelining commanders after years of pressure from Congress. The change, long resisted by Pentagon
Continue ReadingBy ELAINE KURTENBACH and MATT OTT AP Business Writers Premarket trading is mixed in a low-volume trading holiday week on Wall Street. Futures for the S&P 500 were virtually unchanged before the bell Thursday, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose nearly 0.3%. Trading has been subdued in
Continue ReadingBERLIN (AP) — Parts of northern and central Europe continued to grapple with flooding as rivers remain swollen after heavy rain. A barrier near the German city of Magdeburg was opened for the first time in a decade to ease pressure from the Elbe River. Some animals were evacuated from their enclosures at a safari
Continue ReadingBy KEN MAGUIRE AP Sports Writer Diana Flores has starred in a Super Bowl halftime ad, signed a deal with Under Armour and even coached girls at a clinic in Morocco. Mexico’s flag football quarterback did not see this coming. “For a Mexican girl who fell in love with a very American sport at the
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