By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week but still remained at historically low levels despite high interest rates. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims were up by 2,000 to 205,000 the week that ended Dec. 16. The four-week average
Continue ReadingTEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli police say 19 Israeli prison guards are under investigation in the death of a 38-year-old Palestinian security prisoner. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, an advocacy group, says the prisoner was found with “severe signs of violence” on his body and died Nov. 18 at the Ketziot prison in the southern
Continue ReadingBy LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has spoken with his Chinese counterpart. It is the first of what officials say will be renewed talks between the two nation’s senior military leaders. The Biden administration is working to thaw relations with Beijing. The video call
Continue ReadingBy MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Employees at a Wells Fargo bank in New Mexico have voted to unionize, the first time that workers at a major U.S. bank have attempted to organize in the modern era. The vote comes after a series of extraordinary gains for unions in the U.S., with organized labor sealing
Continue ReadingBy SAMUEL PETREQUIN AP Sports Writer The European Union’s top court has ruled UEFA and FIFA acted contrary to competition law by blocking plans for the breakaway Super League. The case was heard last year at the Court of Justice after Super League failed at launch in April 2021. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin called the club leaders
Continue ReadingBy SAM MEDNICK Associated Press KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo is wrapping up its second day of voting after a chaotic rollout and lengthy delays forced election officials to extend voting hours. The election commission says Thursday that a delay in deploying certain materials and equipment resulted in some polls opening late and others not
Continue ReadingBy Sara Smart and Aya Elamroussi, CNN (CNN) — For nearly 40 years, a set of human remains discovered near Seattle in 1985 were known to investigators only as Bones 17. And it was 17 years later that police confirmed the remains belonged to a victim of the so-called “Green River Killer” – but they
Continue ReadingBy GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO Associated Press HOMESTEAD, Florida (AP) — Snuggling on the sofa across from the Christmas tree, Sol proudly showed off the dog her foster parents gave her for earning all A’s even though she crossed the southern U.S. border knowing very little English. “They helped me a lot,” said the 14-year-old eighth grader.
Continue ReadingBy LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has paid the final tranche of a multibillion-euro support package to Ukraine to help keep its war-ravaged economy afloat this year. It’s unclear what financial help the EU might provide the country from January almost two years into the war. Hungary is blocking a
Continue ReadingBy MIKE CORDER Associated Press AMSTERDAM (AP) — A Dutch man who was convicted in British Columbia of charges including extortion and harassment related to a Canadian teenager who took her own life after he blackmailed her online has had his sentence cut by an Amsterdam court from 13 years to six. Aydin Coban wasn’t
Continue ReadingANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s central bank has hiked its key interest rate by 2.5 percentage points as part of its efforts to combat high inflation that has left many households struggling to afford essential items. The bank raised its benchmark rate to 42.5% on Thursday. It was its seventh interest rate hike in a
Continue ReadingBy SAMUEL PETREQUIN AP Sports Writer BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s top court has ruled UEFA and FIFA acted contrary to competition law by blocking plans for the breakaway Super League. The case was heard last year at the Court of Justice after Super League failed at launch in April 2021. UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin called
Continue ReadingBERLIN (AP) — Martin Scorsese will be honored for his lifetime achievement at the Berlin International Film Festival in February. Organizers said Thursday that the 81-year-old director will be given an honorary Golden Bear on Feb. 20. Scorsese’s extensive work ranges from decades-old classics such as “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull” to this year’s “Killers
Continue ReadingBy JOVANA GEC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s main opposition group has urged the European Union to help open an international investigation into reported irregularities during last weekend’s election. The inconsistencies have caused political tensions in the troubled Balkan nation seeking EU membership. The Serbia Against Violence group said in a letter sent
Continue ReadingANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s central bank has hiked its key interest rate by 2.5 percentage points as part of its efforts to combat high inflation that has left many households struggling to afford essential items. The bank raised its benchmark rate to 42.5% on Thursday. It was its seventh interest rate hike in a
Continue ReadingBy HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — You found the perfect holiday gift online. You ordered it. A notification arrived on your phone, showing the package had arrived. But when you open your doors, the parcel is nowhere to be found. If this has happened to you, then count yourself among the
Continue ReadingBy MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Human rights activists say Pakistan’s police used water cannons, swung batons, and arrested dozens of activists overnight when they tried to enter Islamabad for a protest. The police action started before dawn Thursday when the protesters completed a nearly 1,000-mile-long convoy and tried to enter the capital
Continue ReadingCNN, POOL, VTV, FAMILY PHOTOS By Betsy Klein, Michael Conte and David Shortell, CNN Washington (CNN) — The US has reached an agreement to secure the release of six wrongfully detained Americans and four other Americans held in Venezuela, senior US officials announced Wednesday, The deal will also include the extradition of Leonard Francis, the
Continue ReadingWBBM Sarah Dewberry, CNN (CNN) — A 30-year-old Chicago man who was wrongfully convicted of murder on the testimony of a blind witness walked out of the Cook County Jail this week as a free man. Darien Harris had served 12-and-a-half years of his 76-year sentence before prosecutors decided not to move forward with their
Continue ReadingBy SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Republican leader of Wisconsin’s Assembly who had threatened possible impeachment of a new liberal state Supreme Court justice over her views on redistricting now says such a move is “super unlikely.” Assembly Speaker Robin Vos originally threatened to impeach Justice Janet Protasiewicz if she did
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