PHOENIX (AP) — A steep budget deficit caused by plummeting tax revenues and escalating school voucher costs will be in focus Monday as Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and the Republican-controlled Arizona Legislature return for a new session at the state Capitol. The legislative new year officially begins in the afternoon with the governor’s annual State
Continue ReadingBy ALI ZERDIN Associated Press LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Slovenian rescuers are hoping to extract five people who have been trapped in a cave for two days because of high water levels. The rescue operation should be complete in mid-afternoon if everything goes as planned. A family of three adults and their two guides got
Continue ReadingBy SUDHIN THANAWALA Associated Press LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) — The slaying of a South Korean woman during an initiation process for a group that called itself Soldiers of Christ has shocked the large Korean American community in metro Atlanta. Community leaders say Korean Americans need to be more vigilant to protect against religious cults and
Continue ReadingBERLIN (AP) — The number of people applying for asylum in Germany rose to 351,915 in 2023, an increase of 51.1% compared with the year before. Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees said Monday that the largest number of asylum-seekers came from Syria, with 104,561 applications, followed by 62,624 Turkish citizens and 53,582 Afghans.
Continue ReadingBy WAFAA SHURAFA, SAMY MAGDY, KAREEM CHEHAYEB and BASSEM MROUE Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Medics, patients and displaced people are fleeing from the main hospital in central Gaza as the fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants draws closer, witnesses said Monday. Losing the facility would be another major blow to
Continue ReadingBy LIZ WESTON of NerdWallet Making decisions when you’re grieving isn’t ideal, but some money tasks are time-sensitive. Your income and expenses are likely to change, so drawing up a budget will be helpful. Consider talking to a tax professional since your filing status may change. Deal with the credit cards issued in your spouse’s
Continue ReadingBy Niamh Kennedy, Anna Chernova and Christian Edwards, CNN (CNN) — Russia has begun to evacuate residents from the border region of Belgorod following a surge in deadly Ukrainian strikes, in a rare admission of the dangers posed by a war from which Moscow has sought to isolate its citizens. Approximately 300 residents of Belgorod
Continue ReadingCNN By Alexandra Banner, CNN (CNN) — A massive rocket launched from Florida earlier today carrying what may be the first commercial lander to touch down on the moon. The historic mission could set the tone for NASA to explore the lunar surface for the first time in more than 50 years. Here’s what else
Continue ReadingBy GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Farmers are blocking highway access roads in parts of Germany and snarling traffic elsewhere, launching a week of protests against a government plan to scrap tax breaks on diesel used in agriculture. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s unpopular three-party coalition infuriated farmers last month by drawing up plans to
Continue ReadingBy SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — An outspoken critic of Cambodia’s government who was badly hurt by assailants four months ago has been arrested on a defamation complaint brought by a Cabinet member for comments he posted on Facebook. The complaint filed by Minister of Labor and Vocational Training Heng Sour
Continue ReadingBy COLLEEN LONG and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — President Joe Biden wants Americans to know what he believes is at stake in this year’s presidential election. As part of that effort, the Democratic president is revisiting some of the nation’s worst traumas to highlight what happens when hate is allowed to
Continue ReadingBy Jack Guy, CNN (CNN) — Police in Australia have dismantled what they believe is a smuggling ring that was attempting to export native lizards and reptiles worth more than 1.2 million Australian dollars ($800,000) to Hong Kong. Three men, aged 54, 59 and 31, and one woman, aged 41, were arrested in Sydney as
Continue ReadingBy HYUNG-JIN KIM and JIWON SONG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un turned 40 on Monday with no announced public celebrations at home, after he entered the new year with artillery barrages into the sea and vows to expand his nuclear arsenal. Since taking power in late 2011,
Continue ReadingBy Ray Sanchez and Sabrina Souza, CNN New York (CNN) — The testimony of Wayne LaPierre, in the waning days of his long tenure as head of one of the nation’s most powerful lobbying groups, could highlight a New York civil trial alleging top officials used the National Rifle Association as a “personal piggy bank.”
Continue ReadingBy ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — The electric vehicle unit of troubled Chinese property developer China Evergrande says its vice chairman has been detained by police on “suspicion of illegal crimes.” China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle announced that Liu Yongzhuo had been detained in a notice Monday to the Hong Kong Stock
Continue ReadingBy Clare Foran, Lauren Fox and Haley Talbot, CNN (CNN) — Lawmakers returning to Washington this week face a critical government funding deadline, and – despite a deal on top-line spending numbers announced over the weekend – more work remains to avert a shutdown. In a rare event, Congress is confronting not one but two
Continue ReadingBy Jeff Zeleny, Kit Maher and Eric Bradner, CNN Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) — Donald Trump’s trademark air of confidence has been accompanied by an unusual sense of apprehension in the closing stretch of the 2024 Iowa contest – as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley work to deny the
Continue ReadingCNN, CBS, TRUMP CAMPAIGN By Jeff Zeleny, Kit Maher and Eric Bradner, CNN Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) — Donald Trump’s trademark air of confidence has been accompanied by an unusual sense of apprehension in the closing stretch of the 2024 Iowa contest – as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley
Continue ReadingNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The president of Cyprus has moved ahead with a considerable shake-up of his cabinet, replacing his ministers of defense, health, justice and environment as well as the deputy ministers of digital policy and European affairs in one fell swoop after just 10 months in power. Monday’s move comes after week-long speculation
Continue ReadingBy JOSEPH KRAUSS Associated Press In the last week alone, an Israeli airstrike has killed a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon, Hezbollah struck a sensitive Israeli base with rockets and Israel killed a senior Hamas militant with an airstrike in Beirut. Each strike and counterstrike increases the risk of the catastrophic war in Gaza spilling across
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