By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in November, ending a five-month skid, as easing mortgage rates encouraged homebuyers. Existing home sales rose 0.8% last month from October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.82 million, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. That
Continue ReadingBy FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has imposed new sanctions on alleged violators of its price cap on Russian oil and tightened compliance rules for insurance firms and shippers that move it. Firms from the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong have been identified for economic sanctions. Last year the United
Continue ReadingBy COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press MILAN (AP) — An Italian prosecutor has acknowledged that a stalking threat to a 26-year-old pregnant woman found stabbed to death in her home may have been underestimated by authorities who failed to take action against the man now suspected of killing her. Prosecutor Marco Martani said Vanessa Ballan had
Continue ReadingBy STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street’s monster-sized rally since Halloween is easing off the accelerator Wednesday following mixed reports showing disappointing profits at companies but unexpected strength for the economy. The S&P 500 was 0.1% higher in midday trading and within 0.5% of its record set nearly two years
Continue ReadingBy SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A conservative law firm has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the State Bar of Wisconsin’s “diversity clerkship program” unconstitutionally discriminates based on race. The program offers summer internships for first-year law school students at top law firms, private companies and government offices. Past participants have
Continue ReadingBy ISABELLA VOLMERT Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana agencies say previous estimates of Medicaid expenses fell nearly $1 billion short of its now-predicted need. Word of the shortfall came Tuesday in a report presented to the Indiana state budget committee. Agency officials say unexpected demand of services in some categories including elderly care caused
Continue ReadingBy WAFAA SHURAFA, JOSEF FEDERMAN and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas’ top leader traveled to Cairo on Wednesday for talks on the war in Gaza, part of a flurry of diplomacy aimed at securing another cease-fire and swap of hostages for Palestinian prisoners at a moment when Israel’s offensive
Continue ReadingBy DEVI SHASTRI AP Health Writer When Idaho had a rare measles outbreak a few months ago, health officials scrambled to keep it from spreading. In the end, 10 people, all in one family, were infected, all unvaccinated. This time, the state was lucky, said the region’s medical director Dr. Perry Jansen. The family quickly
Continue ReadingBy JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — Organizers of the Paris Olympics say work will continue on a new tower for judges and TV cameras at the surfing venue in Tahiti. That’s despite the sport’s governing body saying it no longer supports the controversial project. The International Surfing Association said Tuesday that it
Continue ReadingBy JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A county jail in South Carolina being investigated by federal officials has failed a state inspection. The review of the Richland County jail by the South Carolina Department of Corrections found a lack of plans to get inmates out in a fire and keys for cells
Continue ReadingBy STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Boston Mayor Michelle Wu issued a formal apology Wednesday to two Black men who were wrongly accused in a 1989 murder of a white woman, a case that coarsened divisions in a city long split along racial lines and renewed suspicion and anger directed at the police
Continue ReadingCNN Editorial Research (CNN) — Here’s a look at the life of astronaut Fred Haise. Personal Birth date: November 14, 1933 Birth place: Biloxi, Mississippi Birth name: Fred Wallace Haise Jr. Father: Fred Haise Sr. Mother: Lucille (Blacksher) Haise Marriages: Frances Patt (Price) Haise (1979-February 7, 2022, her death); Mary Griffin Grant (June 4, 1954-1978,
Continue ReadingBy JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer Inside the Numbers dives into NFL statistics, streaks and trends each week. For more Inside the Numbers, head here. ___ When it comes to getting big games from playmakers, the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers have been lacking at a historic level. The Patriots and Packers
Continue ReadingBy Alex Hardie and Luke McGee, CNN (CNN) — The European Union has reached a provisional agreement to “thoroughly overhaul” its laws on asylum and migration, a move being hailed as a landmark but which could face challenges when each member state comes to approve it. The deal covers the political elements of five EU laws that “touch upon all stages of asylum and migration management,” the European Council said in a statement,
Continue ReadingBy STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street’s monster-sized rally since Halloween is easing off the accelerator Wednesday following mixed reports showing disappointing profits at companies but unexpected strength for the economy. The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in morning trading, remaining within 0.6% of its record set nearly two years
Continue ReadingBy SYLVIA HUI Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Ireland’s government says it is taking legal action against British authorities over a controversial law that gives some immunity from prosecution for offenses committed during three decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. Deputy Prime Minister Micheál Martin said on Wednesday that “after much thought and careful
Continue ReadingLONDON (AP) — Britain’s Supreme Court ruled that an artificial intelligence system can’t be registered as the inventor of a patent, denying machines the same status as humans. The U.K.’s highest court said Wednesday that “an inventor must be a person” to apply for patents under the current law. The decision was the culmination of
Continue ReadingBy MATT OTT AP Business Writer American consumers are feeling more confident than they have since summer, good news for businesses with the all-important holiday shopping season peaking. The Conference Board, a business research group, said Wednesday that its consumer confidence index rose for the second straight month, to 110.7 in December from 101 in
Continue ReadingBy JULHAS ALAM Associated Press DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has formally kicked off her ruling Awami League party’s campaign amid an election boycott by the country’s main opposition party. Addressing a massive rally in the northeastern city of Sylhet, Hasina strongly criticized the Bangladesh Nationalist Party for refusing to participate
Continue ReadingBy VOLODYMR YURCHUK Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s armed forces are taking up a more defensive posture, a military analysis said Wednesday, after their summer counteroffensive failed to achieve a major breakthrough against Russia’s army and as winter weather sets in after almost 22 months of the war. “In recent weeks, Ukraine has
Continue Reading