By ASHRAF KHALIL Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is launching a multi-agency effort to encourage states and cities to convert more empty office buildings into housing units, with billions of federal dollars available to help spur such transitions. The new initiative, announced Friday morning, involves the departments of housing and transportation as
Continue ReadingBy LAURIE KELLMAN Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The families of children held captive by Hamas say they are adrift in a unique agony among the tragedies of Israel’s bloodiest day. Since the Oct. 7 massacre and incursion, Hadas Kalderon says she can hear her 12-year-old son, Erez, calling for her to save him from
Continue ReadingMOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Central Bank has raised its key lending rate for the fourth time in half a year in an effort to bring down surging inflation. The bank raised the rate on Friday to 15%, up 200 basis points. The interest rate in the first half of the year was 7.5%. The bank
Continue ReadingBy Samantha Bresnahan, CNN (CNN) — Earlier this week, Ethiopian Gebisa Ejeta joined an elite group of scientists when he was honored by US President Joe Biden in a ceremony at the White House. Ejeta, along with eight others, was awarded the National Medal of Science on Tuesday, the highest scientific honor in the nation.
Continue ReadingBy MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Exxon Mobil’s third-quarter profit declined compared with last year when the oil giant put up record numbers as oil prices soared, but net income jumped 15% compared with the previous quarter. It also raised its quarterly dividend. Those lofty crude prices have fueled a shopping spree this year as
Continue ReadingBy MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — The busy Shibuya shopping, business and entertainment district of Tokyo is trying hard to keep visitors at bay during Halloween weekend. Banners across town say no drinking and no Halloween events on the street. Town officials are cordoning off a landmark statue of faithful dog Hachi behind
Continue ReadingBy NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has ordered the Vatican to reopen the case of a well-known priest-artist accused of sexually, psychologically and spiritually abusing adult women, and removed the statute of limitations that had previously prevented a church trial based on their claims. The Vatican’s announcement Friday marked a major
Continue ReadingBy ZIMO ZHONG and MATT OTT Associated Presss Premarket trading is mixed on Wall Street, but oil prices are moving higher after U.S. fighter jets launched airstrikes early Friday on two locations in eastern Syria linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the Israeli military said its troops and tanks had briefly entered Gaza for
Continue ReadingBy WAFAA SHURAFA, JOSEF FEDERMAN and BASSEM MROUE Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel’s defense minister said Friday that it expects to launch a ground offensive into Gaza soon that will be long and difficult, and aim to destroy a vast network of tunnels used by the territory’s militant Hamas rulers. Yoav
Continue ReadingBy DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press Voters in Maine will be deciding a question in November about whether independent automobile repair shops should have access to the same diagnostic technology as dealerships. In Ohio, voters will be settling a pair of more personal questions — whether to create a constitutional right to abortion and legalize
Continue ReadingBy DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press Voters in Maine will be deciding a question in November about whether independent automobile repair shops should have access to the same diagnostic technology as dealerships. In Ohio, voters will be settling a pair of more personal questions — whether to create a constitutional right to abortion and legalize
Continue ReadingBy HOLLY MEYER Associated Press Thanks to a rabble-rousing, socialist priest, it’s a milestone year for direct democracy in the U.S. and not just because Ohio voters are circumventing their Republican-controlled legislature to decide for themselves if they have constitutional abortion rights. The practice of citizen-originated ballot measures began 125 years ago when South Dakota
Continue ReadingBy Max Foster, Lauren Said-Moorhouse and Rosa Rahimi, CNN (CNN) — When King Charles III visits Kenya next week, he’ll do something no other member of his family has done in the country. That’s because, in addition to the usual fare of state banquets and such, he’s planning on acknowledging the “more painful aspects” of
Continue ReadingBy HUIZHONG WU Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — China’s chief epidemiologist, who helped drive anti-COVID-19 measures that suspended access to cities and confined millions to their homes, has died. Wu Zunyou died on Friday at age 60. An announcement from China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention about Wu’s death gave no cause but said
Continue ReadingBy MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Exxon Mobil’s third-quarter profit declined compared with last year when the oil giant was put up record numbers due to soaring crude prices, but net income was up 15% compared with the previous quarter. It also raised its quarterly dividend. Those lofty crude prices have fueled a shopping spree
Continue ReadingBy Devon M. Sayers, Holly Yan and Fabiana Chaparro, CNN Montgomery, Alabama (CNN) — Two people involved in a melee at an Alabama riverfront dock that caught national headlines over the summer were sentenced, with one receiving jail time and the other ordered to go to anger management classes. Richard Roberts pleaded guilty to misdemeanor
Continue ReadingBy NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has ordered the Vatican to reopen the case of a well-known priest-artist accused of sexually, psychologically and spiritually abusing adult women. The Vatican says Francis has removed the statute of limitations on their claims to allow a canonical trial to proceed. The announcement came just
Continue ReadingBy The Associated Press Cooper Flagg, the consensus top player in the 2024 recruiting class, says his focus is on the tragedy of a mass shooting in his home state of Maine, an indication that an announcement on where he will play college basketball could be delayed. The 6-foot-9 small forward has been deciding between
Continue ReadingBy LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders believe it’s time to lay the foundations for a future relationship between Israel and the Palestinians where the militant group Hamas does not control Gaza. The 27-nation bloc is exploring ways to realize a long-held EU ideal — two states living peacefully side by
Continue ReadingKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian activists have slammed the government’s plan for a weeklong program in schools to support the Palestinian cause after pictures of students and teachers toting toy guns went viral on social media. The Education Ministry says the Palestine Solidarity Week program starting Monday is to teach students empathy and concern
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