CNN By Andrew Torgan and Tricia Escobedo, CNN (CNN) — Last-minute errands tend to pop up on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, whether it’s buying a quick present or picking up one last ingredient. Check out what’s open and closed today and tomorrow. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed
Continue ReadingBy Sarah Ferris and Jeremy Herb, CNN (CNN) — The House Ethics Committee found evidence that former Rep. Matt Gaetz paid tens of thousands of dollars to women for sex or drugs on at least 20 occasions, including paying a 17-year-old girl for sex in 2017, according to the panel’s report on the Florida Republican
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) — As many as one-third of people displaced by the August 2023 Maui fires wound up in the homes of friends and family in the weeks after the disaster. It was a natural solution on an island already struggling with a housing crisis and where values like generosity and family
Continue ReadingAssociated Press The Rev. Shannon Blosser sees how his son loves church — the music, the singing, the communion. But the United Methodist pastor said his family hasn’t always felt like 11-year-old Noah, who is autistic, has been welcome. At one point, Blosser’s wife and the couple’s two sons stopped attending in-person services at a
Continue ReadingAP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The Container Store has filed for bankruptcy protection, as the storage and organizational goods retailer with roots dating back to 1978 grapples with mounting losses and cash flow shortages. The Texas company has faced increasing competition from retailers like Target and Walmart at the same time that demand
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The immigration officers sat in their vehicles before dawn near a two-story building. A New York subway line rumbled overhead, then an officer’s voice crackled over the radio. After watching for about two hours, he said, “I think that’s Tango,” using a term for target. “Gray hoodie. Backpack. Walking
Continue ReadingAssociated Press PARIS (AP) — France marked a day of mourning Monday for victims of Cyclone Chido, which devastated its poorest territory, Mayotte, over a week ago. The cyclone was the most destructive to hit Mayotte in 90 years and caused extensive damage to the island off Africa’s east coast. At least 35 deaths have
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer The emergence of generative artificial intelligence tools that allow people to efficiently produce novel and detailed online reviews with almost no work has put merchants, service providers and consumers in uncharted territory, watchdog groups and researchers say. Phony reviews have long plagued many popular consumer websites, such as Amazon and Yelp. They
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer The emergence of generative artificial intelligence tools that allow people to efficiently produce novel and detailed online reviews with almost no work has put merchants, service providers and consumers in uncharted territory, watchdog groups and researchers say. Phony reviews have long plagued many popular consumer websites, such as Amazon and Yelp. They
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan will attempt to merge and create the world’s third-largest automaker by sales as the industry undergoes dramatic changes in its transition away from fossil fuels. The two companies said they had signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday and that smaller Nissan alliance member
Continue ReadingBy Andrew Torgan and Tricia Escobedo, CNN (CNN) — Drivers nationwide are getting a welcome gift this holiday season: Cheaper gasoline. Americans will likely be greeted by the lowest Christmas Day gas prices since 2020 during the pandemic, according to GasBuddy, an app that crowdsources pump prices. GasBuddy said it expects gas prices will average
Continue ReadingISLAMABAD (AP) — The opposition party of Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan has held a first round of talks with the government to secure the release of its leader and other activists, officials said. Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, had not had talks with the government since February when parliamentary elections saw their
Continue ReadingAP Basketball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — There’s a Christmas Day basketball game at Walt Disney World, featuring Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Wemby. An animated game, anyway. The real game takes place at Madison Square Garden, where Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs face the New York Knicks in a game televised on ABC
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BANGKOK (AP) — A Chinese court issued a suspended death sentence to a man for driving his car into a crowd of elementary school students and parents in southern Hunan province last month. Huang Wen was arrested on site after wounding about 30, 18 of them children, according to the court’s statement on
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BEIJING (AP) — China says a plan by the Philippines to deploy midrange missiles would be a provocative move that stokes regional tensions. A senior Philippines army official told reporters that the military plans to acquire a midrange system to defend the country’s territory amid tensions with China in the South China Sea.
Continue ReadingBy Alaa Elassar, Emma Tucker, Kara Scannell and Chelsea Bailey, CNN (CNN) — Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a busy sidewalk in Midtown Manhattan, was escorted into a New York courtroom Monday where he pleaded not guilty to state murder and terror charges. The hearing marked
Continue ReadingMAGDEBURG, Germany (AP) — Mourners laid flowers near the scene of the deadly Christmas market attack on Monday as investigators puzzled over the motive of the suspect and his previous encounters with authorities were scrutinized, while fears swirled that the rampage could deepen divisions in German society. The Johanniskirche, a church a short walk from
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanian lawmakers have voted narrowly in favor of a new pro-European coalition government led by incumbent Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. The move on Monday could usher in an end to a protracted political crisis in the European Union country following the annulment of a presidential election. Parliament approved the new
Continue ReadingBy Hilary Whiteman, CNN Brisbane, Australia (CNN) — Australia is working to verify the authenticity of a video that purportedly shows one of its nationals captured by Russian forces while fighting in Ukraine. The video, posted to Russian Telegram accounts, shows a man with a muddied face being questioned in a forested area by another
Continue ReadingBy Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — It was June 2021 when my phone first rang with a call from a Russian number. I was working from home, seated at my dining room table in the middle of the afternoon, and suspected it was spam. Instead, it was Paul Whelan. That phone call was the first
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