Top General News

Hezbollah attacks Israel with drones as fears of a widening war mount

Sep. 19, 2024 09:42 AM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — Hezbollah fired a new barrage into northern Israel on Thursday, continuing its drumbeat of exchanges with the Israeli military as fears of a greater war rise. Hundreds of electronic devices used by Hezbollah exploded in Lebanon earlier this week, killing at least 37 people and...

Is Israel preparing for a war with Hezbollah?

Sep. 19, 2024 05:46 AM EDT

JERUSALEM (AP) — With Israel's defense minister announcing a “new phase” of the war and an apparent Israeli attack setting off explosions in electronic devices in Lebanon, the specter of all-out combat between Israel and Hezbollah seems closer than ever before. Hopes for a...

Harris plans a livestream with Oprah Winfrey while Trump is set to address an Israeli-American group

Sep. 19, 2024 08:20 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Both major presidential candidates are making appearances Thursday meant to fire up their core supporters, with Vice President Kamala Harris participating in a livestream with Oprah Winfrey and Donald Trump attending an event with prominent Jewish donors before addressing a...

Voters view Harris more favorably as she settles into role atop Democratic ticket: AP-NORC poll

Sep. 19, 2024 00:02 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Until recently, Lillian Dunsmuir of Bullhead City, Arizona, “didn’t really think about" Kamala Harris and had no opinion of the vice president. But now she likes what she’s seeing. “She’s funny. I think she’s very smart. She can speak well,” said...

These evangelicals are voting their values — by backing Kamala Harris

Sep. 19, 2024 08:02 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — When the Rev. Lee Scott publicly endorsed Kamala Harris for president during the Evangelicals for Harris Zoom call on Aug. 14, the Presbyterian pastor and farmer said he was taking a risk. “The easy thing for us to do this year would be to keep our heads down,...

Rampant adoption fraud separated generations of South Korean children from their families, AP finds

Sep. 19, 2024 02:05 AM EDT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — As the plane descended into Seoul, Robert Calabretta swaddled himself in a blanket, his knees tucked into his chest like a baby in the womb. A single tear ran down his cheek. The 34-year-old felt like a newborn — he was about to meet his parents for the...

Residents of Springfield, Ohio, hunker down and pray for a political firestorm to blow over

Sep. 19, 2024 09:00 AM EDT

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — In the quiet corners of Springfield, Ohio — out of sight of the drumbeat of politicians and journalists, troopers and newly installed security cameras — the people who live here are taking a breath, praying and attempting to carry on. Between the...

Inside the Brooklyn federal jail where Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is locked up: violence, squalor and death

Sep. 19, 2024 00:26 AM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — As they unsuccessfully fought to keep Sean “Diddy” Combs out of jail after his sex trafficking arrest, the music mogul’s lawyers highlighted a litany of horrors at the Brooklyn federal lockup where he was headed: horrific conditions, rampant violence and multiple deaths. ...

Search for suspect in Kentucky highway shooting ends with discovery of body believed to be his

Sep. 18, 2024 22:55 PM EDT

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A body found in rural southeastern Kentucky is believed to be the man suspected of shooting and wounding five people on an interstate highway, authorities said Wednesday night. The search ended with two private sleuths joining in the dramatic discovery. ...

A gold mining town in Congo has become an mpox hot spot as a new strain spreads

Sep. 19, 2024 08:21 AM EDT

KAMITUGA, Congo (AP) — Slumped on the ground over a mound of dirt, Divine Wisoba pulled weeds from her daughter’s grave. The 1-month-old died from mpox in eastern Congo in August, but Wisoba, 21, was too traumatized to attend the funeral. In her first visit to the cemetery, she...

Latest General News

The exploding device attacks dealt a major but not crippling blow to Hezbollah, analysts say

Sep. 19, 2024 10:13 AM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — The waves of remotely triggered explosions that hit pagers and walkie-talkies carried by Hezbollah members in grocery stores, on streets and at a funeral procession this week made for an eerie and shocking spectacle. Analysts said Hezbollah will be able to regroup...

US home sales fell in August despite easing mortgage rates, more homes on the market

Sep. 19, 2024 10:02 AM EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in August to the slowest annual pace in nearly a year even as mortgage rates eased and the supply of properties on the market continued to rise. Existing home sales fell 2.5% last month, from July, to a seasonally...

Sales of previously occupied US homes hit slowest annual pace in nearly a year last month despite falling mortgage rates

Sep. 19, 2024 10:01 AM EDT
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied US homes hit slowest annual pace in nearly a year last month despite falling mortgage rates.

Vatican gives green light to devotion at Bosnia site in Medjugorje where Madonna reportedly appeared

Sep. 19, 2024 09:59 AM EDT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican on Thursday gave the green light for Catholics to continue flocking to a southern Bosnian village where children reported seeing visions of the Virgin Mary, offering its approval for devotion at one of the most contested sites of Roman Catholic practice in recent...

Denmark's Queen Margrethe who abdicated earlier this year has been hospitalized

Sep. 19, 2024 09:58 AM EDT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II, who stunned the country when she abdicated earlier this year, has been admitted to a hospital after falling in her home, Danish media reported Thursday. She was reportedly not seriously hurt. The 84-year-old queen was...

Weekly applications for US jobless benefits fall to the lowest level in 4 months

Sep. 19, 2024 09:56 AM EDT

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in four months last week. Jobless claims slid by 12,000, to 219,000, for the week of Sept. 14, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That's fewer than economists' expectations for 230,000 new...

Sri Lanka's presidential election a test for current leader, 2 years after its economy hit bottom

Sep. 19, 2024 09:55 AM EDT

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Two years ago, food cart worker Fathima Shiyama had to wait in line, sometimes for days, to get cooking gas, fuel and other essentials. It was a test of patience for her and millions of other Sri Lankans as their country languished in economic and political chaos. ...

Stock market today: Wall Street leaps toward records as jubilation sweeps markets worldwide

Sep. 19, 2024 09:50 AM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is roaring toward records Thursday as a delayed reaction of jubilation sweeps markets worldwide following the Federal Reserve’s big cut to interest rates. The S&P 500 was 1.6% higher in early trading and above its all-time closing high set in July....

Refugees in New Hampshire turn to farming for an income and a taste of home

Sep. 19, 2024 09:48 AM EDT

DUNBARTON, N.H. (AP) — It's harvest time in central New Hampshire, and one farm there appears to have been transplanted from a distant continent. Farmers balance large crates laden with vegetables on their heads while chatting in Somali and other languages. As the sun burns away...

Oktoberfest tightens security in wake of deadly knife attack in western Germany

Sep. 19, 2024 09:46 AM EDT

MUNICH (AP) — Security has tightened at Oktoberfest in the wake of last month’s deadly knife attack in Solingen in western Germany, and officials warned revelers to expect longer lines at entry points as metal detectors will be deployed for the first time in the Bavarian beer festival's...