Top General News

Time to evacuate is running out as Hurricane Milton closes in on Florida

Oct. 09, 2024 01:53 AM EDT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Milton churned Wednesday toward a potentially catastrophic collision along the west coast of Florida, where some residents insisted they would stay after millions were ordered to evacuate and officials warned that stragglers would face grim odds of surviving. ...

Florida hospitals and health care facilities in Hurricane Milton's path prepare for the worst

Oct. 08, 2024 19:23 PM EDT

Hospitals and other health care facilities on Florida’s Gulf Coast — still reeling from Hurricane Helene — are now revving up for Hurricane Milton. The system, which is shaping up to be one of the most powerful to hit the region in years, is projected to make landfall a bit...

Climate change boosted Helene's deadly rain and wind and scientists say same is likely for Milton

Oct. 09, 2024 00:08 AM EDT

Human-caused climate change boosted a devastating Hurricane Helene 's rainfall by about 10% and intensified its winds by about 11%, scientists said in a new flash study released just as a strengthening Hurricane Milton threatens the Florida coast less than two weeks later. The...

Middle East latest: 18 dead after Israeli strikes in Gaza

Oct. 09, 2024 03:23 AM EDT

Palestinian officials said Wednesday that Israel’s bombardment of central and northern Gaza killed at least 18 people, including five children and two women. Two strikes hit tents for displaced people in the urban Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps in central Gaza. The bodies of...

What presidential campaign? The Electoral College puts most American voters on the sidelines

Oct. 09, 2024 00:12 AM EDT

WAUKEGAN, Ill. (AP) — On a table at the office of the Waukegan Township Democrats sits a box of postcards with Wisconsin addresses that were collected during a postcard-writing pizza party to help turn out voters there. Leaning against the table are homemade Harris-Walz signs. ...

Trump has long blasted China's trade practices. His 'God Bless the USA' Bibles were printed there

Oct. 09, 2024 02:36 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of copies of Donald Trump’s “God Bless the USA” Bible were printed in a country that the former president has repeatedly accused of stealing American jobs and engaging in unfair trade practices — China. Global trade records reviewed by The...

As FEMA prepares for Hurricane Milton, it battles rumors surrounding Helene recovery

Oct. 08, 2024 19:23 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The rumors surrounding Hurricane Helene are many. There are false claims that people taking federal relief money could see their land seized. Or that $750 is the most they will ever get to rebuild. Or that the agency's director — on the ground since the storm hit — was...

Mozambique votes for president and the ruling party could extend its 49 years in power

Oct. 09, 2024 01:46 AM EDT

MAPUTO, Mozambique (AP) — Mozambique is voting for a new president on Wednesday in an election that is expected to extend the ruling party's 49 years in power since the southern African nation gained independence from Portugal in 1975. Daniel Chapo, 47, is the candidate for the...

US considers asking court to break up Google as it weighs remedies in the antitrust case

Oct. 09, 2024 02:24 AM EDT

The U.S. Department of Justice is considering asking a federal judge to force Google to sell parts of its business in order to eliminate its online search monopoly. In a late court filing on Tuesday, federal prosecutors also said the judge could ask the court to open the underlying...

Grazer beats the behemoth that killed her cub to win Alaska's Fat Bear Contest

Oct. 08, 2024 23:53 PM EDT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — In a storyline better befitting a melodrama than a popularity vote, Grazer won her second Fat Bear Contest Tuesday by defeating the male behemoth that killed her cub this summer. Grazer beat Chunk by more than 40,000 votes cast by fans watching live cameras...

Latest General News

A plane crashes on Catalina Island off Southern California coast

Oct. 09, 2024 03:36 AM EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A plane crashed Tuesday night on Catalina Island off the Southern California coast near the island's private airport. It was not immediately known if there were injuries or deaths. Supervisor Travis White with the Los Angeles County Fire Department said the...

North Korea vows to block border with South Korea and build front-line defense structures

Oct. 09, 2024 03:35 AM EDT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Wednesday it will permanently block its border with South Korea and build frontline defense structures to cope with “confrontational hysteria" by South Korean and U.S. forces, while not announcing an expected constitutional revision to formally...

China stocks sink as investors dump shares after recent rallies, while other Asian markets gain

Oct. 09, 2024 03:35 AM EDT

HONG KONG (AP) — Stocks in China slumped on Wednesday, with Shanghai’s benchmark down 6.6% and Hong Kong’s losing 1.5% as investors dumped shares to lock in profits after recent rallies driven by hopes for major economic stimulus. Other Asian markets rose, while U.S. futures...

PHOTO COLLECTION: Israel Lebanon Mideast Tensions

Oct. 09, 2024 03:28 AM EDT
This is a collection of photos chosen by AP photo editors.

Ishiba dissolves Japan's lower house to set up an Oct. 27 parliamentary election

Oct. 09, 2024 03:28 AM EDT

TOKYO (AP) — Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba dissolved Japan's lower house of parliament Wednesday to set up an Oct. 27 snap election and seek a mandate from voters for his 9-day-old government. Ishiba took office last week as Fumio Kishida resigned after leading the governing...

Survivors of massacre in small Haitian town where 70 died point finger at government

Oct. 09, 2024 03:23 AM EDT

PONT-SONDÉ, Haiti (AP) — Angry whispers have broken the heavy silence that fell over Pont-Sondé just days after a vicious gang attack left more than 70 dead, marking one of Haiti’s biggest massacres in recent history. The whispering came from a handful of people that remained...

Middle East latest: 18 dead after Israeli strikes in Gaza

Oct. 09, 2024 03:23 AM EDT

Palestinian officials said Wednesday that Israel’s bombardment of central and northern Gaza killed at least 18 people, including five children and two women. Two strikes hit tents for displaced people in the urban Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps in central Gaza. The bodies of...

Southeast Asian leaders meet in Laos to discuss Myanmar war and disputed sea

Oct. 09, 2024 03:20 AM EDT

VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — Southeast Asian leaders gathered Wednesday for an annual forum that will focus on the civil war in Myanmar and territorial tensions in the South China Sea, two key challenges that have tested the bloc's credibility. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations...

Chinese shares sink as investors dump shares after recent rallies, with Shanghai's benchmark down 6.6%

Oct. 09, 2024 03:16 AM EDT
HONG KONG (AP) — Chinese shares sink as investors dump shares after recent rallies, with Shanghai's benchmark down 6.6%.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba dissolves Japan's lower house to set up an Oct. 27 parliamentary election

Oct. 09, 2024 03:12 AM EDT
TOKYO (AP) — Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba dissolves Japan's lower house to set up an Oct. 27 parliamentary election.