By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, in a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart, stressed the importance of peace and stability between China and Taiwan and expressed “serious concern” about the situation in Hong Kong and China’s Xinjiang region. Japan’s Foreign Ministry says Hayashi also told Chinese Foreign
Continue ReadingBy BABAR DOGAR Associated Press LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan has released a radical Islamist leader under a deal struck with his party that was behind last month’s deadly anti-France protest over the publications of caricatures of Islam’s prophet. The deal to free Saad Rizvi also included lifting a ban on his party. He had
Continue ReadingMOSCOW (AP) — A lawyer for imprisoned former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who has been on a hunger strike for seven weeks, says he fell and lost consciousness at the end of the lawyer’s visit. Beka Basilaia said Thursday that Saakashvili was taken from the visiting room on a stretcher and that his condition is
Continue ReadingBy DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Several independent websites are joining forces to create a network for news about rural America, hoping to fill a void in areas hit hard by the shrinking media industry of the past two decades. The Rural News Network is being put together by the Institute
Continue ReadingBy DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Several independent websites are joining forces to create a network for news about rural America, hoping to fill a void in areas hit hard by the shrinking media industry of the past two decades. The Rural News Network is being put together by the Institute
Continue ReadingBy Jackie Wattles, CNN Business The director of the United Nations’ World Food Programme laid out a plan to spend $6.6 billion to combat world hunger — a direct response to a back-and-forth with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who claimed he would sell Tesla stock to fund a plan if the WFP could describe “exactly
Continue ReadingCNN By Jackie Wattles, CNN Business The director of the United Nations’ World Food Programme laid out a plan to spend $6.6 billion to combat world hunger — a direct response to a back-and-forth with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who claimed he would sell Tesla stock to fund a plan if the WFP could describe
Continue ReadingBy TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — Consumer Reports says electric SUVs generally are among the least reliable vehicles on the road, but it’s not because of the batteries or electric motors that power them. The magazine and website’s annual auto reliability survey found that it’s because of glitch-prone electronics including climate controls
Continue ReadingBy KEN SWEET AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s choice to become one of the top banking regulators endured a contentious nomination hearing Thursday, with Republican senators warning she would nationalize the U.S. banking system and Democrats saying she’s eminently qualified and would be tough overseer of Wall Street. Saule Omarova, 55,
Continue ReadingBy KEN SWEET AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s choice to become one of the top banking regulators endured a contentious nomination hearing Thursday, with Republican senators warning she would nationalize the U.S. banking system and Democrats saying she’s eminently qualified and would be tough overseer of Wall Street. Saule Omarova, 55,
Continue ReadingBy Betsy Klein, CNN President Joe Biden on Thursday signed three bipartisan bills into law aimed at supporting the nation’s law enforcement and first responders, as well as the communities they serve. “Today’s investment and the bills I’m about to sign share goals of law enforcement and first responders: be the protectors and the partners
Continue ReadingBy Jeremy Herb and Dianne Gallagher, CNN A conservative lawyer who helped Donald Trump try to overturn the 2020 election was named to a federal election advisory board this month, a move that illustrates how the former President still casts a long shadow over the federal government even after leaving office. Cleta Mitchell, who was
Continue ReadingVUKOVAR, Croatia (AP) — Tens of thousands of people have marked the 30th anniversary of the fall of the eastern Croatian town of Vukovar that was destroyed by the Serb-led Yugoslav army, becoming a symbol of resistance and national unity in the 1991-95 war. Top officials on Thursday headed a huge column of people during
Continue ReadingBy PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer Auburn seeks to bounce back from two straight defeats and the loss of starting quarterback Bo Nix when the Tigers play at South Carolina. The Tigers’ SEC championship chances fell apart the past two weeks. Nix fractured his ankle in last week’s loss to Mississippi State and had season-ending
Continue ReadingBUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanian media say an explosion at a weapons factory in a small southern town has killed four people and injured another four. The blast occurred Thursday afternoon in the town of Babeni in Valcea County and was caused by an anti-personnel mine, Romania’s National Press Agency said. It said the victims
Continue ReadingZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — The European Court of Human Rights has ruled against Croatia in a 2017 migrant pushback case after which a 6-year-old girl was killed by a train on the border with Serbia. The Nov. 2017 death of Madina Hussiny at the time focused international attention on the plight of migrants in the
Continue ReadingBy Kandra Kent Click here for updates on this story PORTLAND, Oregon (KPTV) — Portland city commissioners on Wednesday voted to spend an unexpected budget surplus on police and getting people living on the streets into shelter beds, among other priorities. The $62 million surplus comes largely from tax revenues collected from big corporations that
Continue ReadingBy Jordan Valinsky, CNN Business CVS Health is closing 900 stores over the next three years, amounting to nearly 10% of its footprint, in response to the changing of “consumer buying patterns.” The drug store chain said Thursday that the closures will result in a retail presence that ensures it has the “right kinds of
Continue ReadingCNN By Jordan Valinsky, CNN Business CVS Health is closing 900 stores over the next three years, amounting to nearly 10% of its footprint, in response to the changing of “consumer buying patterns.” The drug store chain said Thursday that the closures will result in a retail presence that ensures it has the “right kinds
Continue ReadingBy PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — No. 13 Wake Forest has a huge final step if it wants to end Clemson’s reign atop the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Demon Deacons will have to end their 12-game losing streak to the Tigers. Wake Forest is undefeated in the ACC and can clinch
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