Month: February 2023

By SAM KEMMIS of NerdWallet Many frequent travelers amass huge piles of travel points and miles. Yet, unlike saving real money, saving travel rewards is usually a poor financial choice. Points and miles tend to lose value over time, can’t be invested and can even expire. Trying to choose a smart way to redeem points

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has intervened for the third time to crack down on the celebration of the old Latin Mass, a sign of continued friction with Catholic traditionalists. Francis reasserted in a new legal decree published Tuesday that the Holy See must approve new celebrations of the old

By BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writer Twenty-six words tucked into a 1996 law overhauling telecommunications have allowed companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google to grow into the giants they are today. Two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court being argued this week challenge this law. The outcome could reshape the modern internet. Under the U.S.

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese startup is planning to launch commercial space viewing balloon flights that it hopes will bring an otherwise astronomically expensive experience down to Earth. In the tour’s unveiling Tuesday, the company said it has developed an airtight two-seat cabin and a balloon capable of rising to

By LISA MASCARO and FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are launching far-reaching investigations as part of their oversight agenda of the Biden administration. There are probes into the crisis at the U.S. border with Mexico, the origins of COVID-19, the treatment of parents who protest “woke” school board policies, even President

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha says he will dissolve Parliament in March, paving the way for a general election to be held in May. The government’s four-year term expires on March 23, but Prayuth after Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting suggested he would dissolve the House of Representatives before that. Prayuth also set May

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Moscow is suspending its participation in the last remaining nuclear arms control pact with the United States. The move to halt Moscow’s involvement in the New START treaty sharply ups the ante amid tensions with Washington over the fighting in Ukraine.

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer Home Depot says it’s investing $1 billion in wage increases for its U.S. and Canadian hourly workers. The Atlanta-based home improvement chain said Tuesday that every hourly employee will get a raise starting this month. The investment will also ensure that starting pay is at least $15 per hour

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Treasury Department official says Russia’s mounting battlefield losses are a testament to the effectiveness of U.S. and allied sanctions on the Kremlin and its military machine. In prepared remarks for a speech, U.S. Treasury Deputy Wally Adeyemo says sanctions and export controls imposed by the