By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press ROME (AP) — After pushback by some bishops in Africa, Poland and elsewhere, the Vatican on Thursday defended the recent move by Pope Francis to allow blessings for same-sex couples, insisting there is nothing “heretical” involved. In a five-page statement, the Holy See’s office to safeguard doctrinal orthodoxy expressed understanding
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By Madeline Holcombe, CNN (CNN) — This is not going to be the year that you make big plans to be more active and then burn out a few weeks into 2024. Exercise is important — even if you aren’t aiming to be a triathlete. Regular movement helps with longevity, makes us happier and fights
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Christians around the world will mark the Epiphany on Jan. 6 with a series of celebrations that go from parades and gift-giving for children to the blessing of water. The holiday is also called the Feast of Epiphany, Three Kings Day and Theophany. Why is it known with different names? Some Western Christian
Continue ReadingBy MATT OTT AP Business Writer The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week as the labor market continues to show resilience despite elevated interest rates. Jobless claims fell to 202,000 for the week ending Dec. 30, down by 18,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average
Continue ReadingBy KRYSTA FAURIA Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — When Jessica Chastain first read the script for “Memory,” she was struck by the unanswered questions left swirling around her head about issues pertaining to love, sex and consent. That might be antithetical to what some audiences expect from a movie. But it was writer and
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By Abbas AlLawati and Tara John, CNN (CNN) — ISIS has claimed responsibility for the deadliest attack in Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution, which has shaken the Islamic Republic and led to angry calls for vengeance. On Wednesday, at least 84 people were killed and 284 others injured in the Iranian city of Kerman
Continue ReadingANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A hotel owner and 10 other people are standing trial accused of negligence over the deaths of 72 people, including players from a school volleyball team in breakaway northern Cyprus, who perished when their hotel crumbled during a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey last year. The trial is the first relating
Continue ReadingBy HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — With the cooperation of the Anne Frank House, a novel based on Frank’s life immediately before she began keeping a diary will be released in September by the children’s publisher Scholastic. “When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank, Before the Diary” is written
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By Matt Egan, CNN New York (CNN) — MIT President Sally Kornbluth, the only university president who testified before Congress last month and is still in power, said the school is looking for ways to address tensions from the Israel-Hamas war, even as pressure mounts on her to step down. “I’m working to use every
Continue ReadingBERLIN (AP) — A German man who served prison time for a high-profile 1996 kidnapping has been convicted of robbery and attempted murder on Thursday for his alleged role in a string of armed robberies in Germany in 2018 and 2019. The Cologne state court on Thursday sentenced Thomas Drach to 15 years in prison.
Continue ReadingBy TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer Walgreens is chopping its dividend nearly in half as the drugstore chain looks to strengthen its balance sheet. The health care giant said Thursday that reducing its quarterly payout to shareholders to 25 cents per share will help free up capital to spend growing its pharmacy and health care
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CNN Analysis by Stephen Collinson, CNN (CNN) — Ex-President Donald Trump is one of America’s most frivolous litigants, whose suits over business disputes and false claims of voter fraud often failed the laugh test. But the twin appeals Trump has now filed after being thrown off the ballot in Colorado and Maine do not fit
Continue Reading By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — Flying in the United States was a vastly improved experience last year, as the cancellation rate fell to its lowest level in at least 10 years. The Department of Transportation released statistics for 2023 that show among the 16.3 million flights in the United States, there was
Continue ReadingBy PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The longest planned strike in the history of Britain’s state-funded National Health Service has entered its second day of six with doctors in England at loggerheads with hospitals over requests for some to return to work to cover urgent needs. The British Medical Association said Thursday that
Continue Reading By Laura Paddison and Robert Shackelford, CNN (CNN) — Parts of Europe are experiencing an extreme start to the new year’s weather. As some countries struggle with devastating floods, others have been plunged into extreme cold, causing chaos. Hundreds of flood warnings are in place in the UK after heavy rainfall battered swaths of the
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Review by Brian Lowry, CNN (CNN) — More than 30 years have passed since “Alive,” the movie based on the true story of the Uruguayan rugby team whose flight crashed in the Andes in 1972, forcing survivors to resort to cannibalism. Now, “Society of the Snow” retells that tale under the guidance of Spanish director
Continue ReadingBERLIN (AP) — There’s a bit of post-Christmas cheer on the menu for elephants and other tenants at the Berlin Zoo: they can chomp on Christmas trees that didn’t find a home. The tree treats were unwrapped Thursday in what has become an annual event. Elephants tore off branches with their trunks and either gobbled
Continue ReadingBy DUSAN STOJANOVIC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s military wants to reintroduce obligatory military service as tensions continue to rise in the Balkans. The army command said in a statement Thursday that the proposal for compulsory service of up to four months is made “to increase the defense capabilities of the Serbian Armed
Continue ReadingAnalysis by Krystal Hur, CNN New York (CNN) — Stocks rang in the new year with a selloff, stalling the 2023 monster rally. Some investors say that the furious year-end rally has given way to consolidation, as traders sell some of their holdings that have ballooned in recent weeks. The S&P 500 index has fallen
Continue ReadingAnalysis by Oliver Darcy, CNN New York (CNN) — ESPN has a Pat McAfee problem on its hands. The sports broadcaster ignited a torrent of backlash on Tuesday when he allowed the conspiracy curious and injured New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers to baselessly suggest during his show that Jimmy Kimmel might be named in documents
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