Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency has granted two requests from California to enforce strict standards for vehicle emissions, including a rule aimed at banning sales of new gasoline-powered cars in the state by 2035. The incoming Trump administration is likely to try to reverse the approval. The California rule is stricter
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A Pentagon report says China is expanding its nuclear force, has increased military pressure against Taiwan and has strengthened its ties with Russia over the past year. Those actions are accelerating key areas of conflict with the United States. The report also notes that the recent rash of corruption allegations
Continue ReadingAssociated Press LONDON (AP) — A teen charged with killing three girls and wounding 10 other people in a stabbing rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England this summer has had not guilty pleas entered for him in court. Axel Rudakubana, 18, who has refused to speak in court was read the charges Wednesday
Continue ReadingAP Science Writer The last meteor shower of the year — the Ursids — peaks Sunday, a few days before Christmas. While usually not as bright as the Geminids, the Ursid meteor shower can yield surprises. “The Ursids are generally a sparse meteor shower,” producing about 5 to 10 visible meteors per hour under ideal
Continue ReadingThe killing of a senior Russian general in a bombing outside his apartment building in Moscow was the boldest assassination yet of a top military officer and again brought the war in Ukraine to the streets of the capital. Some things to know about the attack and who is suspected of being behind it: What
Continue ReadingAssociated Press KIRYAT GAT, Israel (AP) — Ilana Gritzewsky is fighting a battle against time to save her boyfriend from Hamas captivity. While there appears to be progress toward a deal to free the remaining captives in phases, Matan Zangauker would likely not be released in the first stage since he is a young man.
Continue ReadingNEW DELHI (AP) — An Indian navy speedboat has crashed into a ferry carrying over 100 people to a popular tourist destination off Mumbai, killing at least 13 people. A navy statement says 99 ferry passengers were rescued. They were on their way to Elephanta Island when the speedboat circled and collided with the ferry
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MAMOUDZOU, Mayotte (AP) — They clustered around water taps, rare sources of electricity and each other. Four days after the strongest cyclone in nearly a century ripped through the French island territory of Mayotte off the coast of Africa, survivors recalled the horror of the storm that caught many by surprise. Associated Press
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has transferred two Malaysian detainees at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. military prison to their home country. That’s after they pleaded guilty to charges stemming from deadly 2002 bombings in Bali and agreed to testify against the alleged ringleader of that and other attacks. The move leaves just 27
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Writers ST. LOUIS (AP) — Capybaras are having a big moment. The world’s largest rodent is the latest in a long line of “it” animals to get star treatment during the holiday season. Shoppers can find plush capybaras, capybara slippers, capybara bath bombs and capybara phone cases. Tiny versions of the semi-aquatic South
Continue ReadingAssociated Press PARIS (AP) — France’s highest court has upheld an appeal court decision which had found former President Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of corruption and influence peddling while he was the country’s head of state. Sarkozy, 69, faces a year in prison, but is expected to ask to be detained at home with an electronic
Continue ReadingAssociated Press The past year has been both a glass half empty and half full for the world’s democracies. From Asia to Africa to the Americas, it produced examples of democracy working and citizens standing up against attempted coups or authoritarians. At the same time, some of the new regimes ushered in by all those
Continue ReadingAP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — A new novel from Kiran Desai, her first fiction since the Booker Prize-winning “The Inheritance of Loss” came out nearly 20 years ago, will be published next fall. Desai’s “The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny” is scheduled for release in September by Hogarth, an imprint of the Random
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — The parliament building in Liberia caught fire Wednesday and the country’s president condemned the “wanton destruction,” even as no link was immediately confirmed to anti-government protests in the capital. The protests in the West African nation began with anger Tuesday over the decision to remove the parliament speaker, an
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MILAN (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni is defending her friendship with U.S. tech billionaire and Trump advisor Elon Musk. She told Italian lawmakers Wednesday that she would not be influenced in areas where he has economic interests. Meloni added that she has good relationships “with many people” but doesn’t “take orders from
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The kids seen by Dolores Mejia around suburban Phoenix have been growing heavier in recent years. Their parents, too, she says. Mejia, a 75-year-old retiree, says she’s also had her own weight struggles on the scale. That’s why Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s pledge to “Make America Healthy Again” as he
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona’s subway system is using regenerative braking to help power both its convoys but also recharge electric cars at street level. Sixteen subway stations in the Spanish city are equipped so that the energy from the regenerative braking system on the train can also help power chargers for electric
Continue ReadingEdmunds Full-size trucks are hugely popular thanks to their versatility and ability to get tough jobs done. This characteristic applies equally to when paved roads end and off-road hardware becomes essential. The automotive experts at Edmunds have brought together four full-size pickups that won’t wilt over rugged terrain. They’ve also kept in mind that all-terrain
Continue ReadingAssociated Press LONDON (AP) — The owner of Britain’s Guardian newspaper has confirmed that it has sold the Observer, the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper to Tortoise Media for an undisclosed fee. In a statement Wednesday, the Scott Trust, which owns the Guardian Media Group, said Tortoise Media is purchasing the Observer through a combination of
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The holidays are meant to be a time of celebration with family and friends. But they can also bring pressure to spend money on gifts, gatherings and plane tickets home. With credit card debt rising and prices for many items still high due to inflation, overspending during the holiday
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