AP Business Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Elevated mortgage rates, rising home prices and other U.S. housing market trends that have kept many would-be homebuyers on the sidelines are likely to remain hurdles next year, driving solid demand for single-family rental houses, analysts say. Research notes from analysts at Mizuho Securities USA and Raymond James
Continue ReadingGENEVA (AP) — The United Nations says more aid workers, health care staffers, delivery personnel and other humanitarians have been killed in 2024 than in any other single year. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says bloodshed in the Middle East has been the single-biggest cause of the 281 deaths among humanitarians
Continue ReadingLONDON (AP) — The U.S. Embassy in London has returned to normal operations after police carried out the controlled explosion of a suspicious package that was found in the area. London Metropolitan police said later Friday it was a “hoax device.″ Police say some cordons will remain in place for the time being but the
Continue ReadingBEIJING (AP) — China is going to expand visa-free entry to citizens of nine more countries as it seeks to boost tourism and business travel to help revive a sluggish economy. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday that travelers from Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia and Japan will be able to
Continue ReadingAssociated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — NATO and Ukraine will hold emergency talks Tuesday after Russia attacked a central city with an experimental, hypersonic ballistic missile that escalated the nearly 33-month-old war. The conflict is “entering a decisive phase,” Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday, and “taking on very dramatic dimensions.” Ukraine’s parliament canceled
Continue ReadingAssociated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan has approved a $250 billion economic stimulus package centered around initiatives intended to boost incomes. The broad plan passed by the Cabinet on Friday is the centerpiece of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s recently installed administration. It provides support for digital innovation in the world’s fourth largest economy, subsidies to
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Two Australian teenagers and a British woman have died from suspected methanol poisoning after drinking tainted alcohol in Laos. An American man and two Danes also died, though their exact causes of death have not been released. A New Zealander also has been sickened. The U.S. State Department issued a
Continue ReadingTAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te will visit the self-governing island’s allies in the South Pacific, where rival China has been seeking diplomatic inroads. The Foreign Ministry announced Friday that Lai would travel from Nov. 30 to Dec. 6 to the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Palau. The trip comes against the background of
Continue ReadingBy Amanda Musa and Zoe Sottile, CNN (CNN) — Public schools in Texas now have the option to use a new, state-written curriculum infused with Bible stories after the state’s school board voted in favor of the material on Friday. A slim majority of the board’s 15 members – eight to seven – voted to
Continue ReadingAssociated Press LONDON (AP) — Indigenous leaders from the Wampis Nation in Peru are urging lawmakers at the House of Commons in London to ban international banks’ support for Amazon oil activities they say harm their ancestral rainforests. HSBC bank, JPMorgan Chase and Santander helped finance the Peruvian state-owned oil company Petroperu as it sought
Continue ReadingBy VANESSA GERA Associated Press (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s centrist Civic Coalition is holding a primary to choose a candidate who will run in the nation’s presidential election next year. Party members are choosing between Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski and Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski. The winner of the party primary will face
Continue ReadingAssociated Press TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — As Iran faces increasing tensions with the West and turmoil at home, a new exhibition at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art is displaying Western artwork including pieces not seen by the public in at least a decade. The unveiling of the exhibition “Eye to Eye” has drawn numerous
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, one of Asia’s richest men, may be facing his biggest challenge yet with an indictment by U.S. prosecutors for alleged fraud and bribery. But it’s unclear just how the case will affect his businesses and own future — as well as the Indian economy and
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Last winter was a disappointment for many folks. The temperatures in Mid-Missouri were mild and snow was below annual averages. Winter is almost here again and the Stormtrack Winter Weather Special airs at 6:30 p.m. Friday. Among the segments you’ll see in the special is Chief Meteorologist Jessica Hafner’s long-range winter forecast. Last winter’s lack
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian Cabinet minister on Friday rejected X Corp. owner Elon Musk’s allegation that the government intended to control all Australians’ access to the internet through legislation that would ban young children from social media. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Musk’s criticism was “unsurprising” after the government introduced to Parliament
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanians will vote Sunday in a presidential election that looks likely to pit a far-right nationalist party leader against the leftist prime minister in a runoff in two weeks. Thirteen candidates are vying for the presidency in the European Union and NATO member country. Romania also will hold parliamentary
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s popular defense minister has taken himself out of contention to become the country’s next leader. His decision clears the way for Chancellor Olaf Scholz to seek a second term in an early election after a week of arguments that exposed deep divisions in his struggling party. Defense Minister Boris
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday denounced the International Criminal Court’s issuing of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he would defy it by inviting him to Hungary. In comments to state radio, Orbán accused the ICC, the world’s top war crimes court based
Continue ReadingBy Mohammed Tawfeeq, Eyad Kourdi and Jessie Yeung, CNN (CNN) — Iran announced Friday it was activating new advanced centrifuges – which enrich uranium for the country’s nuclear program – after the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog criticized the country for not cooperating with the agency. Iran will activate “a noticeable number of new and advanced
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer HONG KONG (AP) — A senior Chinese official says higher tariffs on Chinese exports will backfire by boosting prices paid by consumers. The official, Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen, told reporters in Beijing that China can manage “the impact of external shocks” like higher tariffs. Asked about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s plan
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