By Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — A steep drop in Covid-19 deaths helped the overall death rate in the United States fall 6% in 2023, according to provisional data published Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were about 3.1 million deaths in the US last year, for an age-adjusted rate
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MIAMI (AP) — Federal investigators say they have uncovered the DNA of a former U.S. Green Beret on some of the 60 automatic weapons he allegedly smuggled from Florida to South America as part of a failed 2020 coup attempt against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The allegations in court papers filed days after
Continue ReadingAssociated Press A Nevada man awaiting trial on charges that he stormed the U.S. Capitol has been jailed after he allegedly made threats directed at Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett and other public officials. A federal magistrate judge has ordered Bradley Scott Nelson detained until a hearing next week. U.S. District Judge John Bates
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Fifty years after his iconic high-wire walk between the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center, Philippe Petit recreated the death-defying stunt with a performance about seven miles north of the trade center at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The 74-year-old artist sought to celebrate the
Continue ReadingUNITED NATIONS (AP) — A top U.N. counterterrorism official has told the Security Council that a vast stretch of Africa could fall under the control of groups affiliated with the Islamic State group and affiliated terrorist groups. Austrian authorities say both suspects in a foiled plot to attack Taylor Swift shows in Vienna appeared to
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer The average rate on a 30-year mortgage fell this week to its lowest level in more than a year. That’s a welcome affordability boost for prospective homebuyers and homeowners looking to refinance their home loan to a lower rate. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate fell to 6.47% from
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Rights groups say Nigerian security forces used gunshots and force to respond to mass protests against hardship and alleged bad governance in the country. Although the security agencies admitted killing only one person, The Associated Press spoke to three families that said their relatives were shot dead during the
Continue ReadingGREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — The final regular-season PGA Tour event won’t be starting until Friday. Wind and rain from Tropical Storm Debby led to the first round of the Wyndham Championship being postponed on Thursday. That raises the possibility of a Monday finish. Tour officials were still waiting to see how much rain Sedgefield Country
Continue ReadingAssociated Press CINCINNATI (AP) — Republicans are questioning Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s military record after Vice President Kamala Harris named him as her running mate this week. Here’s a look at the issue: He retired before his unit’s deployment to Iraq Walz served a total of 24 years in various units and jobs in the
Continue ReadingNEW YORK (AP) — Samsung is recalling more than 1.12 million electric ranges used for stovetops after reports of 250 fires and dozens of injuries. According to a Thursday notice from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, these slide-in ranges have front-mounted knobs that can be activated by accident if humans or pets unintentionally contact
Continue ReadingAP Sports Writer Breanna Stewart and the other moms on the US women’s basketball team are enjoying some special moments while chasing Olympic history. In addition to trying to become the first Olympic team — male or female — to win eight consecutive gold medals, they are having a rare bonding experience at the Paris
Continue ReadingBy Nadeen Ebrahim and Mike Schwartz, CNN Nahariya, Israel (CNN) — In Israel’s northern city of Nahariya, a sense of anxiety lingers among residents as they struggle to maintain daily life with the threat of war with Lebanon’s Hezbollah edging closer to their doorsteps. The coastal city of 77,000 residents sits just 6 miles (10
Continue ReadingDELTONA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida sheriff’s deputy ran through the woods, ripped off his bulletproof vest and ran into a pond after hearing the cries of a missing 5-year-old autistic boy. Volusia County Sheriff’s Deputy Wes Brough scooped the boy up, and the child wrapped his arms tightly around Brough’s neck as they trudged
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Cookbook author and TV personality Sandra Lee is a co-host and judge on a new Netflix competition series called “Blue Ribbon Baking Championship” out Friday. On the show, 10 bakers compete for a blue ribbon prize and a chance at $100,000. Lee says the show is just one of the many career ideas
Continue ReadingNEW YORK (AP) — Author-educator Kwame Anthony Appiah has received a $500,000 lifetime achievement award from the Library of Congress. Appiah, 70, has won the John W. Kluge Prize for Achievement in the Study of Humanity, given every two years to “individuals whose outstanding scholarship in the humanities and social sciences has shaped public affairs
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SAN DIEGO, Calif. (AP) — “Alien” Romulus,” one of the most anticipated movies of the summer, is set to be one of the scariest, as well. Director Fede Álvarez, the horror filmmaker behind “Evil Dead” and “Don’t Breathe,” used animatronic and puppet alien creatures, including the famed “face huggers” and the dreaded xenomorph,
Continue ReadingAssociated Press PARIS (AP) — As he coasted along Paris’ Seine River during the Olympic opening ceremony, one word came to Haitian swimmer Alexandre Grand’Pierre’s mind. “Iconic.” For the seven athletes competing for Haiti, participating in the Paris Games has always been about more than just winning gold. For athletes like Grand’Pierre, the third of
Continue ReadingAP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — A revival of the cutthroat business play “Glengarry Glen Ross” is slated for Broadway this spring, cast with a star from “Succession.” Kieran Culkin will join “Better Call Saul” star Bob Odenkirk and comedian Bill Burr in a new production of an examination of two days in the
Continue ReadingBy Larry Madowo, CNN Nairobi, Kenya (CNN) — Young protesters in Kenya returned to the capital’s streets for an eighth week of demonstrations on Thursday as President William Ruto swore in a new cabinet. Police fired tear gas at protesters in Nairobi city center as many businesses remain closed. Widely shared posters on social media
Continue ReadingAssociated Press KAHULUI, Hawaii (AP) — In the year since the Lahaina fires on Maui, the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement has helped more than 6,000 families through a robust recovery project. It financially supports families who take in displaced loved ones, leases apartments for displaced survivors, runs workforce development programs to train people for
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