AP Science Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Perseids are back to dazzle the sky with bursts of light and color. The annual meteor shower, active since July, peaks before dawn Monday. It’s one of the brightest and most easily viewed showers of the year, producing “bright blue meteors — and lots of them,” said University
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — A recent pullback in mortgage rates is spurring more homeowners to refinance their home loan and lower their monthly payments. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s refinance index, which tracks home loan application volume, surged 16% last week from the previous week to its highest level in two years, the
Continue ReadingPRAGUE (AP) — Officials say part of a cornice that fell from a building in downtown Prague hit a tram stop, killing one person. Television footage showed a hole in the roof of the stop. The victim was not immediately identified. The accident took place Thursday on Lazarska street before noon. Police say the street
Continue ReadingAP Airlines Writer Boeing ‘s new CEO is on the job and visiting a key factory near Seattle. Robert “Kelly” Ortberg officially took over as Boeing CEO on Thursday. He is inheriting a company that’s been losing billions, is struggling fix its aircraft-manufacturing process, and has agreed to plead guilty in a fraud case. Ortberg
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits fell last week but remain at slightly elevated though not troubling levels. Jobless claims for the week of Aug. 3 fell by 17,000 to 233,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s fewer than the 240,000 analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting. Weekly
Continue ReadingAssociated Press PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Donald Trump recommitted to debating Vice President Kamala Harris after recently backing out, holding a lengthy news conference Thursday in which he taunted his new rival, boasted of his crowd on Jan. 6, 2021, and lashed out at questions about the enthusiasm her campaign has been generating. As
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ATLANTA (AP) — The U.S. Department of Energy is loaning $1.45 billion to support a South Korean company’s bid to build up key parts of the solar supply chain inside the United States. The loan announced Thursday will be key to funding a $2.2 billion complex that Qcells, a unit of South Korea’s
Continue ReadingATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek authorities have flown additional forces to the southern island of Crete, where 250 firefighters are battling a wildfire that has forced the evacuation of eight mountain villages. The blaze is tearing through olive groves, farmland and scrub, but has posed no immediate threat to the busy holiday resorts along the
Continue ReadingBy Daria Tarasova, Jim Sciutto, Allegra Goodwin, Tim Lister, and Ivana Kottasová, CNN (CNN) — Ukrainian forces are pushing further into the Kursk region of Russia, in a cross-border incursion that surprised even American officials, multiple US and Ukrainian officials tell CNN. Ukrainian forces are comprised of a mix of Ukrainian regular and special operations
Continue ReadingAP Entertainment Writer PARIS (AP) — Paris is getting a colorful splash of Olympic creative spirit with nearly 30 vibrant street art pieces, popping up at bustling metro stations and airports and in front of city hall. One shows a drawing of French fencer Ysaora Thibus in action. Another has canoers paddling down the Seine
Continue ReadingAP Music Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Kelsea Ballerini is preparing to release her fifth studio album, called “Patterns,” this fall and people expecting a “happy-go-lucky,” lovey-dovey album from an artist in a new relationship may find more complication. The new album is a follow-up to her 2023 super-successful “Rolling Up the Welcome Mat” EP,
Continue Reading
SEDALIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Missouri State Fair in Sedalia is set to open at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday and will run through Aug. 18. Safety has been a top priority on the fair grounds, as all rides have been inspected and have passed those inspections, according to the ride inspection reports ABC 17 News obtained.
Continue ReadingJERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s Western allies have condemned remarks by the country’s far-right finance minister who suggested that causing the starvation of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million Palestinians “might be just and moral” until Hamas-held hostages are released. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in a speech on Monday that Israel had no choice
Continue ReadingMOSCOW (AP) — Russian prosecutors on Thursday asked for a 15-year sentence in the treason trial of a Russian-American woman, who has pleaded guilty, Russian news agencies reported. Ksenia Khavana, whom Russian authorities identify by her maiden name of Karelina, was arrested in Yekaterinburg in February, accused of collecting money for Ukraine’s military. Khavana had
Continue ReadingBEIJING (AP) — China is trying to fight fire with fire in the face of persistent doping allegations that have dogged its swimmers at the Paris Olympics. The China Anti-Doping Agency called Thursday for more intensive testing of American track and field competitors, citing past doping scandals and questioning how the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency handled
Continue ReadingBy Alexandra Banner, CNN (CNN) — Government officials often send text messages as an effective means of warning the public about emergencies. But in New York City, some residents are receiving weather warnings from a voice in the sky as drones equipped with loudspeakers are being deployed to specific neighborhoods prone to flooding. Here’s what
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean officials on Thursday said providing Samsung smartphones to North Korean athletes at the Paris Olympics would violate U.N. Security Council sanctions against the country over its nuclear and missile program. The South Korean technology giant is a major Olympic partner, and its newest Galaxy Z Flip
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Police have fired tear gas at protesters calling for the president’s resignation in the Kenyan capital as a new Cabinet was being sworn in. Thursday’s protests were organized by activists upset with President William Ruto even after he dismissed almost all of his ministers and added opposition members to
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WAYNE, Mich. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, played up their support for organized labor at a Detroit-area union hall on Thursday, with the Democratic nominee saying “we’re all in this together” as the new ticket lavishes attention on a crucial base of support. Harris,
Continue ReadingSEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean authorities are questioning a suspected North Korean resident who crossed into the South, according to South Korea’s military. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff on Thursday said South Korean soldiers secured an unidentified individual who was likely North Korean and handed that person over to relevant authorities for
Continue Reading