AP Business Writer A survey shows small business owners are feeling more optimistic about the economy following the election. The National Federation of Independent Businesses’ Small Business Optimism Index rose by eight points in November to 101.7, its highest reading since June 2021. The Uncertainty Index declined 12 points in November to 98, following October’s
Continue ReadingAP Basketball Writer Caitlin Clark raised the profile of women’s basketball to unprecedented levels in both the college ranks and the WNBA, and Tuesday she was named the AP Female Athlete of the Year for her impact on and off the court. After leading Iowa to the national championship game, Clark was the top pick
Continue ReadingAssociated Press QAMISHLI, Syria (AP) — Kurdish-led fighters in Syria, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, say they have launched a counter-offensive against the Ankara-backed Syrian National Army to take back areas near Syria’s northern border with Turkey. The Kurdish-led force is Washington’s critical ally in Syria, targeting sleeper cells of the extremist Islamic State
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MADRID (AP) — Spain’s maritime rescue agency and the Russian Foreign Ministry say a Russian cargo ship sank in the Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Algeria. Two crew members are missing. Spanish authorities rescued 14 of the Ursa Major’s crew from a lifeboat and transferred them to southeastern Spain. The Russian ministry said
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By Jordan Valinsky, CNN New York (CNN) — Following a brief outage that grounded all American airlines flights during one of the busiest travel periods of the year, American Airlines says it has resumed service Tuesday morning, albeit with substantial delays. American Airlines said a “vendor technology issue” was responsible for delaying all of its
Continue ReadingAP Business Writers WASHINGTON (AP) — American Airlines briefly grounded flights nationwide Tuesday because of a technical problem just as the Christmas travel season kicked into overdrive and winter weather threatened more potential problems for those planning to fly or drive. Government regulators cleared American flights to get airborne about an hour after the Federal
Continue ReadingAssociated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba says strengthening his country’s alliance with the United States is key to regional security and expressed his desire to meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. This comes amid worries about China’s increasingly assertive military activity and North Korea’s repeated test-firings of ballistic missiles as part
Continue ReadingAssociated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An Amsterdam District Court on Tuesday sentenced five men to up to six months in prison for violence that erupted around a UEFA Europa League football match between the Dutch club Ajax and Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv in November. The riots, which caused an international outcry and accusations
Continue ReadingAssociated Press PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo’s main ethnic Serb party says its ban from taking part in the upcoming parliamentary election is political and institutional violence against the ethnic minority. Zlatan Elek of Srpska Lista, or Serb List, on Tuesday said they would appeal the move. The Central Election Commission declined to certify Srpska
Continue ReadingBy Catherine Nicholls, CNN (CNN) — A Dutch court sentenced five men on Tuesday for charges related to violence that broke out after a soccer match in Amsterdam last month. The clashes unfolded after a soccer game between Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv and Amsterdam’s Ajax on November 7, sparking international outcry and condemnation. Multiple social
Continue ReadingAssociated Press PARIS (AP) — France’s president and prime minister managed to form a new government just in time for the holidays. Now comes the hard part. Crushing debt, intensifying pressure from the nationalist far right, wars in Europe and the Mideast: Challenges abound for President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Francois Bayrou after an
Continue ReadingAssociated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper leaves his job next week after eight years. It’s a span in which the southern Democrat picked his moments against a Republican-dominated legislature to win big on expanding Medicaid and on requiring cleaner energy. State law barred Cooper from seeking a third consecutive term.
Continue ReadingMOSCOW (AP) — The 50,000-year-old remains of a baby mammoth uncovered by melting permafrost have been unveiled to the public by researchers in Russia’s Siberia region. They call it the best-preserved mammoth body ever found. The female mammoth nicknamed Yana weighs more than 220 pounds and is 47 inches tall. Her remains are one of
Continue ReadingBy Faith Karimi, CNN (CNN) — Throughout history, Jesus has been known by many names: Messiah, Savior, Son of God, Prince of Peace. But “divine bro” wasn’t at the top of that list — until now. A new TikTok account is rewriting Bible scriptures in Gen Z lingo, giving the ancient word a modern twist.
Continue ReadingAssociated Press CAIRO (AP) — Famine is spreading in Sudan due to a war between the military and a notorious paramilitary group that has devastated the country and created the world’s largest displacement crisis, a global hunger monitoring group said Tuesday. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, said it detected famine in five
Continue ReadingBy Rob Picheta, Teele Rebane, Svitlana Vlasova and Benjamin Brown (CNN) — An explosion sank a sanctioned Russian cargo ship in the Mediterranean Sea on Monday night, Russian authorities said, leaving two crew members missing. The crisis center of the Russian Foreign Ministry said the vessel, Ursa Major, sank south of Spain after a blast
Continue ReadingBy Andrew Torgan and Tricia Escobedo, CNN (CNN) — Last-minute errands tend to pop up on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, whether it’s buying a quick present or picking up one last ingredient. Check out what’s open and closed today and tomorrow. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and
Continue ReadingSARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Tens of thousands of homes in Bosnia were without electricity on Tuesday after heavy snow and winds that also created traffic chaos in neighboring Croatia and Serbia. In Slovenia, the search for an injured Hungarian hiker missing in the Alps north of the capital, Ljubljana, since Sunday was suspended because of
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Bethlehem marked another somber Christmas Eve on Tuesday in the traditional birthplace of Jesus under the shadow of war in Gaza. The cheer that typically descends on the West Bank during Christmas week were nowhere to be found. The festive lights and giant tree that normally decorate Manger
Continue ReadingBy Hassan Tayier, Gul Tuysuz and Edward Szekeres, CNN (CNN) — Eleven people were killed in a blast at an explosives and ammunition factory in the village of Kavakli in the Karesi district of Balikesir province in northwest Turkey on Tuesday, according to the country’s interior minister Ali Yerlikaya, who said that an investigation had
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