WASHINGTON (AP) — As the Biden administration grapples with an increasingly tense and unstable situation in the Middle East, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to the region this weekend for the fourth time in three months on a tour expected to focus largely on easing resurgent fears that the Israel-Hamas war could erupt…
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is starting 2024 with a slump and giving back some of its powerful gains from the year before. The S&P 500 was 1% lower Tuesday. The Dow was down 95 points, and the Nasdaq composite was 2.2% lower. Some of last year’s biggest winners were weighing on the market,…
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is walking back an answer she gave to a voter about the reason for the Civil War that didn’t include a mention of slavery. Haley was asked Wednesday at a town hall in Berlin, New Hampshire, what she believed had caused the war. The former South…
Christmas is over, but giving season for nonprofits is just starting to peak. The end of the calendar year is when nonprofits make appeals far and wide to attract donors. And because of holiday traditions or, for some, tax advantages, donors themselves think about giving now. Only 11% of Americans itemize their taxes, which allows…
Holiday travel is expected to hit its peak right around now. Airlines are confident they can handle the crowds, but it could come down to the weather. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says the government will be holding the airlines accountable to operate smoothly and treat passengers well if there are disruptions. Auto club AAA forecasts…
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Utility crews are working to restore power to hundreds of thousands of customers in Maine and some rivers continued to rise following a powerful storm that hit the northeastern U.S. At least five people were killed. Many communities were saturated by rainfall and a New Hampshire town rescued 17 people from…
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s looking increasingly unlikely that Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference trial in Washington will start in March. Legal appeals up to the Supreme Court are threatening to delay the case. On Wednesday, the federal judge overseeing the trial put the case on hold while the former president pursues his claim that he’s…
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas judge has given a pregnant woman whose fetus had a fatal diagnosis permission to get an abortion in an unprecedented challenge to the state’s ban that took effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned last year. It was unclear Thursday how quickly or whether Kate Cox, a 31-year-old mother…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court seems inclined to uphold a tax on foreign income while leaving broader questions about a never-enacted tax on wealth for another day. Conservative and liberal justices voiced concerns Tuesday that ruling for a Washington couple challenging a provision of the 2017 tax bill would threaten other provisions of the…
ST. LOUIS (AP) — As the Biden administration makes billions of dollars available to remove millions of dangerous lead pipes that can contaminate drinking water and damage brain development in children, some states are turning down funds. Washington, Oregon, Maine and Alaska declined all or most of their federal funds in the first of five…