Tel Aviv, Israel — Israel's defense minister said Thursday it will take months to destroy Hamas, predicting a drawn-out war even as his country and its top ally, the United States, face increasing international isolation and alarm over the devastation from the campaign in Gaza. US-Israel Relations Yoav Gallant's comments...
Men Charged With Killing 3,600 Birds, Including Bald and Golden Eagles, to Sell on Black Market
Two men killed about 3,600 birds, including bald and golden eagles, during a “killing spree” on Montana's Flathead Indian Reservation and elsewhere, then sold eagle parts on a black market that has been a long-running problem for U.S. wildlife officials, a federal grand jury indictment says. The men worked with...
Warriors Star Draymond Green Suspended Indefinitely by NBA
SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was suspended indefinitely by the NBA on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after he hit Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic in the face and received a Flagrant 2 foul and ejection. The league said the penalty handed down by operations chief...
Mickey Mouse Will Soon Belong to You and Me — With Some Caveats
LOS ANGELES — M-I-C-K-E-Y will soon belong to you and me. With several asterisks, qualification and caveats, Mickey Mouse in his earliest form will be the leader of the band of characters, films and books that will become public domain as the year turns to 2024. Public Domain Day In...
US Applications for Jobless Benefits Fall Again as Labor Market Continues to Thrive
The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits fell last week as the labor market continues to thrive despite high interest rates and elevated costs. Applications for unemployment benefits fell by 19,000 to 202,000 for the week ending Dec. 9, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Analysts were expecting around 224,000....
Retail Sales up in November as Americans Hit Gas Rather Than Brakes on Spending
NEW YORK — Americans picked up their spending from October to November unexpectedly as the unofficial holiday season kicked off, underscoring that shoppers still have power to keep buying. Retail sales rose 0.3%, in November from October, when sales were down a revised 0.2% according to the Commerce Department on...
Janet Yellen Says the Trump Administration’s China Policies Left the US More Vulnerable
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says former President Donald Trump 's policies toward China left America “more vulnerable and more isolated” in the global economy, a rare jab by her at the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination. Yellen, in prepared remarks to be delivered at a U.S.-China Business Council...
Republican Leading Probe of Hunter Biden Has His Own Complicated Friends, Business Dealings
TOMPKINSVILLE, Ky. — Rep. James Comer, a multimillionaire farmer, boasts of being one of the largest landholders near his rural Kentucky hometown, and he has meticulously documented nearly all of his landholdings on congressional financial disclosure documents – roughly 1,600 acres in all. But there are 6 acres that he...
Few Would Be Satisfied With a Possible Biden-Trump Rematch in 2024, Poll Shows
WASHINGTON — It's the presidential election no one is really jazzed about. Relatively few Americans are excited about a potential rematch of the 2020 election between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump, although more Republicans would be satisfied to have Trump as their nominee than Democrats would be with Biden as their standard-bearer, according...
Putin Says There Will Be No Peace in Ukraine Until Russia’s Goals, Still Unchanged, Are Achieved
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday there would be no peace in Ukraine until the Kremlin realizes its goals, which remain unchanged after nearly two years of fighting that has sent tensions soaring between Moscow and the West. Speaking at a year-end news conference that lasted over four...