Airbnb overhauls site searches with categories of rentals
SAN FRANCISCO — Airbnb said Wednesday it is overhauling the way that consumers search for rental listings, adding dozens of categories including “chef’s kitchens” and “historical homes” to its current listings, which are mostly searched by location. The company will also let people book split stays between homes and it...
Airbnb overhauls site searches with categories of rentals
SAN FRANCISCO — Airbnb said Wednesday it is overhauling the way that consumers search for rental listings, adding dozens of categories including “chef’s kitchens” and “historical homes” to its current listings, which are mostly searched by location. The company will also let people book split stays between homes and it...
Prisoner put to death in Arizona’s 1st execution since 2014
FLORENCE, Ariz. — An Arizona man convicted of killing a college student in 1978 was put to death Wednesday after a nearly eight-year hiatus in the state’s use of the death penalty brought on by an execution that critics say was botched — and the difficulty state officials faced in...
UN says $144 million needed to avert Yemen tanker disaster
The United Nations was seeking $144 million on Wednesday needed to fund the salvage operation of a decaying tanker full of oil moored off the coast of Yemen, a ship whose demise could cause an environmental disaster. The amount includes $80 million to transfer the more than 1 million barrels...
Elon Musk, an erratic visionary, revels in contradiction
As the uproar over Elon Musk’s $44 billion buyout of Twitter reaches a crescendo, another Musk drama, still chaotic four years after it began, has been back in court. Ironically, that spectacle started with a Musk tweet about doing an audacious deal. Then, with Wall Street awaiting his next move,...
U.S. overdose deaths hit record 107,000 last year, CDC says
NEW YORK — More than 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year, setting another tragic record in the nation’s escalating overdose epidemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated Wednesday. The provisional 2021 total translates to roughly one U.S. overdose death every 5 minutes. It marked a 15%...
Al Jazeera reporter killed during Israeli raid in West Bank
JERUSALEM — Veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot and killed while covering an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank town of Jenin early Wednesday. The broadcaster and a reporter who was wounded in the incident blamed Israeli forces. The Israel army initially raised the possibility...
Florida students win yearbook flap over ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill
SANFORD, Fla. — After an outcry from students and parents over yearbook censorship, a Florida school board overruled their superintendent’s plan to cover up a page showing students waving rainbow flags and a “love is love” sign during a walkout against the state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law. The superintendent...
Britain pledges to defend Sweden if it’s attacked
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Britain pledged to defend Sweden if the country came under attack, with Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Magdalena Andersson signing a security assurance deal outside Stockholm on Wednesday. Sweden and Finland are pondering whether to join NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Johnson is...
U.S. inflation slows in April, strain on households remains
WASHINGTON — Inflation slowed in April after seven months of relentless gains, a tentative sign that price increases may be peaking while still imposing a financial strain on American households. Consumer prices jumped 8.3% last month from 12 months earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday. That was below the 8.5%...
Ministers meet in Morocco to discuss ongoing threat from IS
RABAT, Morocco — Members of the global coalition fighting the Islamic State group gathered in Morocco on Wednesday to discuss the campaign, a reminder of the persistent threat from the extremist group despite the overwhelming preoccupation with Russia’s war on Ukraine. U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland co-chaired...
Sri Lanka deploys troops in capital after violence, protests
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan authorities deployed armored vehicles and troops in the streets of the capital on Wednesday, two days after pro-government mobs attacked peaceful protesters, triggering a wave of violence across the country. Security forces have been ordered to shoot those deemed to be participating in the...
U.S. casinos had best month ever in March, winning $5.3B
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Inflation may be soaring, supply chains remain snarled and the coronavirus just won’t go away, but America’s casinos are humming right along, recording the best month in their history in March. The American Gaming Association, the gambling industry’s national trade group, said Wednesday that U.S. commercial...
John Eastman used college’s email account to send advice on challenging Pa.’s 2020 election results
John Eastman, a lawyer who represented Donald Trump following the president’s 2020 election loss, used his University of Colorado email account while serving as a visiting professor in Boulder to advise a Pennsylvania lawmaker on how to challenge that state’s electors, according to records submitted to Congress. The selection of...
CDC: 2020 saw most firearm deaths since 1994
The first year of the covid-19 pandemic saw the highest firearm homicide rates since 1994, with substantial increases among Black and American Indian/Alaska Native males and young adults, according to a new report released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. From 2019 to 2020, homicides involving firearms...
House approves $40B in Ukraine aid, beefing up Biden request
WASHINGTON — The House emphatically approved a fresh $40 billion Ukraine aid package Tuesday as lawmakers beefed up President Joe Biden’s initial request, signaling a magnified, bipartisan commitment to thwart Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bloody three-month-old invasion. The measure sailed to passage by a lopsided 368-57 margin, providing $7 billion...
Trump-backed U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney wins West Virginia GOP primary
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — In an early victory for a Donald Trump-endorsed candidate at the start of midterm season, Rep. Alex Mooney on Tuesday beat fellow incumbent Rep. David McKinley in West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District Republican primary. “Donald Trump loves West Virginia, and West Virginia loves Donald Trump,” Mooney said...
New York woman charged in singing coach’s death pleads not guilty
NEW YORK — A woman charged in the death of an 87-year-old Broadway singing coach in Manhattan pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and assault charges Tuesday and was detained after a judge revoked her $500,000 bail. Lauren Pazienza, 26, appeared before a judge as a prosecutor disclosed new details of...
Man charged with killing mother at sea to inherit estateVideo
MONTPELIER, Vt. — A man found floating on a raft off the coast of New England in 2016 after his boat sank was charged in an indictment unsealed Tuesday with killing his mother at sea to inherit the family’s estate. The eight-count indictment released in federal court in Burlington, Vt.,...
HBCU school ‘incensed’ after Georgia drug search intimidated Black athletes
SAVANNAH, Ga. — The president of a historically Black college accused sheriff’s deputies in Georgia of intimidating and humiliating the school women’s lacrosse team when deputies pulled over the athletes’ bus and searched it for drugs. Delaware State University President Tony Allen said he’s “incensed” by the April 20 traffic...
Reproductive rights message left outside Sen. Susan Collins’ home in Maine
BANGOR, Maine — A message left in chalk outside Sen. Susan Collins’ home urged her to support the Democratic effort to codify Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision establishing a constitutional right to abortion in the United States. Bangor police responded to her home Saturday evening when a neighbor...
Trump’s smackdown of David McCormick shows the risks for Republicans trying a MAGA makeover
HANOVER TOWNSHIP — Standing before a wall-sized American flag at an American Legion hall here in Northeastern Pennsylvania, David McCormick talked up his background in the Army, called himself a “happy warrior,” and ticked through the reasons he wants to be Pennsylvania’s next senator: Inflation, the border, the “humiliation” of...
Mike Tyson avoids criminal charges for punching plane passenger
Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson won’t face criminal charges after punching a man multiple times before a flight out of San Francisco last month. The announcement came Tuesday as a result of an investigation by the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office, which says the circumstances preceding the April 20...
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey says he supports codifying abortion rights into federal law
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, long seen as a pro-life Democrat, on Tuesday said that he supports congressional efforts to codify abortion rights into federal law. In a statement, Casey said he chose to support the congressional efforts because of the leaked ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that, if enacted,...
Biden pushes ‘ultra-MAGA’ label on GOP as he defends record
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday warned voters unhappy with soaring inflation and his stalled domestic agenda against turning power over to “ultra-MAGA” Republicans in the midterm elections as he increasingly tries to cast former President Donald Trump and his adherents as a political foil. Speaking at the White...
