Ingested Articles

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordan released 16 people detained earlier this month over an alleged foreign-backed conspiracy linked to a former crown prince after King Abdullah II requested they be let go in honor of the holy month of Ramadan.…

A U.S. defense department official says the U.S. military has begun shipping equipment and winding down contracts with local service providers ahead of the May 1 start of the final phase of its military pullout from Afghanistan. The pullout marks the end of America’s longest war, after a 20-year military engagement. Currently, some 2,500 U.S. soldiers and about 7,000 allied forces are still in Afghanistan. In February, the U.S. military began closing its smaller bases. Packing accelerated after the mid-April announcement by the Biden administration that the final phase would begin May 1 and be completed before Sept. 11.

McLEAN, Va. (AP) — Mortgage rates fell for the third straight week, dipping below 3% for the first time in two months. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the benchmark 30-year home-loan rate declined to 2.97% this week from…

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell for the second consecutive month in March because there are so few on the market, and the fierce competition for those that do exist is pushing prices to new highs. Existing home sales…

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Des Moines woman has pleaded guilty to federal hate crimes for intentionally driving her SUV into two children in 2019 because she said she thought one was Mexican and the other was a member…

The needs of Black women and girls have become a focus of philanthropic efforts as major donors seek to narrow a racial wealth gap and address chronic funding disparities for groups that serve minority women. This week's guilty verdicts for…

LONDON (AP) — Jaguar Land Rover said Thursday it's suspending production at two U.K. factories, becoming the latest automaker to fall victim to a global shortage of microchips. “Like other automotive manufacturers, we are currently experiencing some COVID-19 supply chain…

BRUSSELS (AP) — U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders of NATO member countries plan to discuss tense ties with Russia and China, the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and the future of the 30-nation military alliance at a summit in…

After more than a decade in which the Supreme Court moved gradually toward more leniency for minors convicted of murder, the justices have moved the other way. The high court ruled 6-3 Thursday along ideological lines against a Mississippi inmate sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for fatally stabbing his grandfather when the defendant was 15 years old. The case is important because it marks a break with the court’s previous rulings and is evidence of the impact of a newly more conservative court. 

Shares of AT&T Inc. rose Thursday after the telecom giant’s first-quarter results topped analyst expectations. The company’s wireless division, its largest unit, added 595,000 phone customers who pay a monthly bill, up from 163,000 in the same period in 2020. It also added 207,000 prepaid phone customers. In the WarnerMedia entertainment unit, revenue rose 9.8% to $8.5 billion. There are now 44.2 million subscribers to HBO Max or the traditional HBO channel in the U.S. AT&T also signed up 46,000 home internet customers and lost 620,000 video customers. It is spinning off the DirecTV business as it bleeds customers.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde said the economy is still “on crutches” and in need of support from both the central bank and government spending as the 19 countries that use the euro limp through…

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's prime minister announced on Thursday an ambitious new target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, hours before he was to join a virtual climate summit hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Japan…

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis met with Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri on Thursday and urged all Lebanese political leaders to “urgently commit themselves to the benefit of the nation," as the country endures a series of crises and…

With help from Washington, Southwest Airlines is the first major U.S. airline to report a profit since the pandemic started. Southwest said Thursday that it earned net income of $116 million in the first quarter. Without federal payroll aid for airlines, however, Southwest would have lost $1 billion. Southwest is echoing rivals in saying that demand for travel is continuing to improve. Southwest says bookings for leisure trips within the United States have been improving each week since mid-February. Chairman and CEO Gary Kelly says he believes the worst of the pandemic's impact on travel is behind us. 

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norway will lend all of its 216,000 doses of AstraZeneca to neighboring Sweden and Iceland as long as its own government regulator has paused the use of the vaccine. On March 11, Norway followed Denmark in…