NEWS

AP-Summary Brief News February 2, 2024 Hamas says it’s studying Gaza cease-fire proposal, but appears to rule out key provisions BEIRUT (AP) — Hamas officials say the group is studying a proposed cease-fire deal that would include prolonged pauses in fighting in Gaza and swaps of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, but at the same time appeared to rule out some of its key components. A senior Hamas official in Beirut said the group remains committed to its initial demands for a permanent cease-fire. The official also said the group seeks the release of thousands of Palestinian security prisoners, including […]

AP-Summary Brief-Business   February 5, 2024 Some Americans have become saddled with credit card debt as rent and everyday prices remain high NEW YORK (AP) — Noticeable pockets of Americans — renters, and lower- and middle-income borrowers — are running up their credit cards balances, and increasing numbers are falling behind on their debts. It’s the latest sign that while the U.S. economy is broadly healthy, the last two years of inflation have sapped much of the savings of vulnerable Americans, possibly leading to further deterioration of their financial health this year. The credit rating company Moody’s says credit card […]

AP-Summary Brief News February 5, 2024 At least 6 Kurdish fighters are killed in a drone attack on a Syrian base housing US troops BEIRUT (AP) — A drone attack on a base housing U.S. troops in eastern Syria killed six allied Kurdish fighters late Sunday. The U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said Monday the attack hit a training ground at al-Omar base in Syria’s eastern province of Deir el-Zour, where the forces’ commando units are trained. No casualties were reported among U.S. troops. An umbrella group of Iran-backed Iraqi militias, dubbed the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, released a video […]

AP-Summary Brief-Business   February 6, 2024 Stock market today: World shares advance, as fresh help for markets spurs gains in China BANGKOK (AP) — World shares are mostly higher, led by gains in China after a state investment fund said it would step up stock purchases and a report said that leader Xi Jinping planned to meet with officials to discuss the markets. U.S. futures and oil prices were mixed. Hong Kong’s benchmark jumped 4% Tuesday and the Shanghai Composite gained 3.2%. Both are still well below their levels of a year or even a few months ago. The latest […]

AP-Summary Brief News February 6, 2024 Blinken pushes for progress on Gaza cease-fire-for-hostages deal in meetings with Egyptian mediators CAIRO (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pressed ahead with a diplomatic tour of the Middle East on Tuesday, meeting Egyptian leaders as part of his efforts to secure a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in exchange for the release of hostages. Such a cease-fire would come in exchange for the release of hostages held by the militants in Gaza. Blinken’s visit Tuesday also comes amid growing concerns in Egypt about Israel’s stated intentions to expand the combat in […]

AP-Summary Brief-Business   February 7, 2024 It’s a mismatch on the economy. Even as inflation wanes, voters still worry about getting by GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Bartender Catey Regis’s pricey misadventure of buying a used car recently speaks to why voters are worrying about the U.S. economy going into this year’s presidential election. Over three years at Founders Brewing, the 25-year-old saved enough money pouring IPAs, stouts and porters to pay cash for a 2009 Toyota Corolla. But then the car’s transmission went kaput and she had to take out a costly loan to fix it, and keep her […]

AP-Summary Brief News February 7, 2024 Blinken says a lot of work remains on cease-fire and hostage talks as war in Gaza enters 5th month TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says “a lot of work” remains to bridge gaps between Israel and Hamas over a cease-fire deal. Blinken is briefing Israel’s leaders Wednesday on Hamas’ response to a proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of scores of hostages. The war has entered a fifth month with both sides dug in and pursuing thus far elusive goals. Hamas laid out a three-phase […]

AP-Summary Brief-Business   February 8, 2024 Google’s Gemini AI app to land on phones, making it easier for people to connect to a digital brain SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google has introduced a free artificial intelligence app that will implant the technology on smartphones. The app will enable people to quickly connect to a digital brain that can write for them, interpret what they’re reading and seeing, in addition to helping manage their lives. With the introduction of the Gemini app, Google will cast aside the Bard chatbot it introduced a year ago in an effort to catch up with […]

AP-Summary Brief News February 8, 2024 Israeli strikes kill 13 in a southern Gaza town that could be the next target in the war RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli airstrikes have killed over a dozen people overnight, hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Hamas’ cease-fire terms and vowed to expand the offensive into the southern Gaza town. More than half of Gaza’s population has fled to Rafah, on the mostly sealed border with Egypt. It is also the main entry point for humanitarian aid. Egypt has warned that any ground operation there or mass displacement across the border […]

AP-Summary Brief-Business   February 9, 2024 Inflation is nearly back to 2%. So why isn’t the Federal Reserve ready to cut rates? WASHINGTON (AP) — From Wall Street traders to car dealers to home buyers, Americans are eager for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates and lightening the heavy burden on borrowers. Inflation, as measured by its preferred gauge, rose in the second half of 2023 at an annual rate of about 2% — the Fed’s target level. Yet several central bank officials have underscored that they aren’t ready to pull the trigger just yet. Most of the […]

AP-Summary Brief News February 9, 2024 Israel seeks to evacuate Palestinians jammed into a southern Gaza city ahead of an expected invasion JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has ordered the military to prepare a plan for the evacuation of the population of the southern Gaza city of Rafah ahead of an expected ground invasion. Netanyahu made the announcement Friday following international criticism of Israel’s plan to invade the crowded city on Egypt’s border. Israel says Rafah is the last remaining Hamas stronghold and it needs to send in troops to complete its war plan against […]

AP-Summary Brief-Business   February 12, 2024 Potential $50 billion Southwestern energy giant emerges as Diamondback seeks to buy rival Endeavor Diamondback Energy will attempt to buy rival Endeavor Energy Resources to create an energy giant in the Southwestern United States worth more than $50 billion. Growing confidence in an economic recovery, particularly in the U.S., has driven massive deals in the energy sector in recent months, including Chevron’s $53 billion acquisition of Hess in October, and a $59.5 billion deal two weeks before that by Exxon Mobil. Diamondback will buy Endeavor in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $26 billion. […]

AP-Summary Brief News February 12, 2024 Israeli forces rescue 2 hostages in dramatic Gaza raid that killed at least 67 Palestinians RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces have rescued two hostages, storming a heavily guarded apartment in a densely packed town in the Gaza Strip and extracting them under fire and covering airstrikes. Local officials said the strikes killed at least 67 Palestinians. The plight of the hostages has profoundly shaken Israelis, and the rescue in Rafah briefly lifted the spirits of a nation still reeling from Hamas’ cross-border raid last year that started the war. Israel has described […]

AP-Summary Brief-Business   February 13, 2024 US inflation slows but remains elevated in sign that price pressures are easing only gradually WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer inflation in the United States cooled last month yet remained elevated in the latest sign that the pandemic-fueled price surge is only gradually and fitfully coming under control. The consumer price index rose 0.3% from December to January, up from a 0.2% increase the previous month. Compared with a year ago, prices are up 3.1%. That is less than the 3.4% figure in December and far below the 9.1% inflation peak in mid-2022. But the […]

AP-Summary Brief News February 13, 2024 Israel and Hamas are making progress in cease-fire and hostage-release talks, officials say CAIRO (AP) — Two officials say Israel and Hamas are making progress toward a deal that aims to bring about a cease-fire and free hostages held in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. Key meetings are continuing on Tuesday between the sides in the Egyptian capital of Cairo. The talks are moving forward even after Israel intensified its offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, from where it freed two hostages but killed at least 74 Palestinians, according to local health officials. […]