US jobs report for January is likely to show that steady hiring growth extended into 2024

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s employers delivered a stunning burst of hiring to begin 2024, adding 353,000 jobs in January in the latest sign of the economy’s continuing ability to shrug off the highest interest rates in two decades.

Friday’s government report showed that last month’s job gain — roughly twice what economists had predicted — topped the December gain of 333,000, a figure that was itself revised sharply higher. The


Toddler gets stuck climbing into claw machine looking for a toy in Australian shopping mall

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Australian police came to the aid of a 3-year-old boy after he became trapped inside a claw machine at a suburban shopping mall.

Video of the unusual rescue Saturday was by Queensland Police on Thursday. It showed the toddler sitting inside the glass-walled box filled with plush toys, blissfully unaware of his predicament.

The boy’s father, Timothy Hopper, said his son had disappeared into the claw machine’s prize dispenser and inside it in a “split second


Several dead as small plane crashes and burns in Florida mobile home park

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — About 10 people had enjoyed a day of golf and were having drinks inside a woman’s mobile home moments before a small plane crashed and obliterated the property, an eyewitness said Friday. The pilot and two people on the ground were killed, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The last of the guests had lingered to finish her drink, and she was in the home along with her host when it went up in flames, their neighbor Rick Renner told The Associated Press.


Gas explosions in Kenya’s capital send smoke rising over homes and injure 29

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Liquid petroleum gas cylinders exploded in an illegal depot in a residential area of the Kenyan capital, officials said Friday, setting off a late-night inferno that killed at least three people and injured 280 others. The death toll was expected to rise.

The depot in Nairobi had twice been demolished, and the owner had been found guilty of operating an illegal gas refilling business in May, but continued to do business, officials said. That raised suspicions — in a country where


Mexican town continues bull running tradition despite legal struggle over bullfights in capital

TLACOTALPAN, Mexico (AP) — For nearly a quarter century, the residents of this riverside town in southeastern Mexico have taunted, slapped, chased and run from bulls as part of a religious festival.

It is reminiscent, though at a much smaller scale, of the running of the bulls in northern Spain and has continued year after year despite laws banning the mistreatment of animals. This year, it takes place amid an 300 miles (485 kilometers) to the west in Mexico City.

The festival


Man wanted in connection with East York stabbing

A man in his 50s is in life-threatening condition following a stabbing in East York.

Police say they were called to a home on Don Valley Drive in the area Pape Avenue and O’Connor Drive just after 7 p.m. for reports someone had been stabbed.

When they arrived they found a man suffering from stab wounds. Paramedics transported him to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

“We believe at this time this was an isolated incident and that there is no risk to the public,


A ship carrying thousands of livestock returns to Australia after month-long ordeal

PERTH, Australia (AP) — A ship carrying thousands of livestock that has been stranded at sea for almost a month has finally docked in Australia, where welfare concerns mean some of the animals are expected to be offloaded.

About 16,500 sheep and cattle have been stowed on the MV Bahijah since Jan. 5, when it sailed for the Middle East from the western Australian port of Fremantle before it was ordered by the government, two weeks into its journey, to turnaround due to the ongoing .


India begins to flex its naval power as competition with China grows

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — For decades, India has focused its defense policy on its land borders with rivals Pakistan and China. Now, as its global ambitions expand, it is beginning to flex its naval power in international waters, including anti-piracy patrols and a widely publicized deployment close to the Red Sea to help protect ships from attacks during .

India sent three guided missile destroyers and reconnaissance aircraft in November when Yemen-based Houthi rebels began targeting ships in solidarity with Hamas, causing that handles about 12


Prosecutors weigh perjury charge for ex-Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg over civil fraud trial testimony

NEW YORK (AP) — Manhattan prosecutors are weighing a potential perjury charge against former corporate finance chief in connection with testimony he gave in October at the ex-president’s , two people familiar with the matter told the Associated Press.

Allen Weisselberg, who had been the longtime chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, testified for two days at the trial, answering questions about on financial statements given to banks and insurance companies.

It wasn’t clear what part of Weisselberg’s testimony drew the scrutiny of prosecutors


Raccoon causes power outage affecting thousands in downtown Toronto

The power is back on after an outage affected about 7,000 Toronto Hydro customers in the downtown core on Thursday evening.

Hydro One says the blackout was the result of a raccoon making contact with their equipment at a downtown Toronto station shortly after 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The raccoon did not survive the incident, according to utility officials.

Areas bounded by St. Clair Avenue West to Gerrard Street West and Avenue Road to the Don Valley Parkway were affected. The power was restored around