WASHINGTON (AP) — Stocks are near record highs. Growth was surprisingly strong last year. And once-hot inflation has begun to cool. But so far, U.S. adults are feeling only slightly better about the economy.

A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 35% of U.S. adults call the national economy good. That’s an uptick from 30% who said so and up from 24% . While 65%

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — When Mark Zuckerberg turned at a Senate hearing to address the parents of children exploited, bullied or driven to self harm via social media, it felt like a time-worn convention had sprung back to life.

“I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through,” the Meta CEO said Wednesday. “No one should go through what you and your families have suffered.” Then he returned to corporate mode, noting Meta’s continued investments in “industrywide” efforts to

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A U.S. district judge in California dismissed a lawsuit Wednesday that sought to force the Biden administration to do all it could to make Israel stop bombing Gaza.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White said he didn’t have jurisdiction over the matter, but he still offered harsh criticism of the administration and said Israel’s actions may amount to genocide.

White heard testimony last Friday in federal court in Oakland in the filed in November on behalf of Palestinian human rights

LUANG PRABANG, Laos (AP) — Landlocked doesn’t have the famous beaches of its neighbors to attract tourists, but instead relies on the pristine beauty of its mountains and rivers and historical sites to bring in visitors.

The crown jewel is Luang Prabang, a UNESCO where legend has it that Buddha once rested during his travels. It brings all the elements together, with its mix of historic Laotian and French colonial architecture on a peninsula at the confluence of the Mekong and the Nam Khan rivers.

But a multibillion-

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court convicted four people Thursday for rioting over the building at the height of the anti-government protests more than four years ago.

The break-in on July 1 in 2019 — the 22nd anniversary of the former — was one of the most chaotic episodes of the massive protests sparked by a .

Hundreds of protesters swarmed into the legislature that night, defacing pictures and smashing furniture. Some spray-painted slogans in the chamber and painted over the territory

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The Messenger, an ambitious online news site that billed itself as a nonpartisan digital outlet and spent some $50 million ratcheting up its business effort, abruptly shut down Wednesday after only eight months in operation.

Founder Jimmy Finkelstein sent an email to stunned employees announcing the immediate shutdown, with some 300 journalists and other workers being let go, according to the , which first reported the news.

In his email, Finkelstein said he hadn’t shared the news

Police are searching for four individuals following a smash-and-grab robbery at Yorkdale Mall on Wednesday night.

Investigators say around 8:45 p.m. four males entered a jewelry store in the mall. One of the suspects pointed a gun at employees while the others began smashing display cases with hammers. No one was injured in the heist.

The thieves fled the scene in a newer model grey SUV with an unknown quantity of jewelry and cash.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A video taken by a high school student shows an Indiana lawmaker flash a gun to students who were visiting the statehouse to talk to legislators about gun control.

A student from Burris Laboratory School in Muncie told The Associated Press that she and four other students were at the state Capitol on Tuesday to participate in a day of advocacy with Students Demand Action, an arm of Everytown for Gun safety. Alana Trissel, 17, said state Rep. Jim Lucas asked the students what brought them to the

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A hangar under construction on the grounds of the airport in Boise, Idaho, collapsed Wednesday, killing three people and injuring another nine, officials said.

Five of those injured in the collapse at the Boise Airport are in critical condition, the city said in a statement released Wednesday night.

Authorities responded at about 5 p.m. to the privately owned steel-framed hangar, which suffered a “catastrophic” collapse, Boise Fire Department Operations Chief Aaron Hummel said during an earlier news