US/World

By Margaret Giles of Morningstar 529 college savings plans  are powerful tools to help pay for the mounting costs of an education. Why are some people hesitant to use them? One common concern is oversaving. You can use 529 funds to cover only  qualified education expenses  without incurring a tax penalty, but it can be

By CORA LEWIS and ADRIANA MORGA – Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — With the end of 2024 around the corner, you might be reflecting on financial goals for 2025. Whether you’re saving to move out of your parents’ house or pay off student loan debt, financial resolutions can help you stay motivated, said Courtney

By AP This is a collection of photos chosen by AP photo editors.

By MIKE SCHNEIDER – Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A theme park resort and a huge hotel in central Florida either have stopped using drones or canceled their drone-based shows after several drones collided and fell from the sky during a separate holiday celebration in downtown Orlando. The accident injured a boy who required

By LAURA UNGAR and KIMBERLEE KRUESI – Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Taylor Cagnacci moved from California to Tennessee with hopes of starting a new chapter in a state that touts a low cost of living and natural beauty. But she’s infuriated by Tennessee’s meager social services, which leave her and many other moms

By AP MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico is developing a cellphone app that will allow migrants to warn relatives and local consulates if they think they are about to be detained by the U.S. immigration department, a senior official said Friday. The move is in response to President-elect Donald Trump’s threats to carry out mass

By AP This is a collection of photos chosen by AP photo editors.

By KEN MORITSUGU – Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — A court in China has sentenced a man to death for killing 35 people last month by driving into a crowd, in an attack that raised national concern about mass killings. Fan Weiqiu was venting his anger because he was unhappy with his divorce settlement, the

By ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN – AP Science Writer NEW YORK (AP) — NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has successfully made the closest approach to the sun, the space agency confirmed Friday. Earlier this week, the spacecraft passed within a record-breaking 3.8 million miles (6 million kilometers) of the scorching star. NASA received an all-clear message from Parker

By ALEXA ST. JOHN and MARY KATHERINE WILDEMAN – Associated Press 2024 was another banner year for a source of electricity that is better for people’s lungs, better for climate change and may be reaching your home when you turn on the lights or turn up the thermostat — large banks of batteries. This ability

By HYUNG-JIN KIM – Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The impeachment of South Korea’s acting President Han Duck-soo Friday has plunged the country into further political turmoil, coming less than two weeks after lawmakers impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol. The successive impeachments that suspended the country’s top two officials are unprecedented, and the

By The Associated Press The news can be tough in a world often marked by suffering, disaster and war. Sometimes you need to stop and remember that good things happen all the time, all across the world, and 2024 was no different. Take a look at some of the stories that made us smile. Moo

By AP BEIJING (AP) — The Chinese government placed sanctions on seven companies on Friday in response to recent U.S. announcements of military sales and aid to Taiwan, the self-governing island that China claims as part of its territory. The sanctions also come in response to the recent approval of the U.S. government’s annual defense

By DAVID McHUGH – Associated Press FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday ordered parliament dissolved and set new elections for Feb. 23 in the wake of the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition, saying it was the only way to give the country a stable government capable of tackling its problems.

By AIJAZ HUSSAIN – Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Authorities in India have declared a seven-day mourning period to honor Manmohan Singh, officials said Friday, as politicians and public paid tributes to the country’s former prime minister widely regarded as the architect of India’s economic reform program. Officials canceled all cultural and entertainment events

By JOSEF FEDERMAN and WAFAA SHURAFA – Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — A new round of Israeli airstrikes in Yemen on Thursday targeted the Houthi rebel-held capital and multiple ports, while the World Health Organization’s director-general said the bombardment occurred nearby as he prepared to board a flight in Sanaa, with a crew member injured.

By JACK THOMPSON – Associated Press FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — Lahai Makieu struck the bamboo with a machete until it cracked and fell. Balancing on his crutch, he reached to pick it up. But colleagues pulled the bamboo’s other end, and he tumbled into the dense grass. “They forgot I had one leg,” the

By SAŠA KAVIĆ – Associated Press ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatia’s left-leaning president, an outspoken critic of Western military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, is running for reelection this weekend against an array of contenders, including the candidate backed by the conservative government. President Zoran Milanović is seen as a favorite ahead

By RODRIGO ABD – Associated Press VILLA GOBERNADOR GALVEZ, Argentina (AP) — From its headwaters in Brazil, the Paraguay River flows hundreds of miles (kilometers) south to where it joins the Parana River to form a single 2,100-mile (3,400-kilometer) waterway that carries much of the agricultural and mineral wealth of South America to the Atlantic.

By ALEXA ST. JOHN – Associated Press People around the world suffered an average of 41 extra days of dangerous heat this year because of human-caused climate change, according to a group of scientists who also said that climate change worsened much of the world’s damaging weather throughout 2024. The analysis from World Weather Attribution