Column: The fear factor behind that culinary F word (2024)

LOS ANGELES — Earlier this year, high-level officials in the Los Angeles Police Department asked for a meeting with city prosecutors to discuss a source of friction between their two offices.

The Malawian government has received an insurance payout of $11.2 million for a crippling El-Nino-linked drought that led the southern African nation to declare a state of disaster earlier this year. The payout was given to Malawi this month, the African Development Bank said Monday. Malawi had a drought insurance policy through the bank and the African Risk Capacity Group, an agency of the African Union. At least three other countries will also receive payouts after a drought described by aid agencies as one of the region's worst in decades. They likely won't be enough though with Zimbabwe recently asking for $430 million in humanitarian assistance.

California's relentless FLiRT-fueled COVID surge is continuing to spawn infections at a dizzying rate, with coronavirus levels in wastewater reaching some of the highest levels seen since 2022.

Longtime producer Almin Karamehmedovic has been elevated to the role of ABC News president. The network made the announcement Monday. He replaces Kim Godwin, who retired in May after three years in the role. Godwin was a former CBC News executive and had faced some internal strife at ABC due to her outsider status. Karamehmedovic is the opposite. He's been at ABC News since 1998. He's been the chief behind-the-scenes executive at “World News Tonight” since 2014 and before that, was executive producer of “Nightline.” Both “World News Tonight" and “Good Morning America” are atop competitive ratings races, and the new president will be asked to maintain that.

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Travel is booming, and that means the number of people searching for travel itineraries on metasearch site Kayak is growing. Co-founder and CEO Steve Hafner says interest is rising fastest for premium travel experiences, but most people are still looking for a regular seat in the economy cabin. Kayak depends on advertising for revenue, and Hafner says it's down “a little bit” but the company is still profitable. It faces tough competition from tech giant Google. Hafner spoke recently to The Associated Press about travel demand, his company and competition from Google.

Groundbreaking daytime talk show host Phil Donahue is dead at 88.

People in Pakistan reported a much slower internet over the past several days with some experts estimating its speed falling to almost half its usual capacity, affecting millions of users and drawing nationwide criticism. Since February, netzines have been unable to fully use social media following a governmental crackdown ahead of parliamentary elections. However, internet speed has now immensely slowed down. Pakistan Software House Association, which represents companies specializing in information technology, said this could cause a loss of $300 million, and accused the government of “implementing a national firewall." The government denied being behind the slow connection while acknowledging that it was upgrading its system to improve cybersecurity.

Celebrities having birthdays during the week of Aug. 25-31 include actor Blake Lively, TV chef Rachael Ray and actor Chris Tucker. Actor Richard Gere turns 75, actor Cameron Diaz hits 52 and actor Michael Chiklis from ″The Shield” celebrates 61. Some musicians with big days include singer Liam Payne, singer Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine and country singer Shania Twain. Actor Lea Michele turns 38, singer Rob Halford of Judas Priest hits 73 and director Tim Burton reaches 66. Others celebrating are musician Elvis Costello, actor Blair Underwood and singer Brian Kelley of Florida Georgia Line.

Officials in Mexico say that one migrant was killed and eight were wounded when unidentified assailants in northern Mexico opened fire on the vehicle they were traveling in. The dead migrant was a boy from southern Mexico, and the wounded included Mexicans and people from Ecuador and Africa. Prosecutors in the northern state of Sonora said the attack took place Sunday in a township called Tubutama, about 47 miles (75 kilometers) south of Sasabe, on the Arizona border. No motive was given in the attack, but the area has been hit by violence between competing gangs of migrants smugglers allied with warring drug cartels.

A shooting near a Boston festival has left five people injured and police are searching for those responsible. The shooting happened Sunday night in Franklin Park as a Dominican festival was ending. Police say three men and two women suffered injuries that were not life-threatening and they were transported to a hospital. Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox says police were in the process of directing pedestrian traffic when they heard the shots. Cox called the shooting "a heinous act" and says authorities will hold those responsible accountable.

Lainey Wilson will release her fifth studio album, “Whirlwind,” on Friday. She says the title perfectly encapsulates the last few years. A little over a decade ago, Wilson lived in a camper trailer and hit open mic nights to make it in Nashville. Now she's a Grammy winner, the first woman to win entertainer of the year at the CMAs since Taylor Swift in 2011, she’s acted in the hit television show “Yellowstone” and in June, she was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. On “Whirlwind,” Wilson is able to translate the madness of her life and career to that of everyone else’s, like on “Good Horses" with Miranda Lambert and “Hang Tight Honey.”

The Directors Guild will pay tribute to Francis Ford Coppola at its 25th DGA Honors in October. Coppola will be honored Oct. 17 at a ceremony at the DGA Theater in New York, the guild was set to announce Monday. It will be the first such ceremony for the DGA since 2018. Coppola, 85, has been nominated by the DGA five times before and won its award for outstanding directorial achievement twice, for 1972’s “The Godfather” and for its 1974 sequel. His latest film and first feature in 13 years, “Megalopolis,” opens in theaters Sept. 27.

Phil Donahue, whose pioneering daytime talk show launched an indelible television genre, has died, his family says.

Phil Donahue, whose pioneering daytime talk show launched an indelible television genre, has died. He was 88. NBC's ‘Today’ show, citing family members, said that Donahue died Sunday. Dubbed “the king of daytime talk,” Donahue was the first to incorporate audience participation in a talk show. The decision set “The Phil Donahue Show” apart from other 1960s interview shows and influenced a format that made household names of Oprah Winfrey, Montel Williams, Ellen DeGeneres and many others. Later renamed “Donahue,” it had a 26-year national run and won 20 Emmys. Donahue lived in New York with his wife, actress Marlo Thomas.

British tech giant Mike Lynch missing from a yacht sinking off Sicily, Italy’s civil protection says his wife survived.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Ukraine this week andmeet with PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy. Modi’s trip on Friday comes a month after Zelenskyy criticized his two-day visit to Moscow in July, when he met with Putin on the day Russian missiles struck across Ukraine, killing scores of people. Ukraine’s Presidential Office said Modi’s trip will be his first visit during which two leaders will sign multiple cooperation documents and discuss matters of bilateral and multilateral cooperation. India has avoided condemning Russia’s invasion and instead has urged Russia and Ukraine to resolve the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.

Democrats are flipping the script on border security, with political ads for races across the country highlighting an issue Republicans have repeatedly used as an attack. In key swing districts that could determine which party controls Congress, Democrats are criticizing a lack of solutions …

Billionaire Carl Icahn and his company were charged by U.S. regulators with failing to disclose personal loans worth billions of dollars that were secured using securities of Icahn Enterprises as collateral. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Monday that the and his company have agreed to pay $1.5 million and $500,000 in civil penalties, respectively, to settle the charges, The agency said that from at least Dec. 31, 2018 to the present, Icahn pledged approximately 51% to 82% of Icahn Enterprises’ outstanding securities as collateral to secure personal loans with a number of lenders.

Once again, Georgia is a battleground — that much Democrats and Republicans seem to agree on.

Parts of southwestern Connecticut have been hit hit by severe flooding from as much as 10 inches of rain, and at least one person is confirmed dead. Oxford Fire Chief Scott Pellitier told the New Haven Register on Monday that crews recovered the body of a woman who disappeared during the storm Sunday. Crews are still looking for a second woman who washed away as firefighters tried to rescue her. The National Weather Service says a second round of storms hit Suffolk County on New York's Long Island overnight.

Israel and Hamas blamed each other for stalling a cease-fire and hostage deal as U.S. President Joe Biden’s top diplomat arrived in the region to press for an agreement.

Ukraine is seeking to degrade Russia’s ability to launch attacks including by establishing a buffer zone on Russian territory as Kyiv’s forces continue their cross-border incursion into the Kursk region, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

US settles with billionaire Carl Icahn for using Icahn Enterprises securities to secure personal loans worth billions.

The arrival of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center this week provides the Chicago Cubs with an opportunity for some very special guest performers during the seventh-inning stretch.

CHICAGO — The nation’s Democratic leaders open their national party convention Monday with diverging themes as they receive a celebratory welcome to Chicago and offer a bittersweet farewell to President Joe Biden.

CHICAGO — As Democrats from across the country convene in Chicago to officially crown Vice President Kamala Harris as their nominee, another group is descending on the city in protest of the Biden-Harris administration's actions in the Israel-Hamas War — a sharp reminder of the divisions tha…

India’s Supreme Court will begin hearings this week into the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor in the eastern city of Kolkata, which has sparked protests and a nationwide strike by doctors.

CHICAGO — Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison will gavel-in the party’s national convention on Monday — the first political convention to be held in Chicago in 28 years.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Aug. 19, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — As hip-hop celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023, Jimi “Chopmaster J” Dright, co-founder of the iconic group Digital Underground (DU), faced significant health challenges, causing him to miss much of the celebration. Now, as DU mar…

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 19, 2024--

Ernesto has regained hurricane status and picked up strength as it heads farther out into the Atlantic Ocean. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Monday that Ernesto’s maximum sustained winds were 85 mph. But swells and dangerous surf and rip currents generated by Ernesto are affecting the U.S. East Coast and Canada’s Atlantic coast. Ernesto is expected to weaken and become a post-tropical cyclone Tuesday. In an unrelated storm, the National Weather Service says up to 10 inches of rain washed away roads, flooded basem*nts and led to rescues in Connecticut.

Iran-backed Palestinian groups claimed responsibility for what they said was a “suicide mission” in Tel Aviv on Sunday, and warned of further such operations as long as Israel maintains its military campaign in Gaza.

German officials have rejected suggestions that national budget constraints could hurt weapons deliveries to Ukraine. Berlin is its biggest supplier after the United States. The German government hopes a $50 billion international loan package funded by interest on profits from frozen Russian assets will ease some of the strain of financing military support to Kyiv starting next year. Weekend reports that aid financing could be curbed by domestic budget concerns drew criticism from some in the governing coalition. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government has struggled to balance the priorities of three ideologically disparate parties and produce budgets that comply with rules on running up debt.

Tropical Storm Gilma has strengthened in the eastern Pacific Ocean and is forecast to remain away from land this week. No coastal watches or warnings were in effect early Monday for the storm, which was located about 625 miles southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center says Gilma had strengthened to tropical storm status on Sunday. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and was moving west at about 13 mph. Forecasters say that slow strengthening of Gilma was expected during the next few days.

The Democratic National Convention begins Monday in Chicago with roughly 50,000 people expected to arrive in the Windy City. That includes thousands of anti-war activists who plan to demonstrate near the United Center where Vice President Kamala Harris will officially accept the party’s nomination for president. Earlier this month, delegates made Harris their nominee in a virtual roll call. The party will still conduct a ceremonial roll call vote at the convention mimicking the look of a traditional roll call where state delegations announce their votes from the convention floor.

Hamas and another Palestinian militant group have claimed responsibility for what appeared to be a failed bombing attack in Tel Aviv that killed the man carrying the bomb and wounded a bystander. The blast came as mediators were working on a cease-fire agreement in the devastating Israel-Hamas war. It was a stark reminder of the rash of Palestinian suicide bombings that killed hundreds of Israelis during the second intifada two decades ago. The militant groups claiming the blast said they intended to launch more. The explosion Sunday night appeared to go off before it was intended.

DEERFIELD, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 19, 2024--

In a story published Jun. 20, 2024, about Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Vietnam, The Associated Press erroneously reported that President To Lam said that apart from the 12 publicly announced agreements, there were other deals that were not made public. He did not mention any other deals.

QUEBEC, QC / ACCESSWIRE / August 19, 2024 / NuRAN Wireless Inc. ("NuRAN" or the "Company") ( CSE:NUR )( OTC PINK:NRRWF )( FSE:1RN ), a leading supplier of mobile and broadband wireless infrastructure solutions, is pleased to announce the closing of a non-brokered private placement (the "Offe…