Asian shares advanced on Thursday even after sinking technology stocks sent Wall Street lower in the S&P 500’s worse losing streak since the start of the year. U.S. futures were lower, while oil prices gained. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.3% to 38,079.70 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 1.3% to 16,468.07. The Shanghai Composite index added 0.6% to 3,089.02. South Korea’s Kospi led the region’s gains, surging 2.2% to 2,642.02. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 500 rose 0.4% to 7,638.10. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 lost 0.6%, to 5,022.21. It’s down 4.4% since setting a record late last mo ..read more

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The Chinese and Indonesian foreign ministers called for an immediate and lasting cease-fire in Gaza after a meeting in Jakarta on Thursday, condemning the humanitarian costs of Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas. Indonesia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi told reporters that the two countries share the same view about the importance of a cease-fire and of resolving the Palestinian problem through a two-state solution. “I am sure that China would use its influence to prevent escalation,” Marsudi said, adding that China and Indonesia “would also fully support ..read more

HONOLULU (AP) — More than half a year after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century burned through a historic Maui town, officials are still trying to determine exactly what went wrong and how to prevent similar catastrophes in the future. But two reports released this week are filling in some of the blanks. The most recent is a detailed timeline of the fire that tore through the heart of Lahaina on Aug. 8, 2023, killing 101 people. Released Wednesday by Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez, it is the first phase of a three-part comprehensive investigation being conducted by the Fire ..read more

If you were looking to purchase a new home, you might have to wait, as housing permits have dropped in Washington for the second year in a row. A new study of 384 metro areas by Point2, an international real estate search portal, found that permitting activity in Washington plummeted in 2023. Just 37,177 new housing permits were issued across the state in 2023, 25% fewer compared to the previous year. When narrowed down to just the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area, that number reaches a nearly -36% year-over-year drop in new home authorizations. Per Washington State law, permits are required ..read more

A man suspected of committing crimes against children was killed by the Seattle Police Department (SPD) inside the DoubleTree Hotel in Tukwila Wednesday afternoon. SPD said the Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce was conducting an operation inside the hotel when gunfire broke out. According to Seattle Deputy Chief Eric Barden, officers were trying to arrest a man suspected of committing crimes against children when he took out a gun. More crime: Teen turns himself in after deadly Renton shooting Barden said one officer was grazed by a bullet, but not seriously hurt. Officers fired and t ..read more

BOSTON (AP) — An Oklahoma man was arrested Wednesday after authorities accused him of throwing a pipe bomb at the Massachusetts headquarters of a group called The Satanic Temple. The Salem-based group says on its website that it campaigns for secularism and individual liberties, and that its members don’t actually worship Satan. Sean Patrick Palmer, 49, of Perkins, Oklahoma, has been charged with using an explosive to damage a building following an attack last week on the headquarters, which is also used as an art gallery. Several phone numbers associated with Palmer were out of service Wednes ..read more

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and former U.S. Representative Dave Reichert are among over 20 candidates competing to become Washington’s governor. According to the Seattle Times, Ferguson is leading the Democratic polls with an endorsement by Governor Jay Inslee. However, a November poll showed Republican favorite, Reichert, pulling slightly ahead of Ferguson. On Tuesday, Ferguson posted a “BREAKING” video on X, formerly known as Twitter, of Reichert telling a group of Pierce County Republicans in February that “marriage is between a man and a woman.” “Dave Reichert may pretend to b ..read more

PHOENIX (AP) — Democrats in the Arizona Senate cleared a path to bring a proposed repeal of the state’s near-total ban on abortions to a vote after the state’s highest court concluded the law can be enforced and the state House blocked efforts to undo the long-dormant statute. Although no vote was taken on the repeal itself, Republican Sens. T.J. Shope and Shawnna Bolick sided with 14 Democrats in the Senate on Wednesday in changing rules to let a repeal proposal advance after the deadline for hearing bills had passed. Proponents say the Senate could vote on the repeal as early as May 1. If th ..read more

A disturbing video posted on Reddit of a man getting knocked out and robbed by a small group of people in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood Sunday has gone viral. In the video shot at Cal Anderson Park, one man is taken down to the ground in a chokehold. Moments later, you see a group of people surround him and start attacking the man performing the chokehold. They start kicking and punching him in the head until he is knocked out cold. What started the fight remains somewhat of a mystery. According to comments online, the fight stemmed from a woman’s dog being off leash and trying to eat pe ..read more

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Ellen Ash Peters, who was the first woman to serve as Connecticut’s chief justice and wrote the majority opinion in the state Supreme Court’s landmark school desegregation ruling in 1996, has died. She was 94. Peters, who also was the first female faculty member at Yale Law School, passed away Tuesday, according to the Connecticut Judicial Branch. The cause and location of her death were not immediately disclosed. “What a trailblazer she was!” the current chief justice, Richard Robinson, said in a statement. “While small in stature, she was a fearless legal giant who was ..read more