Month: August 2021

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA is delaying a spacewalk at the International Space Station this week because of an undisclosed medical issue involving one of its astronauts. Officials announced the postponement Monday, less than 24 hours before Mark Vande Hei was supposed to float outside. Officials say Vande

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s state-owned oil company says five workers were killed, two workers are missing and six were injured in a massive fire at one of its oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. The company says the the fire at the processing platform in the Ku-Maloob-Zaap field had been brought under control.

MATHER, Calif. (AP) — More than 13,500 firefighters are working to contain a dozen large California wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of homes and forced thousands of people to flee. The head of the California Office of Emergency services said Monday that after an extensive review of fire damage, Gov. Gavin Newsom has requested a

By DON BABWIN Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — The parents of two teenage boys have filed a lawsuit alleging their sons were sexually assaulted in a high school football team hazing ritual at a suburban Chicago high school. The parents contend that the three football coaches at Plainfield Central High School were not present during

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A group of Utah parents is suing the state over a law that bans school districts from approving mask mandates. It’s the latest U.S. legal challenge over rules for face coverings in the classroom. The lawsuit filed Monday seeking to overturn the law argues that

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS Associated Press NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus’ interior minister says 88 Syrians have been sent back to Lebanon  after trying to reach the east Mediterranean island nation aboard two boats. Minister Nicos Nouris told The Associated Press on Monday that rescue crews continue to search for one of five men who jumped

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — Salvage crews have began cutting apart the final two sections remaining of a cargo ship that overturned along the coast of Georgia almost two years ago. Demolition of the South Korean freighter Golden Ray has been underway since November, when workers started using a length of anchor chain powered

ROME (AP) — Italy’s foreign ministry says an Italian-Moroccan student has been freed by Moroccan authorities after she was detained on blasphemy charges. The 23-year-old student, Ikram Nazih, was convicted in June of “offenses against religion” for having shared a satirical cartoon on Facebook in 2019. The Italian newspaper Domani, which had championed her cause, said

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A conservative group filed a redistricting lawsuit with the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday, an action that comes after Democrats filed their own legal challenge in federal court less than two weeks ago. The two lawsuits mean there are fights in both state and federal courts

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — A wide Broadway coalition of theater owners, producers, union leaders, creators and casting directors have hammered out a series of reforms and commitments for the theater industry to ensure equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility. The New Deal for Broadway emerged following a summit of industry

By SOPHIA TAREEN Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Family members say the Rev. Jesse Jackson and his wife Jacqueline continue to be monitored by physicians at a Chicago hospital after testing positive for COVID-19. Jesse Jackson, 79, has been fully vaccinated, receiving his first shot publicly at a community even tin January where he urged

By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge has found that a part of Georgia’s sweeping new election law that broadly prohibits the photographing of a voted ballot is likely unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee on Friday granted a preliminary injunction on that section of the law, meaning it cannot be

WASHINGTON (AP) — Officials say the host of a program for the right-wing website Infowars is in custody after being charged in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Owen Shroyer hosts “The War Room With Owen Shroyer” for the website operated by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Shroyer said on air Friday that he

By ANDREW SELSKY and SARA CLINE Associated Press SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon was once the poster child for limiting the spread of the coronavirus, after its Democratic governor imposed some of the nation’s strictest safety measures, including mask mandates, limits on gatherings and an order closing restaurants. But now the state is being hammered

By MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Police say an officer who shot and killed a woman during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol as she began to climb through the broken part of a door leading into an area known as the Speaker’s Lobby acted lawfully and in line with police

By DAVID PITT Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man charged with taking part in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol has asked a judge not to send him back to jail even though he was caught violating the terms of his pretrial release by accessing the internet. Douglas Jensen’s

By GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press A lawyer for Purdue Pharma says the company’s settlement plan is the only way to avoid long and expensive litigation. The lawyer made his case Monday to a bankruptcy judge who is expected to rule this week on whether to accept the OxyContin maker’s reorganization plan. It calls for using

By MARGARET STAFFORD Associated Press Two groups that work to overturn wrongful convictions are asking the Missouri Court of Appeals to reconsider the conviction of a Missouri man who has served more than 22 years in prison for the death of his mother. Michael Politte was 14 when his mother was burned to death inside

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A panel of North Carolina judges is prepared to allow tens of thousands of residents convicted of felonies but whose current punishments don’t include prison time to register to vote and cast ballots. A judge hearing a trial last week said Monday that a panel

GUADALUPE, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say a California police officer accidentally killed a bystander over the weekend while shooting at a suspect. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office says the shooting happened Saturday night in the small city of Guadalupe. The incident began when Guadalupe officers spotted someone with an outstanding felony arrest warrant. An

By TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer Several U.S. senators are questioning the Food and Drug Administration’s work with a consulting firm that helped businesses sell prescription painkillers during the nation’s overdose crisis. Democrat Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa, among others, have asked the FDA about potential conflicts of interest