Month: October 2021

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s governor has visited Benton Harbor to listen to residents who have been urged to use bottled water because of elevated levels of lead in their tap water. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s stop Tuesday wasn’t publicly disclosed until it was over. It came hours after city commissioners unanimously declared an emergency

By MICHELLE LIU Associated Press/Report for America COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A prominent civil rights attorney is calling on a South Carolina prosecutor to revisit a case and criminally charge the two jail employees who stunned a mentally ill Black man 10 times and kneeled on his back until he stopped breathing. Ninth Circuit Solicitor

LONDON (AP) — Dozens of nations particularly vulnerable to the effects of global warming have laid out their key demands ahead of the upcoming U.N. climate summit. These include getting rich countries to commit to fulfill and step up their pledges of financial assistance to help them . The Climate Vulnerable Forum also wants more

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Manatees are starving to death because algae blooms and contaminants are killing the seagrass the beloved sea mammals eat. A state wildlife official detailed the problem for a Florida House committee on Tuesday. Algae and pollutants in the Indian River Lagoon have decimated seagrass. The aquatic

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The remains of an abandoned river wharf went up in flames over the weekend in New Orleans as fireworks went off nearby, but officials haven’t yet determined whether the display played a role in the enormous fire. The Times Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reports that the fireworks began around 10:30 p.m.

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — For more than 55 years, Medicare has followed a simple policy with covered benefits the same, no matter if you’re rich, poor, or in-between. But as Democrats try to design a dental benefit for the program, one idea calls for limiting it based on income. The so-called

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria is introducing a COVID-19 “Green Certificate” as a mandatory requirement for access to restaurants, theaters, cinemas, concert halls, gyms, clubs and shopping malls as the country faces a surge in coronavirus infections. The new health pass certifies that its holder has been vaccinated, or has recently recovered from COVID-19 or

By SAM METZ AP / Report for America CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — A Las Vegas city councilwoman who gained national attention for her support of anti-government militia members who clashed with federal law officers during armed standoffs last decade is running for governor of Nevada. Republican Michele Fiore announced her plan Tuesday at a

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A convicted drug dealer who was a target of the police raids that brought officers to Breonna Taylor’s home has been offered probation. Louisville prosecutors are recommending probation for Jamarcus Glover, Taylor’s former boyfriend. Glover pleaded guilty to several charges last week, including a drug trafficking charge for his arrest on

By SARAH EL DEEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — A judicial official says the judge leading Lebanon’s probe into last year’s massive port explosion has renewed his summonses of two former ministers for questioning. Judge Tarek Bitar’s decision Tuesday comes despite intense criticism from the country’s powerful Hezbollah group of the direction of the long-running

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — The Washington state attorney general has filed two misdemeanor criminal charges against a county sheriff stemming from his confrontation with a Black newspaper carrier in January. Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer faces one count of false reporting and one count of making a false statement to a civil servant for claiming

By MARCY GORDON AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Facebook is paying a $4.75 million fine and up to $9.5 million to eligible victims to resolve the Justice Department’s allegations that it discriminated against U.S. workers in favor of foreigners with special visas to fill high-paying jobs. Facebook also agreed in the settlement to train

By MARIA CHENG and MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The South African drug regulator has rejected the Russian-made coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V, citing some safety concerns the manufacturer wasn’t able to answer. The country’s regulator said in a statement Tuesday that the request for Sputnik V to be authorized could “not be approved

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A Navy report has concluded there were sweeping failures by commanders, crew members and others that fueled the July 2020 arson fire that destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard. The report, obtained by The Associated Press, called the massive five-day blaze preventable and unacceptable. A sailor has

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York prosecutors have gone to a grand jury as they seek to indict millionaire real estate scion Robert Durst for the death of his former wife, Kathie Durst, who vanished in 1982. That’s according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke with

By MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The chairman of the New York Democrats is facing calls to resign from members of his own party after he invoked the Ku Klux Klan and its former leader while explaining why he didn’t endorse a New York Democratic mayoral candidate. State Democratic Chair Jay

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — A federal judge has denied motions to suppress video evidence found on electronic devices seized from former reality TV star Josh Duggar, who is facing child pornography charges. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks also said Monday that a hearing on the motions isn’t warranted. Duggar,

By LISA MASCARO, ALAN FRAM and MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Scaling back his big government-overhaul plans, President Joe Biden has described a more-limited vision to Democratic lawmakers. In meetings at the White House on Tuesday, Biden told lawmakers he wants a $2 trillion package with at least $500 billion to tackle climate

BROOKSHIRE, Texas (AP) — Authorities say a plane taking passengers from Texas to the AL Championship Series game in Boston burst into flames after it ran off a runway during takeoff. The Federal Aviation Administration says the McDonnell Douglas MD-87 was carrying 21 people when it rolled through a fence and caught fire at the

By DÁNICA COTO Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The kidnapping of 17 missionaries and their relatives in Haiti is only one of hundreds of abductions that have occurred in recent months as the country struggles with a spike in gang violence. One woman said her elderly father, a Vietnam veteran, was abducted

By MARK THIESSEN Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Court documents filed in federal court say an Alabama man accused of using pepper spray and throwing a metal rod at law enforcement protecting the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection has been arrested in Alaska. The FBI took Christian Manley into custody Friday in

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban have promised plots of land to relatives of suicide bombers who attacked U.S. and Afghan soldiers. The provocative gesture seems to run counter to Taliban efforts to court international support. The reward of a piece of land and just over $110 per family was

NEW YORK (AP) — Ice-T has never forgotten the path his life might have taken. The rapper and actor has a deal with Gallery Books for the memoir “Split Decision,” in which Ice-T and his childhood friend Spike look back on their time as partners in jewelry heists. Spike ended up in prison while Ice-T

By RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — U.N. agencies say Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have agreed to a nationwide polio vaccination campaign for the first time in three years. Since 2018, some 3.3 million Afghan children have gone without vaccinations because door-to-door teams could not reach them, either because of ongoing fighting or because