Month: October 2021

By FELICIA FONSECA Associated Press FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Jurors in Arizona have convicted a U.S. Air Force airman of first-degree murder in the death of a Mennonite woman who was living in New Mexico. The jury reached its verdict Wednesday after deliberating for about five hours. Mark Gooch was also found guilty of kidnapping

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Seven offshore wind farms would be developed on the East and West coasts and in the Gulf of Mexico under new plan from the Biden administration. The projects are part of President Joe Biden’s plan to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030, generating enough

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A former sheriff in South Carolina has reported to prison to serve a one-year sentence for using his power and office to pressure a personal assistant to have sex with him. Officials say ex-Greenville County Sheriff Will Lewis arrived at a state prison Wednesday, the day

By LARRY NEUMEISTER and TOM HAYS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A prosecutor has opened the trial of an associate of Rudy Giuliani by accusing him of trying to use up to $1 million from a Russian financier to infiltrate U.S. elections. The prosecutor made the allegation Wednesday in her opening statement at the

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A retired New York attorney is suing the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, saying its claim to have no records pertaining to the drugs it plans to use in upcoming executions “defies belief.” Fred Hodara filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in Oklahoma County District Court. He is asking the court to compel

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A milestone energy bill that targets sharply reducing greenhouse gas emissions from North Carolina power plants has become law. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper signed the legislation on Wednesday. The directive aims to reduce carbon dioxide output of North Carolina energy producers 70 percent from 2005

By JOSEF FEDERMAN Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Senior Israeli and Sudanese officials have held a rare public meeting. Two Israeli Cabinet ministers posted photos of their meeting on Wednesday with Sudan’s justice minister. The Israeli participants said the meeting pledged to strengthen the nascent ties between the former adversaries. It took place in Abu

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) — A large cat native to Africa is on the loose in a suburb north of Detroit after escaping from its owner. Authorities say the caracal was reported missing around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday in Royal Oak. The cat’s weight is estimated at 50 pounds. It was among four big cats held

CHICAGO (AP) — Five alleged gang members have been indicted on murder charges in last year’s shooting death of a Chicago rapper that prosecutors say was part of ongoing violence over gang territories on the city’s South Side. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Chicago said in a news release Wednesday that the men are charged

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials agreed at their last meeting that if the economy continued to improve, they could start reducing their monthly bond purchases as soon as next month and bring them to an end by the middle of 2022. The discussion was revealed in the minutes

By REBECCA BOONE Associated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A former Idaho state lawmaker charged with rape has made his first appearance in the case in court. Aaron von Ehlinger was a Republican state representative from Lewiston when a 19-year-old legislative intern reported that he brought her to his apartment under false pretenses and raped

LEXINGTON, Va. (AP) — Authorities say a drunk driver was going 152 mph when he was pulled over in Rockbridge County over the weekend. According to a tweet Tuesday from Virginia State Police, the 29-year-old man was stopped on Interstate 81 on Sunday and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. Police say he

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and Israel say they are exploring a “Plan B” for dealing with Iran if the Islamic Republic does not return in good faith to negotiations to salvage the languishing landmark 2015 nuclear deal. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair

By STEPHEN McGRATH Associated Press BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Doctors in Romania’s capital has issued an open letter titled “a cry of despair” as the country’s overwhelmed health care system copes with record coronavirus infections and deaths. The College of Physicians of Bucharest said Wednesday in a letter addressed to Romanians that the medical system

TYLER, Texas (AP) — Defense attorneys have begun calling witnesses in the capital murder trial of a former nurse accused of killing four patients at an East Texas hospital. Tyler Morning Telegraph reports that the prosecution rested Wednesday morning after spending 11 days presenting evidence and expert testimony against 37-year-old William George Davis. He is

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and MARIAM FAM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The nomination of a Pakistani-born businessman who’d be the highest-ranking Muslim in the U.S. government is in jeopardy because Senate Republicans have repeatedly blocked his confirmation. The stalemate has led to Democratic charges of anti-Muslim bias and galvanized some Muslim and Jewish organizations

By ED WHITE Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Four people have been charged with involuntary manslaughter, nearly eight years after the death of a man who was pinned to the floor by security guards at a Detroit-area shopping mall. The Michigan attorney general’s office reopened the case in 2020. McKenzie Cochran struggled with security guards

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The chief of the World Health Organization has honored the late Henrietta Lacks, an American woman whose cancer cells ended up providing the foundation for vast scientific breakthroughs, including research about the coronavirus. The recognition from WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday came more than a

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Russia-backed separatist authorities in eastern Ukraine are reporting the largest spike in new coronavirus infections since the start of the pandemic, saying the health care system has been overwhelmed. The health authorities in the Donetsk region of 2.2 million reported 1,005 new confirmed infections and

By MICHAEL BALSAMO and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has held the director of the District of Columbia’s Department of Corrections and the warden of the city’s jail in contempt of court. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said Wednesday he was also asking the Justice Department to investigate whether the

By COLLIN BINKLEY AP Education Writer Thousands of public servants who were rejected from a student loan forgiveness program will get their cases reviewed by the Education Department as part of a new settlement. The Wednesday settlement aims to resolve a 2019 suit accusing the department of mismanaging its Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, a

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The lavish waxworks temple Madame Tussauds has opened its first Middle East location on a small artificial island off the coast of Dubai. Former President Donald Trump stars at the exhibit  among 60 other celebrities and world leaders. The display was unveiled on Wednesday and also features a sultry

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Wontons stuffed with collard greens and a cake colored to look like camouflage are features of country star Trisha Yearwood’s fourth cookbook, “Trisha’s Kitchen: Easy Comfort Food for Friends and Family.” It has 125 recipes that blend her knowledge of soulful Southern cooking with influences

By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court sounds ready to reinstate the death penalty for convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. In more than 90 minutes of arguments Wednesday, the court’s six conservative justices seemed likely to embrace the Biden administration’s argument that a federal appeals court mistakenly threw out Tsarnaev’s

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — With prices surging worldwide for heating oil, natural gas and other fuels, the U.S. government said Wednesday it expects households to see their heating bills jump as much as 54% compared to last winter. Nearly half the homes in the U.S. use natural gas for

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says the Kremlin has “constructive” relations with the Biden administration and has voiced hope that mutual interests would eventually help normalize U.S.-Russia ties. Putin addressed an array of topics while speaking during a panel discussion at an international energy conference in Moscow on