Month: October 2021

GEISMAR, La. (AP) — Authorities say a 6-year-old boy died after he and two siblings started a fire in a play fort made from a set of concrete steps atop a flatbed trailer. The State Fire Marshal’s Office said Monday that the children used a lighter to set fire to “a small pile of combustible

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president has made punishing corruption the centerpiece of his political agenda. So when the country’s arguably worst, self-confessed, most corrupt official was photographed dining out carefree at a luxury restaurant over the weekend, it wasn’t good optics. The case comes at a time when Mexico’s attorney general is trying to

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A U.K. parliamentary report has concluded that Britain’s Conservative government waited too long to impose a lockdown early in the COVID-19 pandemic. The report Tuesday says that caused the nation to miss a chance to contain the disease and led to thousands of unnecessary COVID-19 deaths. A

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Billionaire Richard Branson says it was an honor and a once-in-a-lifetime experience to don a drum major’s uniform and march ahead of a famed New Orleans high school band. Some of the school’s fans apparently were less enthusiastic about the appearance, which was part of opening ceremonies last week for a

SIMSBURY, Conn. (AP) — A plot of land in Connecticut that was once a thriving tobacco farm where Martin Luther King Jr. worked as a college student in the 1940s is being protected for its historic and cultural significance to the state’s civil rights history. The finalized sale of the property was announced on Friday.

By RANDALL CHASE Associated Press DOVER, Del. (AP) — A Delaware official responsible for rooting out government fraud and abuse has been indicted on public corruption charges. An indictment issued Monday charges 58-year-old Kathleen McGuiness with felony counts of theft and witness intimidation. She also faces misdemeanor charges of official misconduct, conflict of interest and

Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Pacific Gas & Electric has started cutting power to about 25,000 customers in northern and central California as high winds toppled trees, downed power lines and ignited at least one of several fires that forced people to flee from their homes. Forecasters issued an extreme fire danger warning as

PINE, Colo. (AP) — Colorado wildlife officials say an elusive elk that has been wandering the hills with a car tire around its neck for at least two years has finally been freed of the obstruction. The 4 1/2-year-old, 600-pound bull elk was spotted near Pine Junction, southwest of Denver, on Saturday evening and tranquilized.

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Rewards totaling $2.5 million are now being offered for information that helps solve the killing of federal prosecutor Tom Wales in Seattle 20 years ago. New Seattle U.S. Attorney Nicholas Brown announced Monday at a ceremony marking the anniversary of Wales’ death that the Justice Department had

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala’s attorney general has transferred the prosecutor leading the office that took former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt and other former military officers to trial for crimes against humanity. Attorney General Consuelo Porras moved Hilda Pineda to a new office pursuing crimes against tourists.  Pineda confirmed Monday that she was transferred.  The

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — The mother of a 3-year-old Texas boy who was found alive after being missing for four days in a wooded area near his home is calling his safe return a “miracle.” Christopher Ramirez returned home on Monday after being released from a Houston area hospital, where

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations chief is warning that Afghanistan is facing “a make-or-break moment.“ Antonio Guterres on Monday urged the world to prevent the country’s economy from collapsing. He also appealed to the Taliban to stop breaking its promises to allow women to work and girls

By COLLEEN LONG and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has agreed to a request from Congress seeking sensitive information on the actions of Republican Donald Trump and his aides during the Jan. 6 insurrection — though the former president claims the information is guarded by executive privilege. It’s a risky

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Alan Horn, the film executive who helped turn Walt Disney Studios into the most powerful movie studios in Hollywood and whose 50-year career has touched films from from “When Harry Met Sally…” to “The Dark Knight,” is retiring. Disney announced Monday that Horn, 78, chief

By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Officials in Georgia’s most populous county have fired two workers accused of shredding paper voter registration applications. A Fulton County statement says preliminary information indicates that the employees checked out batches of applications for processing. Instead of fully processing them, they are alleged to have shredded some

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer The new film “Mass” is set in the aftermath of a school shooting. Six years have gone by and two sets of parents — two are the parents of victims and two are the parents of the shooter — come together to talk. While it might not sound like

By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A customs dispute at the U.S.-Canada border is threatening America’s supply of a key fish used for popular products like fish sticks and fast food sandwiches. The Alaska pollock has a complicated supply chain. After being caught, it’s transported by ship to New Brunswick, Canada, near

MARATHON, Fla. (AP) — Officials say more than 30 Cuban migrants were found hiding in a go-fast boat during a traffic stop in the Florida Keys. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy pulled over a rental truck towing a trailer with a large vessel in Marathon on Monday morning. During a search, officials

SEATTLE (AP) — Amazon says it will allow many tech and corporate workers to continue working remotely indefinitely as long as they can to commute to the office when necessary. The new policy was announced in a blog post. It’s a change from Amazon’s previous expectation that most employees would need to be in the

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer One of Jimmy Pitaro’s top objectives when he became ESPN’s president was to get the National Hockey League back on the network. On Tuesday night, Pitaro’s goal will be realized. Besides the Seattle Kraken’s first game, the return of hockey to ESPN and the addition of Turner Sports are

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Continue with this story only if you’re OK hearing the conclusion to “No Time to Die” discussed. That such a spoiler warning is even necessary is strange in the world of James Bond. Doesn’t he save the world and get away with the girl? Isn’t

By JULIE WATSON Associated Press SANTEE, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say at least two people were killed and two others injured when a small plane nosedived into a suburban San Diego neighborhood, destroying two homes and a delivery truck. UPS identified an employee among the dead. The pilot was believed to be a doctor who

By SARAH EL DEEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — The leader of Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah group has escalated his attack on the judge leading the probe into last year’s port explosion, calling on authorities to replace him with a “truthful and transparent” investigator. Judge Tarek Bitar was appointed in February by a government body to

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A federal judge ruled that prison staffing levels will remain an issue in the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Alabama’s corrections system. The U.S. Department of Justice last year sued Alabama saying male inmates live in unsafe prisons with excessive levels of violence. U.S. District Judge

By CURT ANDERSON AP Legal Affairs Writer ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — An insanity defense is being considered for an ex-Marine accused of killing four members of a Florida family under the delusion they were part of a child sex trafficking ring. A lawyer for Bryan Riley told a Polk County judge Monday more time