Month: November 2021

By SOPHIA EPPOLITO Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The family of a 10-year-old girl who died by suicide has alleged a Utah school district didn’t do enough to protect their daughter who they say was bullied for being Black and autistic. The district was recently reprimanded by the U.S. Department of Justice for

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say two leaders of an extremist Jewish sect have been convicted in White Plains federal court of kidnapping and child sexual exploitation crimes. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a release that the verdict was returned Wednesday against Nachman Helbrans and Mayer Rosner. Williams says the verdict came

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt is directing the Department of Health to stop issuing birth certificates listing a nonbinary option instead of designating a gender. The first-term Republican issued the order Wednesday, saying he never had a chance to review a settlement agreement in which the agency

By RYAN J. FOLEY Associated Press IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A former Iowa State Patrol officer with a history of excessive force allegations has been indicted on a federal charge over a 2017 traffic stop that was captured on video and during which a motorcyclist was injured. A federal grand jury charged Robert James

By DÉBORA ÁLVARES and DIANE JEANTET Associated Press BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has sealed an agreement with the centrist Liberal Party to back his 2022 reelection bid, according to a statement the party published Wednesday. The statement said the decision followed a meeting between Bolsonaro and party leader Valdemar Costa Neto

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — A grizzly bear and her four cubs are getting attention for taking a nighttime stroll through a city in Wyoming. Security video shows the bears wandering through downtown Jackson on Tuesday night. Police and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials shooed the bears into a less populated area near town. The

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has defended his handling of a nearly two-week absence from public events with few details on his whereabouts. Newsom said Wednesday he was bewildered to see people posting on social media asking where he was while he was at his office in

By BEN FOX Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security says the U.S. faces a “heightened threat environment” with the approach of the holidays. A national terrorism advisory bulletin issued Wednesday says individuals or small groups could exploit mass gatherings tied to upcoming religious holidays. though DHS says it is not aware

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Testimony has ended in the trial of a Missouri man accused of killing his wife two years ago. Joseph Elledge testified for the second day Wednesday in his first-degree murder trial in the death of 28-year-old Mengqi Ji. On Tuesday, Elledge acknowledged that he buried his wife’s body but said her

By ED WHITE Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — A judge in Michigan has approved a $626 million settlement for Flint residents and others who were exposed to lead-contaminated water. The state is providing $600 million of the settlement. The state was accused of repeatedly overlooking the devastating risks of switching Flint’s water source in 2014

By ED WHITE Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Investigators say an official at a suburban Detroit branch of the United Auto Workers took $2 million and spent it on cars, guns, luxury clothing and gambling. Tim Edmunds was secretary-treasurer of UAW Local 412. He’s charged with embezzlement and other crimes. Edmunds is the latest target

ROSEVILLE, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California man who confessed to killing his wife and three children was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Investigators in Placer County said Shankar Hangud confessed to killing his family members over the span of several days across two Northern California counties in October 2019. KCRA-TV reports he

By AMIR VAHDAT Associated Press TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A top aid official says thousands of Afghan refugees are fleeing the Taliban into neighboring Iran every day and the trend could eventually become a crisis for Europe. Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, visited refugees this week around Kerman province in eastern Iran

By JONATHAN DREW Associated Press Federal wildlife officials overseeing the world’s only wild population of endangered red wolves announced they are abandoning a 2018 plan to limit the animals’ territory and loosen protections for wolves that strayed from that area in eastern North Carolina. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made the announcement Wednesday as

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Christie’s auction of pre-Hispanic artifacts has gone ahead despite the Mexican government’s appeals to stop it, the latest round in Mexico’s losing battle to stop such sales. Christie’s Paris branch auctioned off 72 sculptures and figurines from the Maya and Olmec cultures despite Mexico’s claim that the pieces were national

By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A school board in Oregon that recently banned teachers from displaying symbols including those supporting gay pride and Black Lives Matter has abruptly fired the school superintendent, deeply upsetting members who opposed the move. Newberg School Board member Brandy Penner says Wednesday she believes four conservative

HOUSTON (AP) — Federal investigators say flight controls that maneuver the tail wing were jammed when a private jet overran a runway in Houston and burst into flames. The National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement Wednesday that the controls were so jammed investigators couldn’t even move the adjustable flaps on the tail of

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX has launched four astronauts to the International Space Station. The flight comes just two days after SpaceX brought four other astronauts home, and lifts the number of people who have reached space past the 600 mark. The Falcon rocket blasted off Wednesday night

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer The federal government is suing Uber saying it discriminates against disabled people by charging fees when drivers have to wait for passengers to board their vehicles. Uber says it has already made changes and denies that it’s discriminating. According to the Department of Justice, Uber began adding the wait

By TERRY SPENCER and TOM KRISHER Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Federal investigators say a Tesla driver killed with a passenger in a fiery September crash near Miami had accelerated to 90 mph before smashing into trees. The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday that the 20-year-old driver accelerated his 2021 Model 3

By BARRY WILNER AP Pro Football Writer The Green Bay Packers were fined $300,000 and quarterback Aaron Rodgers and receiver Allen Lazard were fined $14,650 by the NFL for violating the league’s COVID-19 protocols. The NFL is limited in how much it can fine players because it negotiated with the players’ union while compiling the

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina trial judge has ordered the state to pay out $1.75 billion to help narrow the state’s public education inequities. The move angered Republicans who said the directive usurps lawmakers’ constitutional authority over the state coffers. Superior Court Judge David Lee said Wednesday

By JOHN SEEWER Associated Press Universities that adopted COVID-19 vaccine mandates this fall have seen widespread compliance. That’s true even though many schools made it easy to get out of the shots by granting exemptions to nearly any student who requested one. Colleges have tread carefully because forcing students to get the vaccine when they

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Medicare enrollees who take expensive medicines could save thousands of dollars a year under the Democrats’ sweeping social agenda bill, but those dividends won’t come overnight. Instead, they’ll build gradually over the decade. Experts who’ve analyzed the complex moving parts of the bill’s prescription drug compromise say

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Authorities say no toxic chemicals at levels hazardous to human health have been found at a junkyard fire in Philadelphia that spread huge amounts of smoke over the city. But health officials warned people Wednesday to limit their time outside because of particulate matter still in the air. That’s especially true for

By MEHDI EL-AREM Associated Press AGAREB, Tunisia (AP) — New clashes have broken out between residents and police in the Tunisian city of Agareb, home to a landfill that has provoked public fury over waste mismanagement. Agareb hosts the main landfill for nearby Sfax, Tunisia’s second largest city. Local residents have long advocated the closure