Month: December 2021

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and JILL COLVIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence is cooperating with the House panel investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, according to a person familiar with the matter.  Marc Short was at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and accompanied Pence as

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Drake wants no part in competing for a Grammy. Two people familiar with the decision says the four-time Grammy winner and his management asked the Recording Academy to withdraw his two nominations from the final-round ballot. They say Drake’s request was honored by the

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press Writer OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A state court judge in Oklahoma has granted a temporary stay of execution for a death row inmate convicted of killing a security guard during a 2004 bank robbery in Tulsa. Pittsburg County Associate District Judge Tim Mills issued the stay on Monday so that

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria’s military says Israeli warplanes fired missiles on the port of the coastal city of Latakia, causing fire without inflicting any human losses. Syria’s state media quoted an unnamed military official as saying that several missiles struck the containers area in the port early on Tuesday, setting some of them on

NEW YORK (AP) — Denis O’Brien, who served as George Harrison’s manager for much of the former Beatle’s solo career and co-founded with Harrison the production company that backed such hits as “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” and “Mona Lisa,” has died at age 80. Through the actor Peter Sellers, whose career he had helped

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — An appeals court in Washington state has overturned the cold-case murder convictions against a man accused of killing a young Canadian couple in 1987. Detectives arrested William Earl Talbott II in 2018 using genetic genealogy to identify him as the killer of Jay Cook and Tanya Van Cuylenborg. The practice involves

By ANITA SNOW Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Extreme heat is expensive. That’s the conclusion of a study presented Monday by The Nature Conservancy. The organization commissioned a look at the costs of rising temperatures in Phoenix, the hottest large metropolitan area in the U.S. The Nature Conservancy worked with Phoenix-based business management consultant AECOM.

By DAVID PITT Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state panel has agreed to spend nearly $2 million to settle two federal lawsuits brought against the University of Iowa in 2017 after a religious group denied a gay student a leadership role. The Iowa State Appeal Board on Monday approved the court ordered

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is drawing challengers in next year’s 2022 Republican primary. Lynda Blanchard, who was Trump’s ambassador to Slovenia, is switching from the U.S. race to the gubernatorial contest, according to a copy to an invitation she tweeted. Toll road developer Tim James, the

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Prosecutors have filed charges against a 29-year-old man in last week’s fatal shooting of philanthropist Jacqueline Avant, the wife of legendary music executive Clarence Avant, at their Beverly Hills, California, home. Aariel Maynor is also charged with the attempted murder of the Avants’ security guard, whom he allegedly shot at

By ASTRID GALVAN Associated Press Congressional Democrats are raising concerns that the proposed merger of Discovery and AT&T’s WarnerMedia, a $43 billion effort to conquer the world of streaming, could affect diversity efforts in Hollywood and particularly hurt Latinos, who are already deeply underrepresented. Led by Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas, 33 members of Congress

MESQUITE, Texas (AP) — Authorities say a 37-year-old man will be charged with capital murder in the killing of a suburban Dallas police officer during a shootout in a supermarket parking lot. Mesquite police say the suspected shooter, Jamie Jaramillo, remained hospitalized Monday in stable condition. Police Chief David Gill says Officer Richard Houston was

By ED WHITE Associated Press A prosecutor continues to criticize the decision to keep a teenager in a Michigan school before a shooting that killed four students last week. Karen McDonald’s remarks raise questions about whether staff and the school district will face liability — criminal or civil — in the tragedy. Ethan Crumbley is

By JILL COLVIN, MARY CLARE JALONICK and MICHAEL R. BLOOD Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — California Republican Rep. Devin Nunes is leaving the House at the end of this year to lead former President Donald Trump’s effort to launch a social media platform intended to rival Twitter. A statement Monday from the Trump Media &

MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana officials are asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to lift threatened species protections for grizzly bears in the northern part of the state. The request announced Monday comes after bear populations grew in recent years and run-ins between humans and bruins increased. That includes attacks

By LAURA UNGAR and ANDREW MELDRUM Associated Press Scientists are poring over the latest data to try to understand who might win the battle of the coronavirus variants, the world-dominating delta or the latest competitor, omicron. The outcome could determine the future of the pandemic. Some scientists said Monday that early indications suggest omicron could

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — A $50 million lawsuit has been filed against a utility over an explosion that killed two people and damaged several homes in Flint, Michigan. The lawsuit was filed Nov. 30 in Genesee County Circuit Court on behalf of 55-year-old Lisa Rochowiak, who died after the home next to hers exploded. Police

By ELLIOT SPAGAT Associated Press SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Biden administration has reinstated a Trump-era policy to make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court, with changes and additions that Mexico demanded. A U.S. official says the first migrants are being sent from El Paso, Texas, back to Ciudad Juarez. The

By GARY D. ROBERTSON and TOM KRISHER Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Toyota says it plans to build a $1.3 billion electric vehicle battery plant near Greensboro, North Carolina, that will employ at least 1,750 people. The Japanese auto giant joined Gov. Roy Cooper and other officials in making the announcement Monday at a

By LEAH WILLINGHAM Associated Press/Report for America JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A man who was executed in Mississippi last month for killing his estranged wife admitted to another killing, and that confession may resolve a 2007 cold case. John Weddle is the district attorney for several counties in northern Mississippi. He told a news conference

By CALEB JONES Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — A strong storm packing high winds and extremely heavy rain across Hawaii has flooded roads and downed power lines and tree branches. And officials warned Monday of potentially worse conditions ahead. Gov. David Ige issued a state of emergency for all of the state’s islands Monday and

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fired CNN anchor Chris Cuomo says he’s dropping his SiriusXM radio show. The decision announced on Twitter follows a sexual harassment allegation. In a tweet, Cuomo said the past week has been difficult for his family and is stepping back to focus on what comes next. Cuomo was criticized for breaching

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is pledging his social agenda legislation will deliver tangible savings on prescription drugs for all Americans. Speaking Monday at the White House, Biden cited the story of a young woman with diabetes hospitalized because she couldn’t afford insulin. His legislation would limit copays for

By CASEY SMITH Associated Press/Report for America INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Prosecutors are no longer seeking the death penalty for the man charged in the fatal shooting of a police officer who had come to his aid after the man’s car overturned in a crash in Indianapolis four years ago. Marion Superior Judge Mark Stoner last

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ and SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Exxon Mobil says it has a plan for cutting greenhouse gas emissions in one of the most prolific oilfields in the U.S. The company made the announcement Monday, saying it will be focusing on emissions from its own operations as well as