Month: January 2022

By DON THOMPSON Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Disability rights activists and advocates for Britney Spears are backing a California proposal to provide more protections for those under court-ordered conservatorships, while promoting less-restrictive alternatives. Their move came as the volatile Spears case again boiled over Wednesday in a Los Angeles County courtroom. The advocacy

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man convicted of a Southern California rampage that included shootings, carjackings and murder has been sentenced to life in prison without chance of parole by a judge who called him “evil personified.” Thirty-eight-year-old Artyom Gasparyan was sentenced Tuesday in Los Angeles. In August, a jury convicted him of more than

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Viewers parked themselves in front of their televisions to watch football and stay out of the January chill. The NFL says an average of 30.5 million people watched their wild card games over the weekend either on television or digitally. That was up 21 percent

By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Supreme Court has upheld as valid a voter-approved election system that would end party primaries in the state and institute ranked choice voting in general elections. A brief order released Wednesday affirmed a lower court ruling from last year. A fuller opinion explaining the

By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has previewed the message he hopes can buoy Democrats during November’s crucial midterm elections. He vowed Wednesday to travel the country more and trumpet his administration’s achievements directly to voters while blasting Republicans as standing for little more than opposing him. During a news

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has accused the U.S. of hostility and says it will consider restarting “all temporally-suspended activities,” in an apparent threat to resume testing nuclear devices and long-range missiles. The North had already warned of stronger and more explicit action after the Biden administration imposed

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — For about half of President Joe Biden’s news conference, it was a traditional, organized affair, with the president calling on reporters from a pre-arranged list. Then the president went rogue. CNN’s Jeff Zeleny broke in with a question about Americans’ worries about the competence of

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The first flights carrying fresh water and other aid to Tonga finally arrived after the Pacific nation’s main airport runway was cleared of ash left by a huge volcanic eruption. New Zealand and Australia each sent military transport planes that were carrying water containers, kits

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — John Adams’ version of “Antony and Cleopatra” will have its world premiere on Sept. 10 on the opening weekend of the San Francisco Opera’s 100th season. Soprano Julia Bullock sings Cleopatra, baritone Gerald Finley will be Antony, tenor Paul Appleby will portray Caesar and music director Eun Sun Kim will conduct.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Planned Parenthood is suing the state of South Dakota to stop new rule for medical abortions that would make the state one of the hardest places in the nation to get abortion pills. The rule approved by lawmakers earlier this month requires women to return to a doctor to receive

By DENISE LAVOIE Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Two Richmond residents living near the site where a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee stood for more than a century have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a ruling by the Supreme Court of Virginia that let state officials remove the towering monument.

By GISELA SALOMÓN Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — U.S. authorities say a businessman accused in the July 7 killing of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was extradited to face criminal charges in Miami after he was detained in the Dominican Republic. “We can confirm Rodolphe Jaar is in U.S. custody in the Southern District of Florida,”

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge has rejected a request by a coalition of media groups for greater access to the civil rights trial of three former Minneapolis police officers in George Floyd’s death. Judge Paul Magnuson says the trial will go forward with the restrictions he imposed due to

GENEVA (AP) — The International Committee of the Red Cross says hackers broke into servers holding its data and gained access to personal, confidential information on more than a half-million vulnerable people. The Geneva-based agency best known for helping war victims says the breach by unknown intruders this week affected people separated from their families

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — A federal grand jury has indicted an Indiana man on charges that would make him eligible for the death penalty if convicted in the fatal shooting of a Terre Haute police detective and FBI task force officer. Federal officials say 45-year-old Shane Meehan of Terre Haute was indicted Wednesday on

By MICHAEL R. SISAK, BERNARD CONDON and JIM MUSTIAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Legal experts say a court filing alleging that Donald Trump’s company misrepresented property values for financial gain could make for a compelling civil fraud case. But they are not convinced it will be a successful one. Lawyers who examined the

By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Navy has decided to let Wisconsin keep a beloved badger statue for 50 more years. The U.S. Naval Academy Museum lent the statue to the state more than 30 years ago. It has sat outside the governor’s office in the state Capitol, delighting tourists who

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has declassified and publicly released video footage of a U.S. drone strike in Kabul that killed 10 civilians in the final hours of a chaotic American withdrawal that ended a 20-year war in Afghanistan. The New York Times obtained the footage through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against U.S.

By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — In a rebuff to former President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court is allowing the release of presidential documents sought by the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. The justices on Wednesday rejected a bid by Trump to withhold the documents from the committee until the issue

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Authorities say a 15-year-old student died at a hospital after two people fired into a van at a Pittsburgh school. Pittsburgh Public Schools said the male student was shot in the school van at dismissal time Wednesday afternoon at Oliver Citywide Academy. No arrests were immediately announced. Police say they are reviewing

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says the U.S. is considering restoring its designation of Yemen’s Houthis as a terrorist group. Biden made his comment at a White House press conference Wednesday. It comes after a strike Monday that killed three people in the United Arab Emirates. The Houthis, a

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas’ attorney general is suing Google, alleging the company asked radio DJs to record personal endorsements for smartphones that they hadn’t used or been provided. Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton says in the lawsuit filed in Montgomery County that Google engaged in false and misleading practices in violation of the Texas

By MEAD GRUVER Associated Press CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The widow and two sisters of a U.S. Marine killed in Afghanistan are suing Alec Baldwin. Marine Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum of Jackson, Wyoming, was among 13 U.S. soldiers killed in a suicide bombing in August. His sisters and widow allege the actor exposed them to

By VICTORIA MILKO AP Science Writer A team of scientists has explored a rare, pristine coral reef off the coast of Tahiti. The rose-shaped corals seem to be untouched by climate change or human activity. Coral reefs around the world have been depleted by overfishing and pollution. Climate change has also caused major bleaching events.

ELMORE, Vt. (AP) — A Vermont community is asking the U.S. Postal Service to renew a contract with a local store to retain an outpost where people can collect their packages and mail. New England Cable News reported Wednesday that the post office at the back of The Elmore Store serves fewer than 1,000 people

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a former Oklahoma jailer has pleaded guilty to violating an inmate’s civil rights by kicking and striking him in a 2020 assault. U.S. Attorney Robert Troester announced Wednesday that 27-year-old Johnnie Drewery faces up to 10 years in prison when he’s sentenced in a few months. Prosecutors say

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — George Floyd’s death after his arrest by police officers in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, sparked widespread anger after millions of people saw video of the event. The four officers at the scene were quickly fired and charged in his death. Video shows Floyd repeatedly crying “I can’t breathe” and eventually going

By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota Senate has passed a bill proposed by Republican Gov. Kristi Noem that would ban transgender women and girls from participating in school sports leagues that match their gender identity. The Senate passed the bill with wide Republican support. Opponents have decried the proposal

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and the United Kingdom have agreed to begin talks on removing former President Donald Trump’s import taxes on British steel and aluminum. In a joint statement Wednesday, the U.S. and U.K. said they would work toward a swift deal that ensures the viability