Month: May 2022

By PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — A Boston civil rights group is challenging the U.S. government’s denial of humanitarian relief to scores of Afghans fleeing from the Taliban. The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts filed the lawsuit in Boston federal court Wednesday. It’s on behalf of Afghans and their New England-area families

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida will require statewide recertification of condominiums over three stories tall under new legislation Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law. DeSantis signed the bill Thursday as a response to the Surfside building collapse that killed 98 people. The governor’s signature came the day after the

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Indian writer Geetanjali Shree and American translator Daisy Rockwell have won the International Booker Prize for “Tomb of Sand.” The book is a vibrant novel with a boundary-crossing 80-year-old heroine. Originally written in Hindi, it’s the first book in any Indian language to win the high-profile prize

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. general nominated to take over European Command tells senators that Sweden and Finland’s push to join NATO won’t require putting more U.S. ground forces into either country. But Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli says military exercises and occasional American troop rotations will probably increase. Cavoli

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Biden administration is advancing plans for offshore wind projects that would place hundreds of turbines in California’s coastal waters. The U.S. Interior Department on Thursday released lease terms for projects planned for the state’s central and northern coasts. Bidders would be required to engage with

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — A judge has thrown out statements that a 77-year-old Minnesota man charged in the stabbing death of a 15-year-old suburban Chicago girl nearly half a century ago made to police and to his wife. Will County Judge David Carlson on Wednesday granted defense motions tossing out statements that Barry Whelpley of

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A judge has ruled that South Dakota is violating federal laws by failing to make it easier to vote. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Piersol in an opinion released Thursday sided with two South Dakota American Indian tribes, the Rosebud Sioux and the Oglala Sioux. The tribes argued in a 2020

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Andy “Fletch” Fletcher, the unassuming, bespectacled, red-headed keyboardist who for more than 40 years added his synth sounds to Depeche Mode hits like “Just Can’t Get Enough” and “Personal Jesus,” has died at age 60. Depeche Mode announced the death of founding member Fletcher on

By MARC LEVY and MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Just 910 votes separate the two leading candidates in Pennsylvania’s Republican primary for U.S. Senate. That means counties are preparing to start a recount in the race between celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz and former hedge fund CEO David McCormick. Oz has

DALTON, Ga. (AP) — A Korean solar panel maker will expand its presence in Georgia by building a new $171 million plant next to an existing factory. Qcells is a unit of Hanwha Solutions. The company made the announcement Thursday. Qcells says the new plant will open in the first half of 2023 and will

By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A court document indicates a man being held on a charge of plotting to assassinate former President George W. Bush has waived his right to a detention hearing. A criminal complaint alleges Shihab Ahmed Shihab Shihab planned to bring other Iraqis into the U.S. illegally. It

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — In a story published May 25, 2022, about a fire at a Wyoming abortion clinic under construction, The Associated Press erroneously reported that a hospital in Jackson, Wyoming, provides abortions. The hospital does not provide abortion services.

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — China and Russia have vetoed a U.N. resolution sponsored by the United States that would have imposed tough new sanctions on North Korea for its spate of intercontinental ballistic missile launches that can be used to deliver nuclear weapons. The vote in the 15-member Security

By SAM METZ and RICK BOWMER Associated Press CEDAR CITY, Utah (AP) — She walked up a red carpet and crossed a stage to accept her diploma wearing an eagle feather beaded onto her cap that her mother had gifted her. Amryn Tom graduated this week from southern Utah’s Cedar City High School. Her family

By BERNARD CONDON, JIM MUSTIAN and JIM VERTUNO Associated Press UVALDE, Texas (AP) — State police say the suspect in the Texas shooting had no criminal record or known mental illness that could have signaled he was capable of gunning down 19 children and two adults. But there were warning signs. The shooting was presaged

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama man who pleaded guilty to using bank fraud to live an opulent lifestyle that included a private jet and luxury cars like Ferraris and Lamborghinis was sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay $12 million in restitution. Prosecutors say 39-year-old Christopher Montalbano pulled off the scheme

By KATHY McCORMACK Associated Press CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A jury has convicted a New Hampshire man of first-degree murder for killing his wife’s coworker after he discovered they were texting, and then forcing her to behead him. Armando Barron also was convicted of assaulting his wife, Britany Barron, the night he discovered she had

By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Opponents of a proposed launchpad for commercial rockets on the Georgia coast want a federal court to throw out the project’s government license, saying the Federal Aviation Administration failed to adequately consider safety risks. A lawsuit in U.S. District Court says the FAA allowed Spaceport Camden

By BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writer Twitter shareholders have filed a lawsuit against billionaire Elon Musk, accusing him of unlawfully sowing doubt about his bid to buy Twitter. They say the Tesla CEO’s aim has been to drive down Twitter’s stock price because he wants to walk away from the deal or negotiate a substantially

By JUAN LOZANO and DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — The National Rifle Association begins its annual convention in Houston on Friday, and leaders of the powerful gun-rights lobbying group are gearing up to “reflect on” — and deflect any blame for — the deadly shooting earlier this week of 19 children and

By CHRIS GRYGIEL Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Alan White, the longtime drummer for progressive rock pioneers Yes who also played on projects with John Lennon and George Harrison, has died. He was 72. White’s death was announced on his Facebook page by his family. The post said he died at his Seattle-area home Thursday