Month: June 2022

By FRANCESCA EBEL Associated Press POKROVSK, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian airstrike on residential areas killed at least 21 people early Friday near the Ukrainian port of Odesa, authorities reported, a day after the withdrawal of Moscow’s forces from an island in the Black Sea had seemed to ease the threat to the city. Video

By JAY REEVES Associated Press BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Emails and phone calls from same-sex couples, worried about the legal status of their marriages and keeping their children, flooded attorney Sydney Duncan’s office within hours of the Supreme Court’s decision eliminating the constitutional right to abortion. The ruling last week didn’t directly affect the 2015

ALLEN, Ky. (AP) — Three Kentucky law enforcement officers were killed when a man opened fire on police attempting to serve a warrant at a home in eastern Kentucky. Police took 49-year-old Lance Storz into custody late Thursday night after an hourslong standoff at a home in Allen, a small town in the hills of

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand says neighboring Myanmar has apologized after one of its fighter jets crossed into its airspace on a bombing run along the border, forcing Thai authorities to evacuate hundreds of schoolchildren and scramble interceptors to the area. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said Thailand does not want to escalate the incident, which took

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea suggested Friday its COVID-19 outbreak began in people who had contact with balloons flown from South Korea — a highly questionable claim that appeared to be an attempt to hold its rival responsible amid increasing tensions over its nuclear program. Activists for years

By HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A new poll finds a growing percentage of Americans calling out abortion or women’s rights as priorities for the government in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, especially among Democrats and those who support abortion access. With midterm elections looming, President

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 500 days into his presidency, Joe Biden’s hope for saving the Earth from the most devastating effects of climate change may not quite be dead. But it’s not far from it. A Supreme Court ruling Thursday not only limited the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to

By STEVE PEOPLES and THOMAS BEAUMONT Associated Press SIOUX CENTER, Iowa (AP) — Stunning new revelations about former President Donald Trump’s fight to overturn the 2020 election have exposed growing political vulnerabilities just as he eyes another presidential bid. A former White House aide this week described Trump as an unhinged leader with no regard

By WASBIR HUSSAIN Associated Press GAUHATI, India (AP) — Rescuers found more bodies Friday as they resumed searching for dozens of missing after a mudslide triggered by weeks of heavy downpours killed at least 19 people at a railroad construction site in India’s northeast, officials said. Soldiers joined more than 200 workers and police using

By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s conservative-controlled Supreme Court handed Republicans their newest weapon to weaken any Democratic governors in the battleground state, ruling this week that political appointees don’t have to leave their posts until the Senate confirms their successor. The court’s decision — in the case of a conservative

By MICHAEL TARM AP Legal Affairs Writer CHICAGO (AP) — R. Kelly could be in his 80s before the singer is free again, based on a 30-year prison term imposed this week by a New York federal judge for parlaying his fame to sexually abuse young fans, including some who were children. And if the

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — El Salvador’s Bitcoin-boosting president is back at it, doubling down on his country’s losing investment in the cryptocurrency by buying over $1.5 million more. President Nayib Bukele wrote on his Twitter acount Thursday after posting the purchase: “Bitcoin is the future! Thank you for selling cheap.” Bukele said his

By AUDREY McAVOY Associated Press PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — A Navy investigation released Thursday revealed that shoddy management and human error caused fuel to leak into Pearl Harbor’s tap water last year, poisoning thousands of people and forcing military families to evacuate their homes for hotels. The investigation is the first detailed account of

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nipsey Hussle was a hip-hop star who sought to raise up his neighborhood with him until a friend from the same streets gunned him down, a prosecutor said in his closing argument Thursday. “This man was different,” Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney John McKinney

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California may turn to fossil fuels to avoid blackouts during hot weather that strains the electric grid. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday signed legislation that gives the state broad power to buy energy in extreme situations. The Department of Water Resources would be allowed to purchase

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court is letting states set their own standards for meal and rest breaks by airline crews. On Thursday, the court declined to hear an appeal against a California law that gives flight crews that are based in the state meal and rest breaks not required by federal rules. It’s

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — A teenage member of the MS-13 gang has pleaded guilty to charges she lured a 15-year-old boy to his death in 2019 on Long Island. Nineteen-year-old Lidia DelCarmen-Rodriguez pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to a single count of aiding and abetting the murder of 15-year-old Jasson Medrano-Molina in Central

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama officials said they are moving forward with plans to build two supersize prisons despite a bond sale falling more than $200 million short of expectations.  The Alabama Corrections Institution Finance Authority hoped to sell $725 million in bonds for the project. Instead, the authority was

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — State officials are ordering local school districts across Texas to audit and correct security deficiencies at their schools before the start of the next school year. The Texas Education Agency issued directives Thursday “to support the safety and security of public schools.” The order especially targets how secure exterior doors are.

By DON THOMPSON Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will not consider amending its state constitution to eliminate an exemption that allows indentured servitude to punish crime. The proposal stalled because of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration’s prediction that it could cost the state billions of dollars if prison inmates had to be paid minimum

By KEVIN FREKING and ALAN FRAM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell threatened Thursday to derail a bill designed to boost semiconductor manufacturing in the United States if Democrats revive their stalled climate and social policy package. The rejuvenation of the Democratic reconciliation package, central to President Joe Biden’s agenda, remains

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A California agency has cleared the way for the Oakland Athletics to move forward with a $12 billion waterfront ballpark project. The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission voted Thursday to reclassify a terminal at the Port of Oakland as a mixed-use area where

SEATTLE (AP) — A cruise ship that struck an iceberg in Alaska has docked in Seattle for repairs. The Norwegian Sun hit part of an iceberg on Saturday near Hubbard Glacier in Alaska. The ship was turned around to Juneau, where it under went inspection. It was cleared to travel at lower speeds to Seattle

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Public schools in Texas would describe slavery to second graders as “involuntary relocation” under new social studies standards proposed to the state’s education board. The Texas Tribune reports that a group of nine educators submitted the idea to the State Board of Education as part of Texas’ efforts to develop new

By CHEVEL JOHNSON Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Essence’s chief executive officer said she’s been asked many times whether the Essence Festival of Culture is staying in New Orleans. On Thursday, Caroline Wanga made her answer very clear. She told a news conference held to welcome the festival back to the city after a

By DÁNICA COTO Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The federal control board that oversees the finances of Puerto Rico’s government has approved a $12.4 billion general fund budget for the U.S. territory after legislators failed to approve one amid bickering. The board’s version of the budget approved Thursday had been rejected last