Month: June 2022

MIAMI (AP) — Florida’s annual prize-winning hunt for invasive Burmese pythons in the Everglades is slated to begin Aug. 5. The event typically draws hundreds from across the country. At a news conference Thursday in the Everglades, Gov. Ron DeSantis noted that last year’s “Python Challenge” involved more than 600 people from 25 states. The

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago’s police superintendent is recommending the firing of an officer accused of dragging a Black woman from a car by her hair and kneeling on her back and neck during a period of protests and unrest following George Floyd’s killing. Superintendent David Brown filed disciplinary charges this month against Officer David Laskus

By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The threat of war with neighboring Congo is simmering under the tidy surface of Rwanda’s capital as the East African nation hosts the British prime minister and other world leaders next week for the Commonwealth summit. Decades-old tensions between Rwanda, one of Africa’s most effective militaries,

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has approved a sweeping expansion of health care and disability benefits for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan in response to concerns about their exposure to toxic burn pits. Passage of the bill Thursday caps years of advocacy work by veterans groups and others who liken

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection says the panel will ask Virginia Thomas for an interview. Thomas says she will comply. A conservative activist and the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, “Ginni” Thomas communicated with

GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland’s central bank has announced a one-half of a percentage point increase to a key interest rate Thursday, the first increase in nearly 15 years. It indicated the move was an attempt to ward off inflationary pressures as food and fuel prices rise worldwide. The Swiss National Bank said the rate hike

By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota senators are staying silent on how they will vote as they weigh whether to remove Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg from office for his conduct surrounding a 2020 fatal car crash. Most say they will be impartial, likening themselves to jurors or judges who

By DÁNICA COTO Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A possible plebiscite on Puerto Rico’s political future is looming, and one of the island’s two main parties says it will ask its own members to reconsider or reaffirm its own commitment to the status as a U.S. commonwealth. The Popular Democratic Party says

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The National Rifle Association says its longtime lobbyist in Florida, Marion Hammer, will retire but remain an adviser to the organization. Hammer was the NRA’s first female president, from 1996 to 1998. She said in a statement Thursday that she served the gun rights group for 44 years and is proud

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina prosecutor has decided against filing charges against officers who shot and killed a knife-wielding man. His widow and activists called for more training in de-escalation tactics and non-fatal responses. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said Raleigh police officers were justified in fatally shooting Daniel Turcios, who was

CLEVELAND, Tenn. (AP) — Officials say a Tennessee sheriff’s deputy has fatally shot a man when “confronted with a threat.” News outlets cited a statement from the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office that said deputies responded early Thursday to a home in Cleveland where a man was reportedly threatening self-harm. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press A California doctor who is a leading figure in the anti-vaccine movement has been sentenced to 60 days in prison for storming the U.S. Capitol. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington, D.C., also on Thursday sentenced Dr. Simone Gold to 12 months supervised release and ordered her to pay

By RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — The U.N. representative in Afghanistan says her heart is breaking because of the harsh edicts that the Taliban have imposed on girls and women since they seized power in the country, denying them the right to education and work and forcing millions to stay at home. Deborah

By EMILY ROSE Associate Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has canceled youth Holocaust-education trips to Poland this summer. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid says the move was taken because the Polish government is trying to control the curriculum taught to Israeli children. The decision has reignited longstanding tensions between the two countries over Poland’s treatment of

UVALDE, Texas (AP) — Layla Salazar adored Koala bears and loved the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys and dancing to TikTok videos. Her family said she wanted her grandparents to pick her up as often as possible from school because they would treat her to tacos. A funeral was being held Thursday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church

By BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writer In an unusual move for what’s been an unusual takeover bid for Twitter by the world’s richest man, Tesla CEO Elon Musk met virtually with the social platform’s employees Thursday, even though his $44 billion offer has not yet been completed. “Trust is as trust does. I tend to

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Progressive prosecutors around the U.S. are declaring they won’t enforce some of the most restrictive and punitive anti-abortion laws that GOP-led states have waited years to implement. The promises come as the Supreme Court appears on track to overturn the constitutional right to abortion. It’s a

By KONSTANTIN TESTORIDES Associated Press SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — European Council President Charles Michel is visiting North Macedonia. He says efforts to start European Union membership talks with the landlocked Balkan country and neighboring Albania have become a “top priority” since Russia invaded Ukraine. EU-member Bulgaria has blocked the start of accession talks, insisting

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch intelligence agency says it prevented a Russian spy using a false Brazilian identity from working as an intern at the International Criminal Court. That court is now investigating allegations of Russian war crimes in Ukraine. The General Intelligence and Security Service said Thursday

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Talks are going down to the wire as the World Trade Organization is set to wrap up its first ministerial-level meeting in more than four years. So far, no firm deal is in sight Thursday on issues like food security, the fight against overfishing in the seas

MILAN (AP) — Italian luxury sportscar maker Ferrari on Thursday outlined an electrification strategy that calls for 40% full-electric vehicles and 40% hybrid models by 2030. CEO Benedetto Vigna confirmed that the first electric car will be presented in 2025, with the first deliveries the following year. Now, just four Ferrari models, or 20% of