Month: August 2022

By BILL BARROW Associated Press KENNESAW, Ga. (AP) — Republican Herschel Walker has plenty to say about how his Democratic rival, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, does his job in Washington. But Walker is considerably less revealing about what he’d do with the role himself. A former football star and friend of former President Donald Trump,

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — The alleged assassin of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was born into an affluent but troubled family. Tetsuya Yamagami is accused of fatally shooting Abe as the powerful conservative leader gave a campaign speech in July. A glimpse into the suspect’s painful childhood has led to

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer Elton John and Britney Spears have collaborated for the first time, creating the slinky, club-ready single “Hold Me Closer” that sees the pop icons take old sounds and fashion something new. The funky, piano-driven single uses John’s 1971 hit “Tiny Dancer” as the skeleton and adds elements from his

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming (AP) — When Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivers what will be his most closely scrutinized speech of the year Friday, investors and economists will be turning over his remarks for any clues about how fast the Fed may continue to raise its key interest rate

SYDNEY (AP) — Authorities have found 1.8 metric tons (2 U.S. tons) of methamphetamine hidden in marble tiles shipped from the Middle East to Sydney in what police describe as the largest-ever seizure of the illicit drug in Australia. Three men were arrested after 748 kilograms (1,649 pounds) of the drug were found early this

TUCSON, Arizona (AP) — Four people have been killed, including a local law enforcement official, in a shooting at an apartment complex in southern Arizona. KVOA-TV reports that police identified one of the victims of Thursday’s shooting as Pima County Constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay and another as a employee of the apartment complex. KGUN-TV reports Martinez-Garibay

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is pledging to renegotiate household debts if he wins October’s election. His promise during a prime-time TV interview Thursday night is his latest enticing pledge seeking to win the support of tens of millions of Brazilians experiencing hardship at a time when

By COLLEEN SLEVIN Associated Press CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (AP) — A Colorado woman has denied accusations that she plotted with QAnon supporters to kidnap her son from his foster home denies there was ever a planned raid. Cynthia Abcug testified Thursday on the last day of her trial. She said she met backers of the

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama inmate scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection next month says the state lost the paperwork he turned in selecting an alternate execution method. Fifty-seven=year-old Alan Eugene Miller is set to be put to death Sept. 22 for a 1999 workplace shooting rampage that killed three men.

By YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — They’re your run-of-the-mill “salarymen,” as company workers in Japan are called — hard-working, friendly and, well, rather regular. But the chief executive and general manager at a tiny Japanese security company are among the nation’s biggest TikTok stars, drawing 2.7 million followers and 54 million likes, and

PLANO, Texas (AP) — A woman has been arrested and faces a possible hate crime charge after she was captured on video in a racist rant and assault on women of South Asian descent in a suburban Dallas parking lot. Plano police said in a statement that 58-year-old Esmeralda Upton of Plano was arrested and

By ANNIE MA Associated Press Gabrielle Perry, a 29-year-old epidemiologist in New Orleans, expects $20,000 of her $135,000 student loan debt to be wiped out under the plan announced this week by President Joe Biden. She is happy for the relief, but disappointed he isn’t fully canceling student debt that weighs especially heavy on African

By SCOTT SONNER Associated Press RENO, Nev. (AP) — U.S. wildlife officials say there’s enough evidence a rare fish along the California-Nevada line may be at risk of extinction to warrant a yearlong review to determine if it should be listed under the Endangered Species Act. Conservationists who petitioned for protection of the Fish Lake

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says the latest fever cases detected in its border region with China were tested to be influenza, not coronavirus infections as initially feared. The report on Friday by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency came a day after the North said it

By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A U.S. senator has met with Taiwan’s president in Taipei, in the second visit by members of Congress since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip earlier this month sharply raised tensions with China. U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn reaffirmed U.S. support for the self-governing island democracy in her

GREENWOOD, Ind. (AP) — Police say an arrest has been made in the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy waiting at a suburban Indianapolis school bus stop. The 7 a.m. Thursday shooting prompted officials to place nearby schools on lockdown in Greenwood, a city just south of Indianapolis. Greenwood Assistant Chief Matthew Fillenwarth says the

By KEVIN McGILL Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Black man wrongfully convicted as a teenager for a New Orleans rape more than 36 years ago was ordered freed Thursday after a judge threw out his conviction. Sullivan Walter, now 53, used a handkerchief to wipe away tears as a state district judge formally

EDINBURG, Texas (AP) — A former South Texas mayor has been acquitted of organized election fraud and illegal voting. A Hidalgo County jury deliberated for about six hours Thursday before finding former Edinburg Mayor Richard Molina not guilty of the organized fraud count and 11 counts of illegal voting. Molina sobbed in his attorney’s arms

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco’s former public works director was sentenced Thursday to seven years in prison for steering public contracts and taking pricey gifts in a corruption case that ensnared several City Hall officials and insiders. Mohammed Nuru in January pleaded guilty to what federal prosecutors described

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A St. Louis judge has granted a request by a Roman Catholic priest to have a 2014 arrest expunged from his record after a statutory sodomy case was dropped in 2015. Circuit Judge Jason Sengheiser on Thursday found that the Rev. Xiu Hui “Joseph” Jiang’s record should be expunged. Jiang was

By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS Associated Press SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The benefits provided by four giant hydroelectric dams on the Snake River must be replaced before the dams can be breached to save endangered salmon runs, according to a final report issued Thursday by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Washington U.S. Sen. Patty Murray. That

By STEFANIE DAZIO and DON THOMPSON Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Homicides in California increased again last year — as did other violent crimes — amid rising frustration as the state’s top Democrats are seeking to keep their jobs in upcoming elections. The state Department of Justice released its annual crime reports Thursday, showing

By JAMES ANDERSON and THOMAS PEIPERT Associated Press DENVER (AP) — A Colorado woman has struck a plea deal to testify against her boss, who became a hero to election conspiracy theorists after she was charged with breaking into her county’s voting system. Belinda Knisley pleaded guilty Thursday to misdemeanor counts of trespass, official misconduct