Month: December 2022

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press Congress on Friday gave final passage to legislation changing the arcane law that governs the certification of a presidential contest, the strongest effort yet to avoid a repeat of Donald Trump’s violence-inflaming push to reverse his loss in the 2020 election. The House passed an overhaul of the Electoral Count

By JACQUES BILLEAUD Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — A judge has thrown out Republican Abraham Hamadeh’s challenge of election results in his race against Democrat Kris Mayes for Arizona attorney general. Mohave County Superior Court Judge Lee Jantzen concluded Hamadeh didn’t prove the errors in vote counting that he had alleged. The ruling Friday came

By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — U.S. federal lawmakers have changed 19th-century maritime liability rules for accident victims and their families in response to the 2019 boat fire off the coast of Southern California that killed 34 people. The Small Passenger Vessel Liability Fairness Act is part of the $858 billion defense

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — The pope’s vicar for Rome called Friday for the full truth to come out about a famous Jesuit priest accused of sexual and spiritual abuses against adult women. He also said he was evaluating what to do with the priest’s Rome-based community and diocesan positions. Cardinal Angelo

By JOHN HANNA Associated Press TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The operator of a pipeline that spilled about 14,000 barrels of heavy crude oil into a northeastern Kansas creek says it has permission from U.S. government regulators to reopen the repaired segment where the rupture occurred. Canada-based TC Energy did not say exactly when it would

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Flu is decreasing in many parts of the country after an alarmingly early and strong start to the season. U.S. health officials said Friday that the number of flu hospital admissions fell for the second week in a row. And the percentage of doctor’s office

By MICHAEL PHILLIS Associated Press President Joe Biden signed a large defense bill on Friday that includes a water bill that directs the Army Corps of Engineers on major infrastructure projects to improve navigation and protect against storms worsened by climate change. The biggest project by far this year is a $34 billion Texas coastal

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska judge has ruled that a state lawmaker with ties to the far-right Oath Keepers group is eligible to hold office. Superior Court Judge Jack McKenna issued the ruling Friday after overseeing a trial this month in the case against Republican state Rep. David Eastman. The decision can be appealed.

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The seemingly limitless range of Hong Chau is on display in three films this year, in roles so different that they hardly seem the work of one actor. She’s a standout in Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale,” Kelly Reichardt’s “Showing Up” and Mark Mylod’s haute cuisine

GREENWOOD, Miss. (AP) — A trial has been delayed for the former leader of a Mississippi grain storage and processing company who is accused of tens of millions of dollars in fraud. John R. Coleman of Greenwood, Mississippi, is the former CEO of Express Grain Terminals. He is charged with defrauding farmers, banks and the

By TARA COPP Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Eight U.S. military bases that housed tens of thousands of Afghan refugees after they were airlifted out of Kabul last year incurred almost $260 million in damages. In some cases, the buildings were left unusable for troops until significant repairs to walls and plumbing are made. That’s

TORONTO (AP) — A major winter storm hitting Ontario and Quebec has caused widespread flight cancellations and school closures, and has knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers. Environment Canada predicted strong winds, heavy snowfall and possible flash freezing, issuing winter storm warnings Friday for the vast majority of Ontario and Quebec. Ontario

By MEGAN JANETSKY Associated Press HAVANA (AP) — As Belkis Fajardo, 69, walks through the dense streets of downtown Havana with a small bag of lettuce and onions in hand, she wonders how she’ll feed her family over the holidays. Scarcity and economic turmoil are nothing new to Cuba, but Fajardo is among many Cubans

By NARDOS HAILE and KARENA PHAN Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Megan Thee Stallion is a three-time Grammy winner and hip-hop superstar, but her success wasn’t enough to shield the 27-year-old artist from the power of widespread misinformation and social media vitriol leveled against her after she was shot in 2020. The Houston-born rapper,

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An artist has devoted a sweeping new street mural to the memory of one of Los Angeles’ most famous residents. The subject? P-22, the celebrated mountain lion who took up residence in the city and was euthanized last weekend amid worsening health and injuries likely caused by a car. With a

By TERRY CHEA Associated Press The U.S. military agency known for tracking Santa Claus doesn’t expect COVID-19 or the “bomb cyclone” hitting North America to affect Saint Nick’s Christmas Eve deliveries. The North American Aerospace Defense Command is responsible for defending the skies above North America. But the Colorado-based agency also runs the NORAD Tracks

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A judge kept secret that two of Sam Bankman-Fried’s closest associates had turned against him so the cryptocurrency entrepreneur wouldn’t get spooked and fight extradition from the Bahamas, according to court transcripts made public Friday. U.S. prosecutors in New York waited until Bankman-Fried, the founder of

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An underground fire has been raging at an environmental landfill near Birmingham for almost a month, covering Alabama’s largest metro area with smoke. Al.com reports officials now are trying to determine the next steps and who will cover the costs associated with putting it out. The news site says the fire

By BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA Associated Press TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Supporters of the Tunisian Islamist movement Ennahda have demonstrated in front of the Justice Ministry in Tunis to denounce the arrest of one of its senior leaders. He is suspected of being involved in sending Tunisians to fight with extremists in Syria. Ennahda says the

By SAM MEDNICK Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Burkina Faso’s government has expelled the top U.N. official in the country and asked her to leave the country immediately, said the government. Barbara Manzi is the United Nations’ resident and humanitarian coordinator in the West African nation. She was declared persona non grata. No reason

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Online poker players in New Jersey and Michigan will be able to compete against each other starting Jan. 1 as a long-sought effort by gambling companies and their regulators to expand interstate play takes effect. PokerStars will combine player pools in the two states. The

By COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The drawn-out saga of Title 42, the set of emergency powers that allows border officials to quickly turn away migrants, has been chaotic at the U.S.-Mexico border. In Washington, it hasn’t unfolded much better. The Supreme Court is weighing whether to keep the powers in place following

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A $1.7 trillion spending bill financing federal agencies through September and providing more aid to a devastated Ukraine cleared the House on Friday as lawmakers raced to finish their work for the year and avoid a partial government shutdown. The bill passed mostly along party lines, 225-201.

By JUSTIN KATUMWA and AL-HADJI KUDRA MALIRO Associated Press KIBUMBA, Congo (AP) — Eastern Congo’s M23 rebels retreated Friday from some of the territory it held, the group’s first withdrawal since it began seizing swaths of land more than a year ago. The rebels left the Kibumba area and its positions were taken over by