Month: December 2022

BY DREW COSTLEY AP Science Writer Residents in several regions of California allege that they’ve been misled by signature gatherers over the last two months as a campaign, Stop the Energy Shutdown, pushed to gather enough signatures to get a referendum to overturn SB 1137 on the 2024 statewide ballot. SB 1137, a law passed

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pennsylvania officials say a newly built bridge to replace the one that collapsed in Pittsburgh will open to traffic by the end of December. Gov. Tom Wolf and other officials marked the announcement Wednesday by walking across the Fern Hollow bridge. The 50-year-old bridge collapsed Jan. 28, hours before President Joe Biden

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Paul Bettany has long been an admirer of art superstar Andy Warhol from a distance, like an art lover wandering a favorite gallery. Now he finds himself on Broadway eight times a week underneath a white Warhol wig, wearing glasses and making the very art

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) — Southern California police say officers shot and killed a man who was holding a knife during a foot chase. Bakersfield police say the man was originally holding a gun, prompting officers to open fire. The man then discarded it and ran through dirt fields on Tuesday morning. Minutes later, officers again

By DAVID SHARP Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Congress has halted a bill that would have allowed Native American tribes in Maine to get the same benefits of future federal laws that tribes across the rest of the U.S. do. The U.S. House approved the proposal earlier but it was not included in the

NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s first legal dispensary for recreational marijuana is set to open Dec. 29. The opening of the Manhattan dispensary will mark the long-awaited launch of a cannabis industry that will certainly become one of the country’s most lucrative. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday that Housing Works will be the first

By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota’s Board of Regents has ordered a review of university campus events and its policy on minors attending them after a drag show at South Dakota State University last month faced criticism from conservative lawmakers for being advertised as family-friendly. The Board of Regents

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has voted overwhelmingly to confirm the new U.S. ambassador to Russia. The vote to confirm Lynne M. Tracy as the new ambassador came hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was expected to arrive Wednesday in Washington for a historic visit. Senators voted to 93-2 to confirm the career diplomat in

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — When Chance the Rapper visited West Africa earlier this year, he initially thought his trip with fellow Chicago hip-hop artist Vic Mensa would be just another vacation getaway. Instead, the Grammy winner connected with Mensa’s father’s family in Ghana and other natives from the

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is slapping sanctions on Iran’s chief prosecutor, four other Iranian officials and a company that supports the country’s security forces for their roles in an ongoing violent crackdown on antigovernment protests. The Treasury Department announced Wednesday that it is targeting the Prosecutor-General of Iran, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, two senior

By KAVISH HARJAI Associated Press/Report for America LOS ANGELES (AP) — States are racing against a deadline to challenge the map federal officials will use to divvy up the nation’s largest-ever investment in high-speed internet. At stake is a share of the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, part of the infrastructure measure

By FREIDA FRISARO Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown will not face charges stemming from a domestic incident in Tampa, Florida. Prosecutors say they reviewed the evidence against 34-year-old Brown and have also recalled the arrest warrant. Police were called to the home on Nov. 28 following a

By JONEL ALECCIA AP Health Writer A new federal law requiring that sesame be listed as an allergen on food labels is having unintended consequences — increasing the number of products with the ingredient. Food industry experts said the requirements are so stringent that many manufacturers, especially bakers, find it simpler and less expensive to

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Confessed French serial killer Charles Sobhraj, who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in Nepal, was ordered Wednesday to be released because of poor health, good behavior and having already served most of his sentence. The Supreme Court ruling also said he had to leave the country within the

By LOLITA C. BALDOR and MATTHEW LEE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says it will provide $1.85 billion in military aid to Ukraine. The administration is rolling out funding for a Patriot missile battery as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is arriving in Washington for his first known trip out of his country

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British filmmaker Mike Hodges, who directed gangland thriller “Get Carter” and sci-fi cult classic “Flash Gordon,” has died. He was 90. Hodges died at his home in the county of Dorset in southwest England on Saturday, his friend and former producer Mike Kaplan told British media on

By ADAM BEAM and AMY TAXIN Associated Press RIO DELL, Calif. (AP) — Outside the Dollar General, the store manager ticked off the items she had to share with families trying to jumpstart their lives after an earthquake jolted them from their beds and cut off the town’s water and power. “Batteries or candles?” a

GENEVA (AP) — The head of the World Health Organization said the agency is “very concerned” about rising reports of severe coronavirus disease across China after the country largely abandoned its “zero COVID” policy, warning that its lagging vaccination rate could result in large numbers of vulnerable people getting infected. At a press briefing on

By LEA SKENE Associated Press BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore homicides surpassed 300 for the eighth year running in 2022 as gun violence remains stubbornly high despite repeated promises from elected officials and new anti-violence initiatives. A recent spate of killings in the Park Heights community of northwest Baltimore reignited longstanding frustration and familiar debate among

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — World Trade Organization arbitrators have concluded the United States violated its rules in requiring that products from Hong Kong be labeled as “Made in China.” The move was part of Washington’s response to a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong in 2019-2020. A WTO dispute panel

By REBECCA BOONE Associated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho police say they’ve determined that a white sedan found in Eugene, Oregon, is not connected to the Nov. 13 stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students. The Moscow Police Department announced Tuesday that it was working with law enforcement in Eugene to determine if

By KEN SWEET, REBECCA BLACKWELL and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Two of Sam Bankman-Fried’s top associates secretly pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX and are cooperating with investigators, a federal prosecutor announced Wednesday as the digital coin entrepreneur was being flown in FBI custody

By JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A New York man who was recently retried and convicted in a 1995 killing is set to get out of prison on parole as soon as next month. The state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision says the Parole Board decided this month to release Eliseo