Month: January 2023

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer Oscar chances for “Top Gun: Maverick” just went into hyperdrive. The high-flying blockbuster, along with Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans,” “The Banshees of Inisherin,” “Everything Everywhere All At Once” and “Tár” have all been nominated for the Producers Guild of America’s top honor. The organization announced the contenders on Thursday.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Police in Columbia, Missouri say a man suspected of assaulting several people was fatally shot when he rushed toward officers with a knife. It happened Wednesday night at the Stonegate mobile home park. A Columbia police spokesman said Thursday that 28-year-old Jordan Pruyn dropped a weapon and then barricaded himself inside

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball hired a high-ranking executive from the Sinclair Broadcast Group as the sport deals with concern over the future of regional sports networks in an era of cord-cutting. Billy Chambers will start with MLB on Feb. 1 in the newly created position of executive vice president for local media.

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Vaccination rates for U.S. kindergarteners dropped again last year, and federal officials are starting a new campaign to try to bring them up. Usually, 94% to 95% of kindergarteners are vaccinated against measles, tetanus and certain other diseases. The vaccination rates dropped below 94% in

LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to highlight the benefits of remaining in the U.K. when he meets with the Scottish leader during his first visit to Scotland since taking office. Sunak will meet for private and informal talks with Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Thursday. Sturgeon wants to take

LONDON (AP) — Former One Direction star Harry Styles and Wet Leg, an indie rock duo from the Isle of Wight, are the front-runners at this year’s Brit Awards, with each securing four nominations. Styles earned nods Thursday for album of the year for “Harry’s House,” song of the year for “As It Was,” artist

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is planning to hold the first public campaign event of his 2024 White House bid in the early-voting state of South Carolina. Campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung tells The Associated Press that Trump will visit South Carolina later this month. No other details

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish media reports say Turkey has summoned the Swedish ambassador to convey Ankara’s displeasure after a mannequin depicting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğanwas reportedly hung outside the city hall in Stockholm. Turkish officials on Thursday described the incident as “terrorist propaganda” by supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-controlled House has voted to block oil from the country’s emergency stockpile from going to China. Republicans say the bill would help end what they call President Joe Biden’s “abuse of our strategic reserves.” Biden withdrew 180 million barrels from the reserve last year in a

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The former national chairman of the Proud Boys and four associates are standing trial on seditious conspiracy charges in the attack on the U.S. Capitol. This trial comes just weeks after the Justice Department secured guilty verdicts against two leaders of another far-right

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The president of the European Parliament says senior lawmakers agree to press ahead with her plans to revamp rules on lobbying and access to the assembly. President Roberta Metsola’s proposals are a response to a corruption scandal linking Qatar and Morocco to the payment of bribes to

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president says the government is in talks to persuade companies that have started lithium mining projects in Mexico to give up their plans. In 2022, Mexico nationalized lithium mining and extraction, with a state-run company having exclusive rights to mine the metal used in electric car batteries and other devices.

BENNINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Ezra Miller is due in court Friday where the “Flash” actor is set to accept a plea deal to avoid jail time in connection with a break-in at a southern Vermont home last spring. Miller agreed to a suspended sentence of 89 to 90 days in jail for the misdemeanor of

By SCOTT McFETRIDGE and JOSH FUNK Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Thinking of lining up at the mini-mart for a shot at a $1.35 billion Mega Millions jackpot? Maybe you should first dig into your coat pockets or your car’s glove box to make sure you don’t already have a winning ticket from

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A human rights group says an opposition politician who ran against authoritarian Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has been arrested in Minsk. The Viasna center reported Thursday that the 41-year-old activist who heads the Tell the Truth movement was seized by security forces near his home in the capital late Wednesday. The

By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer DENVER (AP) — Government science teams say that 2022 didn’t quite set a record for heat, but it was in the top five or six warmest on record depending on who’s doing the measuring. And NOAA, NASA and others say the last eight years have been the warmest eight

By ZEKE MILLER and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday appointed a special counsel to investigate the presence of classified documents found at President Joe Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, and at an unsecured office in Washington dating from his time as vice president. Robert Hur, a onetime

By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — In one of his first acts as Nebraska’s governor, Republican Jim Pillen has named Pete Ricketts to fill the state’s vacant U.S. Senate seat. Pillen surprised no one Thursday in naming his predecessor to the seat vacated Sunday by Ben Sasse, even as some Republicans

COLLEGEDALE, Tenn. (AP) — The driver of a semi-truck involved in a Tennessee train derailment has been charged. News outlets reported on Wednesday that Collegedale Police arrested the driver and charged him with failure to yield, a registration violation and felony reckless endangerment. The train hit the truck last month, injuring two train workers and

By MARK STEVENSON and MARIA VERZA Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — The mayor of Mexico City announced Thursday that 6,060 National Guard officers will be posted in the city’s subway system after a series of accidents that officials suggested could be due to sabotage. Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said mechanical problems in recent months may

ST. ANN, Mo. (AP) — A man has been charged with murder and jailed in a case that baffled police for nearly two decades — the death of a woman whose decapitated torso was found at a Missouri rest stop along Interstate 70. Mike A. Clardy of St. Louis County was charged Wednesday with second-degree

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, LINDSAY WHITEHURST and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal prosecutor says former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four lieutenants charged with seditious conspiracy in the Capitol attack took aim at “the heart of our democracy” on Jan. 6, 2021. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason McCullough made the comment