Month: January 2023

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Attorneys for a former police officer charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Black motorist in western Michigan have asked a judge to dismiss the case. Ex-Grand Rapids Officer Christopher Schurr is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Patrick Lyoya. On Monday, Schurr’s attorneys filed a

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has formally dropped its COVID-19 vaccination mandate, but a new memo signed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also gives commanders some discretion in how or whether to deploy troops who are not vaccinated. Austin’s memo has been widely anticipated ever since new legislation signed

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) — A National Transportation Safety Board report says the passenger compartment of a party bus was destroyed when a tractor trailer struck the bus on a Virginia interstate last month, ejecting several passengers. Authorities say three of the 23 bus passengers died and the remaining passengers survived with both drivers. The preliminary

By MATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A woman who says she was lured from Costa Rica into a Virginia-based sex-trafficking ring says that a former police chief and three other officers were clients of the enterprise and allowed it to operate. A federal jury in Alexandria, Virginia, began hearing testimony Tuesday in

By TRISHA AHMED Associated Press/Report for America Months after the unprecedented leak of the U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade, lawmakers in North Dakota have struck down a bill to criminalize court leaks. The North Dakota Supreme Court introduced the bill. It would have let prosecutors charge people with misdemeanors for

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Fresh off a second rape conviction, Harvey Weinstein asked New York’s highest court Tuesday to overturn his first one, arguing that the judge in his 2020 case betrayed his right to a fair trial by “succumbing to the pressure” of the #MeToo movement. Weinstein’s lawyers

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An endangered Mexican gray wolf has roamed beyond the species’ recovery area into the more northern reaches of New Mexico. U.S. wildlife managers have been tracking the female wolf and while they say it’s not a threat to human health or public safety, they have

By LOLITA C. BALDOR and MATTHEW LEE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Top national security officials from the United States and Japan are expected to agree to changes in the joint defense posture this week as the two nations confront rising threats from North Korea and increasing aggressiveness from China. U.S. officials say Secretary of

By JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — The Biden administration is under growing pressure from leftists in Latin America as well as U.S. lawmakers to expel Jair Bolsonaro from a post-presidential retreat in Florida following his supporters’ brazen attack on Brazil’s capital over the weekend. But the far-right ex-president may pre-empt any plans for

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) — In-N-Out Burger plans to open a corporate office in Tennessee and restaurants in the Nashville area by 2026. The announcement Tuesday marks the company’s first expansion east of Texas. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee joined In-N-Out Burger owner and President Lynsi Snyder for Tuesday’s announcement in Franklin, south of Nashville. Construction of

By JOHN HANNA AP Political Writer TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Conservative Kansas legislators are pushing back more aggressively this year on LGBTQ-rights issues than in the past two years. They now propose to ban gender-affirming care for trangender youth and restrict how public schools discuss sexual orientation and gender identity. Those are in addition to

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Geico is off the hook for now from paying $5.2 million to a woman who says she contracted a sexually transmitted disease in a car insured by the company. The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled unanimously to overturn a lower court’s ruling that favored paying the woman. Instead, the

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press Revelations that classified materials were discovered at think tank offices formerly used by President Joe Biden, as well as at the president’s Delaware home, have prompted questions on how the circumstances compare with the seizure last year of hundreds of classified documents at former President Donald Trump’s Florida residence. There’s

By ERIC TUCKER and JILL COLVIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The volume of classified documents is different and the circumstances of their discovery worlds apart. But the revelation that lawyers for President Joe Biden located what the White House says is his own “small number” of classified documents in a locked closet is an

By MIKE CATALINI Associated Press TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy invited a national political spotlight in his state of the state address, taking implicit aim at GOP rivals who criticize blue states for being “woke” while also calling for “responsible” government. Murphy marked his fifth state of the state Tuesday

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A prosecutor says an Arkansas man who propped his feet on a desk in then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during the riot at the U.S. Capitol planned the trip for weeks and came prepared for violence. The trial of Richard “Bigo” Barnett got underway

By TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The nation’s largest public utility has decided to build a new natural gas plant despite concerns from the Environmental Protection Agency that its analysis of alternatives is faulty and that the project is at odds with President Biden’s clean energy goals. Tennessee Valley Authority President and

By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Bills introduced Tuesday in the Nebraska Legislature address a voter ID requirement passed by voters in November, but also add measures that critics say are designed to make it harder to vote. Two bills introduced by state Sen. Steve Erdman, of Bayard, goes beyond simply

By JESSICA GRESKO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is debating the lengths unions can go to when exerting pressure during a strike. The high court heard arguments in a case about concrete that was wasted when cement truck drivers walked off the job. The case comes to the justices following losses for

By FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans have moved to swiftly establish the marquee investigations of their new majority, voting to create panels focused on China and what they assert is rampant abuse of power in the federal government. Lawmakers passed legislation Tuesday to establish two select committees to investigate federal law

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is reaffirming a commitment to clean water he made exactly four years ago. DeSantis, who began his second term this month, signed an executive order Tuesday rewewed efforts to improve the environment. Among Florida’s issues are red tide and blue-green algae blooms, as well the yearslong

By KIM COOK Associated Press At first glance, Nina Edwards Anker’s sconces and chandeliers look like ancient scrolls of parchment or sheets of buttery toffee wrapped around LED bulbs. They’re actually made of dried algae. And Anker doesn’t disguise it. Her shades for lighting have the imperfections of their natural state. The honey-toned translucent colors

NEW YORK (AP) — The brother of a former Coinbase product manager was sentenced to 10 months in prison on Tuesday in what federal prosecutors have called the first insider trading case involving cryptocurrency. Nikhil Wahi, 27, of Seattle, was sentenced in federal court in Manhattan after pleading guilty in September to one count of

By JOHN WAWROW AP Sports Writer BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Bills safety Damar Hamlin is described as being in good spirts, while undergoing testing for a second day at a Buffalo hospital to determine what led to him going into cardiac arrest during a game last week. Hamlin posted a note on social media saying

By SAM METZ Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Vendors selling hiking apparel, e-bikes, zippers and other outdoor gear gathered in Utah this week for what has long been one of the country’s largest trade shows catering to the recreation industry, marking its return to the deeply Republican state after a four-year boycott over

By ALICIA RANCILIO Associated Press PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Bob Odenkirk is still processing his feelings after suffering a massive heart attack in July 2021 and says a big takeaway is to strive for a better work-life balance. Says the actor: “I have to do a better job.” The heart attack happened on the set

By BERT WILKINSON The Associated Press GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — The government of Guyana says there’s 1.3 billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves in another major field off its shores. Once developed, it could bring $1.6 billion in revenues to the South American nation, plus 2% royalties thereafter. This would be the fifth field in

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency is awarding $100 million in competitive grants for projects that advance environmental justice in communities disproportionately affected by industrial pollution and other hazards. The funding, established through the 2022 climate and health law signed by President Joe Biden, marks the largest environmental justice

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer Carlos Correa has reversed course again, bringing him back to where he started in the most convoluted free-agent negotiation in baseball history. Correa agreed Tuesday to a $200 million, six-year contract that keeps him with the Minnesota Twins after failing to complete deals with the New York Mets and

By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press A background investigator failed to check a would-be trooper’s mental health history, allowing him to be hired for the Virginia State Police the year before he kidnapped a 15-year-old girl and killed three members of her family in California. The Virginia State Police superintendent wrote in a Dec. 30 letter

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Investments in Israel’s tech sector dropped by nearly half in 2022, reflecting a global economic slowdown. That’s according to a report Tuesday by Startup Nation Central, a nonprofit organization that tracks the industry in Israel. The group’s analysis showed that the total value of investments in the industry sank from

By JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A nursing strike that has disrupted patient care at two of New York City’s largest hospitals has entered its second day. A union official said Tuesday that progress was being made toward a possible settlement at one of the institutions. As nurses walked the picket lines,