Month: January 2023

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Another Mega Millions drawing, another night without a big winner. No one hit all six numbers and won the estimated $940 million jackpot, pushing the lottery prize to an estimated $1.1 billion ahead of the next drawing Tuesday night. The prize is now the third-largest in U.S. history. The numbers

BEIJING (AP) — China has suspended or closed the social media accounts of more than 1,000 critics of the government’s policies on the COVID-19 outbreak, as the country moves to roll back harsh anti-virus restrictions. The popular Sina Weibo social media platform said it had addressed 12,854 violations including attacks on experts, scholars and medical

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press The extended drama over picking the next House speaker has put the normally understated position of House clerk in the spotlight. Cheryl Johnson, the 36th person to serve as clerk, is the first Black woman to preside over the chamber. Round by round, she called for the start of each

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is investigating after a deputy drew a gun and threatened to shoot the driver of a parked car on New Year’s Eve. The department on Friday release body-cam video of the New Year’s Eve encounter in unincorporated South Los Angeles. The video doesn’t say why

By AMY BETH HANSON Associated Press HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A white state lawmaker in Montana is questioning whether land set aside long ago for Native Americans should exist anymore. Republican Sen. Keith Regier is proposing asking Congress to study alternatives to reservations. The measure, submitted this week and riddled with racial stereotypes, is unlikely

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Six GOP members-elect remain opposed to Rep. Kevin McCarthy going into a late-night vote to determine the next speaker of the House. Supporters were working to win a couple of them over, which would almost certainly give McCarthy the majority he needs to finally win the job

By SAM METZ and COLLEEN SLEVIN Associated Press ENOCH, Utah (AP) — A Utah man who fatally shot his five children, mother-in-law and wife and then killed himself removed guns owned by himself and his wife days before the murder-suicide, leaving the family “vulnerable,” a relative said Friday. The wife, Tausha Haight, told her extended

By MARGARET STAFFORD and JOHN HANNA Associated Press TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Bureau of Investigation says a lengthy investigation into sexual abuse by Catholic priests in the state has not led to any charges. Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt released the KBI’s report on Friday. The agency says it initiated 125 criminal cases

By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Bear hunters in Alaska would no longer be able to use bait, such as pastries, dog food or bacon grease, under a proposed rule by the National Park Service on Friday that would prohibit bear baiting in national preserves in the state. It’s the latest in

WASHINGTON (AP) — ABC’s “This Week” — Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; Reps. Scott Perry, R-Pa., and Andy Barr, R-Ky.; U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn. __ NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Reps. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and James Comer, R-Ky. __ CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Veronica Escobar, D-Texas; Sen.

By BRITTANY PETERSON Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Avocados can be tricky. Their ripeness window is so narrow that a slew of memes poke fun at the fine art of deciding when to eat them. Dutch entrepreneur Marco Snikkers aims to solve that problem with an avocado scanner unveiled this week at the CES

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say 11 people across the country have been charged with tax evasion and other crimes in connection to an online sports-betting organization. Prosecutors said the defendants operated the Red44 sports betting organization that utilized an offshore server located in Costa Rica for its activities. The 114-count indictment was filed

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A 38-year-old retired NASA satellite is about to fall from the sky. NASA said Friday the chance of wreckage falling on anybody is “very low.” Most of the 5,400-pound (2,450-kilogram) satellite will burn up upon reentry, according to NASA. But some pieces are expected

By JOHN CARUCCI Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — As the cast of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” celebrated the new season, they credited the show’s creator with popularizing drag and expressed concern about the protests and threats to the performance style at the heart of the long-running series. “RuPaul really brought drag into the mainstream, truly

By KEVIN McGILL Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans is kicking off its annual Carnival season. City officials marked the pre-Lenten season’s start Friday morning at an event with brass band music and costumed revelers. Masked riders planned a raucous journey on the city’s St. Charles Avenue streetcar route Friday night. And an

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin added an element of drama to the governor’s race on Friday. He talked about the state’s challenges and offered advice on how Republican candidates should proceed. After his lengthy speech, Bevin took no questions and left the state Capitol without jumping

WASHINGTON (AP) — Police say the mother of Ashli Babbitt, the woman fatally shot by police inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, has been arrested in Washington after refusing to get out of the street during a demonstration on the two year anniversary. Capitol Police said Friday that Micki Witthoeft was

By AUDREY McAVOY and JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — Lava from Kilauea spurted high into the air and spread out across about 300 acres (120 hectares) of the Hawaii volcano’s summit crater floor, creating a spectacular sight as the mountain began erupting again after a few weeks’ hiatus. Jillian Marohnic said the

By The Associated Press Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music and video game platforms this week. MOVIES — In “I Didn’t See You There,” filmmaker Reid Davenport captures his perspective navigating the world in a wheelchair as a disabled man with cerebral

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A yearslong saga that ensnared the publishing world has culminated in a New York courtroom where a con artist has pleaded guilty to a plot defrauding scores of authors by duping them into handing over hundreds of unpublished manuscripts. Filippo Bernardini, an Italian citizen who

By JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Negotiations to keep about 10,000 nurses from walking off the job are heading into a final weekend. Some major New York City hospitals already are bracing for a potential strike by sending ambulances elsewhere and transferring some patients, including vulnerable newborns. The walkout could start early

SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut youth hockey assistant coach has been fired after grabbing an opposing player and causing him to fall to the ice near the end of a tournament game in New Hampshire on New Year’s Eve. Corey Sutherland was a coach for a South Windsor youth team that lost 6-0

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council is set to vote Monday on a resolution that would continue humanitarian aid deliveries to Syria’s rebel-held northwest from Turkey for another six months. All eyes are on Russia, which has succeeded in reducing cross-border assistance in recent years, and aims

By JIM HEINTZ Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Orthodox Christians packed churches on Friday evening for Christmas Eve services, a holiday darkened for many by the conflict raging between Orthodox neighbors Russia and Ukraine. Patriarch Kirill, leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, the world’s largest Orthodox denomination, led elaborate services at Moscow’s Christ the Savior

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Two agriculture businesses in the Mississippi Delta and some Black farm workers have settled the workers’ lawsuits. The suits claim the farms hired white laborers from South Africa and paid them more than the local Black employees for the same type of work. Federal court

By BEN FINLEY and MATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A 6-year-old student shot and wounded a teacher at his school in Virginia during an altercation inside a first-grade classroom Friday, police and school officials in the city of Newport News said. Experts said a school shooting involving a 6-year-old is extremely rare,

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida lawmakers say they will move to increase state control of Walt Disney World’s private government. The Republican-controlled legislature announced its intention in a notice Friday, the latest development in a feud over the law that critics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.” Lawmakers note that they