Month: February 2023

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A Maryland man convicted of fatally shooting the mother of a U.S. Naval Academy football player with a stray bullet has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Capital Gazette reports that Angelo Harrod’s life sentence on Friday was the maximum punishment sought in the case.

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM, SOPHIE AUSTIN and MANUEL VALDES Associated Press/Report for America SEATTLE (AP) — Legislators in at least two states are trying to allow transgender people to keep records of their name change out of the public record. A bill in Washington would allow gender expression and identity as reasons to seal a petition

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press Investigators like to say the crime scene at a killing tells the story even if no one else does. In the double murder trial of disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh, his defense lawyers want jurors to believe the crime scene can’t tell them much about the deaths of his

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Fighting is grinding on in Ukraine after the country marked the anniversary of Russia’s invasion, with Ukrainian authorities on Saturday reporting dozens of new Russian strikes and attacks on cities in the east and south. After a somber and defiant day of commemorations on Friday and

By ADELLE M. BANKS, Religion News Service HYATTSVILLE, Md. (RNS) — As worshippers entered the sanctuary of Metropolitan Seventh-day Adventist Church, doorman Percy Joseph greeted them with “Happy Sabbath,” his bright red Trinidad and Tobago T-shirt showing beneath his long black coat. Inside, guest steel drum players began to play “Lift Every Voice and Sing,”

By MARIAM FAM Associated Press As the Taliban once again assert control of Afghanistan and push women further out of public view, a female Afghan filmmaker is working thousands of miles away to help bring to life a wildly popular tale of two heroines living in her homeland, including under the group’s first reign. The

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s justice minister says investigations have been launched against more than 600 people in relation to buildings that collapsed in the country’s catastrophic earthquake earlier this month. The minister said Saturday that 184 of the 612 suspects had been jailed pending trial including construction contractors and building owners or managers. The aftermath

BY AYANNA ALEXANDER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers in several Democratic-controlled states are advocating sweeping voter protections this year, reacting to what they view as a broad undermining of voting rights by the Supreme Court and Republican-led states as well as a failed effort in Congress to bolster access to the polls. Legislators in

STAGECOACH, Nev. (AP) — All five people aboard a medical transport flight, including a patient, were killed in a plane crash Friday night in a mountainous area in northern Nevada. The Lyon County Sheriff’s office said authorities began receiving calls about the crash near Stagecoach, Nevada, around 9:15 p.m. and found the wreckage two hours

By GHAITH ALSAYED Associated Press IDLIB, Syria (AP) — Local officials say that schools are reopening in Syria’s rebel-held northwest Saturday after closing for nearly three weeks following an earthquake that devastated the region. Many schools were turned into temporary shelters following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkey and neighboring parts of Syria on

By MICHAEL PHILLIS and KATHLEEN RONAYNE Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — In its latest ambitious roadmap to tackle climate change, California relies on capturing carbon out of the air and storing it deep underground on a scale that’s not yet been seen in the United States. The plan — advanced by Democratic Gov. Gavin

By MARK SHERMAN and JESSICA GRESKO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court won’t have far to look if it wants a personal take on the “crushing weight” of student debt that underlies the Biden administration’s college loan forgiveness plan. Justice Clarence Thomas was in his mid-40s and in his third year on the

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A Cyprus court has ordered a six-day detention for a Syrian man suspected of illegally bringing 21 Syrian migrants to the east Mediterranean island nation via boat. Police said Saturday the 52-year-old man was arrested after the migrants identified him as the captain of the small boat that had departed from

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is imposing new sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The bloc is targeting more officials and organizations accused of supporting the war, spreading propaganda or supplying drones. It’s also slapping trade restrictions on products that could be used by the armed forces. The EU’s Swedish presidency said

BERLIN (AP) — A rally in Berlin calling for peace talks to end the war in Ukraine is expected to draw thousands of people from across the political spectrum, including the far left and the far right. The protest and a related “Manifesto for Peace” signed by more than half a million people have been

By SAM MEDNICK Associated Press OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for killing more than 70 soldiers, wounding dozens and taking five hostage in an ambush on a military convoy in northern Burkina Faso. The statement, posted Friday by Amaq, the group’s news agency, said it attacked a convoy

MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Police say a passenger bus has rammed into a van on a motorway in eastern Pakistan, killing 13 passengers and injuring several others. The crash happened in Rahim Yar Khan, a district in the Punjab province. Mohammad Awais, a district police spokesman, on Saturday said the dead and injured had all

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — The latest folding-screen smartphones, immersive metaverse experiences, AI-powered chatbot avatars and other eye-catching technology are set to wow visitors at the annual MWC wireless trade fair that kicks off Monday. The four-day show, held in a vast Barcelona conference center, is the world’s biggest and most

By RIAZ KHAN and RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Officials say the normal trade and movement of people between Pakistan and Afghanistan has fully resumed after the two sides reopened a key border crossing that was shut down a week ago by Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers. Since Sunday, the closure of the Torkham

By ASHOK SHARMA and FRANK JORDANS Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sought assurances Saturday from India that it would support, or at least not block, Western efforts to isolate Russia for waging a devastating war against Ukraine. Following talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, Scholz said

By WALTER MEARS AP Special Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — Ever the outsider, Jimmy Carter served a turbulent term in the White House. His presidency was beset by soaring interest and inflation rates, gasoline pump lines and the Iran hostage crisis that eventually led to his re-election defeat. But he rose to even greater heights with

By SARA BURNETT Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — For years, Republicans have sought to win over voters by depicting Democratic-led cities as lawless centers of violence that need tough-on-crime policies. In Chicago, some of the Democrats running for mayor are deploying the same strategy as they debate how to make the city safer. One leading

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Pro-democracy protesters have marked the anniversary of the 1986 “people power” revolt in the Philippines with the son of the dictator, who was ousted in that uprising, now leading the country. About 1,400 demonstrators, some waving Philippine flags and holding placards that read “Never forget,” gathered

By MARK STEVENSON Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico is undergoing a fevered competition among states to win a potential Tesla facility in jostling reminiscent of what happens among U.S. cities and states vying to win investments from tech companies. Mexican governors have gone to loopy extremes, like putting up billboards, creating special car

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — There’s little doubt that North Korea’s chronic food shortages worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and speculation about the country’s food insecurity has flared as its top leaders prepare to discuss the “very important and urgent task” of formulating a correct agricultural policy. Unconfirmed reports