Month: February 2023

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of U.S. mass killings linked to extremism over the past decade was at least three times higher than the total from any other 10-year period since the 1970s, according to a report by the Anti-Defamation League. The report, provided to The Associated Press ahead of

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats recently celebrated the 100th judicial confirmation of Joe Biden’s presidency and are clamoring for more. To make it happen, some are flirting with ending a century-long Senate practice that a “blue slip” from a senator could make or break a nomination. Republicans during Donald Trump’s presidency

By DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — In the year since Russia invaded Ukraine, disinformation and propaganda have emerged as key weapons in the Kremlin’s arsenal. Other European nations and U.S. tech companies have responded by muzzling Russian state media and taking down networks of fake accounts that seek to spread misleading claims about

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles judge on Thursday sentenced Harvey Weinstein to 16 more years in prison after a jury convicted him of the rape and sexual assault of an Italian actor and model, furthering the fall of the onetime movie magnate who became a #MeToo magnet.

By JIM SALTER Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Missouri attorney general called Wednesday for the resignation of St. Louis’ elected prosecutor, after a motorist who repeatedly violated his bond conditions on earlier charges crashed and injured a teenage volleyball player from Tennessee, resulting in amputation of both of her legs. The case has

SYDNEY (AP) — Australian national carrier Qantas has posted an underlying pre-tax half-year profit of 1.43 billion Australian dollars ($978 million) in the airline’s first return to profit since the coronavirus pandemic started three years ago. The first-half result for the six months through December posted on Thursday is at the top end of the

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT Associated Press The Biden administration said Wednesday it is considering the first-ever lease sale for offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Mexico, a key part of a push to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030 to help fight climate change. The proposed sale, which could take place as soon

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Emperor Naruhito has expressed deep sorrow for the suffering of people in conflicts around the world and stressed the importance of dialogue and cooperation in remarks released for his 63rd birthday Thursday. Naruhito did not name other countries in his carefully nuanced remarks days before the

By JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has unveiled legislation that would clarify and standardize the way election data is organized, stored and shared across the state. The Republican says the proposal introduced Wednesday can serve as a national model in addressing the “crisis of confidence”

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s Senate on Wednesday approved a reform of the country’s electoral institute, a move that opponents say will undercut democracy but which the president contends will save money and reduce political privileges. Lawmakers voted 72-50 in favor of the controversial overhaul of the body overseeing Mexico’s elections. Opponents immediately said they

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers are having their first public hearing on a proposal to penalize some oil company profits. Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed the law in response to record high gas prices over the summer. Newsom unveiled the bill in December. But since then, it has not advanced

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine mayor says a search team has reached the crash site on a restive volcano of a plane carrying two Filipinos and two Australians and found all aboard were killed. The team of army troops and firefighters was dropped off from an air force helicopter

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An Australian has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death 35 years ago of an American who fell from a Sydney clifftop that was known as a gay meeting place. Scott White’s admission in court comes after his conviction on murder charges was overturned on appeal.

BEIJING (AP) — A 6.8 magnitude earthquake shook a lightly populated, remote part of Tajikistan early Thursday near China’s far western Xinjiang region. It was 41 miles west of Murghob, Tajikistan, and 12 miles deep, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Mughrob is a district capital with a few thousand people located high in the

By RIO YAMAT Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Charges are mounting against a “Dances With Wolves” actor who is accused of sexually abusing and trafficking Indigenous women and girls in the U.S. and Canada for decades. A grand jury in Nevada indicted Nathan Chasing Horse on Wednesday on 19 counts, expanding on previous charges

By DAVID FISCHER Associated Press A central Florida television journalist and a little girl were fatally shot Wednesday afternoon near the scene of a fatal shooting from earlier in the day, authorities said. Orange County Sheriff John Mina said during a news conference that they’ve detained Keith Melvin Moses, 19, who they believe is responsible

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press A Texas man who threatened U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter after he stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 was sentenced on Wednesday to more than three years in prison. Garret Miller was wearing a shirt that read “I Was There, Washington D.C., January 6, 2021” with

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Steve Bannon’s latest legal trouble: a lawsuit alleging he stiffed his former lawyers out of more than $480,000. Bannon, a conservative strategist and longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, was sued for breach of contract last week by a Manhattan law firm that defended

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The many faces and inspirations of David Bowie are getting a permanent home in London. Britain’s Victoria & Albert Museum announced Thursday it has acquired Bowie’s archive of more than 80,000 items as a gift from the late musician’s estate. The trove of costumes, musical instruments, letters,

By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska lawmaker with a history of incendiary remarks has been censured by the state House. Wednesday’s vote came after Republican Rep. David Eastman earlier this week said he said it has been argued that cases of fatal child abuse can be a “cost savings” because

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Google is blocking some Canadian users from viewing news content in what the company says is a test run of a potential response to a Canadian government’s online news bill.  Bill C-18 would require digital giants such as Google and Meta to negotiate deals that would compensate Canadian media companies for

By BILL BARROW Associated Press PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Chad Loshbaugh and his seventh-grade son, Theo, were starting a historical tour for their winter break when they heard that former President Jimmy Carter had begun end-of-life care at home. So the father-son pair from Albany, New York, changed their itinerary and found themselves Wednesday on

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Ukraine’s foreign minister is urging the world’s nations as the anniversary of Russia’s invasion nears to prove they stand for the United Nations Charter and vote in favor of a U.N. resolution calling for a peace that ensures his war-ravaged country’s “sovereignty, independence, unity and

By KEVIN McGILL Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Opponents of embattled New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell say they have enough signatures from a petition drive to force a recall election to remove Cantrell from office. Boxes of signatures were submitted shortly before Wednesday’s deadline for presenting the petition. Still, an election isn’t a sure

By ED WHITE Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — The state of Michigan is asking a judge to release a man who has served nearly 21 years of a life sentence for the fatal shootings of two hunters. The state says evidence about an Ohio serial killer’s possible role was never disclosed to the defense before

By JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona’s former attorney general suppressed findings by his investigators who concluded there was no basis for allegations that the 2020 election was marred by widespread fraud, according to documents released Wednesday by his successor. Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes, who took office last month, said the

By JESSE BEDAYN Associated Press/Report for America DENVER (AP) — Lawmakers in Colorado and at least five other states are proposing bills to roll back legal protections for gun manufacturers and dealers. A draft version of Colorado’s bill is expected to be introduced Thursday. It not only repeals the state’s 2000 law — which prohibits

By TOM DAVIES Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Republican lawmakers have voted to prohibit Indiana University from using any state money to support its sexual research institution after a far-right legislator unleashed disputed allegations of child exploitation by the famed mid-20th century researcher Alfred Kinsey. The Indiana House voted 53-34 Wednesday to block state

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press A former law partner of Alex Murdaugh testified at his double murder trial Wednesday that more than a dozen people walked around the scene of the killings of Murdaugh’s wife and son before state-level law enforcement arrived. After South Carolina agents arrived, they sent Murdaugh, his law partners and friends

By ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Five employees of an environmental consulting firm died when a small airplane they were traveling in crashed outside an industrial area of Little Rock shortly after the plane took off. A spokesman for the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office said a twin-engine plane crashed Wednesday afternoon

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia lawmakers are watering down a bill to allow heavier trucks on state highways after widespread opposition to the original measure by state and local officials. The House Transportation Committee voted 12-7 on Wednesday to allow 90,000 pound weight limits for trucks carrying logging, farming and mining

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press Writer OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Three Republican House members are among those joining the call for a moratorium on the death penalty in Oklahoma. The lawmakers joined members of clergy and a former corrections official in asking for a temporary halt to the state’s brisk pace of lethal injections. They