Month: February 2023

By PETER SMITH Associated Press The Southern Baptist Convention on Tuesday ousted its second-largest congregation — Saddleback Church, the renowned California megachurch founded by pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren — for having a woman pastor. The vote by the convention’s Executive Committee culminates growing tension between the nation’s largest Protestant denomination — which officially

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press Alex Murdaugh’s defense called his surviving son to the witness stand Tuesday to poke holes in evidence that prosecutors have presented in the double murder trial of the disgraced South Carolina attorney. Buster Murdaugh answered questions in a matter-of-fact tone. He explained points that prosecutors emphasized as potentially sinister, including

By AHMED AL-HAJ Associated Press SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Saudi Arabia has deposited $1 billion into the central bank of Yemen’s internationally recognized government in a bid to bolster the country’s ailing economy, state media said. The Saudi state-run media outlet said the $1 billion deposited into the Aden-based central bank will help the Riyadh-backed

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A liberal Milwaukee judge and a conservative former state Supreme Court justice won Tuesday’s primary to face off in a pivotal Wisconsin Supreme Court race that will determine majority control with major issues looming. Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz and ex-Justice Dan Kelly were the

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A police officer and a reggaeton singer are among 24 people accused of running a suspected drug-trafficking ring in Puerto Rico. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Tuesday that the group is accused of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine across the U.S. territory since 2017. Authorities said

By RON TODT Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Authorities in Philadelphia say the quick apprehension of two youths after a Temple University police officer was fatally shot led to the arrest of a suspect just hours later. The school says 31-year-old Officer Christopher Fitzgerald is the university’s first police officer killed in the line of

By KONSTANTIN TESTORIDES Associated Press SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — North Macedonia’s government has vowed to improve its online security in response to a spate of emailed bomb hoaxes that have caused widespread disruption since mid-October. Officials have described the threats as an act of terrorism, suggesting a possible link to the NATO member’s pro-Ukrainian

By JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Two groups advocating for abortion rights say they’re ready to submit fall ballot language for a constitutional amendment guaranteeing Ohioans’ access to reproductive care. Abortion opponents vow to fight the effort. The measure is to be submitted to Republican Attorney General Dave Yost Tuesday. It

SALLISAW, Okla. (AP) — Police in Oklahoma say a 44-year-old woman was killed after crashing to the ground while skydiving. Police in Sallisaw say Heather Glasgow of Poteau died at a hospital after the fall on Saturday. The department says witnesses told investigators that Glasgow’s parachute had opened, but she was spinning and did not

By SAM METZ Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its investment arm have been fined $5 million for using shell companies to obscure the size of the portfolio under church control, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Tuesday. The faith, widely known as the

By JOHN SEEWER and MICHAEL RUBINKAM Associated Press EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered Norfolk Southern on Tuesday to pay for the cleanup of the East Palestine, Ohio, train wreck and chemical release as federal regulators took charge of long-term recovery efforts and promised worried residents they won’t be forgotten.

By COREY WILLIAMS and ED WHITE Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Mourners filled a Detroit church for the last funeral for three students who were killed in a shooting last week at Michigan State University. Nineteen-year-old Arielle Anderson wanted to graduate as soon as possible and someday become a surgeon. She was fatally shot on

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Moscow is suspending its participation in the last remaining nuclear arms control pact with the United States. The move to halt Moscow’s involvement in the New START treaty sharply ups the ante amid tensions with Washington over the fighting in Ukraine.

By DEEPA BHARATH Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle City Council on Tuesday added caste to the city’s anti-discrimination laws, becoming the first U.S. city to ban caste discrimination and the first in the world to pass such a law outside South Asia. Calls to outlaw discrimination based on caste, a division of people

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Thousands of people demonstrated in Guatemala to protest a court’s decision not to allow an indigenous candidate to register for the country’s June 25 presidential elections. Protesters blocked at least 15 local highways Tuesday, demanding that the leftist candidate be allowed to run for president and vice president. Thelma Cabrera was

By ANDREEA ALEXANDRU and STEPHEN McGRATH Associated Press BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A court in Romania’s capital agreed Tuesday to extend social media influencer Andrew Tate’s detention on suspicion of organized crime and human trafficking by another 30 days, an official said. Tate, 36, a British-U.S. citizen known for misogynistic views who has 5.1 million

By AYANNA ALEXANDER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Top state election and cybersecurity officials are warning about the threat posed by Russia and other foreign adversaries ahead of the 2024 elections. They say America’s decentralized system of thousands of local voting jurisdictions creates a particular vulnerability. Russia and Iran have meddled in previous elections, including

NEW YORK (AP) — MSNBC says former White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki will debut a Sunday political show on the network next month. Her show, “Inside with Jen Psaki,” will air at noon each Sunday and feature newsmaker interviews and policy discussions. She will also profile newsmakers, showing them going about their daily lives.

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — You can forgive John Larroquette for thinking he’d entered a time machine when he stepped onto the sound stage of the rebooted NBC sitcom “Night Court.” The sets for the arraignment courtroom, chambers and hallways where he had first made people laugh as prosecutor Dan

By GLENN GAMBOA AP Business Writer Fidelity Charitable, the nation’s largest grantmaker, announced Tuesday that 2022 was another record-setting year, with $11.2 billion in grants awarded by its donor-advised fund holders, up 9% over 2021. What makes the new record even more notable was that the donations came during a year of high inflation and

MONTREAL (AP) — The World Anti-Doping Agency says it has appealed Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva’s doping case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and is seeking a four-year ban. WADA is objecting to a finding by a Russian tribunal that Valieva bore “no fault or negligence” in the case. Her positive test overshadowed

LONDON (AP) — Work less, get more. A trial of a four-day workweek in Britain, billed as the world’s largest, has found that an overwhelming majority of the 61 companies that participated over six months last year will keep going with the shorter hours and that most employees were less stressed and burned out and

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The maker of Enfamil announced a recall of about 145,000 cans of infant formula due to the possibility of cross-contamination with a bacteria that can cause serious illness or death. Reckitt, a U.K.-based consumer health and nutrition company, said over the weekend that is voluntarily recalling

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — An international initiative reports that more than 5.4 million people in Kenya will likely experience acute food insecurity beginning in March as East Africa faces the worst drought in decades. The analysis published on Tuesday by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification predicted an increase in the 4.4 million Kenyans currently

By MARK PRATT Associated Press Rhode Island congressman David Cicilline is stepping down this summer to lead his home state’s largest funder of nonprofits. Cicilline on Tuesday announced he will be president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation, effective June 1. The Democrat is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Jill Biden will visit Namibia and Kenya this week as part of a United States push to step up engagement with Africa. President Joe Biden told African leaders at a summit last year that the U.S. is “all in” on the continent’s future. He promised

VENICE, Italy (AP) — Some of Venice’s smaller canals have practically dried up due a prolonged spell of low tides, frustrating boat crews and bewildering tourists. The prolonged stretch of ebb tides is linked to a lingering high-pressure weather system over much of Italy, experts say. Since the canals essentially serve as streets in car-less

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — The nation’s housing slump deepened in January as home sales fell for the 12th month in a row to the slowest pace in more than a dozen years. The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that existing U.S. home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted