Month: February 2023

By PAUL J. WEBER Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Officials in Austin, Texas, have fired the city’s manager over the delayed response to a massive winter storm that left thousands of residents without power for a week or longer this month. Spencer Cronk was fired during a city council meeting Wednesday. Prolonged restoration efforts

By JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Fewer than 100 employees out of the thousands who work at Nissan’s auto assembly plant in Tennessee will get to vote on March 16 on whether to form a small union. The National Labor Relations Board set the secret ballot election date for about 86 tool

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer The head of the Federal Aviation Administration is defending the safety of air travel as he answers questions about recent close calls between planes. Acting FAA administrator Billy Nolen said Wednesday he has formed a team to review efforts to keep air travel safe. Nolen also says FAA is

By JOHN SEEWER Associated Press Ohio’s attorney general says charges have been dropped against a cable news reporter who was pushed to the ground and handcuffed while covering a news conference in Ohio last week. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost dismissed trespassing and resisting arrest charges against NewsNation correspondent Evan Lambert, saying he had every

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Universal Orlando Resort plans to raise its starting minimum wage by $2 to $17 an hour, becoming the wage leader among the big theme parks in central Florida, just as its crosstown rival, Walt Disney World, is in contract talks with service worker unions who are pushing to increase the starting

By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer Scientists got their first up-close look at what’s eating away part of Antarctica’s Thwaites ice shelf, nicknamed the Doomsday Glacier because of its massive melt and sea rise potential, and it’s both good and bad news. Using a 13-foot pencil-shaped robot that swam under the grounding line where ice

By ELÉONORE HUGHES Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — As Carnival approaches in Rio de Janeiro, members of a samba school perfect a minutely-tuned performance with dancers twirling in blue, red and white skirts and 40 drummers pounding the rhythm with gusto. There isn’t a single man in sight. This samba school, in Rio’s

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The main freeway in southern Arizona reopened in both directions Wednesday evening and officials said people living southeast of downtown Tucson could return home a day after a deadly crash sent acrid plumes into the desert sky and prompted evacuations. “The public may resume normal activities,” Arizona’s Department of Public Safety

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden often frames his public words and policies as aimed at easing the struggles of everyday Americans, speaking often of parents who strive to pay the bills and provide stability for their children. Aides say his working-class outreach is reflected in how he crafts policy

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peru’s culture ministry has announced that Machu Picchu, an Inca-era stone citadel nestled in its southeastern jungle, reopened after being closed nearly a month ago amid antigovernment protests. The decision was made between agreements between authorities, social groups and the local tourism industry to guarantee the security of the famed tourist

NEW YORK (AP) — Amanda Gorman’s next literary project is a collaboration with a prize-winning illustrator for a children’s book coming out this fall. Viking Children’s Books announced Wednesday that “Something, Someday,” by Gorman and Christian Robinson, is scheduled for Sept. 26. Viking is calling the book “a message of hope” about the ability to

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Sweden’s prime minister is pledging to rush fearsome Archer artillery systems to Ukraine “as soon as possible.” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also cautioned that future military aid would have to be balanced with Sweden’s own defense needs as a would-be future member of the NATO military

KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Rwanda’s army says its troops have briefly exchanged fire with soldiers from Congo, in a new spike in tension between the neighbors. A statement said that twelve to fourteen Congolese soldiers entered the no man’s land near the western district of Rusizi early Wednesday and opened fire at a Rwandan border

By CHALIDA EKVITTAYAVECHNUKUL Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — One of the 12 boys rescued from a flooded cave in Thailand in 2018 after being trapped for more than two weeks has died in England, where he was attending a sports academy. The foundation sponsoring his studies says 17-year-old Duangphet Phromthep was found unconscious in his

By TRAVIS LOLLER and JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — When the nation’s largest public utility recently decided to replace an aging coal plant with a new gas power plant, the Environmental Protection Agency had a host of questions about how the Tennessee Valley Authority evaluated the alternatives. The EPA noted the decision

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan is celebrating his 60th birthday on Friday by making a $10 million donation to Make-A-Wish. It is the largest donation ever received from an individual in the organization’s 43-year history. Jordan’s hope is that his decision to celebrate his birthday by donating to Make-A-Wish will inspire

By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press MILAN (AP) — Former Premier Silvio Berlusconi has been found not guilty of witness tampering in a trial related to the sexually charged “bunga bunga” parties at his villa near Milan while he was in office. The six-year-old trial that ended Wednesday is the third and likely final in a

By SARAH EL DEEB and ZEYNEP BILGINSOY Associated Press ANTAKYA, Turkey (AP) — The earthquakes that killed more than 39,000 people in southern Turkey and northern Syria is producing more grieving and suffering along with extraordinary rescues and appeals for aid. A search-and-rescue team in southern Turkey’s Kahramanmaras province extricated a 42-year-old woman from the

ROME (AP) — Ukraine’s small-scale farmers, who are playing a critical role in feeding the population during the war, will be eligible for funding through the U.N.’s International Fund for Agricultural Development following Ukraine’s induction Wednesday into the body. IFAD said that small farmers  “play a fundamental role in feeding the country” during the war,