Month: February 2023

By LINDSEY TANNER AP Medical Writer The coolest thing on social media these days may be celebrities and regular folks plunging into frigid water or taking ice baths. The touted benefits include improved mood, more energy, weight loss and reduced inflammation, but the science supporting some of those claims is lukewarm. Kim Kardashian posted her

By HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Scholten is among the Democrats who had a surprisingly good election night in November. She became the first Democrat in nearly a half century to win her western Michigan congressional district, bucking expectations about her party’s prospects and helping limit the Republican majority in the U.S.

BEIJING (AP) — China’s orbiting space station crew has completed their first spacewalk of their six-month mission. Several more spacewalks are planned, demonstrating how such activities have become routine for Chinese astronauts. The China Manned Space Agency said that a number of tasks were carried out during Friday’s seven-hour extra-vehicular activity. Fei Junlong and Zhang

By JOHN HANNA and HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The operator of an oil pipeline says a faulty weld at a bend in an oil pipeline contributed to a spill that dumped nearly 13,000 bathtubs’ worth of crude oil into a northeastern Kansas creek. Canadian-based TC Energy also estimated Thursday that the

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer New YORK (AP) — HarperCollins Publishers and the union representing around 250 striking employees reached a tentative agreement providing increases to entry level salaries. If union members ratify the contract, it will run through the end of 2025 and end a walkout that began nearly three months ago. HarperCollins

BRUSSELS (AP) — Ukraine’s wartime leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy has now been bestowed with France’s highest medal of honor. But there’s a problem: Russian President Vladimir Putin has the same medal. French President Emmanuel Macron pinned the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor medal on Zelenskyy’s chest after the two met in the French presidential

By JOHN MARSHALL AP Sports Writer PHOENIX (AP) — The first responders who saved Damar Hamlin’s life were recognized with a tribute video at “NFL Honors” before being invited onto the stage. The man they saved was right behind them. Hamlin made his second appearance in Phoenix during Super Bowl week Thursday night, paying tribute

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea says it will remove the entry restrictions it placed on short-term travelers from China since the start of the year as officials see the COVID-19 situation in that country as stabilizing. South Korea in early January stopped issuing most short-term visas at its

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago’s police oversight agency has cast uncertainty on whether a man fatally shot by officers fired his weapon in what Supt. David Brown has termed an “apparent exchange of gunfire.” The Civilian Office of Police Accountability’s First Deputy Chief Administrator Ephraim Eaddy said in a statement Thursday the agency “can confirm a

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon Supreme Court has again refused to overturn a lower court ruling blocking a voter-approved gun measure from taking effect. In a ruling Thursday, the high court concluded it would be inappropriate to get involved while the matter is still being addressed in a trial court, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.

By LEANNE ITALIE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Christian Siriano has lined his New York Fashion Week runway Thursday with thousands of multicolored flowers. He put wide-brimmed hats worthy of muse Audrey Hepburn on some of his models. The show tops off a big week for the designer. He dressed Vice President Kamala Harris

By PATRICK ORSAGOS and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — Residents forced to evacuate in Ohio after a train hauling chemicals derailed and later sent up a toxic plume are beginning to trickle home for the first time in several days. Some say they’re nervous about air quality inside and outside their

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press U.S. Rep. George Santos was charged with criminal theft in Pennsylvania in 2017 in connection with bad checks apparently used to buy puppies from dog breeders, according to a lawyer who said she helped the Republican with the case. The case was ultimately dismissed after Santos said the nine checks,

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer PHOENIX (AP) — Patrick Mahomes dominated the voting for the AP NFL Most Valuable Player award. Now, he’ll try to break the MVP curse. Mahomes, who also won in 2018, easily outdistanced Jalen Hurts, receiving 48 of 50 first-place votes from a nationwide panel of media members who

By STEVE PEOPLES and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press Former Vice President Mike Pence has been subpoenaed by the special counsel overseeing investigations into efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to a person with direct knowledge of the event. The subpoena to Pence as

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. counter-terrorism chief says the threat posed by Islamic State extremists remains high and has increased in and around conflict zones, and the group’s expansion is “particularly worrying” in Africa’s center, south and Sahel regions. Undersecretary-General Vladimir Voronkov told the U.N. Security Council Thursday

LONDON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told a group of sports ministers there should be “no place” for Russian athletes at next year’s Paris Olympics while the Russian war in Ukraine continues. The International Olympic Committee is working on a plan to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes who have not actively supported the

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia is moving toward increasing the weight limit for large trucks to 90,000 pounds. The House Transportation Committee voted 18-11 for the bill on Thursday, sending it to the full House for more debate. Approval came despite strong criticism from state Department of Transportation and local officials

By AMY BETH HANSON Associated Press HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana lawmakers have amended a proposed bill that opponents criticize as letting students avoid punishment for intentionally misgendering or deadnaming their transgender peers. Under the changed legislation, schools would be allowed to discipline those who refer to transgender students by their birth name or birth

By FARNOUSH AMIRI, ERIC TUCKER, KEVIN FREKING and LISA MASCARO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have opened a new inquiry with a brazen attempt to portray the federal government as weaponized against Americans. The first hearing Thursday of the House subcommittee on alleged “weaponization” of the government featured partisan and blatantly inaccurate testimony by

By JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press A man who repeatedly admitted scheming to smuggle finches from Guyana into New York for birdsong competitions has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison. Insaf Ali was stopped at John F. Kennedy Airport in January 2022 with two packs of hair curlers that smugglers use to

By RANDALL CHASE Associated Press WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — An attorney for some insurance companies that could be liable for child sexual abuse claims against the Boy Scouts of America has urged a judge to reverse a bankruptcy plan for the organization. Ted Boutros argued Thursday that the organization colluded with claimants’ lawyers to pressure

By MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Ukrainian relatives of a slain cinematographer are seeking damages in her death from actor Alec Baldwin in connection with a fatal shooting on the set of a Western movie, under a civil lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles. The new lawsuit against Baldwin was filed

By DÁNICA COTO Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Residential electric bills in Puerto Rico could increase by an average of $19 a month if a federal bankruptcy judge approves a proposal to restructure the staggering debt held by Puerto Rico’s power company. The plan filed Thursday would cut by nearly half the

By TRAVIS LOLLER and ADRIAN SAINZ Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — One of three Memphis Police officers who initially detained Tyre Nichols last month has admitted he did not witness the alleged reckless driving that was the justification for pulling over Nichols but still approached his car while brandishing his gun, according to police

By JANIE HAR Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco Mayor London Breed is pushing back on critics who say the city is dead or dying. In her annual state-of-the-city address Thursday, Breed pledged to beef up police staffing and crack down on drugs. She says she’s also planning to remake the city’s moribund

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A local North Carolina prosecutor says campaign-related charges won’t be pursued further against Attorney General Josh Stein or his aides in light of a federal appeals court ruling this week. Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said Thursday that the ongoing investigation and prosecution of

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre filed lawsuits Thursday in Mississippi, accusing the state auditor and two national sportscasters of defaming him in public discussions about the misspending of welfare money that was supposed to help some of the poorest people in one of the poorest

WASHINGTON (AP) — Postmaster General Louis DeJoy says there is new “energy, focus and improvement” across the Postal Service in an upbeat report to the Board of Postal Governors. He is also touting upcoming deliveries of electric-powered trucks as making the Postal Service a leader in carbon footprint reduction. His comments Thursday were accompanied by

By AMANCAI BIRABEN Associated Press PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota lawmakers are advancing a number of bills that would curb Chinese influence in South Dakota’s farmland. Republican Rep. Will Mortenson proposed Thursday investigating partnerships between landowners and foreign entities. It comes after other lawmakers pushed forth other propositions tackling foreign influence, like banning contracts

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Kentucky have advanced a bill allowing teachers to misgender their transgender students. They plunged into the culture war issue despite pleas to resist doing so from a colleague whose transgender son died. The Senate Education Committee advanced the bill Thursday. Transgender advocates warned

By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Black lawmakers in Missouri are accusing House Republican leaders of racism after shutting down debate and passing a bill that could strip power from the Black woman elected as the St. Louis prosecutor. The racial tensions in Missouri echo similar complaints raised this week

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Questions about female athletes’ menstrual history will no longer appear on medical forms Florida high school students are required to fill out before participating in sports, though the new form will still ask athletes for their sex assigned at birth, rather than just their sex. The