Month: March 2023

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s supreme leader says that if a series of suspected poisonings at girls’ schools is proven to be deliberate, the culprits should be sentenced to death for committing an “unforgivable crime.” Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the final say on all matters of state, and Monday was the

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Growing up in New England, Leah Ofsevit’s most cherished childhood memories were blanketed in snow. She remembers running barefoot outside with her brother at the first sign of it, building snowmen and ice castles most winters, strapping on skis as a toddler. Ofsevit and her husband, Jeremy

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s media regulator has banned broadcasts of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s speeches as police arrived at one of his homes to deliver another court summons for the ousted premier. The development is the latest in a political tug of war between the former cricket star turned

By JOHN HANNA AP Political Writer TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators are considering a proposal that many disability rights advocates say would encourage employers to keep paying disabled workers less than the minimum wage, bucking a national trend. A Kansas House bill would expand a state income tax credit for goods and services purchased

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press IZIUM, Ukraine (AP) — In this war-scarred city in Ukraine’s northeast, residents scrutinize every step for land mines. Behind closed doors, survivors wait in agony for the bodies of loved ones to be identified. The hunt for collaborators of the not-so-long ago Russian occupation poisons tightly-knit communities. This is life

By ABDUL SATTAR Associated Press QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani officials say a suicide bomber on a motorcycle targeted a police truck in restive southwestern Baluchistan province, killing at least 10 police officers and wounding 12. The bombing took place Monday on a bridge in the district of Sibi. A local police chief says the

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Georgina Beyer, a trailblazing New Zealand politician who in 1999 became the world’s first openly transgender member of Parliament, died Monday at the age of 65. Friends of Beyer said she died peacefully in hospice care. They did not immediately give a cause of death,

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — When Moheidein Bazazo opened his Beirut mini-market in 1986, during some of the fiercest fighting in Lebanon’s civil war, he didn’t expect it to thrive. But several years later, he had shelves full of food and needed 12 employees to help him manage a bustling business. Those

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Chinese economic officials have expressed confidence they can meet this year’s growth target of “around 5%” by generating 12 million new jobs and encouraging consumer spending. The Cabinet planning officials announced no details of spending or other initiatives to revive growth that slumped to 3% last

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher in muted trading Tuesday, as investors tried to digest a slew of economic data and awaited moves by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.4% to 28,336.98. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5% to 7,366.90. South Korea’s Kospi added

By STEVE PEOPLES AP National Political Writer LACONIA, N.H. (AP) — Democrats across New Hampshire are upset with President Joe Biden for undermining their state’s status as home to the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. But their concerns about Biden run much deeper, in line with a majority of Democratic voters nationwide, who oppose the 80-year-old president’s

By STEVE PEOPLES AP National Political Writer LACONIA, N.H. (AP) — Steve Shurtleff was at Joe Biden’s side in 2019 when he filed papers in the New Hampshire State House to run for president. He repeatedly trekked across the state with Biden to court primary voters. And when Biden ultimately won the presidency, it was

By KIM TONG-HYUNG and HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea took a step toward improving ties with its traditional rival Japan on Monday, announcing a plan to compensate Koreans who performed forced labor during Tokyo’s colonial rule that doesn’t require Japanese companies to contribute to the reparations. The plan reflects

WASHINGTON (AP) — The former chairman of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, Paul Manafort, has agreed to pay $3.15 million to settle a civil case filed by the Justice Department over undeclared foreign bank accounts. Prosecutors allege that Manafort failed to disclose more than 20 offshore bank accounts he ordered opened. The settlement was detailed

By YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Hit Japanese manga “One Piece” is coming to Netflix as a live-action series — a development that’s both exciting and worrisome for fans who have seen mixed success in a growing list of Hollywood adaptations. Chronicling the coming-of-age adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a young pirate with

The U.S. government says Exxon Mobil violated federal law for failing to take sufficient action as five hangman’s nooses were displayed at a facility in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The lawsuit was filed Thursday. Exxon Mobil Corp. said a statement Sunday that it disagrees with the allegations and that it investigated the complaints. The U.S. Equal

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Former Idaho Gov. Phil Batt, a Republican known for signing an agreement with the federal government to remove nuclear waste from his state, died at home on Saturday. He was 96. In a statement announcing Batt’s death, Gov. Brad Little called him “the epitome of a public servant.” “His legacy is

LINDENHURST, N.Y. (AP) — Authorities say a small plane trying to return to a Long Island airport after the pilot reported smoke in the cockpit crashed, leaving one person dead and the two others aboard with critical injuries. Suffolk County Police say no one on the ground was hurt when the single-engine plane crashed Sunday

Ricou Browning, a skilled swimmer best known for his underwater role as the Gill Man in the quintessential 3D black-and-white 1950s monster movie “Creature from the Black Lagoon,” has died, his family told various media outlets. He was 93. Browning died Feb. 27 at his home in Southwest Ranches, Florida. In addition to acting roles,

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) — Authorities say police in Frederick, Maryland, fatally shot a man with a knife during a weekend encounter after he ignored commands to drop the weapon. Frederick Police Chief Jason Lando says officers went to an apartment Saturday night seeking a man wanted for a parole or probation violation. The chief said

AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — The University of Massachusetts is warning about a TikTok drinking trend after 28 ambulances were summoned to off-campus parties. Students were observed Saturday carrying jugs with a mixture of alcohol, electrolytes, flavoring and water, dubbed “blackout rage gallons,” or “BORGs,” in a binge-drinking trend gaining traction on TikTok, officials said. There