Month: April 2023

By MATT O’BRIEN and KATHLEEN FOODY Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Twitter has long been a way for people to keep track of tornado watches, train delays, news alerts or the latest crime warnings from their local police department. But when the Elon Musk-owned platform started stripping blue verification check marks this week from accounts

BERLIN (AP) — A former head of the Catholic German Bishops’ Conference is giving up the country’s highest honor following scathing criticism this week of his handling of clergy abuse cases during his tenure as archbishop of Freiburg and as a personnel officer in the diocese. A spokesperson for Robert Zollitsch said Friday that the

By DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The song is simple and tinny, but that hasn’t stopped it from being embraced by former President Donald Trump and his allies in their campaign to rewrite the history of the deadly Capitol riot. The tune, “Justice for All,” is the Star-Spangled Banner, and it was sung

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s military acknowledged that a bomb accidentally dropped by one of its warplanes caused a powerful blast in a Russian city not far from Ukraine’s border, injuring two and scaring local residents. Belgorod, a city of 340,000 located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of the Russia-Ukraine border, has faced regular drone

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden plans to sign an executive order that would create the White House Office of Environmental Justice. The White House says Biden launched the most ambitious environmental justice agenda in U.S. history and will sign the order Friday “to continue delivering on that vision.” The

By BRIAN MELLEY and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — U.K. Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has resigned after an investigation into complaints he bullied civil servants. Raab quit Friday, the day after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak received the investigation findings. The complaints covered Raab’s previous stint as justice secretary, a position he held

BEIJING (AP) — China’s foreign minister has warned Taiwan and its supporters that they are “playing with fire” if they go against Beijing’s demand to exert control over the self-governing island democracy. China considers Taiwan a part of its territory to be annexed by force if necessary. Qin Gang’s remarks Friday gave higher visibility to

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Food prices have risen dramatically across Europe in recent months, but Hungary has seen the biggest spike. That’s hitting consumers hard, forcing them to change what kind of food they buy and how much of it they can afford. Businesses also are rethinking what they sell

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Thousands of Sri Lankans are holding a protest in the capital, demanding justice for the victims of the 2019 Easter Sunday bomb attacks that killed nearly 270 people. The protesters on Friday demanded the government uncover who they said were the real conspirators behind the

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s Roman Catholic bishop says he has invited the state-appointed archbishop of Beijing to visit his city, a symbolic gesture that experts say could strengthen the fragile relationship between China and the Vatican. Bishop Stephen Chow says Joseph Li, who is the leader of the

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer Stocks remained listless in afternoon trading on Wall Street Friday as investors close out a quiet week of trading, highlighted by a batch of mostly mixed corporate earnings reports. The S&P 500 edged 0.1% lower as of 12:39 p.m. The benchmark index has been wavering over the last

By The Associated Press KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — Sudan’s top general says the military is committed to a transition to civilian rule, in his first speech since brutal fighting started between his forces and its powerful paramilitary rival. Army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan made the remarks in a video message released early on Friday

By MORGAN LEE and ANDREW DALTON Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Prosecutors on Friday formally dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin in the fatal 2021 shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the Western film “Rust, ” citing new evidence and the need for more time to investigate. In a

By YURI KAGEYAMA and STEPHEN WADE Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — The first verdicts in the sprawling Tokyo Olympic bribery scandal have been handed down in Tokyo District Court with defendants found guilty but avoiding jail time. The founder of Aoki Holdings, a manufacturer of affordable suits for businessmen, was found guilty of handing over

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Fox Corp. chief executive Lachlan Murdoch on Friday dropped his defamation lawsuit against Australian news website Crikey, citing the settlement of the separate U.S. case where Fox News agreed to pay almost $800 million over its lies involving the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Media mogul Rupert

By JIM MUSTIAN Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge refused Friday to recuse himself from the New Orleans Roman Catholic bankruptcy after an Associated Press report that he donated tens of thousands of dollars to archdiocese charities and consistently ruled in favor of the church in the contentious case involving nearly 500

By MAURICIO SAVARESE AP Sports Writer SAO PAULO (AP) — Hamilton Moreira is a huge fan of Brazil’s Corinthians, one of the country’s top soccer clubs. But the 16-year-old, who uses a wheelchair and has autism, never saw them in person until last Sunday after his mother learned of their stadium’s special room for people

By MARÍA VERZA Associated Press CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) — When a fire broke out at a Mexican immigration detention facility last month, dramatically different reactions by guards in the men’s and women’s sections appeared to make a difference in who lived and died. That’s according to previously unreported surveillance videos and witness statements viewed

CHRISTOPHER WEBER Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two men who served nearly 17 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of attempted murder have been declared innocent by a California judge.  Under a new law the state is required to pay them each $140 for every day they spent behind bars, or about $900,000.

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As the 2024 Republican field begins to take shape, the potential of a faceoff between Nikki Haley and Tim Scott is putting some of their mutual supporters in the critical early voting state of South Carolina in a conundrum as they weigh which candidate to support.

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Britain’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is cutting a Pacific tour short to return to Britain and deal with the deteriorating situation in Sudan. Cleverly left from New Zealand on Friday, a day before he was due to meet with his counterpart Nanaia Mahuta. He’d arrived

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is working to round up the Republican votes needed to pass his debt ceiling package. It might be surprisingly easier than expected. That’s because the bill the Republican speaker has drafted includes many long-sought conservative priorities to cut spending. President Joe Biden

By SEUNG MIN KIM and EMILY SWANSON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A poll shows only about half of Democrats think President Joe Biden should run again in 2024, but a large majority say they’d be likely to support him if he became the nominee. The poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — Court documents say a Hawaii shooting that killed two people and wounded three others began with an argument at a cockfight attended by 100 to 200 people. Probable cause papers detailing one of the most serious shootings in state history were made public Thursday after an

By KEN RITTER Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Families of people killed in the Las Vegas Strip massacre in October 2017 will receive shares of almost all the $1.4 million estate of the man who unleashed the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history and killed himself before police reached him, according to a

By PRASHANT RANGNEKAR, Press Trust of India KOCHI, India (AP) — Following the devastating 2017 Cyclone Ockhi that ravaged several parts of Kerala state, the India Meteorological Department as well as the state have fast tracked ramping up infrastructure for cyclone warnings. There is a cyclone warning center in Kerala, one of only seven in

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will host Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for talks at the White House next month as the two countries look to continue to tighten relations. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says the two leaders’ meeting on May 1 is expected to focus on deepening economic cooperation,

VENTURA, Calif. (AP) — A man accused of intentionally ramming his car into a group of California high school students, killing one and injuring three others, has been charged with murder and other counts in a series of alleged crimes this week. Twenty-four-year-old Austin Eis of Camarillo appeared in a Ventura County courtroom Thursday but

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Regulators say California will provide 100% of the water requested by cities and farms for the first time in years thanks to winter storms that filled reservoirs and runoff from a record snowpack. The State Water Project announced Thursday that it will provide full allocations to 29 water agencies supplying about

By ADAM BEAM and TOM KRISHER Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Attorneys general in 17 states on Thursday urged the federal government to recall millions of Kia and Hyundai cars because they are too easy to steal, a response to a sharp increase in thefts fueled by a viral social media challenge. Some Kia

MEXICO CITY (AP) — After almost 4 1/2 years of trying, Mexico’s president said Thursday he has finally sold the unwanted presidential jet — to the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the government of Tajikistan paid the equivalent of about $92 million for the Boeing 787 jet. López Obrador

By HOLLY RAMER Associated Press HENNIKER, N.H. (AP) — Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie delivered his opening arguments against Donald Trump on Thursday, sounding like the prosecutor he once was and the presidential candidate he might become again. “Tonight is the beginning of the case against Donald Trump,” Christie said in New Hampshire, where

By JOHN HANNA AP Political Writer TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ Democratic governor has vetoed a sweeping set of anti-transgender measures that included a ban on gender-affirming care for children and teenagers. However, the Republican lawmakers who pushed the bills appeared Thursday to have the votes to override most of her actions. Gov. Laura Kelly

By SARA BURNETT Associated Press Conservative talk radio host Larry Elder, who sought to replace the California governor in a failed 2021 recall effort, announced Thursday he is running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. Elder, 70, made the announcement on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” and followed up with a tweet. “America is

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A man has been shot to death at a Starbucks coffee shop in an upscale neighborhood of Mexico City, and police say he apparently had links to a northern Mexico drug cartel. City police said the shooting occurred inside a shopping mall on the edge of the wealthy neighborhood of Polanco.

By NICOLE WINFIELD and FRANCESCO STATI Associated Press ROME (AP) — A Texas-born princess piled her four yapping bichon frise dogs into a taxi Thursday after being evicted, following a bitter inheritance dispute, from a historic villa in Rome that contains the only known ceiling painted by Caravaggio. Princess Rita Jenrette Boncompagni Ludovisi, nee Rita