Month: April 2023

By AMY BETH HANSON and HALELUYA HADERO Associated Press HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana lawmakers were expected to take a big step forward Thursday on a bill to ban TikTok from operating in the state, a move that’s bound to face legal challenges but also serve as a testing ground for the TikTok-free America that

By RANDALL CHASE Associated Press WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Jury selection began behind closed doors Thursday in a defamation lawsuit seeking to hold Fox News responsible for repeatedly airing false claims related to the 2020 presidential election. Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis previously made clear that the selection would be done out of public

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ and JANIE HAR Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A tech consultant was arrested and charged with murder Thursday in the stabbing death of the gregarious and popular Cash App founder Bob Lee last week in downtown San Francisco, authorities said. Nima Momeni, 38, and Lee, 43, knew each other, San

MANCHESTER, N.J. (AP) — Authorities say a fire that tore through 6 square miles of New Jersey’s Pine Barrens this week has now ben fully contained. The blaze in Manchester, near Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, forced the evacuation of around 170 homes late Tuesday. Firefighters were confronted by 200-foot flames as they battled the blaze, which

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press A U.S. Capitol police officer who tried to help a Virginia fisherman avoid criminal charges for joining the Jan. 6 riot has been sentenced to four months of home detention. U.S. District Judge Amy Jackson Berman also on Thursday sentenced Michael Angelo Riley to two years of probation. Riley was

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed legislation that will enact safe storage requirements for firearms and universal background checks for gun sales. Whitmer signed the legislation Thursday at the East Lansing campus of Michigan State University where three students were killed by a gunman two

WEST LIBERTY, Ky. (AP) — Authorities say two former correctional officers at an eastern Kentucky prison have pleaded guilty to charges related to the assault of a restrained inmate. The Justice Department said in a statement Monday that 36-year-old James D. Benish and 54-year-old Randy L. Nickell admitted they witnessed fellow officers assault a nonviolent

BERLIN (AP) — Germany has approved Poland’s request to transfer five Soviet-designed fighter jets to Ukraine. The permission was needed because Germany used to own the Soviet-designed MiG 29 planes, which were part of communist East Germany’s military fleet. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in a statement issued Thursday that the approval showed “you can

By ERIC TUCKER, TARA COPP and MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A Massachusetts Air National Guard member was arrested Thursday in connection with the disclosure of highly classified military documents about the Ukraine war and other top national security issues, an alarming breach that has raised fresh questions about America’s ability to safeguard

By JAY COHEN AP Sports Writer CHICAGO (AP) — Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews will not return to the team next year, ending a wildly successful run that included three Stanley Cup championships in 15 seasons. General manager Kyle Davidson says the team will not re-sign its longtime center, who turns 35 on April 29. Toews

MUNICH (AP) — Rally driver Craig Breen was killed in an accident Thursday during a test event ahead of a world championship race in Croatia, his team said. Police were investigating the full circumstances of the 33-year-old Irish driver’s death, which was attributed to “skidding off track,” Daniel Šaškin, president of the organizing committee of

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer The first quarterback-specific helmet designed to help reduce concussions has been approved for use by the NFL and NFLPA, the AP has learned. The helmet, manufactured by Vicis, reduces severity of helmet-to-ground impacts, which league data says account for approximately half of quarterback concussions, including the one suffered

By HALELUYA HADERO Associated Peess NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon CEO Andy Jassy signaled confidence the company will get costs under control in his annual letter to shareholders. The company has spent the past few months cutting unprofitable parts of its business, shuttering stores and slashing 29,000 jobs in an effort to reduce costs. Jassy

By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers have advanced a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for minors, taking it to a final debate before it can be passed. But the advancement came on a promise by legislative leaders to find compromise between supporters and opponents of the bill before

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The man accused of firebombing a prominent Wisconsin anti-abortion group’s office has pleaded not guilty. Investigators believe Hridindu Roychowdhury, of Madison, threw two Molotov cocktails into the Madison office of Wisconsin Family Action last May. He entered a not guilty plea Tuesday to one count of attempting to cause damage by

LONDON (AP) — Premier League clubs have agreed to ban sponsorship from gambling companies on the front of their shirts. The league’s 20 clubs collectively announced the decision to voluntarily “reduce gambling advertising.” It is the first sports league in the UK to do so. The move was welcomed by the Department for Culture, Media

By GERALD IMRAY and MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — A man serving a life sentence for murder and rape who escaped from a top-security prison with help from guards by faking his own burning death has been brought back to South Africa early Thursday after going on the run with

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — The head of Slovakia’s central bank has been convicted of bribery and fined 100,000 euros. A spokesperson for the country’s Special Criminal Court says National Bank of Slovakia Gov. Peter Kazimir received a two-year suspended sentence Thursday. Not paying the fine would mean jail time. The verdict was issued without a

By DANICA KIRKA and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Mary Quant, the visionary fashion designer whose colorful, sexy miniskirts epitomized London in the 1960s and influenced youth culture around the world, has died. She was 93. Quant’s family said she died “peacefully at home” in Surrey, southern England, on Thursday. Quant helped popularize

By JOHN CARUCCI Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Colman Domingo believes in paying it forward, literally, so he joined the producer team of the Broadway play, “Fat Ham.” Recently, at a curated cookout in New York honoring the show before opening night, the Emmy-winning and Tony-nominated actor said his goal is to “hold the

By EVELYNE MUSAMBI Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s opposition has announced that anti-government protests will resume after the holy month of Ramadan despite an agreement on talks with the ruling party. Veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga while attending a town hall meeting in the capital on Thursday said a resumption date would be

By SARA CLINE Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — In Louisiana, a Republican lawmaker has filed legislation that would make all adult criminal court records and certain juvenile court records and case information available to the public online, at no-cost. Currently, juvenile court records are confidential. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, who is running

By LUIS ANDRES HENAO Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Catholics remain the largest religious group among Latinos in the United States, but the number of Latinos who identify as religiously unaffiliated continues to grow. Those are among the key findings in a comprehensive report released Thursday by the Pew Research Center that surveyed 7,647

LONDON (AP) — American and British boxing officials are among the leaders of a breakaway group which hopes to save boxing’s place at the Olympics. The new federation is to be called World Boxing. It is a rival to the 77-year-old International Boxing Association. The IBA has been excluded from organizing the sport at the

By JIMMY GOLEN AP Sports Writer BOSTON (AP) — In the decade since the Boston Marathon bombing, the streets and sidewalks have been repaired, and memorials stand at the site of the explosions to remember the three who died. But the healing continues. And, for many, the race itself is an important part. Bombing survivors

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. wholesale prices fell last month, a sign that inflationary pressures in the economy are easing more than a year after the Federal Reserve began aggressively raising interest rates. From February to March, the government’s producer price index dropped 0.5% as energy prices plunged after having

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press DUBLIN (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday said while he was concerned that sensitive government documents had been leaked, “there’s nothing contemporaneous that I’m aware of that is of great consequence.” It was the first time Biden has commented publicly about the release of Pentagon documents

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer The women’s professional tennis tour is ending its suspension of tournaments in China that was initiated in late 2021 over concerns about Grand Slam doubles champion Peng Shuai’s well-being. The WTA announced Thursday that it will return to competition in China this season, even though two of its key

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press FORT MAGSAYSAY, Philippines (AP) — U.S. and Filipino forces have blasted vehicles with anti-tank missiles in combat-readiness drills in the Philippines that are part of a show of American firepower that has alarmed China. The treaty allies are holding their largest joint military exercises called Balikatan — or shoulder-to-shoulder —