Month: April 2023

By MATTHEW DALY and TOM KRISHER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is proposing strict new automobile pollution limits that would require up to two-thirds of new vehicles sold in the U.S. to be electric by 2032. That’s a nearly tenfold increase over current electric vehicle sales. The proposed regulation was announced Wednesday

MOSCOW (AP) — A volcano spewed out ash for a second day Wednesday on Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula, throwing clouds of dust high into the sky and blanketing wide areas. Shiveluch, one of Kamchatka’s most active volcanoes, started erupting early Tuesday, spewing dust over 500 kilometers (more than 300 miles) northwest and engulfing several

By GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press The U.S. has named a veterinary tranquilizer as an “emerging threat” when it’s mixed with the powerful opioid fentanyl, clearing the way for more efforts to stop the spread of xylazine. The Office of National Drug Control Policy announced the designation Wednesday, the first time the office has used it

By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has evoked memories of the 1960s Cold War and urged world leaders to use reason, not weapons. At his Wednesday audience in St. Peter’s Square, Francis noted that this week marks the 60th anniversary of a Cold War-era encyclical by Pope John XXIII. The

By KONSTANTIN TESTORIDES Associated Press SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — A United States envoy on countering global disinformation says countries in the western Balkan region have been “pretty seriously poisoned” by Russia’s influence campaigns. James P. Rubin, made the comments after traveling to North Macedonia as part of a tour that also includes stops in

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press AMSTERDAM (AP) — President Emmanuel Macron has insisted that his position on China and Taiwan has not changed. During a state visit to the Netherlands, Macron commented on an interview he gave after his trip to Beijing last week that had raised questions about his views. He said Wednesday that

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban’s chief spokesman denies there are obstacles for the U.N. to do its work in Afghanistan, even after barring Afghan women from working at the global body. In December, they banned Afghan women from working at local and nongovernmental groups — a measure that at the time did not extend to

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Ukraine has asked India to supply medicines and medical equipment and help it rebuild war-damaged infrastructure. The request was conveyed by the deputy minister of foreign affairs and Ukraine’s most senior official to visit India since Russia’s invasion began a year ago. The official, Emine Dzhaparova,

By YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — When Johnny Kitagawa told one of the boys staying at his luxury house to go to bed early, everyone knew “it was your turn.” That was among the recollections shared Wednesday by musician Kauan Okamoto, then 15, about allegedly being sexually assaulted by Kitagawa, a powerful figure

By ELENA BECATOROS Associated Press KRAMATORSK, Ukraine (AP) — Huddled in the back of a café near the train station where a missile killed dozens of people a year ago, Nastya took slow, deliberate breaths to calm herself. Overnight, her neighborhood had been bombed again, and she just couldn’t take any more. Heeding her parents’

By WANJOHI KABUKURU Associated Press MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) — More transparency in regional fisheries management organizations that were set up by the United Nations to measure and conserve fish populations — but are difficult to hold to account — is needed if fish species are to be protected, conservation agencies and fishing industries players say.

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt is embarking on a privatization push to help its cash-strapped government after pressure from the International Monetary Fund. The new policy is supposed to be a serious departure for the Egyptian state, which has long maintained a tight grip over sectors of the economy. But local business owners and analysts have

NEW DELHI (AP) — The Indian army says a firing incident inside a military station has killed at least four soldiers in northern India. The army says the area was cordoned off and sealed in Bhatinda, a town in Punjab state. The statement didn’t give details. Indian media reports quoted state police officers as saying

BEIJING (AP) — China says recent air and sea drills simulating an encirclement of Taiwan were intended as a “serious warning” to pro-independence politicians on the self-governing island and their foreign supporters. Spokesperson for the Cabinet’s Taiwan Affairs Office Zhu Fenglian told reporters at a biweekly briefing Wednesday that the three days of air and

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON Associated Press STARKE, Fla. (AP) — Florida has executed a man known as the “ninja killer” for the 1989 slayings of a couple visiting the state from New Jersey. The governor’s office says Louis Bernard Gaskin was pronounced dead at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday after receiving a lethal injection. He was convicted of

By MARÍA VERZA and SONIA PÉREZ D. Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s immigration head will face criminal charges in a fire that killed 40 migrants in a detention center last month, but President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Wednesday that he will not dismiss the official known for his hard line on northbound

By SIBI ARASU Associated Press KOCHI, India (AP) — When 82-year-old Vasanthi Baby almost tripped while climbing down the stairs in her home in southern India’s Kerala state, she decided, along with her 84-year-old husband V. Baby, to move to an assisted living center. The couple are two of a growing number of people in

PERTH, Australia (AP) — Miners, cattle ranchers, tourists and Indigenous locals are evacuating from Australia’s remote northwest coast as an intensifying tropical cyclone approaches. Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said Wednesday that Cyclone Ilsa is expected to peak as a Category 4 storm as it crosses the Pilbara coast of Western Australia state somewhere between the

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jeremy Renner attended the premiere for his new series Tuesday, capping a remarkable recovery less than four months after the “Avengers” star was nearly killed in a snowplow accident. Renner was surrounded by family and supporters at the “Rennervations” premiere in Los Angeles, where he posed for photos and did interviews,

By COLLEEN LONG, DARLENE SUPERVILLE and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) — President Joe Biden has said Northern Ireland must “not go back” to the violence that scarred it for years and urged politicians to resolve a political crisis that has left the region without a functioning government. On a visit to

By THOMAS BEAUMONT Associated Press MARION, Iowa (AP) — When Republicans eyeing the White House visit Iowa, they will navigate an evangelical community that is faithful to Donald Trump. The thrice-married former president who once supported abortion rights and boasted of his sexual prowess retains a strong standing among many of Iowa’s evangelical leaders. As

By RENATA BRITO Associated Press For nearly two years, The Associated Press searched across three continents to uncover the story of a mysterious Mauritanian boat. It led to the story of the people it carried to death as they drifted across the Atlantic Ocean and appeared in the Caribbean island of Tobago in May 2021.

By ELÉONORE HUGHES and CARLA BRIDI Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has arrived in China to strengthen ties with his nation’s biggest trade partner and win support for his long shot push for peace in Ukraine. Lula wants Brazil, China and other nations to help mediate

By RENATA BRITO and FELIPE DANA Associated Press BELLE GARDEN, Tobago (AP) — In 2021, at least seven boats appearing to be from northwest Africa washed up in the Caribbean and in Brazil. All carried dead bodies. For nearly two years, The Associated Press assembled puzzle pieces from across three continents to uncover the story

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer inflation eased in March, with less expensive gas and food providing some relief to households that have struggled under the weight of surging prices but likely still keeping the Federal Reserve on track to further raise interest rates. The government said Wednesday that consumer

NEW YORK (AP) — An attorney for Donald Trump is seeking a one-month delay in the trial regarding a columnist’s claims that Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s. Attorney Joseph Tacopina contends that Trump’s right to a fair trial depends on a “cooling off” period following the former president’s

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Officials in northern Mexico say they have filed complaints against a local employee who ordered fishermen to rip the stingers off live rays to protect tourists during Easter week. The governor of the northern state of Sonora calls it an act of “caveman logic.” Gov. Alfonso Durazo said Tuesday he has

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD AP Political Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Republican attorney and former congressional candidate has entered California’s 2024 race for the U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Dianne Feinstein. Eric Early joins a growing field led by a trio of prominent Democrats — Reps. Katie Porter, Adam Schiff and Barbara Lee.

By THOMAS BEAUMONT and MEG KINNARD Associated Press MARION, Iowa (AP) — Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina says conservatives are “starved for hope,” as he tries to present a more positive vision for the future than his potential rivals for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. Scott told The Associated Press on Wednesday that voters

Associated Press WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) — The Navajo Nation is set receive federal emergency aid to help repair damage caused by severe flooding during a series of storms earlier this year. President Joe Biden on Tuesday granted a disaster declaration for the largest Native American reservation in the U.S., which extends across Arizona, Utah

By SOPHIE AUSTIN Associated Press/Report for America SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The California Legislature is weighing a proposal by Gov. Gavin Newsom to set aside $300 million for low-income schools, but some education advocates say it won’t do enough to improve educational outcomes for Black students. Assemblymember Akilah Weber, a Democrat from San Diego, introduced

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fed up by an enormous pothole in his Los Angeles neighborhood, Arnold Schwarzenegger picked up a shovel and filled it himself. The actor and former California governor tweeted a video Tuesday of him and a helper using packaged concrete to repair the road in the Brentwood area. “Today, after the whole

RICHMOND, Ind. (AP) — Authorities urged people to evacuate Tuesday near a large industrial fire in an Indiana city near the Ohio border that sent massive clouds of black smoke into the sky. The fire occurred at a former factory site in Richmond, 70 miles (112.6 kilometers) east of Indianapolis, that lately had been used

By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former Los Angeles auctioneer has agreed to plead guilty in a cross-country art fraud scheme where he created fake artwork and falsely attributed the paintings to artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. The paintings ultimately wound up at the Orlando Museum of Art in

By KEN RITTER and SUMAN NAISHADHAM Associated Press BOULDER CITY, Nev. (AP) — The Biden administration released an environmental analysis Tuesday that outlined two ways that seven Western states and tribes reliant on the overtapped Colorado River could cut their use, but declined to publicly take a side on the best option. One option would

By TRISHA AHMED Associated Press/Report for America North Dakota’s Republican Gov. Doug Burgum has signed two transgender athlete bans into law. Transgender girls and women are now prohibited from joining female sports teams in K-12 and college. The House and Senate passed the bills with veto-proof majorities this year. At least 19 other states have

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A New York-area doctor has been charged with the yearslong sexual abuse of multiple patients, including two males who authorities say were initially attacked before becoming adults. Darius A. Paduch of North Bergen, New Jersey, was charged in an indictment unsealed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court