Month: April 2023

By BEN FINLEY Associated Press A team of archaeologists and scientists in Virginia say the graves of three men belonged to one of the nation’s oldest Black churches. The First Baptist Church was formed in 1776 by free and enslaved Black people in Williamsburg, Virginia. Members initially gathered outdoors in defiance of laws that prevented

By LEA SKENE Associated Press BALTIMORE (AP) — While the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore has long touted its transparency in publishing the names of clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse, a report released this week by the Maryland attorney general’s office raises questions about the integrity of the church’s list. Following the report’s long-awaited release

By COLLIN BINKLEY AP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Schools and colleges across the U.S. would be forbidden from enacting outright bans on transgender athletes under a proposal released Thursday by the Biden administration, but teams could create some limits in certain cases — for example, to ensure fairness. The proposed rule sends a political

MONTREAL (AP) — The Montreal Canadiens’ Denis Gurianov has decided not to wear his team’s themed warmup jersey for Pride night on Thursday, citing family reasons. The Russian forward is the seventh NHL player to recently opt out of wearing rainbow-colored jerseys on their teams’ Pride nights. Gurianov will not take part in the pregame

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Associated Press/Report for America RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republicans have filed a flurry of bills aimed at transgender youth as they look to capitalize on their newly attained supermajority. State Rep. Tricia Cotham’s switch to the GOP on Wednesday helped Republicans reach the three-fifths majority needed in both chambers to

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts gambling regulators have denied a request to allow legal betting on this year’s Boston Marathon, citing concerns by the race’s organizers. All four members of the Massachusetts Gambling Commission who participated in Thursday’s online meeting voted against the request by DraftKings. Commission chair Cathy Judd-Stein shared an email she received Wednesday

By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is allowing a 12-year-old transgender girl in West Virginia to continue competing on her middle school’s girls sports teams while a lawsuit over a state ban continues. The justices refused to disturb an appeals court order that made it possible for the girl, Becky

MOSCOW (AP) — The ruble has fallen against the U.S. dollar to the value it held just before Russia sent troops into Ukraine more than a year ago. The rate of 81.375 to the dollar at the end of Thursday’s trading continued a slow but steady decline that begin in mid-January. It reflects persisting concerns

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is allowing a 12-year-old transgender girl in West Virginia to continue competing on her middle school’s girls sports teams while a lawsuit over a state ban continues. The justices refused to disturb an appeals court order that made it possible for the girl, Becky Pepper-Jackson, to continue playing on

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS released details Thursday on how it plans to use an infusion of $80 billion for improved operations, pledging to invest in new technology, hire more customer service representatives and expand its ability to audit high-wealth taxpayers. While some Republicans have suggested without evidence that the

By ALEX DANIELS of The Chronicle of Philanthropy Chronicle of Philanthropy The first comprehensive poll to measure public attitudes on foundations and nonprofits offers signs that charitable organizations are more trusted than other institutions, such as businesses, governments, and the news media. But it shows many warning signs for nonprofits, given how little Americans know

By ZEKE MILLER and NOMAAN MERCHANT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration on Thursday laid the blame on his predecessor, President Donald Trump, for the deadly and chaotic 2021 withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan that brought about some of the darkest moments of Biden’s presidency. The White House publicly released a

By MICHAEL PHILLIS Associated Press The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed that chemical plants nationwide measure certain hazardous compounds that cross beyond their property lines and reduce them when they are too high. The agency said Thursday it would significantly reduce cancer risk for residents who live near these facilities. The proposal would affect about

By MARGARET STAFFORD Associated Press The South Dakota Supreme Court has ruled that documents from a child pornography investigation into billionaire banker T. Denny Sanford must be unsealed. Sanford was not charged after an investigation by the South Dakota attorney general’s office. He sought to stop the release of affidavits used to issue search warrants

MADRID (AP) — Spanish authorities say they evacuated 70 people from their homes to ensure their safety as a wildfire burned unchecked in southern Andalusia. Emergency services for fighting wildfires in the Andalusia region said heavy winds fanned flames that broke out in Tarifa near the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. The residents were

STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — Former NBA guard Ben Gordon was arrested on weapons and threatening charges after he began behaving erratically in a Connecticut juice shop, police said. The episode started just before 10 a.m. Tuesday when several 911 callers reported “a male acting aggressively and in a bizarre manner” inside a juice shop in

By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — State and federal officials say the threat of wildfires is growing in Florida over the coming weeks as more than half the state is experiencing severe to extreme drought conditions likely to persist until rainy season resumes around mid-May. The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction

By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press FREEPORT, Bahamas (AP) — No longer a theoretical threat, overfishing across the globe has wiped out species from areas where they once thrived. And one result is that it’s taken off the table beloved culturally important dishes. In the Bahamas, government officials and conservationists are working to save the conch

By FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans on Thursday subpoenaed one of the former Manhattan prosecutors who had been leading a criminal investigation into Donald Trump before quitting last year in a clash over the direction of the probe. Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, ordered Mark Pomerantz to

By PAT EATON-ROBB Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut prison guard who was fired in 2021, several years after posting what was determined by the state to be an anti-Muslim meme on Facebook, has been reinstated to his job. An arbitrator, appointed after the prison guards’ union appealed, ruled that Anthony Marlak’s termination

By EDWIN KINDZEKA MOKI Associated Press YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — Local authorities in Cameroon say that at least 25 people were abducted during a week of attacks by armed men in western Cameroon. They were kidnapped by gang members from several villages in Ako district along the Nigerian border. Local residents have been calling on

CARNEY, Okla. (AP) — The U.S. Geological Survey reports a magnitude 4.0 earthquake among a series of six tremors struck central Oklahoma. No injuries or serious damage were reported following the quakes that included a magnitude 3.3 and four smaller temblors and began early Thursday near the town of Carney, about 40 miles northeast of

Police in England have arrested a 12-year-old boy on suspicion of murder in the death of a woman who was struck by a car. South Yorkshire police said the boy was in custody Thursday. A woman in her 60s was dead at the scene of the crash Wednesday night. The boy was found shortly afterward

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III for the first time has signaled support for research into the British monarchy’s ties to slavery after a document showed an ancestor with shares in a slave-trading company, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said Thursday. Charles takes the issue “profoundly seriously” and academics will be given access to the royal