Month: April 2023

By ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Republican-led Arkansas House has rejected an effort to ban affirmative action by state and local governments. The chamber rejected the bill along a bipartisan 51-27 vote on Wednesday and then approved a procedural move that will prevent the measure from being reconsidered. The bill

By ED WHITE Associated Press The former head of a Michigan medical marijuana licensing board has agreed to plead guilty to accepting $110,000 in bribes when he led the panel over a two-year period, authorities said Thursday. Rick Johnson acknowledged in a signed court filing that he acted “corruptly” when he accepted cash and other

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. congressional leaders have invited the president of South Korea to address a joint meeting this month. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other leaders announced Thursday they have invited President Yoon Suk Yeol to address a joint meeting on April 27. The invitation is in honor of

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris is set to announce an agreement for what the Biden administration calls the largest community solar effort in U.S. history, enough to power 140,000 homes and businesses. Harris is visiting the Qcells solar panel factory outside Atlanta on Thursday. The South Korean company’s

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT and JOHN FLESHER Associated Press As fossil fuel emissions continue warming Earth’s atmosphere, the Biden administration is turning to hydrogen as an energy source for vehicles, manufacturing and generating electricity. It’s offering $8 billion to entice the nation’s industries, engineers and planners to figure out how to produce and deliver clean hydrogen.

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) — This month marks 25 years since the Good Friday Agreement largely ended three decades of conflict in Northern Ireland that left 3,600 people dead. Northern Ireland is observing the anniversary with a reunion of key players and a visit from U.S. President Joe Biden. But

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI and JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — In an extraordinary act of political retaliation, Tennessee Republicans on Thursday expelled two Democratic lawmakers from the state Legislature for their role in a protest calling for more gun control in the aftermath of a deadly school shooting in Nashville. A third Democrat

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid was higher over the past few months than the government had initially reported, reflecting a modest rise in layoffs as the economy has slowed in the face of higher interest rates. The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of applications has

By MIKE SILVERMAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” proved a sell-out hit at the Metropolitan Opera in 2021. So general manager Peter Gelb wasted no time lining up the composer’s other opera for the current season. That set the clock ticking for Blanchard and his collaborators

By JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Thai media and officials say more than 5,000 people have fled from eastern Myanmar into Thailand in recent days as fighting between Myanmar’s army and armed resistance groups has intensified in the border area. They say ethnic rebels from the Karen minority, allied with guerrillas of the

BERLIN (AP) — Police say 35 migrants were found in the trailer of a truck in southern Austria after the vehicle was damaged and an employee at a repair workshop heard noises from inside. The driver was arrested. The Polish-registered vehicle drove the wrong way out of a highway rest area on Wednesday afternoon, triggering

By MARK PRATT Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — A Boston city councilor has proposed barring city liquor stores from selling the single-serve bottles that hold 100 milliliters or less of booze – both as a way to address alcohol abuse and excessive litter. Councilor Ricardo Arroyo says several other Massachusetts communities have banned the sale

By FATIMA HUSSEIN and JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The International Monetary Fund chief is warning the world economy is expected to grow less than 3% in 2023, down from 3.4% last year, increasing the risk of hunger and poverty globally. Kristalina Georgieva said Thursday growth is expected to remain around 3% for

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A civil rights group is urging U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to follow through on promises made to thousands of people of Caribbean descent who were wrongly targeted as illegal migrants in the so-called Windrush scandal. The Black Equity Organisation submitted a petition Thursday signed by more

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — Italian regulators say the company behind ChatGPT will propose measures to resolve data privacy concerns that sparked the country’s temporary ban on the artificial intelligence chatbot. The Italian data protection authority said Thursday that OpenAI promised to set out measures to address the concerns during a

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart have discussed expanding their economic cooperation and bolstering defense ties between their nations. Russia used Belarus as a staging ground for invading neighboring Ukraine and has maintained a contingent of troops and weapons there. Last month, Putin said Russia next plans to deploy tactical

By LISA BAUMANN Associated Press Deadly storms in the past two weeks unleashed dozens of tornadoes that killed at least 63 people and damaged or destroyed hundreds of people’s homes. An average of 1,200 tornadoes hit the country yearly, and a recent study shows the United States will probably get more killer supercells that spawn

LEIPZIG, Germany (AP) — Leipzig defender Benjamin Henrichs has published hateful messages that he received on Instagram following his team’s 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in the German Cup. Henrichs posted a video on TikTok and says “I’ll show you what my DMs look like.” The video displays a series of messages of threats and

By MARÍA TERESA HERNÁNDEZ Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — A new exhibit hosted by Museum of Templo Mayor in Mexico City marks the 45th anniversary of the discovery of a monolith depicting Coyolxauhqui, the Mexica lunar goddess. The finding was a milestone for Mexican archaeology, as it shed light on Mexica civilization before the

DETROIT (AP) — Honda is recalling nearly 564,000 older small SUVs because road salt can cause the frame to rust and rear suspension parts to come loose. The recall covers certain CR-Vs from 2007 through 2011 that were sold or registered in states where salt is used to clear roads in the winter. U.S. safety

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Ukrainian civil society and rights groups have visited an organization that uses high-tech DNA techniques to identify people who go missing in conflicts and natural disasters. A series of meetings this week aim to boost cooperation amid the ongoing conflict. International Commission on Missing Persons

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — An independent investigative group has accused Croatian officials and police of using a clandestine WhatsApp group to share sensitive information about migrants trying to enter the country. It says it believed many of those discussed were later forcibly removed from the country, which is illegal under international treaties. Croatian police denied

By TERRY CHEA, NOAH BERGER and JOSH EDELSON Associated Press FOLSOM, Calif. (AP) — Water levels fell so low in key reservoirs during the depth of California’s drought that boat docks sat on dry, cracked land and cars drove into the center of what should have been Folsom Lake. Those scenes are no more after

By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press ROME (AP) — Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi is being treated for a lung infection that is a result of chronic leukemia, his doctors said Thursday, revealing the latest of string of health setbacks for the 86-year-old media mogul. Berlusconi’s personal physician, Alberto Zangrillo, signed off on a medical bulletin

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s coast guard says it is searching for an army helicopter carrying 10 crew members that went missing off a southern Japanese island. The coast guard said it received information that a Ground Self-Defense Force UH-60JA Black Hawk helicopter disappeared from radar on a mission Thursday evening in an area north of

LONDON (AP) — British antitrust regulators have started investigating Amazon’s purchase of robot vacuum maker iRobot, adding further scrutiny to the $1.7 billion deal. The Competition and Markets Authority said Thursday that it’s considering whether the deal will result in a “substantial lessening of competition” within the United Kingdom. In an initial step, the U.K.

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer An independent tribunal has ruled that the European tour was within its rights to sanction members who competed on the Saudi-funded LIV Golf without permission. An appeal panel at Sports Resolutions found that players including Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood committed “serious breaches” of the European tour code of