Month: May 2023

By REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press The state of Texas is suing the Biden administration in an attempt to have a newly-introduced asylum rule thrown out, saying a phone app used by migrants to set up appointments at the border to seek entry into the United States is encouraging illegal immigration. The lawsuit filed Tuesday is

By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Republican senators whose walkout of the Oregon Senate has prevented a quorum for almost three weeks said Tuesday they’re not coming back until the very last day of the legislative session next month. The walkout, which began on May 3 ostensibly because bill summaries weren’t written

By MAURICIO SAVARESE AP Sports Writer SAO PAULO (AP) — About 100 Brazilian protestors have gathered outside the Spanish consulate in Sao Paulo to condemn the racist abuse of Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior in Spain’s top-flight soccer league. The protesters chanted “La Liga is racist” and “end with racism in Spain and in Brazil”

By SARA CLINE The Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Activists in Louisiana are voicing concerns over a bill advancing in the GOP-controlled House to restrict children and teens from accessing public library books deemed “sexually explicit.” They say the proposal could be used to target LGBTQ+ content. The bill advanced out of a

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — JPMorgan Chase is defending itself against a lawsuit by the U.S. Virgin Islands accusing it of empowering Jeffrey Epstein to abuse teenage girls. Lawyers for the giant bank said in court papers Tuesday that it was the islands that enabled the financier to commit his crimes.

By MARÍA VERZA Associated Press AMECAMECA, Mexico (AP) — Concern about the Popocatepetl volcano changes with the wind. While east of the mountain residents swept streets and didn’t remove their masks on Tuesday, here to the west, they casually watched the gas and ash plume emerging from its crater. The 17,797-foot (5,425-meter) mountain just 45

WEST GLACIER, Mont. (AP) — A 28-year-old woman from Kansas has died after falling into a creek in Glacier National Park and being swept into a gorge, park officials said. The woman fell from a rocky overhang into Avalanche Creek on Monday afternoon, spokesperson Gina Kerzman said. Bystanders waded into the creek and pulled the

By JAMES POLLARD Associated Press/Report for America COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Senate has approved a bill that would ban most abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy, sending the bill to the governor who has promised to sign it. The proposal passed on Tuesday restores the ban South Carolina had in place

PHOENIX (AP) — Attorneys general across the U.S. joined in a lawsuit against a telecommunications company accused of making more than 7.5 billion robocalls to people on the national Do Not Call Registry. The 141-page lawsuit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Phoenix against Avid Telecom, its owner Michael D. Lansky and company

By AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has announced new efforts to guide federally backed research on artificial intelligence. The moves announced Tuesday come as the Biden administration is looking to get a firmer grip on understanding the risks and opportunities of the rapidly evolving technology. Among the moves unveiled by

By LISA MASCARO, STEPHEN GROVES, FARNOUSH AMIRI and SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Debt ceiling talks showed few signs of outward progress as negotiators for President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are trading more budget-cutting ideas. Republicans warn there’s a “lack of urgency” at the White House to resolve the

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A New Jersey software developer who prosecutors say once photographed landmarks in New York, Boston and Washington, D.C., for possible terrorist attacks has been sentenced to 12 years in prison. Federal Judge Paul G. Gardephe says it seems Alexei Saab is no longer a danger or

By TRÂN NGUYỄN Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Walmart will pay half a million dollars in civil penalties to the state of California over allegations that it was selling and allowing third-party vendors to sell brass knuckles on its website. State Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the settlement on Tuesday. Brass knuckles are illegal

By SOPHIE AUSTIN and CHRISTOPHER WEBER Associated Press ROCKLIN, Calif. (AP) — His family says it’s no surprise that Casey Rivara’s final act was one of compassion. When he spotted a mama duck trying to guide her ducklings across a California intersection, Rivara stopped his car and helped them make it to safety.  Rivara was

By AMANDA SEITZ Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says it is planning to conduct a yearly audit to verify the prices drug makers charge on a handful of the costliest prescriptions covered by Medicaid. Under the proposal, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would require as many as 10 drug makers

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — The death sentence for a Minnesota man who killed a North Dakota student in 2003 has been changed to life in prison. A federal appeals court judge officially reduced the sentence for 70-year-old Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. last week. Rodriguez had been sentenced to death in 2007 for killing Dru Sjodin. U.S.

By DAVID HAMILTON AP Business Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jack Sweeney, the 20-year-old college student who was once banned from Twitter for posting the real-time movements of Elon Musk’s jet, has a new target: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Sweeney’s new jet tracker on Twitter follows the movements of the official Florida state jet DeSantis

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — A former Kansas police officer who pleaded guilty to a series of sexual assaults has been sentenced to 23 1/2 years in prison. Todd Allen was sentenced Monday on 12 felony sex crime charges and five breach of privacy charges. He pleaded guilty in April. Prosecutors say Allen was a Hutchinson

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The largest LGBTQ+ rights organization in the U.S. joined other civil rights organizations Tuesday in issuing a travel advisory for Florida, warning that newly passed laws and policies may pose risks to minorities, immigrants and gay travelers. The Human Rights Campaign joined the NAACP, the League of United Latin American Citizens,

By GEOFF MULVIHILL and THALIA BEATY Associated Press Planned Parenthood is shifting funding to its state affiliates and cutting national office staff to reflect a changed landscape in both how abortion is provided and how battles over access are playing out. The group, a major provider of abortion and other health services and also an

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Defense attorneys are seeking bond for an alleged drunken driver who police say slammed into newlyweds riding along a South Carolina beach road, killing the bride. Jamie Komoroski’s attorneys filed a motion last week that says she poses no flight risk or danger to the community, news outlets reported. It requested

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has canceled plans to award a $200 million grant to a U.S. battery manufacturer amid criticism from Republican lawmakers over the company’s alleged ties to China. Texas-based Microvast was one of 20 companies to win preliminary grants totaling $2.8 billion to boost domestic manufacturing

By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press Proposals to raise the nation’s debt limit include spending cuts to coronavirus relief funds that haven’t been used. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that $30 billion of “unobligated” pandemic funds could be canceled as part of a debt-limit deal. That could include leftover funds for vaccines, public health initiatives

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer CANNES, France (AP) — “Asteroid City” is among Anderson’s most charmingly chock-full creations, a much-layered, ’50s-set fusion of science fiction, midcentury theater and about a hundred other influences ranging from Looney Tunes to “Bad Day at Black Rock.” In an interview ahead of the film’s Cannes Film Festival premiere

By GRACE GARCES BORDALLO and SARAH BRUMFIELD Associated Press HAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Powerful Typhoon Mawar smashed the U.S. territory of Guam and continued lashing the Pacific island with high winds and heavy rain Thursday, knocking down trees, walls and power lines and creating a powerful storm surge that threatened to wash out low-lying areas.

By STEVE PEOPLES Associated Press Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will announce his 2024 presidential campaign in a Twitter Spaces event with Elon Musk on Wednesday, according to two people with knowledge of his plans. DeSantis, who has long been seen as Donald Trump’s leading rival for the Republican nomination, will reveal his plans in an

By JOSEF FEDERMAN Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is preparing to pass a new budget. If the vote passes, it could bring some stability to his coalition after a rocky start. It also could clear the way for it to press ahead with its religious, pro-settlement agenda. But while the

By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte has signed legislation giving Native American families preference in fostering and adopting Native children involved with child protective services, a proactive move to protect such rights as the U.S. Supreme Court considers a case that could undercut them nationally. Gianforte signed the