Month: May 2023

The U.S. State Department is condemning the arrest of a former employee of a U.S. consulate in Russia. Russia’s Tass news agency says Robert Shonov was detained in the Russian city of Vladivostok on suspicion of “cooperation on a confidential basis with a foreign state, international or foreign organization.” The State Department says Shonov is

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Members of a Tennessee church are hoping and praying that whoever stole a truck loaded with 2,000 organ pipes will repent. News outlets report Calvary Episcopal Church in Memphis had loaded the Penske truck with nearly 2,000 historic organ pipes for transport to Spencer Organ Company in Boston, where they were

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Democrat running for Mississippi governor says he will push legislators to enact an ethics package that includes limits on campaign donations, frequent disclosure about lobbyists’ spending and a ban on former state officials quickly becoming lobbyists. Brandon Presley is trying to unseat Republican Gov.

By LEAH WILLINGHAM Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service has reissued its approval to build a controversial natural gas pipeline through national forest land in Virginia and West Virginia. That is despite past federal appeals court rulings determining developers had “inadequately considered” environmental impacts. Monday’s decision will allow for the construction

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, MORGAN LEE and RIO YAMAT Associated Press FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) — The gunman who killed three people and wounded six others as he fired randomly while roaming his northwestern New Mexico neighborhood was a local high school student and his victims include a 97-year-old woman and her daughter, police said Tuesday.

By DIANE JEANTET Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro is facing questions at the Federal Police headquarters in Brasilia as part of an investigation into alleged falsification of COVID-19 vaccine cards. Officers are trying to determine whether vaccines cards were altered in order to comply with U.S. vaccine requirements

By KAREN MATTHEWS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Retired figure skater Sarah Hughes has filed to run for Congress in New York. The Olympic gold medal winner is joining several other Democrats seeking to unseat Long Island Republican Anthony Esposito. Her spokesperson says the 38-year-old Hughes will make a formal campaign announcement of her

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Authorities in Slovakia say they have launched an investigation after a zookeeper was found dead in an animal enclosure at a private zoo. Police said Tuesday that an autopsy was being carried out to determine the cause of the death. They declined to provide further details. Slovak TV channel Markiza television

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Officials say a police officer tasked with protecting a private school for girls in northwestern Pakistan has opened fire at a school bus carrying teachers and students, killing an 8-year-old girl and injuring five others. The shooting happened in the Swat Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. A senior police official says

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has announced a series of criminal cases tracing the illegal flow of sensitive technology, including Apple’s software code for self-driving cars and materials used for missiles, to foreign adversaries like Russia, China and Iran. Some of the alleged theft highlighted by the department dates

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — An infant formula recalled over potential bacteria contamination was distributed to retailers across eight states even after the recall begun, according to a release published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week. In March, Perrigo Co. issued a voluntary recall of certain lots

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — In her new PBS special, Lidia Bastianich samples the foods of the world without ever crossing the U.S. border. The Emmy-award winning TV host, author and restaurateur explores the immigrant experience through food in “Lidia Celebrates America: Flavors That Define Us.” It airs May 30

By TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer Federal regulators are suing to block biotech drug developer Amgen’s more than $26 billion deal for Horizon Therapeutics. The Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday that the deal, announced last December, would give Amgen unfair leverage to block competition for Horizon medications. The FTC said the deal would entrench Horizon’s

By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press ROME (AP) — Rivers swollen by days of downpours flooded some towns in northern Italy on Tuesday, forcing some residents to rooftops, while in Venice, authorities prepared to activate a mobile barrier in the lagoon in hopes of sparing the city from a rare May high-tide flooding. After the Savio

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Recovery efforts are underway in Myanmar and Bangladesh after a powerful cyclone smashed into their coastlines, causing widespread destruction and at least 21 deaths, with hundreds of others believed missing. Myanmar took the brunt of Cyclone Mocha on Sunday, while Bangladesh was spared a feared catastrophe. Many

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A lawyer for Prince Harry argued in a London court Tuesday that he should be allowed to challenge a government decision that denied him the right to pay for police protection when he visits the U.K. The case is one of six the Duke of Sussex has

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer Laurel Parmet’s directorial debut “The Starling Girl” puts the viewer in the modest shoes of a 17-year-old girl named Jem. She’s grown up in a Christian fundamentalist community in Kentucky and has internalized its teachings, feeling deep shame for drawing attention to herself and her body, even accidentally. But

CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — A former suburban St. Louis police officer is accused of handcuffing a man so the officer’s brother could beat him. St. Louis County prosecutors on Monday charged James Sims with first-degree kidnapping, felony third-degree assault and misdemeanor assault. Sims previously worked for the North County Police Cooperative, which handles policing services

LONDON (AP) — European Union states have given final approval to a sweeping set of beefed-up cryptocurrency rules, giving the 27-nation bloc a global lead in regulating the freewheeling sector. The European Council adopted the package of rules, known as Markets in Crypto Assets on Tuesday. It’s the final step in the 27-nation bloc’s legislative

By BABACAR DIONE Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The rape trial of Senegal’s main opposition leader Ousmane Sonko has been postponed to May 23. The trial was due to begin on Tuesday. The postponement came after 24 hours of unrest linked to the case against the prominent politician in the West African nation in

By JIMMY GOLEN AP Sports Writer English soccer star Jimmy Fryatt was known for his ability to head the ball, and the proof of his prowess may be in the damage it did to his brain. Still physically fit in his late 70s, Fryatt played tennis but couldn’t keep score or remember which side of

By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press ROME (AP) — Italian authorities say customs police and a dog with a fine nose for cocaine found more than 2,700 kilos (about 3 tons) of the drug hidden in 70 tons of boxed bananas shipped from Ecuador. Police estimated the cocaine could have brought traffickers more than 800 million

By MATTHEW BARAKAT and DENISE LAVOIE Associated Press FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A man charged with attacking two staffers for Rep. Gerry Connolly with a baseball bat in his district office is also being charged with a hate crime, accused of damaging a car and chasing a woman in a Virginia neighborhood less than an

By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — An advocacy group that served as a safe space for the LGBTQ community in Beijing has been shut down as part of a government pressure campaign against gay rights groups. The Beijing LGBT Center’s shuttering Monday is a critical blow for the community that used to

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Swedish singer who won the Eurovision Song Contest with her power ballad “Tattoo,” has returned to Sweden, saying she was proud to have won the contest twice and became the second person in Eurovision history to win a second time. Loreen said Tuesday upon arrival in Stockholm that she was “so

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Consumers picked up their spending modestly in April from March, particularly in dining out and online,  buoyed by a solid job market and easing inflationary pressures. A bump up in car sales also helped results, according to the Commerce Department report issued Tuesday. But shoppers

BEIJING (AP) — China’s military says it is prepared to “resolutely smash any form of Taiwan independence” as the U.S. prepares to accelerate the sale of defensive weapons to the self-governing island democracy. Defense Ministry spokesperson Col. Tan Kefei says a recent increase in exchanges between the U.S. and Taiwanese militaries is an “extremely wrong

By NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Amnesty International says executions worldwide increased by 53% in 2022 from a year earlier, with a significant rise in Iran and Saudi Arabia. In an annual report, Amnesty says 70% of the executions in the Middle East and North Africa were carried out in Iran, where

DETROIT (AP) — Stellantis is telling owners of nearly 220,000 Jeep Cherokee SUVs worldwide to park them outdoors and away from other vehicles because the power liftgates can catch fire even when the engines are off. The company is recalling certain Cherokees from the 2014 through 2016 model years. Water can get into the liftgate