Month: May 2023

By HARM VENHUIZEN Associated Press/Report for America MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Election officials in battleground Wisconsin hope to revive plans for a new division intended to work with the public and deal with an onslaught of records requests and complaints. The Legislature’s Republican-controlled budget-writing committee killed the plan last Tuesday along with more than 500

By KAREN MATTHEWS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The Republican leaders of two suburban counties have declared states of emergency in an effort to block a plan by New York City’s Democratic mayor to use their communities to house hundreds of international migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. The county executives in Rockland and

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus’ leading rights organization says a man sentenced to jail over a satirical drawing of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has died behind bars. The Viasna Human Rights Center said Mikalai Klimowicz, a 61-year-old blogger and activist, died on Sunday while in prison in northeastern Belarus. Klimowicz

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Investigators say deputies shot and killed a man who opened fire on them during a traffic stop in South Carolina. Authorities say Charleston County Deputy Evan Cubbage also was hit three times by gunfire Sunday and was treated at a hospital and released. Charleston County Sheriff Kristin Graziano says Cubbage called

By CARLA K. JOHNSON AP Medical Writer The U.S. government will pay for a large study measuring whether safe injection sites can make a dent in the nation’s overdose epidemic. The grant, announced Monday, will study three sites where people can use heroin and other drugs and be revived if they take too much. The

JERUSALEM (AP) — The European Union says it has canceled a reception at an event in Tel Aviv marking Europe Day to prevent a radical ultranationalist Israeli minister from giving an address. The EU’s Delegation to the State of Israel said Monday that it decided “to cancel the diplomatic reception, as we do not want

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States’ top international development chief is heading to Serbia and Kosovo this week to meet with leaders there. Samantha Power’s travel comes as U.S. and European leaders work to stabilize relations between the two former wartime enemies at a time of heightened

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Six crew members of a Liberian-flagged tanker who had been held hostage by pirates in March have been freed. Pirates boarded the Monjasa Reformer southwest of Port Pointe-Noire, Congo on March 25. The French navy, which was patrolling the area, eventually found the abandoned tanker with 10 crew members still on

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LONDON (AP) — King Charles III rested on the third day of his long coronation weekend. Monday was, after all, a holiday declared in honor of his crowning and he had spent several whirlwind days of elaborately choreographed public festivities capped with an off-the-cuff cameo on “American Idol.” Other royals

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A Nigerian court has opened hearing on suits filed by opposition parties to challenge the incumbent party’s victory in the country’s Feb. 25 presidential election. The hearing began at the Court of Appeal in Abuja on Monday amid heavy security. Armed personnel blocked major access roads

By LEANNE ITALIE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — From just the right book to just the right wheels, there are lots of ways to please all the mothers in your life when their special holiday rolls around. Some ideas: TECHNOLOGY Give the gift of a heartbeat. Bond Heart is a smart necklace in the

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s Justice Minister says 13 people have been detained over violence which broke out at an opposition rally over the weekend. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu of the main opposition Republican People’s Party, CHP, was speaking atop a campaign bus in the eastern city of Erzurum Sunday afternoon when a large group of

MADRID (AP) — Drought-stricken Spain says last month was the hottest and driest April since records began in 1961. The State Meteorological Agency says the average daily temperature was 14.9 degrees Celsius (58.8 Fahrenheit) — that is 3 degrees Celsius above the average. AEMET said average maximum temperatures during the month were up by 4.7

By KIMBERLY PALMER of NerdWallet While summer camp costs are rising, parents can find deals by booking sessions early, asking about financial aid, and leveraging sibling and other discounts. Sometimes, camps offer special deals on new programs or for certain age groups. Many nonprofits, service-based organizations and faith-based camps offer lower prices or even free

BEIJING (AP) — China’s foreign minister has told the U.S. ambassador that Washington is responsible for the downturn in relations between the two countries and must “reflect deeply” before ties can return to a healthy track. Qin Gang’s comments follow a suspension of serious dialogue on a range of issues between the world’s largest economies,

By TRENTON DANIEL Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Joe Biden nominated Gigi Sohn to serve on the Federal Communications Commission, she expected to face criticism over her desire to expand free internet access and improve competition among broadband providers. Instead, Sohn found herself the target of an aggressive campaign funded by an organization

By SUSIE BLANN Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia enacted a major security clampdown ahead of Tuesday’s annual commemorations marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, curbing the use of drones, jet skis and car-sharing services in its largest cities amid its 14-month war with Ukraine. At least 21 Russian cities

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer The Biden administration is working on new regulations that would require airlines to compensate passengers and cover their meals and hotel rooms if they are stranded for reasons within the airline’s control. The White House said President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg would announce the start of

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has led the traditional ceremony on Paris’ Champs-Elysees Monday commemorating May 8, the day that marked the end of World War II in Europe in 1945. He laid a wreath and a brass band played the Marseillaise. To limit disruptions amid ongoing opposition to Macron and his contested

By FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department says it’s “unfortunate” the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s chairman has threatened to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress if the department doesn’t turn over classified cables related to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Texas Republican Rep. Michael McCaul pledged Friday

By EDNA TARIGAN and ANDI JATMIKO Associated Press LABUAN BAJO, Indonesia (AP) — A picturesque tourist destination will host crisis-weary Southeast Asian leaders with sun-splashed tropical islands, turquoise waters brimming with corals and manta rays, seafood feasts, and a hillside savannah crawling with Komodo dragons. The sunshiny setting is a stark contrast to the seriousness

By ANDREW WILKS Associated Press ISTANBUL (AP) — As Turkey heads for presidential and parliamentary elections at the weekend that are shaping up to be the strongest challenge to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his 20 years as leader, complaints are growing about the fairness of the vote. Erdogan receives far more coverage on state-controlled

Norway’s aging king, Harald V, has been admitted to a hospital due to an infection. The Norwegian palace said Monday that “the king has been diagnosed with an infection that needs to be treated, and will therefore remain in hospital for a few days.” The palace added that the 86-year-old monarch was stable in Oslo’s

By NOHA ELHENNAWY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s Doctors Syndicate says at least 100 people were killed in clashes that erupted last month between armed fighters in a city in Sudan’s restive region of Darfur. All hospitals were still out of service in the Darfur city of Genena and an accurate count of the

By The Associated Press Victory Day is Russia’s most important secular holiday, lauding two tenets that are central to its identity: military might and moral rectitude. But the war in Ukraine undermines both this year. Many regions have canceled their observances of the 78th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s capitulation in World War II because of

RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — A U.N. report on Monday strongly criticized the Taliban for carrying out public executions, lashings and stonings since seizing power in Afghanistan, and called on the country’s rulers to halt such practices. In the past six months alone, 274 men, 58 women and two boys were publicly flogged

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani authorities and Afghanistan’s Taliban-appointed foreign minister have agreed to enhance trade and lower tensions amid a surge of militant attacks. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Sunday’s accord, which is aimed at improving coordination on counterterrorism amid a surge of militant attacks near the border between the countries.

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is calling for officials to map out specific steps to hasten security and economic cooperation with Japan following his weekend summit in Seoul with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Kishida during Sunday’s meeting expressed sympathy toward Koreans forced into

By MARC LEVY Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — As schools across the country struggle to find teachers to hire, more governors are pushing for pay increases, bonuses and other perks for the beleaguered profession — with some vowing to beat out other states competing for educators. Already in 2023, governors in Georgia and Arkansas

By STEFANIE DAZIO and LARRY FENN Associated Press More than five years after his son was gunned down in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, Richard Berger still asks why. Why Stephen Berger was killed the day after celebrating his 44th birthday. Why the gunman rained bullets over the Las Vegas Strip in