Month: June 2023

By TOM DAVIES and ARLEIGH RODGERS Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Supreme Court has decided that the state’s abortion ban doesn’t violate Indiana’s constitution. The court’s Friday decision removes a major hurdle to enforcing the abortion ban Republicans approved last summer. A county judge had blocked enforcement in September, saying the state constitution’s

By CHEVEL JOHNSON RODRIGUE Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Known as a rapper, super producer and music mogul, Jermaine Dupri is astonished that 30 years have passed since he founded his label, So So Def. That milestone comes as Dupri leads a celebration of 50 years of hip-hop on Saturday at the Essence Festival

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Belarusian journalist has been sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of aiding extremist activities as the authoritarian country continues a severe crackdown on the opposition and independent reporting. The trial of Pavel Padabed was held behind closed doors. His conviction and sentencing were reported by the Belarusian

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A strong earthquake has shaken parts of Indonesia’s main island of Java, causing panic as it killed at least one person, injured two others and damaged dozens of houses and prompting panic. The U.S. Geological Survey said Friday’s magnitude 5.8 quake was centered 84 kilometers southwest of Bambanglipuro, a village in

By TOM DAVIES and KRISTIN M. HALL Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Smoky haze, hot weather and powerful storms brought dangerous and uncomfortable conditions to parts of the U.S. heading into a long July Fourth weekend that typically draws Americans to outdoor gatherings. From heat waves in the South and West to unhealthy air quality

By BOB THOMAS AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Alan Arkin, the wry character actor who demonstrated his versatility in everything from farcical comedy to chilling drama as he received four Academy Award nominations and won an Oscar in 2007 for “Little Miss Sunshine,” has died. He was 89. His sons Adam, Matthew and

By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A sharply divided Supreme Court on Friday effectively killed President Joe Biden’s $400 billion plan to cancel or reduce federal student loan debts for millions of Americans. But he declared, “This fight is not over.” The 6-3 decision, with conservative justices in the majority, said the Biden

By SAM METZ Associated Press LOGAN, Utah (AP) — High up in the mountains, amid pinyon pine and quaking aspen trees, the remaining remnants of the winter’s snow is dotted with hues of pinks, purples and oranges. Hikers, campers and church youth groups journeying by grasp it in their palms and liken it to flavored

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of air travelers are facing potential flight cancellations and delays this weekend, the peak of summer travel, as thunderstorms threaten the East Coast, West Coast and points in between. Disruptions appeared to taper off Friday after thousands of flights were cancelled this week due to foul weather,

By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Lawyers for parents of four transgender children in Georgia say they filed a lawsuit challenging a Georgia law that bans most gender-affirming surgeries and hormone replacement therapies for minors. The lawsuit filed Thursday night says the law deprives parents of their right to make important decisions about

By The Associated Press The key players in last weekend’s armed rebellion by Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin: YEVGENY PRIGOZHIN Prigozhin, 62, owed his position and his fortune to links with President Vladimir Putin. The former convict who became a St. Petersburg restaurateur was dubbed “Putin’s chef” for lucrative Kremlin catering contracts. He expanded into

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood actors may be days from joining screenwriters in what would be the first two-union strike in the industry in more than six decades, with huge consequences for film and television production. Here is a look at how it could play out, and why it’s

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — A group of Democratic senators is asking the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to take action against medical credit cards such as CareCredit, saying the cards’ deferred interest features are confusing and often lead to consumers paying high interest rates after a promotional period has ended.

BERLIN (AP) — Leaders of Germany’s main opposition bloc are calling for voters turned off by the government to back them in two major state elections this fall. They argued Friday that they are the best bet for stability, and that a vote for a far-right party that is surging in polls would bring no

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has been cleared of wrongdoing by a public watchdog over a scandal involving the theft of more than half a million dollars in U.S. currency that had been stashed in a sofa at his farm. Acting Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka said Friday

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — An inflation index that is closely monitored by the Federal Reserve tumbled last month to its lowest level since April 2021, pulled down by lower gas prices and slower-rising food costs. At the same time, consumers barely increased their spending last month, boosting it just 0.1%,

By COURTNEY BONNELL AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — More than 150 executives are urging the European Union to rethink the world’s most comprehensive rules for artificial intelligence. In an open letter to EU leaders Friday, the executives say the upcoming regulations will make it harder for companies in Europe to compete with rivals overseas,

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A federal court has ruled that a speeding ticket issued by Tulsa, Oklahoma, to a Native American man cannot be enforced because the city is located within an Indian reservation. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver issued its decision on Wednesday. It was

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — The anti-discrimination “One Love” captain’s armband denied to teams at the men’s World Cup in Qatar will be worn at the Women’s World Cup next month in an amended version now approved by soccer authorities. FIFA has unveiled eight armbands. Captains of the 32 teams can

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A British environment minister who is close to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has quit and accused the current government of apathy toward climate issues. Zac Goldsmith said Friday that he could no longer do his job because Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is “simply uninterested” in the

By SOPHENG CHEANG and GRANT PECK Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s long-serving, tough-talking leader, Hun Sen, says he is considering banning Facebook in his country, largely because he is fed up with the abuse he receives on it from his political foes abroad. On Wednesday, he suddenly announced he will no longer

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A Polish police official says a 7-year-old child who fell overboard from a passenger ferry in the Baltic Sea and the child’s mother, who jumped into the water after her child, are both dead. A police spokesperson told the TVN24 broadcaster that it was impossible to save the lives of the

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey got a thrill preying on other men and escalated his behavior from touchy-feely advances to hostile fondling and worse, a prosecutor told jurors Friday during Spacey’s sexual assault trial in London. Spacey is “a man who does not respect personal boundaries or space,

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams will begin her 24th appearance in the tournament against 2019 semifinalist Elina Svitolina. The draw at the All England Club also put two-time titlist Andy Murray against wild-card entry Ryan Peniston in an all-British first-round matchup. Williams is 43 and

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN AP Sports Writer Paris Saint-Germain coach Christophe Galtier and his son have been detained as part of an investigation into racism allegations at one of his former clubs. Nice prosecutor Xavier Bonhomme tells The Associated Press that Galtier and John Valovic-Galtier were placed in custody for questioning on Friday morning. Galtier is

BERLIN (AP) — One of the world’s oldest newspapers, the Vienna-based Wiener Zeitung, is ending its daily print run after more than three centuries. First published under the name Wiennerisches Diarium, the paper set out to provide a sober account of the news “without any oratory or poetic gloss” when it was launched on Aug.

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB and GHAITH AL-SAYED Associated Press IDLIB, Syria (AP) — In her small apartment in opposition-held Idlib in northwest Syria, Umm Mohammed is depressed and lethargic. But when her phone rings or someone knocks on the door she becomes suddenly alert. Maybe, finally, her husband has come back. In 2013, Syrian soldiers broke

Associated Press Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney says she felt abandoned by Bud Light after facing “more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined” over her partnership with the beer giant. In a video posted Thursday to Instagram and TikTok, she said she “was waiting for the brand to reach out to me. But

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The United States has flown nuclear-capable bombers to the Korean Peninsula in its latest show of force against North Korea. South Korea’s Defense Ministry says the B-52 bombers took part in joint aerial drills with other U.S. and South Korean fighter jets Friday over the