Month: June 2023

By LAURIE KELLMAN Associated Press HARISH, Israel (AP) — The sound of children and music echoed down a narrow basement hallway in Israel as they scrambled in a pool of balls, climbed on a jungle gym, munched popcorn and laughed. The atmosphere changed suddenly on that Saturday last month, as at least a dozen religious

By RICK RYCROFT and ROD McGUIRK Associated Press SYDNEY (AP) — An Australian man who admitted killing a gay American by punching him off a cliff top in Sydney in 1988 has been sentenced to nine years in prison. Scott Phillip White had pleaded guilty in the New South Wales state Supreme Court to Los

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli army says it has demolished the West Bank home of a Palestinian suspected of involvement in twin bombings in Jerusalem that killed two and wounded at least 18 others in November. The military released videos Thursday showing a controlled explosion that destroyed an apartment in the city of Ramallah. Israeli

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — The UN children’s agency says about 300 children have been rescued from an orphanage in Sudan’s capital after being trapped there while fighting raged outside. UNICEF’s announcement Thursday came after 71 children died from hunger and illness at the Al-Mayqoma orphanage since April. The agency says around

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian officials on Thursday condemned a Singapore-born stand-up comedian who mocked Malaysia and made fun of the 2014 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 during a skit in the United States. Jocelyn Chia posted her act on social media, sparking outrage in Malaysia and prompting Singapore officials to quickly apologize.

By JESSE BEDAYN, COLLEEN SLEVIN and MEAD GRUVER Associated Press BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Authorities say embers from a smoldering scrap wood fire outside a home and a sparking power line separately caused a Colorado wildfire fanned by high winds that destroyed nearly 1,100 homes and left two people dead. The Dec. 30, 2021, blaze

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is condemning a wave of state legislation curbing the rights, visibility and access to health care for LGBTQ+ people, especially children. He says the laws are “cruel” and “callous.” Biden commented Thursday at a White House news conference with Britain’s prime minister. The president

By STEVE PEOPLES AP National Political Writer NEW YORK (AP) — After a trio of new announcements this week, the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential field is all but set. A handful of stragglers may jump in later, but as of now there are at least 10 high-profile Republican candidates officially seeking their party’s nomination. And

By AAMER MADHANI and SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday reiterated their commitment to help Ukraine repel Russia’s ongoing invasion, while agreeing to step up cooperation on challenges their economies face with artificial intelligence, clean energy, and critical minerals. The leaders said

By KIM CHANDLER, REGINA GARCIA CANO and FRANKLIN BRICEÑO Associated Press BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Joran van der Sloot, the chief suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway, arrived in the United States from Peru on Thursday to face charges that he attempted to extort money from the missing teen’s mother. An FBI-operated plane

By NOMAAN MERCHANT and HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — As it pushes to renew a cornerstone law that authorizes major surveillance programs, the Biden administration faces an American public that’s broadly skeptical of common intelligence practices and of the need to sacrifice civil liberties for security. Congress in the coming months will debate

By JENNIFER PELTZ and ROB GILLIES Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Images of smoke obscuring the New York skyline and the Washington Monument this week have given the world a new picture of the perils of wildfire, far from where blazes regularly turn skies into hazardous haze. A third day of unhealthy air from

By AARON MORRISON and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press Ben Crump, the Rev. Al Sharpton says, is “Black America’s attorney general.” In less than a decade, the Florida-based attorney has become the voice for the families of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Tyre Nichols — Black people whose deaths at the hands

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer MIAMI (AP) — Never had two players from the same team had 30-point triple-doubles in the same game. Never in the regular season. Never in the playoffs. Certainly never in the NBA Finals. Until now. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray made history Wednesday night — and have the Denver

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland’s city council voted Wednesday to pass an ordinance prohibiting camping during daytime hours in most public places as it, like other places in the U.S., struggles to address a longtime homelessness crisis. The 3-1 vote changes city code to say that people may camp in nonrestricted areas from 8 p.m.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — In a story published June 7, 2023, The Associated Press reported about a lawsuit filed following a building collapse in Iowa. The story should have made clear that the National Institute of Standards and Technology did an initial evaluation. The agency only does full investigations when results could lead to

By FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee has called off a vote that would move forward with holding FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress. This came after Rep. James Comer accepted a last-minute offer Wednesday night by the bureau to allow the full committee

By TARA COPP Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville says the top general in charge of U.S. Space Command told him during a meeting Wednesday that Huntsville, not Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the preferred location for its new headquarters. Space Command had no comment. The tweet, which Tuberville’s office also issued

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s government plans legislation to ban swastikas and other Nazi symbols nationwide due to an increase in far-right activity, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said Thursday. While most Australian states already ban such Nazi symbols, the federal law would go further by also banning the trade in such

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press An actor known for his roles on the comedy television shows “Bob’s Burgers” and “Mr. Show with Bob and David” has been arrested on charges that he joined a mob of Donald Trump supporters in confronting police officers during the U.S. Capitol riot. Court records show that Jay Johnston was

By SAM METZ Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox says elections to replace resigning U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart will take place in the fall. The announcement Wednesday expedites the timeline prescribed by state law to ensure the six-term Republican’s seat doesn’t remain vacant for more than a few months. Stewart

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Richard Snyder, a visionary and imperious executive at Simon & Schuster who in bold-faced style presided over the publisher’s exponential rise during the second half of the 20th century and helped define an era of consolidation and growing corporate power, has died. He was 90.

By SUSAN HAIGH Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The Democratic-controlled Connecticut General Assembly has wrapped up what’s been one of the most bipartisan legislative sessions in recent memory. It’s a marked contrast from the partisan rancor seen in other legislatures this year. Democratic and Republican lawmakers are crediting old fashioned relationship-building, a willingness for

SEATTLE (AP) — Federal prosecutors say six people from Washington, Arizona and Texas have been arrested and accused of fraudulently obtaining millions of dollars of COVID-19 aid from an assistance program meant for renters. U.S. Attorney Nick Brown, of the Western District of Washington, announced the arrests Wednesday and charges of wire fraud and money

By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press ROME (AP) — More than 1,400 migrants have been rescued from overcrowded vessels, including a sailboat, in four separate operations in the Mediterranean Sea off southern Italy, the Italian coast guard said Wednesday. There were 47 migrants, including two children in immediate need of medical care, aboard the sailboat in

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER and MARK THIESSEN Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, began erupting on Wednesday after a three-month pause, displaying spectacular fountains of mesmerizing, glowing lava that’s a safe distance from people and structures in a national park on the Big Island. A glow

By The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — George Winston, the Grammy-winning pianist who blended jazz, classical, folk and other stylings on such million-selling albums as “Autumn,” “Winter Into Spring” and “December,” has died at age 73. According to an announcement on his website www.georgewinston.com, confirmed by a spokesman, Winston died Sunday after a 10-year

By MARK STEVENSON Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Against all odds, the remaining handful of Mexico’s endangered vaquita porpoises are holding on in their only habitat in the Gulf of California, according to a new research expedition report released Wednesday. Experts on the expedition estimate they saw from 10 to 13 of the tiny,

By GABE STERN Associated Press/Report for America CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — The Oakland Athletics’ search for a new home has drawn Nevada lawmakers into a special legislative session Wednesday to weigh whether the state should cover $380 million of the $1.5 billion stadium planned for the Las Vegas Strip. A’s representatives and some tourism

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. investigators are compiling evidence on the development and use of chemical weapons by Islamic State extremists in Iraq after they seized about a third of the country in 2014. And they are advancing work on the militant group’s gender-based violence and crimes against children,

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — An autopsy has determined that a man who died in January after police officers in North Carolina’s capital city repeatedly used stun guns died from “sudden cardiac arrest.” The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner released on Wednesday the autopsy report, which labeled the death a homicide. It says the Jan.

By JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday defended his state’s decision to fly migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border to California, arguing that the state had essentially invited the migrants with its welcoming policies toward immigrants. DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, spoke at a meeting with

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. (AP) — Edward W. Stack, the president of baseball’s Hall of Fame from 1977-93, has died. He was 88. Stack, who had remained with the Hall as a board member after he stepped down as president, died Sunday at Port Washington, New York, the hall announced Wednesday. Born on Feb. 1, 1935, Stack

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Roughly two dozen killer whales were spotted last month off the coast of San Francisco in an uncommonly large grouping of orcas for Northern California. The whales were likely together celebrating a kill of sea lions or seals on May 7 near the Farallon Islands, about 28 miles west of San