Month: June 2023

By TERRY SPENCER Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Opening statements are underway in the trial of a former Florida sheriff’s deputy charged with failing to stop the Parkland school massacre five years ago. Prosecutor Steven Klinger told the six-member jury Wednesday that Broward County Deputy Scot Peterson could have stopped the deaths of

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — One of the most decorated coaches in women’s hockey history has stepped down after nearly 30 years leading Harvard’s women’s hockey program in the shadow of allegations by players that she engaged in abuses and other misconduct during her tenure. The school said Katey Stone had made the decision to retire.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Archaeologists excavating a hilltop sanctuary on the Aegean Sea island of Kythnos have discovered “countless” pottery offerings left by ancient worshippers over the centuries, Greece’s Culture Ministry said Wednesday. A ministry statement said the finds from work this year included more than 2,000 intact or almost complete clay figurines, mostly of

By SUMMER BALLENTINE Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Black prosecutor who stepped into leadership during protests over the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown is running for Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley’s Missouri seat. St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination Wednesday. Bell is a

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry has rejected a suggestion that a lack of evidence meant his phone wasn’t hacked by reporters for Mirror Group Newspapers. The Duke of Sussex said Wednesday that he didn’t believe the publisher’s denials and that phone hacking occurred on an industrial scale at British tabloids

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer PARIS (AP) — Coco Gauff has lost in the French Open quarterfinals to two-time champion Iga Swiatek in a rematch of last year’s final at Roland Garros. The No. 1-ranked Swiatek won 6-4, 6-2 on Wednesday and has not dropped a set in the tournament. Swiatek will face 14th-seeded

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A group of climate activists has claimed responsibility for deflating the tires of sport utility vehicles in Denmark’s capital. Copenhagen police said Wednesday that more than 100 vehicles were vandalized. The Tyre Extinguishers said on its website that “we are defending ourselves against climate change, air pollution and unsafe drivers.” The

By SARAH RANKIN and DENISE LAVOIE Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A gunman who opened fire minutes after a high school graduation in Richmond, Virginia, targeted an 18-year-old graduate he had a long-running dispute with, police said Wednesday. Shawn Jackson, 18, and his father, Lorenzo Smith, 36, were both killed Tuesday in the gunfire,

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The governing body of rowing says it will allow a “limited number” of Russians to return to competition for the world championships in September. World Rowing says rowers from Russia and Belarus would only be allowed to compete in the single sculls, coxless pairs and the lightweight single sculls. They will

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine court has rejected a request for bail by a former opposition senator and justice secretary who criticized then-President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly crackdown on illegal drugs and instead was accused by his administration of drug dealing and was jailed more than six years ago. U.S.

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Two men who stepped into 6-inch heels for “Kinky Boots” on Broadway will play the title character behind the curtain when “The Wiz” tours the U.S. starting this fall and lands on Broadway in 2024 — Wayne Brady and Alan Mingo Jr. “Me and Wayne

By LEANNE ITALIE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Nick Farrow wanted what a lot of people do: a child, and a parenting partner. At 45, after a long-term romance didn’t work out, he decided to take matters into his own hands, entering into a platonic open arrangement that has flourished for nine years, since

By GARY FIELDS Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Andrew Young, one of the last surviving members of Martin Luther King Jr.’s inner circle, recalls the journey to the signing of the Voting Rights Act as an arduous one, often marked by violence and bloodshed. However, when he heard the act had been signed into law,

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Licht is out after a year as chief executive at CNN, following a series of missteps and plunging ratings. David Zaslav, the CEO of CNN parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, announced the leadership change on CNN’s morning editorial call on Wednesday. Zaslav appointed a

By GARY FIELDS Associated Press People at the epicenter of the fight for voting rights six decades ago are reflecting on the times and their struggles. They’re certain their struggles were worth it. A majority of the Supreme Court seemed to reinforce that view Thursday by siding with Black voters in a racial gerrymandering case

By GARY FIELDS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Joel Finkelstein was an accidental witness to one of the seminal events during the Civil Rights Movement, the signing in 1965 of the Voting Rights Act. He was a year out of law school when he received a call to head to the U.S. Capitol for the

By GARY FIELDS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Stephen Schwerner doesn’t remember how he learned that his younger brother Michael was missing in Mississippi along with colleagues Andrew Goodman and James Chaney. What he remembers is that as soon as the family heard the news, they were certain of their fate: “We were sure

By GARY FIELDS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Norman Hill was an activist in the early 1960s fighting against segregation when he made a switch to the labor movement, which at the time saw the push for Black voting rights as a way to boost membership in unions. He recalls how difficult it was

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has presided over a groundbreaking ceremony for construction of the country’s second expressway, which will link the capital, Phnom Penh, to the eastern border with Vietnam. The road to Bavet city in Svay Rieng province is projected to take 48 months to construct and cost

By JILL LAWLESS and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The war in Ukraine is top of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s agenda as he starts a two-day trip to Washington. He’s carrying the message that post-Brexit Britain remains an essential American ally in a world of emboldened authoritarian states. The U.S. and the

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer PITTSBURGH (AP) — There are very few things that make Scott Bonnett panic. Spending the last 15 years making sure the Pittsburgh Pirates have whatever they need whenever they need it has taught the longtime equipment manager the importance of being prepared for anything. Well, almost anything. Bonnett found

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer New York City has filed a lawsuit against Hyundai and Kia, joining a host of other cities beset by a social media fueled wave of car thefts due to a flaw that made some car models highly susceptible to theft. Viral how-to videos on TikTok and other sites show

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A U.S. envoy for the Balkans has urged Kosovo and Serbia to deescalate simmering ethnic tensions in the former Serbian province, or both states could jeopardize their proclaimed goal of one day joining the European Union. Gabriel Escobar has been holding talks with the Serbian and Kosovo leaders on how to

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — The German government says it is concerned by the recent detention of a prominent environmental campaigner in Vietnam. It warned that a recent multi-billion-dollar deal to help the country phase out coal use requires the involvement of civil society activists. The U.N. Human Rights Office says the

By PETER SMITH Associated Press Southern Baptists form a core part of the white evangelical Christian bloc that has reliably and overwhelmingly voted Republican in recent elections, and is expected to again in 2024. But Southern Baptists are weighing their options in the GOP presidential primary field — some already lining up behind Donald Trump,

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Sports Writer MIAMI (AP) — Lionel Messi has pulled off his latest stunning feat: He is headed to Major League Soccer and joining Inter Miami. After months — years, even — of speculation, Messi on Wednesday finally revealed his decision to join a Miami franchise that has been led by another