Month: June 2023

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis warned the Vatican’s missionary fundraisers on Saturday not to allow financial corruption to creep into their work, insisting that spirituality and spreading the Gospel must drive their operations, not mere entrepreneurship. Francis made the comments in a speech to the national directors of the

By ANGELA CHARLTON and JENNIFER MCDERMOTT Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Global negotiators have agreed to craft a draft treaty to end plastic pollution, a preliminary but crucial step toward tackling one of the most lasting sources of human waste. Environmental advocates cautiously welcomed the outcome of five days of U.N. talks in Paris on

By SUZAN FRASER and CINAR KIPER Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was sworn into his third presidential term, has reappointed an internationally respected former banker as finance minister in a sign that his new government might pursue more conventional economic policies. Erdogan on Saturday announced Mehmet Simsek would return

By JOANNA KOZLOWSKA and DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — In a span of a decade, Alexei Navalny has gone from the Kremlin’s biggest foe to Russia’s most prominent political prisoner. Already serving two convictions that have landed him in prison for at least nine years, he faces a new trial that could keep

By EVELYNE MUSAMBI and BRIAN INGANGA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Pretty Peter flicked through frantic messages from friends at home in Uganda. The transgender woman is relatively safe in neighboring Kenya. Her friends feel threatened by the latest anti-gay legislation in Uganda prescribing the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.” Frightened Ugandans are searching

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — When Alexei Navalny turns 47 on Sunday, he’ll wake up in a bare concrete cell with hardly any natural light. He won’t be able to see or talk to any of his loved ones. Phone calls and visits are banned for those in “punishment isolation” cells,

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — A senior United Arab Emirates official says the Gulf nation wants the U.N. climate summit it’s hosting later this year to deliver “game-changing results” for international efforts to curb global warming, but doing so will require having the fossil fuel industry at the table. Environmental campaigners have

By MEG KINNARD and MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is wrapping up his first tour of early voting states as a presidential candidate, showcasing his personal side in South Carolina with a lighthearted sit-down with his wife and an emotional moment with a military spouse. DeSantis, whose

By JOHN ANTCZAK and STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police officers had to separate protesters and counterprotesters outside a Los Angeles elementary school that has become a flashpoint for LGBTQ+ issues involving children in California during Pride month. Protesters outside Saticoy Elementary School on Friday wore T-shirts emblazoned with “Leave Our Kids

NEW DELHI (AP) — The latest deadly train crash in India happened Friday, when two passenger trains derailed. Officials say more than 200 people were killed and more than 900 were injured. Hundreds were trapped inside more than a dozen damaged rail cars. More than 12 million people ride 14,000 trains across India daily, traveling

By RAFIQ MAQBOOL, ASHOK SHARMA and KRUTIKA PATHI Associated Press BALASORE, India (AP) — Rescuers found no more survivors in the overturned and mangled wreckage of two passenger trains that derailed in eastern India, killing more than 280 people and injuring hundreds in one of the country’s deadliest rail crashes in decades, officials said Saturday.

By MARGARET STAFFORD and JOHN HANNA Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A doctor in the Missouri Ozarks went missing for over a week until his body was found in an Arkansas lake. But the case remains shrouded in mystery as investigators have released few details to his family or the public. WHAT’S KNOWN

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles County coroner’s report says a teacher who was repeatedly shocked with a Taser by Los Angeles police died from an enlarged heart and cocaine use. The report released Friday says the Jan. 3 death of Keenan Anderson was determined hours after he was restrained and shocked after becoming

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Donors at a pledging conference provided just $107 million in new funds for the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees. That’s despite a dire warning from the U.N. chief that it “is on the verge of financial collapse.” The pledged funds are significantly less than

By CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — With just two days to spare, President Joe Biden signed legislation on Saturday that lifts the nation’s debt ceiling, averting an unprecedented default on the federal government’s debt. It was a decidedly low-key denouement to a monthslong drama that unnerved financial markets at home and abroad and

By BECKY BOHRER, JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER and GENE JOHNSON Associated Press JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Morgan Robidou posed next to the bright aluminum hull of his prized new vessel, a 30-foot (9-meter) fishing boat that he could use to take friends, family or tourists out after salmon or halibut in the bountiful waters of southeast

By MARK PRATT Associated Press CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — While judges, lawyers and support staff at the federal courthouse in Concord, New Hampshire, keep the American justice system buzzing, thousands of humble honeybees on the building’s roof are playing their part in a more important task — feeding the world. The Warren B. Rudman courthouse

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States and its allies clashed with Russia and China on Friday over North Korea’s failed launch of a military spy satellite this week in violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions, which Moscow and Beijing refused to condemn. The confrontation was the latest

By DAVID RISING Associated Press SINGAPORE (AP) — U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin vowed Saturday that Washington would not stand for any “coercion and bullying” of its allies and partners by China, while assuring Beijing that the United States remains committed to maintaining the status quo on Taiwan and would prefer dialogue over conflict.

By CARLA BRIDI and DAVID BILLER Associated Press BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil’s federal prosecutors blocked a decision to authorize the installment of ziplines at Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Sugarloaf Mountain, claiming they will damage the environment around a UNESCO world heritage site. Prosecutors announced the decision late Thursday, arguing that Iphan, a federal agency

By AUDREY McAVOY Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii Gov. Josh Green on Friday signed legislation that will allow more people to carry concealed firearms but at the same time prohibit people from taking guns to a wide range of places, including beaches, hospitals, stadiums, bars that serve alcohol and movie theaters. Private businesses allowing

By KRYSTA FAURIA Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — “The Eric Andre Show” is ostensibly not a series that lends itself to longevity. Its titular star, who plays a version of himself and satirizes talk shows by putting unsuspecting celebrity guests through hellish interviews, has become considerably more famous since the series first aired over

PANAMA CITY (AP) — The trial of former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli and 14 others for alleged money laundering related to their purchase of a publishing company concluded on Friday, starting the clock on the 30 days the judge has to issue a verdict. Martinelli, a 71-year-old supermarket magnate who hopes to seek re-election next

By MARÍA VERZA Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Two federal officials say Mexican authorities have arrested a second migrant for his alleged involvement in a March fire set inside a border detention center that left 40 migrants dead and dozens injured. One of the officials, who both requested anonymity because they were not authorized

By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska has the country’s only single-chamber, nonpartisan legislature, and state leaders have long held up the unique system as an example of efficiency that rises above hyperpartisan politics. But this year’s acrimonious session may have changed that. The session began with conservatives still stinging from

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) — A lawsuit filed by an oyster farmer accusing a now-decertified county deputy of falsifying an arrest report and urging a person to lie during a domestic-violence investigation has been settled for $250,000. The Seattle Times reports Gerardo Rodarte sued Skagit County and ex-deputy Joseph Gutierrez in 2020, after Rodarte was

By CAROLYN THOMPSON Associated Press BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A new report finds several shortcomings in Buffalo’s response to a historic December blizzard in which 31 city residents died. The report was released Friday by New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. It says Buffalo’s snow-removal fleet was no match for heavy snow

MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, Wash. (AP) — Officials say a Washington state man who was trying to summit Mount Rainier collapsed and died near the top of the mountain in the national park. National Park Service officials say 41-year-old Brian Harper of Bremerton, collapsed about 7:30 a.m. near the top of the 14,441-foot mountain while

By ED WHITE Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — A man who spent nearly 21 years in prison for the deaths of two Michigan hunters filed a lawsuit Friday seeking $1.02 million for wrongful convictions, just a day after a prosecutor dropped murder charges and ruled out a second trial. “Jeff Titus is 71 years old.

WASHINGTON (AP) — ABC’s “This Week” — Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy; Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio. __ NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Mike Rounds, R-S.D.; Timothy Parlatore, former attorney for Donald Trump. __ CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Manchin; Rep. Garret Graves, R-La.; Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan; Ukrainian

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council is calling for an immediate cease-fire in Sudan to be followed by a permanent halt to hostilities and new efforts to reach a lasting democratic political settlement in the conflict-wracked country. The U.N.’s most powerful body on Friday strongly condemned all

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama now has an official state cookie: the Yellowhammer Cookie. Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday signed legislation naming the confection created by a Montgomery fourth-grader as the official state cookie. Students at Montgomery’s Trinity Presbyterian School came up with the idea of a state cookie. WSFA-TV reports fourth-grader Mary Claire Cook

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Three women who claim Cuba Gooding Jr. sexually abused them — including one upset she never got her day in court when Gooding resolved criminal charges without trial or jail — can testify at a federal civil trial next week to support a woman’s claim that

By RONALD BLUM Associated Press Kaija Saariaho, who wrote acclaimed works that made her the among the most prominent composers of the 21st century, died Friday. She was 70. Saariaho died at her apartment in Paris, her family said in a statement posted on her Facebook page. She had been diagnosed in February 2021 with

DINWIDDIE, Va. (AP) — The prosecutor handling the case against 10 people charged in the death of a Virginia man who was pinned to the floor while being admitted to a psychiatric hospital said she is resigning to attend graduate school in Paris. Ann Cabell Baskervill told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that her resignation as the

PITTSBURGH Police have described how they exchanged fire with a gunman who carried out the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history, frantic to get wounded worshippers at Pittsburgh synagogue to safety as they shot and neutralized the suspect. Several officers took the stand on Friday, the fourth day of the prosecution’s case against Robert Bowers.

By SARA CLINE Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — As Louisiana’s legislative session nears adjournment, lawmakers are pushing forward controversial LGBTQ+-related bills, including advancing a resurrected ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender youths. Earlier this week, lawmakers advanced a bill that would broadly ban K-12 public school employees in Louisiana from discussing sexual

By ANITA SNOW Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Retired Phoenix Police Capt. Carroll Cooley, the arresting officer in the landmark case partially responsible for the Supreme Court’s Miranda rights ruling that requires suspects be read their rights, has died, the department confirmed Friday. He was 87. Phoenix police said in a brief statement that Cooley