Month: June 2023

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Cynthia Weil, a Grammy-winning lyricist of great range and endurance who enjoyed a decades-long partnership with husband Barry Mann and helped write “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” “On Broadway,” “Walking in the Rain” and dozens of other hits, has died at age 82. Weil and

By JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — In a blow to abortion opponents in Ohio, a fall ballot issue aimed at enshrining access to the procedure in the state’s constitution won’t be split into two separate issues: one about abortion and one involving other reproductive care. In a ruling Thursday, the Ohio

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has imposed sanctions on an Iran-based technology firm for its role in facilitating the Iranian government’s censorship of the internet as anti-government protests swept the country. Internet disruptions were instituted after homegrown anger over the September death of Masha Amini, an Iranian-Kurdish woman detained by

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Customers of Chase’s online banking services have seen double transactions, fees and payments in their accounts. But by late Friday the bank said it had fixed the glitch. Numerous Chase customers had posted on social media that their rent or bill payments were taken out

NATICK, Mass. (AP) — The Wegmans supermarket chain is closing one of its largest and most unusual stores because it has not attracted enough business, the company said. The Natick, Massachusetts store will close on an undetermined date this summer, the Rochester, New York-based company said in a statement on Thursday. “Making these decisions is

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A school bus in Milwaukee was engulfed in flames moments after the pregnant driver safely evacuated 37 students. The bus was just blocks from its destination at the Milwaukee Academy of Science and had kindergarteners to high schoolers on board when Imunek Williams smelled something burning. She told WISN-TV on Thursday that

By DENISE LAVOIE and SARAH RANKIN Associated Press PETERSBURG, Va. (AP) — One of Virginia’s most closely watched nomination contests this election year features a rarity in today’s politics: a self-described “pro-life” Democrat. Sen. Joe Morrissey is being challenged by Lashrecse Aird, who says the lawmaker for the blue-leaning 13th District should be ousted largely

By GEIR MOULSON and JON GAMBRELL Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Iran has released one Danish and two Austrian citizens, according to the European countries. They thanked Oman and Belgium for their help in getting the trio freed. An Oman Royal Air Force Gulfstream IV, which had been on the ground in Tehran for several

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s defense minister says his country will look into a report that former German air force fighter plane pilots have been training pilots for the Chinese military. News magazine Der Spiegel and public broadcaster ZDF reported Friday that “at least a handful” of former German air force officers are working as trainers

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (AP) — Rain and a rainy forecast for the weekend have fire officials hopeful they can get the largest wildfire ever recorded in Canada’s Atlantic Coast province of Nova Scotia under control. That wildfire and three others in the province have prompted air quality warnings in U.S. regions as far south as

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Critics accuse the British administration of running “government by WhatsApp” due to the popularity of the messaging app with politicians and officials. So it feels inevitable that a tussle over WhatsApp messages is at the heart of Britain’s official inquiry into how the country handled the COVID-19

LONDON (AP) — The British government has appointed a new acting chair for the BBC five weeks after the resignation of Richard Sharp. Sharp resigned after he was found to have failed to disclose a potential conflict of interest over his role in arranging a loan for then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer

DETROIT (AP) — Ford is telling owners of more than 140,000 SUVs in the U.S. to park them outside because they can catch fire even when the engines are turned off. The company is recalling certain Lincoln MKC SUVs from the 2015 to 2019 model years. Ford says a short-circuit can develop in the 12-volt

CAIRO (AP) — Jill Biden has arrived in Cairo on the second leg of her six-day trip across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe that seeks to promote empowerment for women and education for young people. Biden arrived from Jordan, where she attended the wedding of Crown Prince Hussein and Saudi architect Rajwa Alseif.

By LUIS ANDRES HENAO Associated Press LIBERTA, Antigua (AP) — On the same ground where their enslaved ancestors were forced to plant sugar cane, Rastafari on this small island nation are now legally growing and ritualistically smoking marijuana. For Rastafari, the practice brings them closer to the divine. But for decades, many have been jailed

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s birth rate declined for a seventh consecutive year in 2022 to a record low of 1.26, the Health Ministry says, adding to a sense of urgency in a country where the government is seen as too slow to take drastic measures to address its rapidly shrinking

BY DAVID CRARY AP National Writer In the year since the Supreme Court struck down the nationwide right to abortion, America’s religious leaders and denominations have responded in strikingly diverse ways — some celebrating the state-level bans that have ensued, others angered that a conservative Christian cause has changed the law of the land in

By CIARÁN GILES Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Spain’s bishops’ conference says it has found evidence of 728 sexual abusers within the country’s Catholic Church since 1945 through the testimony of 927 victims. In its first public report on sexual abuse in the church in Spain, the church said 83% of the victims and 99%

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — Polish soccer referee Szymon Marciniak has apologized for speaking at a business event tied to a far-right politician and was confirmed by UEFA to officiate next week’s Champions League final. Marciniak’s appointment for the game between Manchester City and Inter Milan on June 10 was at

BERLIN (AP) — The United Nations has warned that far too little aid is reaching cyclone-hit areas of Myanmar and the country could face a major food crisis soon if farmers are unable to plant crops. Cyclone Mocha struck the western state of Rakhine and nearby regions last month, killing hundreds of people and damaging

By YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Ten-year-old Maholo Terajima Ghnassia is breaking conventions as one of the biggest emerging stars in Japan’s Kabuki theater tradition. Kabuki is passed from father to son and Japanese men typically play every role. Debuting with the stage name Maholo Onoe in a monthlong run in Tokyo, the

By JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Dozen of activists including Indigenous Sami are protesting outside the office of Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. The activists on Friday vowed to block entry to the complex to remind the government that they want a wind farm removed because they say it endangers

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The Biden administration is implementing a 20-year withdrawal banning oil and gas development outside the boundaries of Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico. The action taken by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland in the nation’s No. 2 oil-producing state was announced Friday. It is intended to protect

By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish President Andrzej Duda says he is proposing urgent amendments to a law on Russian influence he signed this week that drew U.S. and European Union criticism. Duda said he was addressing objections to the law proposed by the governing conservative Law and Justice party by

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s most decorated living war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith has quit his corporate job after a civil court blamed the national hero for unlawfully killing four Afghans and escalated calls for him to be stripped of his revered Victoria Cross medal. Roberts-Smith quit his job on Friday

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — As the 34th anniversary of China’s Tiananmen Square crackdown approaches Sunday, many in Hong Kong are trying to mark the day in the shadow of a law that prosecuted leading activists in the city’s pro-democracy movement. Every year through 2020, thousands of people gathered in Hong

By JOE McDONALD Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — China’s Ukraine envoy has appealed to other governments to “stop sending weapons to the battlefield” and hold peace talks but gave no indication his trip to the region made any progress toward a settlement. Li Hui’s appeal comes as Washington and its European allies are ramping up

By MUHAMMAD FAROOQ Associated Press KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Dozens of protesters are holding a rally in Pakistan’s biggest city of Karachi to demand the release of a top rights lawyer, after he was abducted by armed men the previous day. The lawyer’s family said Jibran Nasir was snatched from his car by more than

By GARY GERARD HAMILTON Associated Press New York (AP) — Erykah Badu has unintentionally occupied the role of culture shifter and influencer for 20 plus years, well before it became a trendy, social media descriptor. Her impact has vibrated throughout music and fashion, and the “Green Eyes” songstress sees it clearly. “I can hear my