Month: August 2023

By TRISHA AHMED Associated Press/Report for America MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A formerly well-connected GOP donor convicted of giving teenage girls gifts, alcohol and money in exchange for sex was sentenced Wednesday to 21 years in prison on sex trafficking charges. Anton “Tony” Lazzaro was found guilty in March by a federal jury of seven counts

NEW YORK (AP) — Hanging up that phone call? The location of Apple’s red end-call button is set to slightly move with upcoming iOS 17 updates to the phone app, so be wary of your thumb’s muscle memory. As iPhone users know, the “End” button currently sits prominently away from other call options, in a

By JOCELYN NOVECK AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The Hollywood writers strike has reached the 100-day mark, matching the length of the landmark 2007-2008 strike. The milestone Wednesday comes as the U.S. film and television industries remain paralyzed by dual strikes by its actors and screenwriters. There’s no foreseeable end — a negotiating

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the oldest member of Congress, fell in her home and went to a hospital for a short time, her office said on Wednesday. The 90-year-old California Democrat, who has faced mounting concerns about her health and her ability to perform the duties of a senator, “briefly went to

By ABBY SEWELL Associated Press KORNIDZOR, Armenia (AP) — The former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is warning that Azerbaijan is preparing genocide against ethnic Armenians in its Nagorno-Karabakh region. Luis Moreno Ocampo called for the U.N. Security Council to bring the matter before the international tribunal. A report by Ocampo issued Tuesday

By JESSE BEDAYN Associated Press/Report for America DENVER (AP) — As climate change ratchets up temperatures across the U.S., millions of the poorest Americans grapple with enduring perilous heat or paying costly air conditioning bills. While President Joe Biden has invested billions into federal programs that subsidize the poorest Americans’ energy costs, the help reaches

By SARA BURNETT and CHRISTINE FERNANDO Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Abortion wasn’t technically on the ballot in Ohio’s special election. But the overwhelming defeat of a measure that would have made it tougher to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution this fall was the latest indicator that the issue remains a powerful force

BY DANIEL KOZIN, WILFREDO LEE and FREIDA FRISARO Associated Press LAYTON, Fla. (AP) — Steps away from the warming waters of Florida Bay, marine biologist Emily Becker removed covers from the dozens of water-filled tanks under her watchful eye. Nestled in seawater carefully maintained at about 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius) lay hundreds of

CEDAR PARK, Texas (AP) — A Texas grass fire that spread into trees near an apartment complex and condominiums has forced hundreds of residents from their homes but caused no major injuries. Cedar Park Fire Chief James Mallinger said Wednesday that the fire quickly spread and reached as high as 60 feet due to strong

By COREY WILLIAMS Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Sixto Rodriguez, who lived in obscurity as his music career flamed out early in the U.S. only to find success in South Africa and a stardom he was unaware of, died Tuesday in Detroit. He was 81. Rodriguez’s legacy would take off back home after the singer

By MITCH STACY AP Sports Writer COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said he plans to retire next summer. Smith, who has spent the past 18 years at Ohio State leading one of the largest and most successful athletic programs in the country, announced Wednesday that he would step down in

By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA Associated Press KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A Sherpa guide who climbed the world’s 14 tallest mountains in record time is eyeing another record, looking to become the youngest person to scale all those peaks twice. Tenjen Sherpa, 35, and Norwegian climber Kristin Harila, 37, shattered the record for the fastest climb of

By BASSEM MROUE and KAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad has slammed Turkey and blamed Ankara for the uptick in violence in his war-torn country. Assad also insisted on the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Syria. Assad spoke in an interview on Wednesday with Sky News Arabia. it was his

By MICKENSON DUVERGÉ and DÁNICA COTO Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — An aid organization in Haiti says kidnappers have freed a U.S. nurse and her daughter nearly two weeks after they were kidnapped near the capital of Port-au-Prince. El Roi Haiti, the Christian group founded by Alix Dorsainvil’s husband, announced her release on Wednesday.

BEIRUT (AP) — A roadside bombing in southern Syria has killed a Syrian journalist and three soldiers. The state news agency SANA said the bomb exploded on Wednesday when Firas al-Ahmad, a veteran correspondent for the local Sama TV station, was driving back from an assignment at the border with Jordan where Syrian troops were

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON and FREIDA FRISARO TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday suspended the top prosecutor in Orlando, again wielding his executive power over local government in taking on a contentious issue in the 2024 presidential race. It’s the second time DeSantis, a Republican, has removed a Democratic state attorney and

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Add Angelina Jolie to the growing list of celebrities dipping their toes into producing on Broadway. The Oscar-winning “Girl, Interrupted” actor has become a lead producer on the Broadway-bound new musical “The Outsiders,” a show based on S.E. Hinton’s novel and Francis Ford Coppola’s 1983