Month: September 2023

By LEAH WILLINGHAM and JOHN RABY Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia University has given final approval to wide-ranging cuts in academic programs and faculty positions. The university is addressing a $45 million budget shortfall. The cuts come after the culmination of a impassioned back-and-forth between the campus community, students and officials. The

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has announced new U.S. sanctions on “some of Iran’s more egregious human rights abusers” as he marks the anniversary of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. She died while being held by the country’s morality police. Amini had been detained for allegedly wearing her

By CHRIS MEGERIAN, MICHELLE L. PRICE and THOMAS BEAUMONT Associated Press HAMPTON, Va. (AP) — Students were dancing in the aisles and their seats in the Hampton University auditorium long before Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage for the first stop of her fall college tour. Jaden Clemons and Layth Carpenter, both 18-year-old freshmen,

By ED WHITE Associated Press A jury has acquitted three men in the last trial connected to a plan to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The scheme was portrayed as an example of homegrown terrorism on the eve of the 2020 presidential election. William Null, twin brother Michael Null and Eric Molitor were found not

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — The U.S. Agency for International Development has given Kosovo another grant to help the country’s integration into the European Union and Euro-Atlantic institutions. The U.S. Embassy in Pristina said Friday that money also is intended to promote Kosovo’s growth and to support the development of democratic institutions there. The U.S. has

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A judge has found an Iowa man guilty in the murder of a 10-year-old girl who was missing for eight months before her remains were found in a pond. Henry Earl Dinkins was found guilty Friday of first-degree murder and kidnapping in the death of Breasia Terrell. Her disappearance in July

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press NAZLET EL-SHARIF, Egypt (AP) — An Egyptian village is mourning dozens of its men killed in the horrific floodwaters that tore through the city of Derna in neighboring Libya. At least 74 bodies were brought back earlier this week and buried in the small farming community of Nazlet el-Sharif along

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Renowned Colombian painter and sculptor Fernando Botero, whose depictions of people and objects in plump, exaggerated forms became emblems of Colombian art around the world, has died. He was 91. Lina Botero told the Colombian radio station Caracol that her father died Friday morning in Monaco of pneumonia complications. Botero depicted

MADRID (AP) — A Spanish judge has heard evidence of alleged torture during the rule of late dictator Francisco Franco. Human rights groups say the case unfolding in a Madrid courthouse is the first of its kind to be accepted for legal review. The hearing on Friday involved allegations against five former police officers. The

By MEAD GRUVER and JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press Mitt Romney’s announcement this week that he will not seek another term in the U.S. Senate came with a distant echo of his father’s departure from politics five decades ago. Mitt and his father, George Romney, at one time were top Republican contenders for the presidency,

By KEN MILLER Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Archaeologists have exhumed the remains of one person and plan to exhume a second in the search for victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. State archaeologist Kary Stackelbeck said Thursday that the remains are among 22 found in Oaklawn Cemetery, but are the only ones

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The new coach of Spain’s women’s team has had to delay the announcement of her first squad after the country’s World Cup-winning players maintained their boycott of the national team. Spain coach Montse Tomé was set to announce her squad on Friday. But the federation said

By BARAA ANWER Associated Press RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — The U.N.’s World Heritage Committee has placed two major historical sites in Ukraine on its list of such sites that it considers to be in danger. The iconic Saint Sophia Cathedral in the capital, Kyiv, and the medieval center of the western city of Lviv,

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Members of the volunteer arm of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard have been seen on the streets in western Iran as the country nears the one-year anniversary of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. She died following her arrest by the country’s morality police for

By TERRY TANG Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Hispanic history and culture take center stage across the U.S. for National Hispanic Heritage Month. The annual celebration, which spans Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, recognizes contributions made by Hispanic Americans, the fastest-growing racial or ethnic minority, according to the Census. It includes people whose ancestors come

DULUTH, Ga. (AP) — Five adults and a 15-year-old self-described as “Soldiers of Christ” religious group members were in custody on murder charges after a woman’s body was found in the trunk of a car parked outside a popular spa in Georgia. Investigators say someone reported the discovery around Tuesday night outside a Korean spa

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A red sweater adorned with a flock of sheep worn by the young Princess Diana has sold at auction for $1.1 million, many times its presale estimate and a record for an item owned by the late royal. The playfully patterned wool jumper featuring a single black

By GERALD IMRAY Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — U.S.-based pharmaceuticals company Johnson & Johnson is being investigated in South Africa for allegedly charging “excessive” prices for a key tuberculosis drug. The government-appointed commission that regulates business practices in the country announced the investigation on Friday. South Africa’s Competition Commission says J&J’s Belgium-based

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has described American XL Bully dogs as a “danger to our communities” and announced plans to ban them following a public outcry after a series of recent attacks. Sunak says he has asked government ministers to bring together police and canine experts

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — European regulators slapped TikTok with a $368 million fine on Friday for failing to protect children’s privacy, the first time that the popular short video-sharing app has been punished for breaching Europe’s strict data privacy rules. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, the lead privacy regulator for Big

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Finland is joining its three Baltic neighbors in banning vehicles with Russian license plates from entering their territory, a joint move in line with a recent interpretation of the European Union’s sanctions against Moscow over its war on Ukraine. Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said Russian-registered private cars would be banned from

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted a meeting Friday with his Belarusian ally, who suggested that Minsk could could join Moscow’s efforts to revive an old alliance with Pyongyang after this week’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko made the proposal as he met with Putin in

LONDON (AP) — Around 3,000 workers at Britain’s biggest steelworks face the prospect of losing their jobs as part of a government-backed package to make the plant “greener.” In an announcement Friday, the British government confirmed widespread speculation that it is to pump up to 500 million pounds ($620 million) into the Port Talbot steelworks

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium authorities are getting worried by a series of school arsons believed to be connected to newly mandatory school sessions in some parts of the country. Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden said Friday the attacks in the French-speaking Wallonia region must stop after another school was set on

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Alabama is marking the 60th anniversary of one of the most heinous acts during the Civil Rights Movement, the 1963 bombing of a church that killed four Black girls in 1963. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman on the high court, will give the keynote address

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s central bank has raised its key lending rate by one percentage point to 13%, a month after imposing an even larger hike. Concerns about inflation persist and the ruble continues to struggle against the dollar. The increase comes as annualized inflation rose in September to 5.5%. The bank says it expects

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is challenging efforts by ex-President Donald Trump to disqualify the Washington judge presiding over the case charging him with plotting to overturn the 2020 election. Prosecutors with special counsel Jack Smith’s team wrote in a court filing Thursday there’s “no valid basis” for U.S.

By ALEX ROSENBERG of NerdWallet GoodRx’s prescription savings program offers significant discounts on prescription drugs, but not without some catches. Using GoodRx means paying out of pocket, without insurance. The cost doesn’t count toward your deductible. The company was also penalized by the Federal Trade Commission for sharing users’ sensitive health information without permission. And

PRAGUE (AP) — Prague’s High Court has cancelled a lower court ruling that acquitted former Prime Minister Andrej Babis of fraud charges in a $2 million case involving European Union subsidies. At the same time, the court has returned the case for retrial to Prague’s Municipal Court, according information published in a database of court

PARIS (AP) — Apple has agreed to install updates for iPhone 12 smartphones in France after French regulators ordered the company to stop selling the model. The regulators said it emits electromagnetic radiation levels that are above European Union standards for exposure. The company insists the phones are safe, and that the problem raised by

By ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — For the third time in less than eight months, a special election will decide control of the narrowly divided Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Tuesday’s special election will provide political reinforcements to either the commonwealth’s Democratic governor or its Republican-controlled Senate. Voters in the heavily Democratic 21st legislative

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A daughter of a long-detained human rights activist in Bahrain plans to return to the island kingdom Friday to press for the release of her father, even as she faces imprisonment herself. Maryam al-Khawaja will be accompanied by a phalanx of other activists including

ROME (AP) — A bus reportedly transporting recently arrived migrants has slammed into a truck north of Rome, killing the two drivers. The crash early Friday as Italy accelerated the transfers of migrants north to try to relieve pressure on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa. Ten people were also injured in the crash on the

LONDON (AP) — The European Union is facing a Friday deadline to decide whether to extend a ban on Ukrainian food imports in five nearby countries. Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria still allow grain and other Ukrainian food to pass through on the way to parts of the world in need. But the five

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh is struggling with a record outbreak of dengue fever, with experts saying a lack of a coordinated response is causing more deaths from the mosquito-transmitted disease. The World Health Organization has warned that diseases such as dengue caused by mosquito-borne viruses are spreading faster and further because of climate change.

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — About 13,000 auto workers have walked off the job at three targeted factories after their union leaders couldn’t reach a deal with Detroit’s automakers. The United Auto Workers are seeking big raises and better benefits from General Motors, Ford and Stellantis. They want to get back

By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China is sending Vice President Han Zheng to the U.N. General Assembly’s annual high-level debate. The announcement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday suggests the country’s most senior diplomat, Wang Yi, will not attend this year’s gathering of world leaders at United Nations headquarters

By ALICIA LEÓN and JOSEPH WILSON MADRID (AP) — The former president of Spain’s soccer federation has arrived at a court in Madrid to give testimony to a Spanish judge investigating his kiss of a player at the Women’s World Cup. Judge Francisco de Jorge issued the order earlier this week for Luis Rubiales to

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Nobel Foundation has decided to raise the award amount for this year’s Nobel Prizes by 1 million kronor ($90,000) to 11 million kronor ($986,270) as the Swedish currency has plummeted recently. In a brief statement Friday, the Stockholm-based foundation said it “has chosen to increase the prize amount because it is

By JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — The head of the Move Forward party, which finished first in Thailand’s general election in May but was denied power by Parliament, has announced his resignation as its chief so the party can appoint a new member to serve as Parliament’s opposition leader. The leader of the

By DAKE KANG Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — A human rights lawyer who was arrested in Laos has been deported back to China despite pleas from rights groups and United Nations experts for his release. Lu Siwei was stripped of his legal license for taking on sensitive cases, and was fleeing China when he was