Month: September 2023

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Blinded by a Russian mortar shell, Ukrainian veteran Ivan Soroka couldn’t see his bride when she walked into his family home in a shoulderless white dress, a bouquet of white flowers in her right hand. But when Vladislava Ryabets, 25, stepped toward him, Soroka wept with

By GERALD IMRAY Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Barry Steenkamp, the father of Reeva Steenkamp, the woman who was fatally shot by Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius, has died. He was 80. Family lawyer and spokesperson Tania Koen confirmed his death. A foundation set up by the Steenkamp family in memory of Reeva

LONDON (AP) — The father, stepmother and uncle of a 10-year-old girl found dead in her U.K. home are due in court on murder charges Friday after being arrested and deported from Pakistan. Sara Sharif was found dead with extensive injuries at her home in Woking, southwest of London, on Aug. 10. An autopsy found she had

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Libyan authorities blocked civilians from entering the flood-stricken eastern city of Derna on Friday so search teams could look through the mud and wrecked buildings for 10,100 people still missing after the known toll rose to 11,300 dead. The disaster after two dams collapsed in heavy rains

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces have recaptured a village in the country’s east after intense battles with Russian troops. The village of Andriivka is about 6 miles south of the Russia-occupied town of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region. It’s the latest gain for Kyiv in a counteroffensive that

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Friday after China reported that its slowing economy showed signs of stabilizing in August. Benchmarks rose in most regional markets but fell back in Shanghai. Oil prices advanced. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged 1.0% to 18,219.51 in afternoon trading, while the

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Officials in Afghanistan and Pakistan say a key border crossing linking the two countries is open again. The crossing in Torkham, in Pakistan’s northwest, shut nine days ago after border guards from both sides exchanged fire. Officials welcomed Torkham’s reopening Friday morning, saying traders and pedestrians have suffered. The two countries

By KARL RITTER Associated Press STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf celebrates his golden jubilee on Friday, marking 50 years since he ascended the throne on Sept. 15, 1973. He is the longest-reigning king in the history of the Swedish monarchy, which stretches back more than 1,000 years. The Roman numeral XVI might

By MATTHIAS SCHRADER and KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BAD HINDELANG, Germany (AP) — Germany’s city of Munich is getting ready to tap the kegs for Oktoberfest. That means Bavaria state residents and foreign regulars of the world’s most conspicuous beer party are getting ready to drink and celebrate while showing off their traditional lederhosen. Bavarians

By PETER PRENGAMAN Associated Press TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — For a generation and more, Starbucks’ throwaway cup has been a cornerstone of consumer society, first in the United States and then globally. It has also carried a message: I am drinking recognizable coffee. Now, in the name of the environment and sustainability, the company’s disposable

By PETER PRENGAMAN Associated Press TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — For a generation and more, Starbucks’ throwaway cup has been a cornerstone of consumer society, first in the United States and then globally. It has also carried a message: I am drinking recognizable coffee. Now, in the name of the environment and sustainability, the company’s disposable

By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Psilocybin tea, wind chimes and a tie-dye mattress await those coming to an office suite in Eugene to trip on magic mushrooms. For roughly six hours, adults over 21 can experience what many users describe as vivid geometric shapes, a loss of identity and a oneness

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq is stepping up repatriation of its citizens from a camp in northeastern Syria housing tens of thousands of people, mostly wives and children of Islamic State fighters but also supporters of the militant group. It’s a move that Baghdad hopes will reduce cross-border

BEIJING (AP) — China has reported its factories picked up their pace and retail sales also gained momentum in August, suggesting the economy may be gradually recovering from its post-pandemic malaise. However, the figures reported Friday showed continuing weakness in the all-important property sector, where real estate developers are struggling to repay heavy loads of

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The head of the United Nations food agency says a global hunger crisis has left more than 700 million people not knowing when or if they will eat again. The agency also says demand for food is rising relentlessly while humanitarian funding drying up. On

By PAUL J. WEBER and JAKE BLEIBERG Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial is getting closer to a verdict. Closing arguments were set for Friday as Paxton faces removal from office over accusations of corruptions and bribery. The case will soon go to the jury of 30 senators.

By CARLA K. JOHNSON AP Medical Writer The psychedelic drug MDMA can reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, researchers reported in a new study published Thursday. The company sponsoring the research said it plans later this year to seek U.S. approval to market the drug, also known as ecstasy, as a PTSD treatment when combined

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A delegation from Yemen’s Houthi rebels have flown into Saudi Arabia for talks with the kingdom on potentially ending the yearslong war tearing at the Arab world’s poorest nation. It remains unclear what terms now are being discussed Friday between Riyadh and the Iranian-backed

BEIJING (AP) — The leaders of China and Zambia have announced an upgrading of their ties to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, as the world’s second-largest economy forges deeper ties with the Global South. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema unveiled the new partnership on Friday at a meeting in Beijing. Xi

By JIM VERTUNO Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial is getting closer to a verdict. Closing arguments were set for Friday as Paxton faces removal from office over accusations of corruptions and bribery. The case will soon go to the jury of 30 senators. Most are fellow Republicans

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republicans whose elections in swing districts next year will determine which party gains control of the House are overwhelmingly voicing their support for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. It’s a stance, Democrats say, that could come back to haunt them. McCarthy

By MARTHA MENDOZA, CLAIRE GALOFARO and JULIET LINDERMAN Associated Press The U.S. government has warned a Virginia judge that allowing an American Marine to keep an Afghan war orphan risks violating international law and could be viewed around the world as “endorsing an act of international child abduction,” according to secret court records reviewed by

By The Associated Press Tens of thousands of climate activists around the world are set to march, chant and protest Friday to call for an end to the burning of planet-warming fossil fuels as Earth suffers from dramatic weather extremes. The global strike is driven by several mostly youth-led local and global climate groups and

By COLLEEN SLEVIN Associated Press DENVER (AP) — Four years after Elijah McClain died after being stopped by police in Colorado, two of the police officers charged in his death are set to go on trial. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Friday in the trial of Randy Roedema and Jason Rosenblatt on manslaughter, criminally

By TOM KRISHER and DAVID KOENIG AP Auto Writers DETROIT (AP) — About 13,000 U.S. auto workers stopped making vehicles and headed for the picket lines Friday after their leaders couldn’t bridge a chasm between union demands in contract talks and what Detroit’s three automakers are willing to pay. The United Auto Workers union went

By DAVID SHARP and PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — After days of torrential rain, flooding, sinkholes and tornadoes, New England is about to face Hurricane Lee. As the Category 1 system impacted Bermuda, Maine Gov. Janet Mills declared a state of emergency on Thursday. The state was also under its first hurricane

By HYUNG-JIN KIM, KIM TONG-HYUNG and EMMA BURROWS Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has stopped in a far eastern Russian city to see a factory that builds the country’s most advanced fighter jets on his extended trip that hints at his interest in sophisticated weaponry. The U.S.

By SEUNG MIN KIM and LINLEY SANDERS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is trumpeting Medicare’s new powers to negotiate directly with drugmakers on the cost of prescription medications — but a new poll shows that any immediate political boost that Biden gets for enacting the overwhelmingly popular policy may be limited. Three-quarters

By FERNANDA PESCE Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican transgender rights activists Kenya Cuevas and Andrea Luna sat in front of their longtime friend Paola Buenrostro’s pink grave in Mexico City. “You don’t have to pay rent anymore. You will have your own home now,” Luna said to her late friend, a transgender woman

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Flooding in Massachusetts that put several dams at risk have raised concern the structures may increasingly be at risk as New England is hit by stronger and wetter storms. There are thousands of dams across the region, including many that are decades or centuries old and were

By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts ran for a pair of 1-yard touchdowns and threw a 63-yard TD pass to DeVonta Smith, D’Andre Swift ran for 175 yards and a score, and the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles held off the turnover-prone Minnesota Vikings 34-28. Hurts shook off a sluggish passing

By DAVID HAMILTON AP Business Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California has some of the strongest digital privacy laws in the U.S. and is on the verge of handing consumers a major new tool to combat the sale and secret use of personal information they may never have agreed to share. Both houses of the

By TRÂN NGUYỄN Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers are voting whether to send hundreds of bills to Gov. Gavin Newsom before the legislative session ends late Thursday. Newsom has until Oct. 14 to act on the bills approved by the legislature. He can sign them into law, veto them or let them

By DIANE JEANTET Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — When the Brazilian prosecutor in charge of a homicide case targeting Danilo Cavalcante saw footage of the 34 year-old crab-walk out of a U.S. prison last month, he thought the fugitive might try to head home, where he stood to receive a considerably lighter sentence.

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Lauch Faircloth of North Carolina has died Thursday. He was 95. The onetime conservative Democrat switched late in his career to the Republicans and then got elected to Congress. Former campaign aide and close friend Brad Crone said Faircloth died at his

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers will vote on a plan that would allow the state to buy electricity. Right now, utility companies purchase the energy required to power homes and businesses in the state. A bill before lawmakers Thursday would let the state purchase power in some instances. The

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — A trial challenging voting district maps in Georgia has concluded, leaving a decision in the hands of a federal judge. A lawyer for the state said in closing arguments Thursday that court intervention on behalf of Black voters isn’t needed. Plaintiffs say Black voters are still fighting

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Contract talks that could end Hollywood’s writers strike are set to resume next week. The alliance that represents studios, streaming services and production companies said in a statement Thursday that they had reached out to leaders of the writers union, and the two sides agreed to resume negotiations next week. No

DOUGLAS, Ariz. (AP) — The sheriff of Arizona’s easternmost border county is calling on state and federal officials for help with the sudden daily releases of more than a hundred migrants seeking asylum in the U.S., including families with small children. Sheriff Mark Dannels of Cochise County said Thursday the rural area doesn’t have shelters

By EDGAR H. CLEMENTE Associated Press TAPACHULA, Mexico (AP) — Mexico is on track to receive more asylum applications this year than ever before as the flow of migrants threatens to overwhelm governments at multiple points along the migratory route. Andrés Ramírez Silva, the director of Mexico’s refugee agency, said Thursday that the number of

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Public Library Service has voted to create a list of books that parents might consider inappropriate for children and teenagers. News outlets report the list will be compiled from submissions from the public and posted to the Library Service website and distributed to libraries. The proposal was sponsored by

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A last-minute legal challenge by Donald Trump’s lawyers could disrupt a trial scheduled for next month in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ business fraud lawsuit against the former president and his company. A state appeals court judge on Thursday ordered a potential postponement of

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration will withhold less military aid from Egypt over its human rights abuses this year. Administration officials said Thursday that decision comes despite determining that the Egyptian government had made no progress or lost ground on arbitrary detentions and other abuses. Administration officials, speaking on

By ADRIAN SAINZ Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Memphis couple who took in former NFL offensive lineman Michael Oher when he was in high school denied in court documents filed Thursday that they used a legal agreement between them to get rich at his expense and lied about intending to adopt him. Lawyers

By JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Attorney General’s Office has once again rejected petition language for a constitutional amendment aimed at remaking Ohio’s troubled system for drawing political maps. Republican Dave Yost’s office said Thursday that the second submission by the group Citizens Not Politicians still fails to present