Month: September 2023

By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A report alleges that backers of an effort to repeal ranked voting in Alaska violated state campaign finance rules, including by channeling money through a church-affiliated organization in a way that initially concealed the source of the contributions. The report, from the staff for the Alaska

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON Associated Press Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy says he wants to reduce the federal employee headcount by half in his first year in office and by 75% during his first term if he makes it to the White House. Ramaswamy on Wednesday gave a speech at the America First Policy Institute

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida will  recommend most citizens don’t take the latest COVID-19 booster shot. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Surgeon Ladapo held a Zoom call with doctors Wednesday in which Ladapo said the there isn’t enough data to show the potential benefits of the vaccine outweigh potential risks. DeSantis, who’s running for

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of a Senate investigations subcommittee is subpoenaing Saudi officials for documents on the kingdom’s new golf partnership with the PGA Tour. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, said Wednesday that Saudi Arabia had to be more transparent about what he said was its $35 billion

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The National Book Award longlist for young people’s literature features a range of grownup topics, from the deadly famine in Ukraine in the 1930s to the 1963 March on Washington to the underpinnings of the Internet. The list of 10 was announced Wednesday by the

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — The brother of an Afghan soldier who fled the Taliban and traveled through nearly a dozen countries before being arrested at the Texas-Mexico border says his sibling has been granted U.S. asylum, allowing him to remain in the country. Abdul Wasi Safi is one of thousands

MOSCOW (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to Russia has met with imprisoned American Paul Whelan, who is serving a 16-year sentence on an espionage conviction that both Washington and Whelan dispute. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller says that Ambassador Lynne Tracy traveled to the prison colony about 350 kilometers (220 miles) east of Moscow where

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell swore in three members of the central bank’s governing board Wednesday, including Philip Jefferson as vice chair and Adriana Kugler to fill a vacant seat as the central bank’s first Latina governor. The officials, all appointed by President Joe Biden, aren’t

CHEBOYGAN, Mich. (AP) — A fire at a northern Michigan paper mill has closed several roads and prompted state police to warn people to stay away from the area. Plumes of thick and heavy black and gray smoke billowed Wednesday from the Tissue Depot property along M-27 in downtown Cheboygan, about 290 miles northwest of

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Olivia Rodrigo is going on tour and she’s bringing the next generation of pop talent, as well as a beloved ’90s alt-rock band, with her. In 2024, Rodrigo will be joined by funk-and-soul up-and-comer Remi Wolf, dark pop princess Chappell Roan, song of the summer

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Two men have been sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole in a drive-by shooting in downtown Pittsburgh that left a toddler dead in his car seat. Twenty-five-year-old Markez Anger and 27-year-old Londell Falconer were both sentenced Wednesday in connection with their first-degree murder convictions last June. They were also

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian health officials in the Gaza Strip say at least four people have been killed and 20 others wounded in an explosion next to the separation fence along the Israeli frontier with Gaza. The cause of Wednesday’s blast wasn’t immediately known. The explosion took place during a demonstration along

By ALI SWENSON Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — As Americans fend off a late summer COVID-19 spike and prepare for a fresh vaccine rollout, Republicans are raising familiar fears that government-issued lockdowns and mask mandates are next. It’s been a favorite topic among some of the GOP’s top presidential contenders. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

The wife of Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman has been released from federal custody after completing a three-year sentence for helping him run his multibillion-dollar criminal empire. Emma Coronel Aispuro had been moved from a Texas prison to a California halfway house before Wednesday’s release. Coronel Aispuro will serve four years of supervised

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors say New York City’s former top building-safety official took cash, New York Mets tickets, a discount on a luxury apartment and other bribes from a real estate developer, a restaurateur and others. Former Buildings Commissioner Eric Ulrich is accused of repaying them with favors including

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Indian officials say three soldiers and a police officer were killed in separate gunfights with rebels over the past two days in the mountainous Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. Indian government forces launched a joint operation against the militants late on Tuesday in the Kokernag area of Kashmir’s Anantnag district. Officials did

By The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Broadway royalty will be out in force Monday when stars like Sara Bareilles, Cynthia Erivo, Josh Groban, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ben Platt perform at a fundraiser for President Joe Biden. The event is set for Monday in New York City and Biden will attend. Proceeds will benefit

GREENSBURG, La. (AP) — Classes are canceled at a Louisiana high school where a student was shot to death and two others were injured. A 14-year-old student at St. Helena College & Career Academy in Greensburg is in custody after the Tuesday shooting. The local sheriff described the shooting as a senseless tragedy. Authorities have

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese state media say that clashes have intensified in the country’s largest Palestinian refugee camp, leaving at least five people dead and more than a dozen wounded. Scores of civilians have been forced to flee to safer areas. The deaths on Wednesday bring to 11 the number of people killed since the

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is locked down after the campus alert system warned of an armed and dangerous person on or near campus. The Wednesday afternoon alert instructed students to “go inside now” and avoid windows. Students are still recovering from the fatal shooting of a

By MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney said Wednesday that he will not run for reelection in 2024, creating a wide-open contest in a state that heavily favors Republicans and is expected to attract a crowded field. Romney, a former presidential candidate and governor of Massachusetts, made the announcement in a

By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer A new study of Earth’s health says the planet is outside its “safe operating space for humanity” on six out of nine key measurements. And the team of international scientists says that two of the remaining three areas are heading in the wrong direction. Wednesday’s study says Earth’s climate,

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. special envoy for Sudan who was declared unwelcome by the country’s military government in June has announced his resignation. He is warning that the conflict between Sudan’s two military leaders “could be morphing into a full-scale civil war.” Volker Perthes had continued to

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer TORONTO (AP) — There’s been no shortage of hit-man movies at film festivals this fall. You could line them up on a rooftop somewhere, each with their sniper rifles aimed out at audiences. David Fincher’s “The Killer,” Michael Keaton’s “Knox Goes Away,” Harmony Korine’s “Aggro Dr1ft.” But the one

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN and CHRISTOPHER L. KELLER Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A U.S. district judge is considering multiple requests to put on ice an order by New Mexico’s Democratic governor that suspends the right to carry firearms in the state’s largest metropolitan area. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Albuquerque.

EWING, Va. (AP) — Authorities are searching for a homicide suspect in a remote corner of western Virginia after they say he fled from police in eastern Tennessee. Law enforcement officials on Wednesday called for residents to lock their homes and secure their vehicles. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia said in a statement

By JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s new government has approved a measure granting temporary visa-free entry to Chinese tourists, signaling that the recovery of the country’s tourism industry is a top economic priority. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said Wednesday the visa exemption — which will also apply to visitors from the Central

By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The rare ghost orchid found mainly in Florida and Cuba should be immediately protected by the U.S. as an endangered species, three environmental groups claimed Wednesday in a lawsuit arguing that federal officials are unduly delaying a decision. The lawsuit filed in Florida federal court

By JESSE BEDAYN Associated Press/Report for America DENVER (AP) — Surveillance video shows U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert and another guest being kicked out of a Sunday “Beetlejuice” show in Denver. The theater says the surveillance video shows the guests being kicked out after audience members accused them of vaping, singing, using phones and causing a

By ERALDO PERES and ELÉONORE HUGHES BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Indigenous women in Brazil’s capital Brasilia showcased their creations during a fashion event as part of the Third March of Indigenous Women to claim women’s rights and the demarcation of Indigenous lands. Under a huge white marquee, models adorned with headdresses, necklaces and traditional attire

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria’s state media say that Israel’s military carried out airstrikes in a coastal province, killing two soldiers, wounding six and causing material damage. The country’s state news agency quotes an unnamed military official as saying the missiles hit air defense units on Wednesday in the province of Latakia and that they

By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri judge has upheld the constitutionality of the state’s Senate districts. Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem rejected claims that the districts drawn by a judicial panel after the 2020 census unlawfully divided a St. Louis suburb and a western Missouri county into

By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is waiving his right to seek a speedy trial in the Georgia case in which he and 18 others are accused of participating in an illegal scheme to overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential election. Trump’s filing is part of the legal

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear has seized a commanding fundraising lead over Republican challenger Daniel Cameron in their marquee matchup in Kentucky. Beshear is seeking a second term in a state that otherwise has become a GOP stronghold. Their latest campaign finance reports show Beshear accumulated about

By TERRY SPENCER Associated Press BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man is facing a possible death sentence after being charged with the January slaying of a Lyft driver. Authorities announced Wednesday that Mathew Flores has been indicted on first-degree murder charges for the Jan. 30 killing of 74-year-old Gary Levin. Flores was already

By LISA MASCARO, STEPHEN GROVES and KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s sudden decision to launch an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden appears to have won over even the most reluctant Republicans, and some GOP lawmakers are pushing for it to move quickly rather than drag into the 2024

By BERT WILKINSON Associated Press GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — The government of Guyana has opened bids for 14 offshore oil blocks available for exploration and development as the South American country seeks to ramp up oil production. Six companies and groups submitted bids for the available blocks late Tuesday after the bidding process was postponed

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The iconic stopwatch won’t be reset, but for six episodes this fall, “60 Minutes” will become 90 minutes. The CBS newsmagazine is stretching on some Sundays when CBS airs an NFL doubleheader, starting Oct. 8. Often, the show doesn’t air until 7:30 p.m. on the

By GRANT PECK and TIAN MACLEOD JI Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — The son of ousted Myanmar leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi says he has always avoided talking to the media, but this time is different. He’s increasingly worried about his imprisoned 78-year-old mother’s health and about Myanmar’s violent political crisis, which he calls desperate.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola’s office has announced that the congresswoman’s husband died in an airplane crash in Alaska. No further details have been made immediately available about the crash. Her husband Eugene Peltola Jr. also went by the name “Buzzy.”  Peltola’s chief of staff says she was returning to Alaska from

By LEANNE ITALIE AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — A new documentary out Friday, “Invisible Beauty,” offers a unique take on the fashion industry through the life and work of trailblazer Bethann Hardison. The former model, model agency owner and activist at large co-wrote and co-directs the film with Frédéric Tcheng. Hardison was among