Month: October 2023

By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer Hurricane Otis unexpectedly turned from mild to monster in record time, and scientists are struggling to figure out what happened and why. Usually reliable computer models and the forecasters who use them didn’t see Otis’ explosive intensification coming, creating a nightmare scenario of an unexpectedly strong storm striking at

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and JOHN HANNA Associated Press TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas officials are calling a massive computer outage that’s kept most of the state’s courts offline for two weeks a “security incident.” While authorities have provided no explanation, experts sat the incident bears all the hallmarks of a ransomware attack. The disruption has

By ASHRAF KHALIL Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — An estimated 17 million households reported problems finding enough food in 2022 — a sharp jump from 2021 when boosted government aid helped ease the pandemic-induced economic shutdown. A new Department of Agriculture report, released Wednesday, paints a sobering picture of post-pandemic hardship with “statistically significant” increases

By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — All or most of a $267,000 loan obtained by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to buy a high-end motorcoach appears to have been forgiven, raising tax and ethics questions. That’s according to a new report by Senate Democrats. Anthony “Tony” Welters, a longtime friend of Thomas who

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON and COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s state university system is disbanding chapters of a pro-Palestinian student group it says is violating state law by aligning themselves with Hamas in the wake of an attack on Israeli citizens. The move came Tuesday when state university system Chancellor Ray Rodrigues

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — The Boston City Council has passed a resolution that calls for renaming Faneuil Hall, a popular tourist site that is named after a wealthy merchant who owned and traded slaves. In calling for the hearing, the author of the measure filed a resolution decrying the building’s namesake

By REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s chief prosecutor has announced a criminal investigation into organizers of a presidential primary election held over the weekend. Sunday’s contest was meant to allow voters to choose an opposition candidate to run against President Nicolás Maduro next year. Attorney General Tarek William Saab says

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama judge has dismissed Birmingham-Southern College’s lawsuit against the state treasurer over a loan denial. Birmingham-Southern College filed a lawsuit last week against state Treasurer Young Boozer. The college said Boozer wrongly denied a $30 million loan from a program created by lawmakers to provide a financial lifeline to the

By JOHN CARUCCI Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The first thought that comes to mind when you enter the Balloon Museum for the “Let’s Fly” exhibit is the massive scale of the art. It’s easy to think of such an environment as having either professional-level balloon art or installations that rival the scale of

ATLANTA (AP) — Dwight Howard has denied accusations by a Georgia man who says he was sexually assaulted by the former NBA star and another person. Stephen Harper filed a state civil suit against Howard in July, alleging assault and battery, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Harper says he was sexually assaulted

By SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is asking lawmakers for more than $23 billion in emergency funding to help the government respond to the natural disasters that have ripped through the U.S. this year. That request is part of a broader package being sent to Capitol Hill Wednesday that

NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — Police in Norfolk, Nebraska, have identified a man whose body was found inside an apartment building chimney, but they’re still not sure about the circumstances that led to his death. The Norfolk Daily News reports that the victim was 29-year-old Zachariah Andrews. His body was found Oct. 19. Andrews was last

NEW YORK (AP) — Bud Light is set to return as the official beer of the UFC in the U.S. next year as the brand tries to recover from a conservative backlash to a promotion with a transgender influencer. The companies announced that under a new multiyear marketing deal between the promoter of mixed martial

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is hosting a state dinner to celebrate U.S. relations with Australia while paying heed to the death and suffering unfolding in the Middle East. Instead of party music performed by the B-52s, as originally planned, first lady Jill Biden says the entertainment will be

NEW YORK (AP) — Scholastic Inc. will end a widely criticized policy that made it easier for school book fairs not to sell works with racial, disability and LGBTQ+ themes. The children’s publisher angered many authors and educators when it created a separate package of more than two dozen books, labeled “Share Every Story, Celebrate

By AMANDA SEITZ Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Billions of dollars for a global HIV/AIDS program that’s saved millions of lives are in limbo and now the George W. Bush Institute is urging the U.S. Congress to keep money flowing  to the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, also known as PEPFAR. The program

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A second U.S. Attorney says he has testified to Congress that the prosecutor overseeing the Hunter Biden investigation had full authority over filing charges, rebutting whistleblower claims that Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss didn’t have the final say. The claim that Weiss was blocked from filing tax

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press Tennessee’s top legal chief says the federal government is wrongly withholding millions of dollars in family planning funds after the state refused to comply with federal rules requiring clinics to provide abortion referrals due to its current ban on the procedure. Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed a complaint in U.S.

By JACK DURA Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s Republican-controlled Legislature has adjourned after rewriting a major budget bill that was voided by the state Supreme Court, resolving a mess that had threatened to stymie government operations. North Dakota lawmakers completed their three-day special session Wednesday, less than a month after the Supreme

By AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has spoken out against retaliatory attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. He also says he’s redoubling his commitment to working on a two-state solution to end the decadeslong Israel-Palestinian

By SUMAN NAISHADHAM and BRITTANY PETERSON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Major corporations in water-guzzling industries such as apparel, food and beverage, and tech want to be better stewards of the freshwater resources they use. But a nonprofit that advocates for sustainability said an analysis of 72 companies found that few are close to reaching

By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press ELLABELL, Ga. (AP) — Construction of Hyundai’s first U.S. plant dedicated to making electric vehicles is moving quickly. A year has passed since the South Korean automaker broke ground on a sprawling site in southeast Georgia. Now the steel skeletons of the buildings that make up the plant’s assembly line

By DÁNICA COTO Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Environmental groups are urging a moratorium on deep-sea mining ahead of an international meeting in Jamaica where an obscure U.N. body will debate the issue amid fears it could soon authorize the world’s first license to harvest minerals from the ocean floor. More than

SEDONA, Ariz. (AP) — Operators of a northern Arizona golf course think they have finally found the right repellent for javelinas ripping apart their turf — chili oil. This is not the first autumn Seven Canyons Golf Club in Sedona has been targeted by foraging javelinas. General manager Dave Bisbee says the scale of the

By SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron sought to promote — with little success so far — the creation of an international coalition to fight the armed Palestinian group Hamas, during a two-day trip to the Middle East that started in Israel. Leaders he met with in Israel, the West

By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jury selection continues in the federal trial of the captain of a scuba dive boat that caught fire in 2019, killing 34 people on board and becoming the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history. Captain Jerry Boylan is charged with one count of misconduct or

By DANIEL POLITI Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Former Argentine presidential candidate Patricia Bullrich has endorsed right-wing populist Javier Milei for next month’s runoff. She placed third in Sunday’s election behind Milei and Economy Minister Sergio Massa. Bullrich made sure to emphasize that the support for Milei was only from her presidential team

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union appears to be edging closer to a tentative contract agreement with Ford that would be critical to ending the union’s 6-week-old strikes against the three major Detroit automakers, two people with knowledge of the talks said Wednesday. The people said the

By BEN FINLEY Associated Press NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — A heated debate has emerged about the once-unimaginable shooting of a teacher by her 6-year-old student: How should society take care of the teacher? Should she only get workers’ compensation? Or does she deserve millions of dollars for a school system’s alleged failures to protect

CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple Inc. is raising the prices for its AppleTV+ streaming and Arcade gaming plans as well as its bundled Apple One service that includes streaming, music and other subscriptions. Arcade will now cost $6.99, up from $4.99. AppleTV+ is now $9.99, up from $6.99. Apple One will increase to $19.95 from

By CLAIRE SAVAGE Associated Press/Report for America CHICAGO (AP) — A man who prosecutors say pepper-sprayed pro-Palestinian protesters in Illinois has been charged with hate crimes and aggravated battery. Cook County prosecutors say they charged a 33-year-old man who used pepper spray against demonstrators Sunday at a pro-Palestinian protest near an Israel solidarity event. Police

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Pope Francis’ big meeting on the future of the Catholic Church is heading into its final stretch. The Vatican released its first document, a letter from the 364 members to rank-and-file faithful. It updates them in general terms on where things stand in their deliberations. It was

By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has approved Jacob Lew to be ambassador to Israel, moving quickly to get him in place during Israel’s war with Hamas. The panel voted 12-9 on Wednesday to move Lew’s nomination to the Senate floor for a final vote as soon as next

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Bitcoin is having another moment. The world’s largest cryptocurrency soared to almost $35,000 this week, marking its highest value in nearly 18 months. The recent rally for volatile bitcoin coincides with the prospect of exchange-traded funds being launched based on spot bitcoin. Industry advocates say

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Voters in a Tennessee city have firmly rejected a far-right mayoral candidate after she refused to denounce white supremacists who showed up to support her at a candidate forum. Unofficial results show Gabrielle Hanson lost Tuesday by a wide margin to the incumbent Franklin mayor, Ken Moore. Hanson had been an

By COLLEEN SLEVIN Associated Press DENVER (AP) — A Colorado judge chided a welding company that tried to pay off a $23,500 settlement with a subcontractor by sending the money in loose coins that weighed 3 tons. Judge Joseph Findley ruled Monday that JMF Enterprises “acted maliciously and in bad faith” by delivering a custom