Month: October 2023

By EMMANUEL IGUNZA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — An elite Kenyan police unit has gone on trial on charges of wrongful death in the killing an outspoken Pakistani journalist in Nairobi a year ago. The hearings started on Tuesday at a court on the outskirts of Kenya’s capital. Arshad Sharif was killed Oct. 23,

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were trading mixed Tuesday as investors looked ahead to a week that could see more swings in financial markets, including key reports on U.S. consumer confidence and the job market. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 reversed course and added 0.3% in afternoon trading to 30,796.81.

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — Chatbots like ChatGPT wowed with their ability to do tasks as good as or better than humans, thanks to cutting-edge artificial intelligence systems. Now, frontier AI has become the latest buzzword as concerns grow that the emerging technology has capabilities that could endanger humanity. Everyone from

By EVELYNE MUSAMBI Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — King Charles III has arrived in Kenya for his first state visit to a Commonwealth country as king, underscoring his commitment to an organization that’s been central to Britain’s global power and prestige since World War II. The king and Queen Camilla touched down at the

AGUANGA, Calif. (AP) — Fire officials are battling a wildfire fueled by gusty Santa Ana winds that’s ripping through rural land southeast of Los Angeles, forcing about 4,000 people from their homes. The so-called Highland Fire erupted at about 12:45 p.m. Monday in dry, brushy hills near the unincorporated Riverside County hamlet of Aguanga. As

By MAURICIO SAVARESE AP Sports Writer SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Mental health and how athletes deal with it has become top of mind for athletes, coaches and sports executives alike. That’s even more so since the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 when American superstar gymnast Simone Biles skipped several title defenses in an attempt to protect

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s leader has defended the rules for the upcoming local elections as open and fair after an electoral overhaul effectively barred the city’s remaining pro-democracy activists from joining the race. The city’s largest pro-democracy party, the Democratic Party, will be absent in next month’s district

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A trial of New Zealand tourism operators accused of safety breaches after 22 people died in a 2019 volcanic eruption has ended with the last remaining defendant found guilty on one count. The three-month, judge-only trial against 13 groups already saw six plead guilty and

By DAVID SHARP Associated Press LISBON FALLS, Maine (AP) — Communities that were sheltering in place in the aftermath of Maine’s shootings are beginning to move forward, with kids returning to school and residents celebrating Halloween. But dozens of family members are struck with loss, including a Maine woman who’s still waiting for the arrival

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations special envoy for Syria is warning that the Israel-Hamas war is spilling into the neighboring country. Syria is facing growing instability, violence and a lack of progress toward a political solution of its 12-year conflict. Geir Pedersen told the U.N. Security Council

By MATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (AP) — A race that could determine control of Virginia’s state legislature will not be a standard battle between a Democrat and a Republican. It also features a credible independent candidate who happens to be a former stripper. And then there’s the write-in campaign of a right-wing restaurateur

By STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts is working to fully atone for its witch trial legacy nearly 400 years after the first person was executed there for witchcraft. The latest push comes from a group dedicated to clearing the names of all those accused, arrested or indicted for witchcraft in the state.

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A little-known New York City jail believed to be the last operating prison ship in the country is set to shutter the week. The barge first arrived in the South Bronx in 1992 and was one of several floating jails used by the city at the

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press DENVER (AP) — The videos playing in a Colorado courtroom were both chilling and, by now, familiar — a violent mob, with some wearing tactical gear, smashing through the U.S. Capitol, attacking police officers and chanting “Hang Mike Pence!” Now, lawyers on day two of the weeklong hearing are arguing

By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make the case to Congress that the United States should immediately send aid to Israel and Ukraine. They are testifying Tuesday at a Senate hearing as the administration’s massive $105 billion emergency aid request has

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed Brett Favre’s defamation lawsuit against fellow retired NFL player Shannon Sharpe. The judge ruled Monday that Sharpe used constitutionally protected speech on a sports broadcast when he criticized Favre’s connection to a welfare misspending case in Mississippi. Starrett ruled that

BEIJING (AP) — State media report the remains of former Chinese premier Li Keqiang are to be cremated on Thursday, with flags around the country to be flown at half-staff to mourn the official who helped guide the world’s second-largest economy for a decade. Li died Friday of a heart attack at 68. Mourners gathered

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Three astronauts have returned to Earth after six months aboard China’s orbiting space station. Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao emerged from the return capsule at a Chinese space center Tuesday morning. They are reportedly in good health. The station’s new three-person crew arrived to

By DAVID BRANDT AP Baseball Writer PHOENIX (AP) — Corey Seager launched a two-run homer and made a slick defensive play in the eighth to start a crucial double play, veteran Max Scherzer combined with four relievers for a gem on the mound and the Texas Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1 to take a

By AUDREY McAVOY Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — Maui police held a news conference to show 16 minutes of body camera footage taken the day a wildfire tore through Lahaina town in August. The video includes shots of officers rescuing 15 people from a coffee shop and taking a severely burned man to a hospital.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s Democratic U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer has announced that he won’t be running for reelection next year. Blumenauer has represented a solidly Democratic district that includes north and southeast Portland since 1996. He has served in public office for roughly five decades. He notably served on the House’s powerful Ways and

By MARK SHERMAN and MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats say they will subpoena Republican megadonor Harlan Crow and conservative activist Leonard Leo for more information about their roles in organizing and paying for luxury travel for Supreme Court justices. The announcement by Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee comes as

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB and LUJAIN JO Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — A watchdog group advocating for press freedom has said that the strikes that hit a group of journalists in southern Lebanon earlier this month, killing one, were targeted rather than accidental and that the journalists were clearly identified as press. Reporters Without Borders, or

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Officials say a man has been arrested after he allegedly knocked out a parishioner inside a San Francisco Catholic church and then threw pipe bombs at a patrol car during a car chase. San Francisco police say the 42-year-old man was arrested Sunday by California Highway Patrol officers in Martinez, east

By The Associated Press The United Auto Workers union is providing more details about tentative contract agreements with Detroit automakers that include pay raises of 25% over four years and eight months. UAW leaders spoke about the tentative agreement with Ford Sunday night, and posted it online. Now rank-and-file union members will vote whether to

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — A woman accused of hosting parties for her teenage son and his friends in Northern California where she encouraged them to drink and sexually assault intoxicated girls was charged Monday with more than five dozen felony and misdemeanor counts. Shannon Marie O’Connor, 49, was indicted by a grand jury in

By AMY TEIBEL Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Just last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu predicted a new era of peace and prosperity in the Middle East, based on growing acceptance of Israel within the region. Today, with the Israel-Hamas war in its fourth week, that vision is in tatters. The mobilization of 360,000

By JUAN ZAMORANO Associated Press PANAMA CITY (AP) — Protests in Panama have extended into a second week over a long-term copper mining concession for a Canadian company. Panama’s government sought to calm anger by promising Monday to let Panamanians decide in a referendum whether to scrap the deal. A broad cross-section of society has

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Attorneys say they are settling a lawsuit brought by a man who accused Tennessee authorities of arresting him for posting a social media meme about a fallen sheriff’s officer. Joshua Andrew Garton’s lawyers say the case is being settled for $125,000. Garton was arrested in 2021 after posting an edited photograph

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Actor Robert De Niro says the legal claims by a former personal assistant who worked for him are nonsense. The 80-year-old De Niro testified in Manhattan federal court on Monday in a lawsuit brought by the assistant, Graham Chase Robinson. Robinson is seeking $12 million in

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees is telling a U.N. emergency meeting “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire has become a matter of life and death for millions.” Philippe Lazzarini accused Israel of “collective punishment” of Palestinians and the forced displacement of civilians. He

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Texas’ extra-inning comeback victory over Arizona According to Nielsen, Fox averaged 9.17 million for the game telecast. It is only the sixth World Series game that didn’t attract at least 10 million viewers.was the least-watched Game 1 recorded in World Series TV history. The Rangers’ 6-5 win over the Diamondbacks in

By JESSE BEDAYN Associated Press/Report for America DENVER (AP) — Families have filed a lawsuit against the Colorado funeral home that was allegedly sending families fake ashes and leaving at least 189 loved ones’ bodies to decay in Colorado facility. The gruesome discovery at Return to Nature Funeral Home earlier this month after reports of

DEATH VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — A tarantula crossing the road in Death Valley National Park caused a traffic crash that sent a Canadian motorcyclist to the hospital. That’s according to the National Park Service. Swiss travelers were driving a rented camper van on Saturday and braked suddenly to avoid hitting the tarantula as it crossed

By MANUEL RUEDA Associated Press BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Police in Colombia have deployed air and land patrols to search for soccer player Luis Diaz’s father, who was kidnapped over the weekend along with Diaz’s mother. The couple were at a gas station in the small town of Barrancas on Saturday when they were abducted

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Books were about as abundant as candy at a trick-or-treating event that President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden hosted at the White House on the eve of Halloween. Gray skies and drizzle added a spooky element. The White House says it expected 8,000 people to

The stars of “Friends” say they are mourning the “unfathomable” death of Matthew Perry. Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer say in a joint statement to People magazine that they “utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew.” Perry was found dead at his Los Angeles home Saturday, and investigation is

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press Police in Connecticut have announced criminal and internal affairs investigations into an officer seen on video using a stun gun on a shoplifting suspect three times. Police body camera video released Monday shows Naugatuck Officer Nicholas Kehoss pulling the stun gun trigger, including when the man was on the ground

By MARC LEVY Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Millions more dollars are flowing into Pennsylvania’s race for a state Supreme Court seat, as labor unions, trial lawyers and billionaires spend heavily. The latest reports due Friday show that spending zipped past $17 million, as Democrat Dan McCaffery, Republican Carolyn Carluccio and their allies claw

By EVENS SANON and DÁNICA COTO Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s government has banned all charter flights to Nicaragua that migrants fleeing poverty and violence had been increasingly using in their quest to reach the United States. The order was issued Monday in a brief bulletin that The Associated Press obtained. The move

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD AP Political Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent trip to China was highlighted by a surprise meeting with leader Xi Jinping. But it might be best remembered for a video showing him steamrolling a schoolboy during a basketball game. The two-term Democrat took a detour from his

TOK, Alaska (AP) — Authorities say an Alaska State Trooper fatally shot a man who was brandishing a rifle outside a motel in the community of Tok. The state Department of Public Safety says the trooper was responding to a 911 call about a man trying to break into a motel room. The agency says

By TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The wife of a Grammy-winning sound engineer who was killed by police in January has filed a lawsuit against the city of Nashville and a police officer. The suit alleges that Officer Ashley Coon used excessive and unreasonable force when he shot and killed Mark Capps

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A civil rights attorney says he will ask the U.S. Justice Department to investigate why authorities in Jackson, Mississippi, waited months to tell a woman that her son had been struck and killed by a police SUV driven by an off-duty officer. Ben Crump says

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A freshman football player at Rocky Mountain College was fatally shot over the weekend and police in Billings, Montana have arrested a 16-year-old suspect. The Yellowstone County Coroner’s office says Chandler Wyatt Stalcup of Crystal River, Florida, was shot early Saturday near campus. KULR-TV reports he remained on life support until

By EDGAR H.CLEMENTE Associated Press TAPACHULA, Mexico (AP) — About 5,000 migrants from Central America, Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti have set out on foot to reach the U.S., walking north from Mexico’s southern border. The migrants complain that processing for refugee or exit visas takes too long at Mexico’s main processing center in the city