Month: October 2023

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A vehicle has crashed into the Chinese consulate in San Francisco, prompting a massive response from police and fire personnel. The San Francisco Police Department also said Monday that an officer or officers fired their guns at the site of the crash. The department provided no other immediate details. Television cameras

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia’s U.N. ambassador claimed Monday that alleged “neo-Nazis” and men of military age were at the wake for a Ukrainian soldier in a village café that was hit by a missile strike last week, killing 52 people. Vassily Nebenzia told a U.N. Security Council meeting

By MEAD GRUVER Associated Press Five women on Monday sued the founder of an anti-child-trafficking group that inspired a popular movie this year, alleging he sexually manipulated, abused and harassed them on overseas trips designed to lure and catch child sex traffickers. Tim Ballard’s life story and work with Operation Underground Railroad inspired “Sound of

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The deposition hearing in the civil lawsuit against retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre in connection with Mississippi’s welfare scandal has been pushed back at the request of the athlete’s attorneys. A court document filed Friday shows the hearing has been rescheduled from Oct. 26 to Dec. 11 based on a request

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling delaying the execution of a Texas inmate who had been scheduled to receive a lethal injection this week for fatally shooting an 80-year-old woman more than two decades ago. Jedidiah Murphy had been set to be executed Tuesday

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Shares in Walmart’s Mexico subsidiary have dropped about 3.3%  after Walmart de Mexico announced it is being investigated for alleged monopolistic practices. Analysts said it was not clear what regulators were alleging that Walmart de Mexico did. But an analysis report from Intercam Banco said Mexico’s economic competition commission could be

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has been interviewed as part of an independent investigation into his handling of classified documents, the White House said late Monday. Spokesperson Ian Sams said in a statement that the interview was voluntary and conducted at the White House on Sunday and Monday. The

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama public library director says the library mistakenly added a children’s picture book to a list of potentially inappropriate titles because the author’s last name is “Gay.” “Read Me a Story, Stella” is a children’s picture book by Canadian author Marie-Louise Gay. It was added to a list of books

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press Another Republican presidential candidate has dropped out of the crowded 2024 field. Former Texas congressman Will Hurd announced Monday that he was leaving the race and endorsing rival Nikki Haley. He said the need to rally around one candidate to defeat former President Donald Trump had become increasingly clear. Miami

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — The U.S, casino gambling industry says it generates nearly $329 billion a year in economic activity. The American Gaming Association says the industry’s economic impact in 2022 was up 26% from 2017, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Commercial and tribal casinos support 1.8 million jobs,

By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Texas congressman Will Hurd suspended his Republican presidential bid Monday, abandoning a brief campaign built on criticizing Donald Trump at a time when his party seems even more determined to embrace the former president. Hurd said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that he

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — The Dominican Republic government says it will temporarily allow the trade of essential Dominican products, including food and medications, on the border with Haiti. But it says it will maintain a ban on entry of Haitian citizens. It is part of an ongoing dispute between the two nations over

By GABE STERN Associated Press/Report for America RENO, Nev. (AP) — Nevada’s largest teachers union has filed a lawsuit challenging a state law that makes it illegal for public school employees including teachers to go on strike. The filing Monday in state court in Las Vegas represents the next step in a contentious contract battle

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — A lawyer says video showing an Atlanta traffic stop that led to the death of a 62-year-old Black deacon could be publicly released by Thursday. Johnny Hollman Sr. died after Aug. 10 he was shocked with a stun gun by an Atlanta police officer. Lawyer Muwali Davis

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) — A Minnesota horticulture teacher has set a new world record in California for the heaviest pumpkin after growing a giant jack-o’-lantern gourd weighing 2,749 pounds. Travis Gienger is from Anoka, Minnesota, and won the 50th World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco, on Monday.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood writers have voted almost unanimously to approve the contract agreement reached by their union leaders that ended a strike after nearly five months. The Writers Guild of America announced Monday that 99% of the more than 8,000 members who cast ballots voted to ratify the three-year deal. Union leaders reached

By JIM MUSTIAN Associated Press FARMERVILLE, La. (AP) — A judge delivered a victory Monday to the state prosecution of white Louisiana lawmen in the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene, allowing the most serious charge of negligent homicide to go forward against a trooper captured on body-camera video dragging the Black motorist by his

By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press California Gov.  Gavin Newsom has vetoed legislation that would have required dozens of his state’s largest cities, counties and educational districts to use citizens’ commissions to draw local voting districts. The veto announced Monday marks a setback for “redistricting reform” advocates who had hoped the California bill could have

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s space agency says there’s been a leak in a backup coolant line at the International Space Station. Roscosmos said Monday that the crew and station aren’t in any danger from the leak at Russia’s new science lab. The coolant leaked from an external backup radiator and the space agency said main

By SARAH EL DEEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, launched an attack inside Israel over the weekend, killing hundreds and taking others hostage. Its unprecedented breach of the border sent fighters inside border communities and military installations, shocked Israel and its allies, and raised questions about

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — An independent candidate for Mississippi governor says she is quitting the race. Gwendolyn Gray says Monday that she’s endorsing Democratic nominee Brandon Presley as he tries to unseat Republican incumbent Tate Reeves. But Gray’s decision was announced more than two weeks after absentee voting had

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Chiarello, a chef known for his Italian-inspired Californian restaurants who won an Emmy Award for best host for “Easy Entertaining With Michael Chiarello” and appeared on Bravo’s “Top Chef” and “Top Chef Masters,” has died. He was 61. Chiarello died Friday at Queen of

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s top Republican state lawmaker, who had threatened to possibly impeach a newly elected liberal state Supreme Court justice if she didn’t step down from a redistricting case, doesn’t mention that option in his first comments since the justice decided against recusal. Justice Janet Protasiewicz declined

By LISA MASCARO and KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have no clear idea who will be U.S. House speaker, leaving an unprecedented power vacuum in Congress and severely limiting America’s ability to quickly respond to the crisis in Israel — or any number of other problems at home or abroad. On Monday,

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida will provide COVID-19 data to the public again after a former Democratic state representative settled a lawsuit with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration over the decision two years ago to stop sharing information on the virus’ spread online. Then-Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith sued after the Department of Health denied his

By BASSEM MROUE and SARAH EL DEEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — A senior official with the Palestinian militant group Hamas says only a small number of top commanders in Gaza knew about the surprise attack launched into Israel over the weekend. Ali Barakeh told The Associated Press Monday that even Hamas’ closest allies were

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Ted Schwinden, a wheat farmer and Word War II veteran who gained national attention for keeping his home phone number listed during two terms as Montana’s governor, has died. He was 98. Schwinden died Saturday in Phoenix at his daughter’s home, son Dore Schwinden said Monday. The cause of death was

WALKER, La. (AP) — A Louisiana public school principal has apologized for punishing a student and questioning her religious beliefs after he saw a video of her dancing at an off-campus party. The 17-year-old student government president and scholarship candidate was videotaped dancing at an off-campus party following Walker High School’s Sept. 30 Homecoming festivities.

By ALICIA RANCILIO Associated Press After two decades, the character Dr. Frasier Crane returns in a new sitcom, “Frasier,” for Paramount+. The show sees Kelsey Grammer’s Crane return to Boston, which is where viewers first met the character on “Cheers.” The writers behind the show use restraint, referencing the original series sparingly and taking it

JENKINSVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Federal officials have issued a warning about a substantial safety violation at a South Carolina nuclear plant after cracks were discovered again in an emergency fuel line. The State newspaper reports that small cracks have been found a half-dozen times in the past 20 years in pipes that carry diesel fuel

By TERRY SPENCER Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — How much is Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago worth? That’s now a point of contention after a New York judge ruled that the former president exaggerated the Florida property’s value when he said it is worth at least $420 million. In siding with New York in the

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The United Nations is expressing growing concerns about humanitarian needs in Palestinian areas as Israel ratchets up a muscular military riposte and lockdown of Gaza after the weekend attack by Hamas militants who killed and kidnapped hundreds of civilians in Israel. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres led the

ROCKLAND, Maine (AP) — Officials say the top portion of a mast snapped toppled on a historic excursion vessel, killing one person and injuring others aboard the Grace Bailey schooner off the coast of Maine. The Rockland Fire Department says one person died and three people were transported to hospitals on Monday. The 118-foot Grace

By ADRIAN SAINZ Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A lawyer for a former Memphis officer charged in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols said in court documents that investigators found the hallucinogenic drug psilocybin and stolen credit cards in Nichols’ car when he was pulled over in a traffic stop that led to the

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — The Vatican secretary of state has strongly defended World War II-era Pope Pius XII as a friend of the Jews. That defensive line came at a conference where even Holy See historians acknowledged the anti-Jewish prejudice in the Vatican that informed Pius’ silence in the face of

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Federal Reserve officials suggested that the central bank may leave interest rates unchanged at its next meeting in three weeks because a surge in long-term interest rates has made borrowing more expensive and could help cool inflation without further action by the Fed. Since late

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — A Nigerian court has sentenced a police officer to death for shooting and killing a lawyer in the commercial hub of Lagos. The judge on Monday told the officer accused of killing Bolanle Raheem, who was pregnant at the time, that he would be  “hanged by

By AMY TEIBEL Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — It was, they thought, an ironclad social contract. Israeli citizens would serve in the military and live along enemy borders. In exchange, the army would defend them. That contract was shattered Saturday when hundreds of Hamas militants breached Israel’s defenses from the Gaza Strip, pouring in by