Month: December 2023

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A Michigan man described by prosecutors as a self-professed militia leader has been sentenced to four years and three months in prison for attacking law enforcement with a stolen police baton during the riot at the U.S. Capitol. A prosecutor said Matthew Krol was one of the

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial has offered fresh insight into the former president’s finances, his dealings with lenders and his aspiration to be an NFL owner, among other matters. The trial also has given a glimpse of Trump’s potential political and

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s Health Department has ordered the temporary closure of a melon-packing plant implicated in salmonella infections that killed five people in Canada and three in the United States. The department did not name the company involved, but the Public Health Agency of Canada linked the outbreak to Malichita and Rudy brand

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Opponents of Connecticut’s policy letting transgender girls compete in girls high school sports will get a second chance to challenge it in court. On Friday, a federal appeals court in Manhattan revived the case without weighing in on its merits. Both sides called that a win.

By JOHN HANNA AP Political Writer TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has ruled that a law making it a felony to impersonate an elections official is vague enough that voting rights advocates can pursue a legal challenge. The court’s ruling Friday revived a lawsuit that a lower court had dismissed. Four groups

By LEA SKENE Associated Press CENTREVILLE, Md. (AP) — The family of a woman who disappeared in 1969 after going Christmas shopping at a suburban Baltimore mall is receiving a spark of hope this week when FBI investigators exhumed Joyce Malecki’s body as they continue working to identify her killer. The case has been a

By LAURIE KELLMAN Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Hungary’s Viktor Orban’s veto of an aid package from Europe to war-torn Ukraine was the latest sign that Western support for the country’s defense against Russia has become complicated. Member nations of the EU and NATO are united in the idea that Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine is

By FREIDA FRISARO and MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — It’s beginning to look at lot like … hurricane season. At least that’s the case across much of South Florida, where it’s been windy and rainy for two days and the forecast predicts more of the same this busy holiday season weekend.

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — If $700 million wasn’t enough, Shohei Ohtani’s record-setting contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers could also include a bonus: skipping most of California’s famously high income taxes. Not even the mighty Dodgers have the power to exempt Ohtani from paying his taxes. But they and the

By DIDI TANG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to China says the relationship between the two countries will be defined by strategic competition in the coming decades but most involve engagement when interests align. Nicholas Burns says the U.S. must engage with China on issues such as climate change, narcotics, public health

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut appeals court has upheld $75,000 in fines against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for missing a deposition in the lawsuit filed by Sandy Hook families. The lawsuit led to a $1.4 billion judgment last year against Jones for repeatedly calling the 2012 Newtown school shooting

By MAYSOON KHAN Associated Press/Report for America ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art will return 16 ancient pieces of artwork to Cambodia and Thailand that federal prosecutors say were tied to an art dealer and collector accused of running a huge antiquities trafficking network out of Southeast Asia. The Manhattan museum

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — One Kentucky family got a little something extra when they picked out their Christmas tree this year: a baby owl. Lexington resident Michele White tells WDKY-TV that it’s a tradition for the family to pick out a Christmas tree every year and this year seemed no different. They had the tree

By KATHY McCORMACK Associated Press CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A 27-year-old man who was living in a tent in the woods in New Hampshire has been sentenced to up to life in prison in the fatal shooting deaths of a retired couple who had gone out for a walk. Logan Clegg asserted his innocence in

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States experienced a dramatic 12% increase in homelessness as soaring rents and a decline in coronavirus pandemic assistance combined to put housing out of reach for more Americans, federal officials said Friday. About 653,000 people were experiencing homelessness during the January snapshot. That’s the highest

By TERESA M. WALKER AP Sports Writer MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Two-time All-Star Ja Morant said Friday being suspended by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver for the first 25 games of the season has been tough with “some horrible days” as he worked to focus on himself away from basketball. Morant also knows talking about being

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A village council member in western Ukraine has critically injured himself and at least two dozen other people by detonating three hand grenades during a meeting. A video posted on social media showed a man entering a room where the village council of Keretsky was meeting to discuss and approve the

By JAMES POLLARD Associated Press/Report for America The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has named a former senior staffer for former Republican Gov. Pat McCrory as its interim chancellor. A Friday UNC-Chapel Hill news release says that Lee Roberts will take over for Kevin Guskiewicz. Guskiewicz is leaving in January to become the

By SCOTT MCFETRIDGE and JIM SALTER Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Satanic Temple display inside the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines was destroyed, and a former U.S. Navy fighter pilot running for a statehouse seat in Mississippi is accused of the damage. The display is permitted by rules that govern religious installations

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Authorities say a man is believed to have killed three women and wounded a man before killing himself during a traffic stop in central Illinois. The Springfield State Journal-Register reports that police were called to a home in rural Ashland, about 10 miles west of Springfield, in response to a report

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s national carrier, Turkish Airlines, says it’s placing an order for 220 new planes from Airbus as it seeks to expand its fleet. In a statement Friday to Turkey’s public disclosures platform, Turkish Airlines announced that it will purchase 150 narrow-body A321 Neo aircraft in addition to 50 wide-body A350-900 jets,

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press Melania Trump has welcomed new U.S. citizens at a naturalization ceremony at the National Archives. It was a rare public appearance for the former first lady, who has largely stayed out of the spotlight as her husband, former President Donald Trump, runs for a second term. Melania Trump was born

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president has inaugurated the first part of the pet project of his administration, a tourist train that runs in a rough loop around the Yucatan peninsula. The $20 billion, 965-mile line, called the Maya Train, is meant to connect beach resorts and archaeological sites. However, it is not finished yet.

MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) — The defense team for a man accused of killing four University of Idaho students has been given access to the off-campus home where the deaths occurred so they can gather photos, measurements and other documentation before the house is demolished later this month. Bryan Kohberger is charged with four counts of

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Trustees at Michigan State University have agreed to release documents related to the school’s investigations into now-imprisoned former sports doctor Larry Nassar to the state’s attorney general. The East Lansing school’s trustees unanimously voted Friday to finally turn over the documents which first will be reviewed by the school’s general

BY ALEX DANIELS of The Chronicle of Philanthopy Chronicle of Philanthropy A donor-advised fund devoted to supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals has leapt from being a relatively minor charity to one with an asset size comparable to behemoths like the Andrew W. Mellon and David and Lucile Packard foundations. The SDG Impact Fund,

By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania has returned 20 icons to neighboring North Macedonia, which were stolen a decade ago. The return on Friday marked the final stretch on a long, 10-year road with “much inter-institutional and international cooperation.” Albania’s Culture Minister Elva Margariti said at the handover ceremony in the

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors have charged a pair of former elite sprinters as part of a widening case alleging a conspiracy to supply banned performance-enhancing drugs for athletes in advance of the Tokyo Olympics. An indictment unsealed in the Southern District of New York charges O’Neil Wright and Dewayne Barrett with working to

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron says he’d still consider talking with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin if it helps to forge a “sustainable peace” between Ukraine and Russia. Macron and Putin enjoyed a good working relationship before Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022. In the weeks leading

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Congressional Budget Office says it expects inflation to nearly hit the Federal Reserve’s 2% target rate in 2024, as overall growth is expected to slow and unemployment is expected to rise into 2025, according to updated economic projections for the next two years. The office’s Current

By THOMAS BEAUMONT and HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Donald Trump was uncharacteristically serious when he implored an audience in eastern Iowa to carry him to a blowout in next month’s Republican caucuses. “The margin of victory is very important, it’s just very important,” Trump told about 1,000 people attending a Wednesday

BANGKOK (AP) — Prosecutors in Thailand have indicted a member of the country’s Senate on six charges involving narcotics trafficking, money laundering and association with a transnational criminal organization. Senator Upakit Pachariyangkun denied all the charges when he appeared Thursday at Criminal Court in Bangkok, and was granted release on bail. Upakit’s case is linked