Month: December 2023

By SOPHIA TAREEN Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago man who spent 35 years behind bars for a murder he didn’t commit has been freed after a judge vacated his conviction. Brian Beals told The Associated Press after his release Tuesday that he feels relief and happiness and is ready to begin life again.

MYSTIC, Conn. (AP) — A 9-year-old beluga whale at Mystic Aquarium named Kharabali has died. It marks the third death among five whales that were transported from Canada in 2021 to the Connecticut aquarium. The aquarium announced Tuesday that Kharabali began swimming abnormally in November, and “her strange behavior continued to progress.” She was eventually

By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Universities of Wisconsin regents are set to vote again on a deal with Republican lawmakers that calls for reducing diversity positions in exchange for employee raises and money for construction projects. The regents rejected the deal on a 9-8 vote Saturday. They met in a closed

By ALI SWENSON Associated Press A phone-banking tool powered entirely by artificial intelligence is getting its first real-world test in a Pennsylvania Democrat’s congressional campaign. The breakthrough technology is an example of how AI tools are getting more use in politics ahead of the 2024 elections. The chatbot named Ashley from the startup company Civox

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s lawyers have rested his defense and have sought again to immediately end the New York civil fraud trial that threatens the former president’s real estate empire. The judge said “there’s no way I’m going to grant that.” Trump’s lawyers —

DÉBORA REY BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina has announced a sharp devaluation of its currency and cuts to energy and transportation subsidies as part of shock adjustments new President Javier Milei says are needed to deal with an economic “emergency.” Economy Minister Luis Caputo said in a televised message the Argentine peso will be

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A special House committee focused on China is calling for altering the way the U.S. treats Chinese-made goods, possibly subjecting them to higher tariffs and risking increased economic tensions between the two economic superpowers. The bipartisan recommendation shows many lawmakers’ willingness to build on the tariffs enacted

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal complaint filed by the FBI says a Russian man who flew on a plane from Denmark to Los Angeles without a passport or ticket told authorities he didn’t remember how he got through security. Sergey Vladimirovich Ochigava arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on Nov. 4 via Scandinavian Airlines

PEYTON, Colo. (AP) — Colorado authorities have released the identities of four people, including three family members, who were found dead inside a home in rural Colorado following a reported shooting last week. The manner and causes of death were not released pending final autopsy results from the El Paso County coroner. Only three of

By MEG KINNARD and HOLLY RAMER Associated Press MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu has endorsed Nikki Haley for president. Sununu appeared with the Republican presidential candidate at a town hall in Manchester on Tuesday, six weeks before the state’s pivotal first-in-the-nation primary. The endorsement comes as Haley angles to whittle away

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia and Alabama are proposing a deal to settle their water war over the Chattahoochee River. If approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the deal would provide for minimum water flows at two points along the river. However, the proposal doesn’t address objections from groups

By ANNIE MA AP Education Writer WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — Over five hours at a congressional hearing, lawmakers pressed the presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and MIT on the topic of antisemitism. In some instances, they were unable to say whether calls for the genocide of Jews would violate their schools’ conduct policies.

By LEA SKENE Associated Press BALTIMORE (AP) — FBI investigators are planning to exhume the body of a young woman whose unsolved 1969 killing was examined in Netflix’s documentary series “The Keepers.” Joyce Malecki was found strangled to death after she went Christmas shopping and never returned. The case received renewed attention after “The Keepers”

By JACK DURA Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal judge has denied a motion to stay his decision in a redistricting lawsuit brought by two Native American tribes who alleged North Dakota’s 2021 redistricting map violated the Voting Rights Act. U.S. District Chief Judge Peter Welte ruled last month that the map diluted

By TERRY SPENCER Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s state athletic board fined a high school and put it on probation Tuesday after a transgender student played on the girls volleyball team, a violation of a controversial law enacted by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature. The Florida High School Athletic Association fined

By PAUL J. WEBER and JAMIE STENGLE Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Supreme Court’s rejection of a mother of two’s request for an exception under the state’s restrictive abortion ban has laid bare the high threshold women in many states must meet to get the procedure. Carrying a fetus with a fatal

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is planning to construct a new U.S. embassy in Ireland. The State Department has notified Congress of its intent to spend nearly $700 million to buy the former Jury’s Hotel in Dublin for $171 million, demolish it and construct new buildings. Associated costs

AMES, Iowa (AP) — A former Iowa sheriff’s deputy has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge after a police dog under his care died inside a hot police truck. Dallas Wingate was a sergeant for the Boone County Sheriff’s Department in September 2022 when investigators say the police dog named Bear was left inside Wingate’s

By MIKE CATALINI Associated Press TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey’s attorney general has sued three firearms dealers, alleging that they ran afoul of state law by illegally storing weapons and trying to sell “ghost guns.” Attorney General Matt Platkin filed the lawsuits in state court on Tuesday. They mark the first such cases pursued

By STEVE PEOPLES and THOMAS BEAUMONT Associated Press CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Ron DeSantis’ expansive political machine is facing a churn of leadership, stagnant polling numbers and new concerns about potential legal conflicts. Multiple people familiar with DeSantis’ political network said that he and his wife had expressed concerns about the messaging of Never

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s highest court on Tuesday ordered the state to draw new congressional districts ahead of the 2024 elections, giving Democrats a potential advantage in what is expected to be a battleground for control of the U.S. House. The 4-3 decision from the New York Court

By GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press The Texas Supreme Court this week said no to a woman who asked for permission for an immediate abortion. Katie Cox said pregnancy complications would result in a stillbirth or the death of her baby soon after birth and that continuing the pregnancy to full term could endanger her life

JUNO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — This Rudolph won’t be leading his pals Blitzen, Dasher, Dancer, Vixen, Comet and Cupid through the Christmas Eve sky. But maybe he’ll lead them back out to sea someday. For now the seven Ridley’s sea turtles are among 13 given holiday-themed names as they are treated at Loggerhead Marinelife Center

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — Virginia authorities have determined that a Tesla was operating on its Autopilot system and was speeding in the moments leading to a crash with a crossing tractor-trailer last July that killed the Tesla driver. The death of Pablo Teodoro III is the third since 2016 in

By SARAH BRUMFIELD, JOHN RABY and JAMES POLLARD Associated Press/Report for America Police have released video from an arrest in North Carolina last month showing that before an officer repeatedly punched a Black woman while others held her down, the woman struck an officer in the face and he responded by hitting her back and

By JOSH FUNK Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska prosecutors charged a man with first-degree murder Tuesday in the fatal stabbing of a Catholic priest, who authorities say was attacked during a break-in at the church rectory and called out “help me” before he died. Prosecutors also charged Kierre L. Williams, 43, Tuesday with

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Palestinians are expecting a high vote for a U.N. General Assembly resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. They say it will demonstrate widespread global support for ending the Israel-Hamas war. After the United States vetoed a resolution in the Security Council on Friday demanding a

By COLLEEN LONG and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday warned that Israel was losing international support because of its “indiscriminate bombing” of Gaza, speaking out in unusually strong language as the United Nations neared a vote on demanding a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. “Israel’s security can rest

CONWAY, Wash. (AP) — Authorities say more than 25,000 gallons of gasoline spilled when part of a pipeline failed in northwestern Washington state over the weekend. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the spill occurred Sunday when a small tube leading from the main Olympic Pipeline to a pressure-check valve failed. Responders placed a containment

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A judge sentenced a South Florida dentist to life in prison for the 2014 shooting death of his former brother-in-law, a prominent professor at Florida State University, following a bitter custody battle. A jury took just three hours last month to find 47-year-old Charlie Adelson guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy and

By SAM MEDNICK Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The United Nations is warning that hunger could surge across West and Central Africa next year, primarily driven by violence in the conflict-riddled region. Officials from the Food and Agriculture Organization presented the findings in Senegal’s capital, Dakar. The report is compiled by the U.N. and

CAIRO (AP) — Voting has closed in Egypt’s presidential election that is almost certain to see President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi secure a third term. The election has been overshadowed by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, a conflict on Egypt’s eastern border that threatens to expand into wider regional turmoil. According to a timetable published by

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Thousands have rallied in the capital and other major cities in Slovakia to denounce a plan by the new government of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico to amend the country’s penal code. The changes proposed by the coalition government include a proposal to abolish the special prosecutors office that handles serious crimes such

By JIM SALTER Associated Press Missouri’s second-largest county will pay a $1.2 million settlement to the parents of a 21-year-old man with mental health concerns who allegedly screamed “I can’t breathe” as he was subdued by jail staff before dying in a restraint chair. The Jackson County Legislature in Kansas City on Monday approved the

By WAFAA SHURAFA and JACK JEFFERY Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The birth of their daughter should have marked the beginning of a joyful chapter for the young Palestinian couple. Instead, the devastating war in Gaza, now in its third month, has turned childbirth and parenthood into a time of worry and

By CLAIRE SAVAGE Associated Press/Report for America CHICAGO (AP) — The operator of a Chicago commuter train that collided with snow-removal equipment last month knew the machine would be on the line that day but wasn’t aware of its exact location, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board released Tuesday. The

By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press South Dakota officials will no longer deny applications for personalized license plates based on whether the plate’s message is deemed to be “offensive to good taste and decency,” following the state’s admission that the language is an unconstitutional violation of free speech rights. The change is part of a

Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google lost an antitrust lawsuit over barriers to its Android app store, as a federal court jury has decided that the company’s payments system was anticompetitive and damaged smartphone consumers and software developers. It’s a blow to a major pillar of a technology empire. But it’s a win for