Month: December 2023

LOS ANGELES (AP) — One of the highest-profile video game conventions is being shut down permanently, its organizers said Tuesday. The Electronic Entertainment Expo, known as E3, had been held annually in Los Angeles since 1995 and was a popular spot for game companies to tease their latest creations before they hit store shelves. The

By JESSE BEDAYN The Associated Press/Report for America DENVER (AP) — The Colorado cattle industry association filed a lawsuit Monday against state and federal agencies over the reintroduction of gray wolves just weeks away from the predators’ release. The Gunnison County Stockgrowers’ Association and the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association say that U.S. Fish and Wildlife failed

By ZEKE MILLER and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will hold his first in-person meeting with the families of Americans taken hostage by Hamas during its brutal attack on Israel on Oct. 7. That’s according to two White House officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Biden’s

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Shawn Fain, the international president of the United Auto Workers union, recently won large raises for his workers. Now he’s taking aim at a new target: New Jersey lawmakers who are delaying votes on a bill to ban smoking in Atlantic City’s casinos. The head

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A local human rights center says security services in Belarus are breaking into apartments and detaining people in their workplaces as they carry out hundreds of searches among election observers ahead of next year’s vote. It’s the latest crackdown against human rights and democracy figures in

ATLANTA (AP) — The trial for rapper Young Thug and five other people is on pause until early next year after one of the defendants was stabbed in the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta. The sheriff’s office said 31-year-old Shannon Stillwell was stabbed multiple times Sunday evening during a fight with another man housed in

By PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. George Santos ‘ lawyer expressed optimism about plea negotiations in Santos’ criminal fraud case Tuesday, successfully fending off prosecutors’ attempts to speed up the the ousted congressman’s trial. In Santos’ first court appearance since he was expelled from Congress earlier this month,

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. auto safety regulators say they have taken the first step toward requiring devices in vehicles that prevent drunk or impaired driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced on Tuesday that it is starting the process to put a new federal safety standard in place requiring the technology in all new

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) — Maryland’s state judiciary is accepting applications to replace a circuit court judge who was killed earlier this year. Judge Andrew Wilkinson was shot to death in his driveway in October. Authorities said the suspect in the slaying was involved in a divorce case the judge presided over. The Maryland Judiciary says

By RONALD BLUM Associated Press Kwamé Ryan was hired as music director of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra in North Carolina and given a four-year contract to start with the 2024-25 season. The 53-year-old succeeds Christopher Warren-Green, who stepped down after the 2021-22 season, his 12th as music director. Ryan serve as music director designate for

By GERALD IMRAY Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The South African government has announced plans to build new nuclear power stations to generate more electricity amid an energy crisis in the continent’s most advanced economy. The move to invite bids on Tuesday was immediately criticized by the main political opposition party. It

GARY, Ind. (AP) — Police in Gary, Indiana, say a debit card left behind at the scene of a fatal shooting helped officers track down and arrest a man suspected of killing a fellow customer at a grocery store. The violence Monday evening was caught on the store’s surveillance camera. Two men in their 40s

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Gov. Phil Scott has announced that online sports betting starts in Vermont on Jan. 11. He says the state Department of Liquor and Lottery picked DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics Sportsbook to operate mobile sports wagering platforms in the state. Scott signed a bill legalizing online sports betting into law in June,

By FERNANDA PESCE Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Thousands of people sang the traditional Mexican birthday song “Las mañanitas” at Mexico City’s Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe to honor the virgin on the 492th anniversary of her apparition in 1531. Authorities estimate that over five million faithful visited the Basilica during the days

By JOHN CARUCCI Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — During a career than spans over four decades, Grammy-winning Mexican rockers Maná have toured the world, yet has never played London. That changes next July when the foursome plays the OVO Arena Wembley, and drummer Alex González says the band is “freaking out” about it,“ calling

A far-right lawmaker in the Polish parliament has used a fire extinguisher to extinguish a candle on a menorah that was lit for Hannukah in the parliament building. The speaker of the parliament, Szymon Holownia, denounced the incident carried out by Grzegorz Braun, and said there would be no tolerance for antisemitic and xenophobic behavior

By SYLVIA HUI Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The son of jailed Hong Kong media mogul and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai will meet with Britain’s foreign secretary on Tuesday to lobby for the U.K.’s help in securing his release from prison. Lai faces a long-delayed trial next week over charges he violated sweeping national security

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch counterterrorism agency has lifted the country’s threat alert to its second-highest level and says the possibility of an attack in the country is now “substantial.” The announcement Tuesday marked the first time the threat level has been so high since the end of

By PAT EATON-ORBB AP Sports Writer SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn. (AP) — A day after professional hockey player Adam Johnson suffered a fatal cut to his throat during a game in England, Dan Sacco went out and ordered his 10-year-old twins new neck guards. Colton and Harper Sacco play together as squirts — 9- and 10-year-olds

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — All five people inside a construction site elevator that crashed to the ground in Stockholm have died, a Swedish prosecutor said Tuesday. Authorities had previously only reported that the occupants were seriously injured when the elevator plummeted 20 meters (66 feet) in Sundbyberg, a Stockholm suburb, on Monday. It is still

By BRUCE SCHREINER and KIMBERLEE KRUESI FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Attorneys for a pregnant woman in Kentucky who filed a lawsuit demanding the right to an abortion say she’s learned her embryo no longer has cardiac activity. Her attorneys didn’t immediately comment on what effect the development would have on the lawsuit filed last week

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The judge overseeing the Georgia election workers’ defamation case has scolded Rudy Giuliani for comments made outside the courthouse in which he insisted his false claims about the women were true. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell warned Giuliani’s lawyer on Tuesday that the

MADRID (AP) — Spanish authorities say that they have confiscated 11 tons of cocaine and arrested 20 people in two different operations against the smuggling of the illegal drugs inside shipping containers. Police said Tuesday that the 7,500 kilograms of cocaine grabbed by agents in the northwestern city of Vigo were hidden between pieces of

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors say they have filed terrorism charges against 27 people, including a self-styled prince and a former far-right lawmaker, in connection with an alleged plot to topple the government that came to light with a slew of arrests a year ago. An indictment against 10 suspects,

By KIM COOK Associated Press Part game, part sport — part home decor? Chess sets come in a range of designs from the museum-worthy to the utilitarian. That makes them a versatile holiday gift for anyone from a serious player to a merely aspirational one. Etsy.com says demand is up for handmade versions. The sites

DETROIT (AP) — Passengers aboard a Delta Air Lines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit spent the night in a military barracks in eastern Canada after the plane was forced to land due to a mechanical issue. WJBK-TV first reported that the crew diverted the flight Sunday afternoon to Newfoundland and Labrador. Passenger Tony Santoro of

By JARI TANNER Associated Press HELSINKI (AP) — Finland’s government says it will reopen two out of eight border crossing points with Russia later this week following a sudden influx of migrants in November. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Cabinet temporarily closed the entire border two weeks ago over concerns that Moscow was using migrants to

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer Jon Rahm is the latest player to go back on his word by joining LIV Golf. He was among the early proponents of the history and legacy the PGA Tour provided. But consider all the words he said. Rahm suggested more than a year ago that his views didn’t

By ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine has came under heavy attacks from the air and from cyberspace. Local officials said Tuesday that nearly 600 Russian shells, rockets and other projectiles rained down on the southern Kherson region. Meanwhile, unidentified hackers knocked out the phone and internet services of the country’s biggest

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Harvard President Claudine Gay will remain leader of the prestigious Ivy League school following her comments last week at a congressional hearing on antisemitism, the university’s highest governing body announced Tuesday. “Our extensive deliberations affirm our confidence that President Gay is the right leader to help our community heal and to

By GERALD IMRAY Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South African singer Zahara, who rose from an impoverished rural background with no musical training to find rapid fame with multi-platinum selling albums, has died. She was 36. Her family said Zahara, whose real name was Bulelwa Mkutukana, died Monday. The family did not

By EDNA TARIGAN and REZA SAIFULLAH Associated Press BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia says it is appealing to the international community for help after more than 1,500 Rohingya refugees have arrived on its shores by boat since November. Indonesia once tolerated such landings while Thailand and Malaysia pushed them away. But the growing hostility

By EMMA BURROWS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The head of Britain’s foreign intelligence agency has thanked Russian state television for encouraging Russians to spy for the UK after it broadcast part of a speech he gave earlier this year where he called on Russians to join hands with British intelligence. The clip was broadcast

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — State media say Chinese leaders have wrapped up a two-day annual meeting to set economic priorities for the coming year. The official Xinhua News Agency gave no details of specific policy changes but summarized broad goals in line with the ruling Communist Party’s longstanding efforts to

CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — An appeals court in Moldova has annulled a decision that banned hundreds of candidates from an alleged pro-Russia political party from participating in an electoral race days ahead of a nationwide ballot. The Chisinau Court of Appeal on Tuesday overturned the ban on the Chance Party that had been enforced by

By THALIA BEATY Associated Press With the United Nations climate talks wrapping up in Dubai, foundations and other funders pledged at least $2.1 billion in new financing to reduce climate impacts, especially from agriculture. The COP28 summit featured numerous firsts, including forums on health, food production and philanthropy. The estimated pledges don’t represent a complete

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani court has overturned the 2018 conviction of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a graft case, clearing his path to run in the parliamentary election set to be held in February. The Islamabad High Court announced its verdict after hearing Sharif’s appeal for weeks. The same

By GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO Associated Press NARANJA, Fla. (AP) — Martin Monjaraz takes special pride in helping to organize the Guadalupe festival on the grounds of St. Ann Mission, where he first embraced the Catholic faith as a teen after moving from Mexico to work in the surrounding farmland decades ago. “Here there’s a way to

MOSCOW (AP) — The loss of contact with Alexei Navalny at the prison colony where the opposition leader was being held likely signals a Kremlin effort to tighten his isolation while President Vladimir Putin runs for reelection over the next three months, Navalny’s spokeswoman said Tuesday. Worries about Navalny spread Monday after officials at the

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Attorneys for Gov. Ron DeSantis are asking a federal judge to dismiss a free speech lawsuit filed by Disney after the Florida governor took over Walt Disney World’s governing district in retaliation for the company opposing the state’s so-called don’t say gay law. The law bans classroom lessons on sexual orientation

By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A bipartisan bill that would dramatically rework how Wisconsin residents choose congressional candidates is headed for a hearing. The proposal would implement ranked choice voting for U.S. Senate and House candidates. That’s a system where every candidate appears on the ballot and voters rank their top

By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian prosecutors have asked lawmakers to strip former Prime Minister Sali Berisha of his parliamentary immunity because he did not abide by their previous decision to report regularly while he is being investigated for corruption. Prosecutors of the country’s Special Court on Corruption and Organized Crime

LONDON (AP) — British officials say an asylum-seeker on board a barge housing migrants off the south coast of England has died and a police investigation has been launched into the incident. The Home Office said police confirmed the death on the barge, called the Bibby Stockholm. Authorities said in a statement Tuesday that they

By EMMANUEL IGUNZA AND BRIAN INGANGA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s president is defending the high taxes the government recently imposed, calling them a “necessary sacrifice “in helping the country deal with ballooning foreign debt which now stands at $70 billion. President William Ruto spoke at celebrations marking 60 years since Kenya’s independence