Month: December 2023

By MARTHA BELLISLE Associated Press TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A prosecutor trying three Tacoma, Washington, police officers in the death of Manuel Ellis is making her closing arguments. She told the jury Monday that two officers knocked Ellis to the ground, punched, choked and shot him with a Taser. Ellis responded with the words: “can’t

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The top U.N. official in Congo is warning the Security Council that tensions between Congo and Rwanda have escalated, heightening the risk of a military confrontation that could draw in Burundi. Special representative Bintou Keita’s warning on Monday came shortly before the ambassadors from Congo

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Boeing is promoting a woman to one of its top jobs, putting her in the discussion about possible successors to current CEO David Calhoun. Boeing said Monday that Stephanie Pope will become executive vice president and chief operating officer on Jan. 1. Pope has spent nearly 30 years at Boeing, and

By PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press Prosecutors say in a court filing that former U.S. Rep. George Santos is in plea negotiations to settle his federal criminal fraud charges. Santos is scheduled to appear in federal court on Long Island for a hearing in the case Tuesday. He acknowledged in an interview that aired Sunday that

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels from LSU was one of seven players in either their fifth or sixth season of college football selected to The Associated Press All-America team announced Monday. Daniels, a fifth-year quarterback, won the Heisman and AP player of the year honors last week

By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive in Vietnam on Tuesday seeking to further deepen ties with its neighbor that is deepening diplomatic relations with Western-aligned countries. In his first visit since 2017, Xi will meet with the president, prime minister and Communist Party general secretary. One analyst

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Toy maker Hasbro is cutting about 1,100 jobs, or 20% of its workforce. The job cuts come as the malaise in the toy business extends through another holiday shopping season. The nearly century-old Rhode Island-based company behind Monopoly, Play-Doh and My Little Pony toys disclosed

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden is pushing back against gun charges filed against him, challenging the case as unconstitutional and politically motivated. His defense attorney argued Monday the gun case should be tossed out because an appeals court found the law violates the Second Amendment under new Supreme Court standards.

By JAKE BLEIBERG Associated Press DALLAS (AP) — Texas prosecutors have dropped murder charges against two people in the fatal stabbing of a 23-year-old Seattle woman as a trial continues with a third defendant. The 2020 killing of Marisela Botello-Valadez drew international attention last year when two woman arrested in her killing cut off their

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A person briefly hung a Palestinian flag from a Hanukkah menorah in a public area in Connecticut, prompting widespread condemnation and a police investigation. An unidentified person scaled the menorah at a public green near the Yale University campus during a pro-Palestinian rally Saturday and lodged a Palestinian flag between

By ED WHITE Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — A judge has formally dismissed misdemeanor charges against former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder in the Flint water scandal. Snyder’s police record and booking photo must be destroyed. The dismissal was expected. The Michigan Supreme Court turned down a last-gasp appeal from state prosecutors weeks ago, ending criminal

By MATTHEW BROWN and AMY BETH HANSON Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Montana woman who police say repeatedly drove through a group of religious demonstrators allegedly told a clerk at a nearby convenience store that she was upset members of the group were expressing racist views, the clerk says. One person was struck

By COREY WILLIAMS Associated Press Three Chilean nationals have been arrested in connection with a series of burglaries of mansions and other high-end homes in suburban Detroit and across Michigan. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced the charges Monday and says the three are suspected in eight break-ins after they arrived in the Detroit area

By MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico is bracing for the possibility that a bonanza in oil income for the nation’s No. 2 oil producing state will end if the world’s thirst for oil falters. A Monday forecast for state government income includes a windfall from the oil and natural

NEW YORK (AP) — A six-story corner of a Bronx apartment building has collapsed, leaving apartments exposed like a stack of shelves. There’s no immediate word on any injuries in the incident Monday afternoon. The Fire Department says it was called around 3:40 p.m. about a corner collapse at a building near the University Heights

By HOLLY RAMER Associated Press CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A former New Hampshire state senator is fighting allegations that he fraudulently obtained a COVID-19 relief loan and used part of the money to buy luxury cars. The state Lottery Commission in August moved to ban Republican Andy Sanborn of Bedford from operating his Concord Casino.

HOUSTON (AP) — Longtime U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee has announced she’ll seek reelection to Congress in 2024. The Democrat announced Monday she will seek her 16th term in Congress. She first took office in 1995. Her district includes downtown Houston and some of the city’s historically Black neighborhoods. Jackson Lee’s announcement comes after she

By MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico could become an early political testing ground for an unconventional proposal to make assault-style weapons less deadly. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Monday said she’ll encourage the state’s Democratic-led Legislature to consider statewide restrictions that mirror a proposal from U.S. senators. If approved,

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s Democratic attorney general promises to defend a potential Donald Trump victory next year in the swing state. Josh Kaul defended election results in lawsuits challenging Democrat Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in Wisconsin in 2020. Biden’s victory in the state was ultimately confirmed. Kaul told The Associated Press on Monday

By JONATHAN MATTISE, HOLLY MEYER and TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — In March 2020, a tornado destroyed the Rev. Jacques Boyd’s Nashville church. His friend the Rev. Vincent Johnson lent him worship space. Nearly four years later, Boyd has offered to return the favor. Johnson’s Community Baptist Church was was struck by

By DAVID SHARP Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A brain sample from a gunman who killed 18 people in Maine has been sent to a lab in Massachusetts to be examined for signs of injury related to his service in the Army Reserves. The office of the chief medical examiner on Monday said it

By MAYSOON KHAN Associated Press/Report for America ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Democrats say the state will spend $1 billion to expand research into chip technology in an effort to turn upstate New York into a global center of semiconductor research and manufacturing. Gov. Kathy Hochul says the $1 billion in state funding will

By MICHAEL GOLDBERG Associated Press/Report for America JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A third family says they recently discovered a relative was buried in a Mississippi pauper’s cemetery without their knowledge. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump says it is the latest case in which families learned the whereabouts of a deceased loved one from news reports

By JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A man recently cleared in the gruesome 1995 killing of a subway token booth clerk is suing New York City and two detectives. Thomas Malik is seeking at least $50 million in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed Monday. The suit says that what it calls

By GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press When the U.S. Supreme Court undid the nationwide right to abortion last year, it did not remove the issue from the courts. Instead, it opened a new frontier of litigation, with states passing their own restrictions and opponents challenging them in courts across the country. This week, three state courts

By GISELA SALOMON Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — The Biden administration says it will impose visa restrictions on nearly 300 Guatemalan lawmakers, private sector leaders and their families it accuses of “undermining democracy and the rule of law.” Guatemala faces mounting criticism by world leaders and watchdogs accusing it of attempts to block progressive president-elect

By COLLIN BINKLEY AP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — As lawmakers and donors push for the ouster of Harvard President Claudine Gay, hundreds of faculty members are urging the university to keep her in command and resist “outside forces” that they view as a threat to the university’s independence. A petition signed by more than

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president wants to eliminate almost all remaining government oversight and regulatory agencies before he leaves office on Sept. 30, claiming they are “useless” and cost too much. He vowed to send a bill to Congress to eliminate the federal anti-monopoly commission and agencies regulating telecommunications, the energy market and access

ATLANTA (AP) — Authorities say one of the five co-defendants on trial with rapper Young Thug has been stabbed at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, delaying the proceedings for at least a day. The county sheriff’s office said in a news release Monday that Shannon Stillwell had been stabbed multiple times Sunday evening during

By PAUL J. WEBER Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A pregnant Texas woman who sought court permission for an abortion in an unprecedented challenge to one of the most restrictive bans in the U.S. has left the state to obtain the procedure, her attorneys said Monday. The announcement came as Kate Cox, 31, was

By CLAIRE SAVAGE Associated Press/Report for America Waukegan, Ill. (AP) — The man accused of killing seven people at a Fourth of July parade in suburban Chicago last year has fired his public defenders and told the judge he plans to represent himself at trial. A Lake County judge questioned his decision several times before

By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A group of lawmakers from New England and Alaska says a federal program that protects the health and wellbeing of commercial fishermen should be expanded to include substance use disorder and worker fatigue. The lawmakers want to expand a federal commercial fishing occupational safety program that

PARIS (AP) — French opposition lawmakers have rejected an immigration bill without debating it. Monday’s move comes as a major blow to President Emmanuel Macron’s government, which had championed the proposed law as one of its flagship measures. The government has yet to decide whether to keep pushing for the adoption of the bill or

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say they charged a New Hampshire with threatening to kill a presidential candidate ahead of a scheduled campaign event. The 30-year-old man was arrested and charged Saturday with sending the threats by text message. The U.S. Attorney’s office did not name the candidate. However, a spokesperson for Republican candidate

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A Black man filmed swinging a folding chair during an Alabama riverfront brawl has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge. The guilty plea Monday resolved the last of the charges brought in connection with the brawl this summer. The man was ordered to perform community service and given a

LONDON (AP) — The Princess of Wales and her three children are shown packing gift bags for kids in need this holiday season in a new video highlighting the work of local charities supporting young families during Britain’s cost-of-living crisis. Princess Catherine, more widely known as Kate, has promoted programs for young children because of

NEW YORK (AP) — SmileDirectClub is shutting down — just months after the struggling teeth-straightening company filed for bankruptcy. That leaves existing customers in limbo. SmileDirectClub’s aligner treatment through its telehealth platform is no longer available, the Nashville, Tennessee, company said, and customer care support has also ceased. Little information about refund requests is available

Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — The mother of convicted drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán has died in the northern state of Sinaloa, according to local media reports. Mexico’s president acknowledged her death and offered his “respect” to the family. The head of Mexico’s state media agency wrote in his social media accounts that

By TARA COPP Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Air Force has disciplined 15 personnel in connection with the massive classified documents leak by an airman earlier this year, concluding that multiple officials intentionally failed to take required action on his suspicious behavior, the Air Force inspector general reported Monday. Massachusetts Air National Guard member

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Abraham Lincoln’s top hat is missing from a bronze sculpture along the Ohio River in Louisville, Kentucky. Sculptor Ed Hamilton posted photos of his artwork at Waterfront Park on Facebook on Saturday and said someone had to “be strong and determined to pry bronze from a base.” Metro Louisville Police said

By MARK SHERMAN and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith is asking the Supreme Court to take up and rule quickly on whether former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted on charges he plotted to overturn the 2020 election results. A federal judge ruled the case could go forward, but

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A 52-foot-long dead fin whale washed up on a San Diego beach over the weekend and officials said there was no obvious sign of the cause of death. The San Diego Union reports the young female whale was found Sunday in Mission Beach and was later towed out to sea. A