Month: December 2023

By MICHAEL PHILLIS Associated Press The International Union for Conservation of Nature, the leading tracker of global biodiversity, released their new Red List of Threatened Species on Monday at the United Nations climate conference in Dubai. They evaluated about 157,000 species and found that a little over 44,000 are threatened with extinction. That’s an increase

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A report by a professors’ group says academic freedom and independent governance have been under political and ideological assault in Florida’s university system during the tenure of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The American Association of University Professors released the report this month. The AAUP report says the threat to Florida’s higher

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A court in Romania has rejected a request by influencer Andrew Tate to return assets that were seized during investigations into the case in which he is charged with human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. Tate’s lawyer told The Associated Press he has applied to

By MIKE CATALINI Associated Press TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A former top Democratic lawmaker has announced that he’s running for governor of New Jersey in 2025. In his online video announcement Monday, former Senate president Steve Sweeney touted his credentials as a union ironworker and longtime legislator. He cited accomplishments including efforts to pass a

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — European Union officials worked into the late hours last week hammering out an agreement on world-leading rules meant to govern the use of artificial intelligence in the 27-nation bloc. The Artificial Intelligence Act is the latest set of regulations designed to govern technology in Europe destined

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s top Republican lawmaker says he is finished negotiating with the Universities of Wisconsin over a deal that would have given the university system’s employees a pay raise and paid for the construction of a new engineering building in exchange for reductions in staff positions focused

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A judge has ordered Prince Harry to pay nearly 50,000 pounds or more than $60,000 in legal fees to the Daily Mail publisher for his failed court challenge in a libel lawsuit. The Duke of Sussex is suing Associated Newspapers Ltd. over an article that said he tried

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota judge has set aside the murder conviction of a man who was sent to prison for the 2004 killing of a man in a Minneapolis flower shop. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says Monday’s ruling comes after prosecutors agreed that Marvin Haynes proved his constitutional rights were violated during his

By BABA AHMED Associated Press BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — The United Nations has ended its 10-year peacekeeping mission in Mali following the government’s request that alleged the force was inadequate to respond to growing violent extremism in the West African nation. The U.N. effort in Mali has been the deadliest peacekeeping mission in the world,

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military government has confirmed it’s been holding talks, brokered by China, with representatives of an alliance of ethnic minority armed groups against which it is engaged in fierce combat in the country’s northeast. Fighting has been raging since the alliance launched a coordinated offensive in October,

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Early awards in Hollywood’s unfurling awards season have gone to films like Celine Song’s tender relationship drama “Past Lives,” Jonathan Glazer’s piercing Holocaust film “The Zone of Interest” and Martin Scorsese’s sprawling Osage murders epic “Killers of the Flower Moon.” But a showdown was always

By TARA COPP and LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address U.S. military officers at the National Defense University on Monday as part of a last-minute push to convince Congress to provide more money for weapons before funding runs out. President Joe Biden has asked Congress for $61.4

LEONARDTOWN, Md. (AP) — Authorities in Maryland say a horse and buggy collided with a pickup truck at an intersection, seriously injuring the buggy’s young driver and an adult passenger. The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office says the buggy was stopped at the intersection Sunday afternoon when the horse “unexpectedly reared and bucked,” pushing the

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — The leaders of Guyana and Venezuela will meet this week to address an escalating dispute over the Essequibo region that is rich in oil and minerals. Guyana’s president says he is coming to the meeting with goodwill but insists that the case be heard at the International Court of Justice. He

By GERALD IMRAY Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — A man charged with terrorism and other offenses over a 2022 fire that badly damaged South Africa’s historic Parliament complex in Cape Town has been declared unfit to stand trial. Zandile Mafe was diagnosed with schizophrenia by an expert panel in a report. A

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s Democratic secretary of state is calling for a Republican who served as a fake elector for former President Donald Trump to be removed from his position on the Wisconsin Elections Commission. Bob Spindell was one of 10 Republicans who signed certificates in 2020 falsely stating

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has refused to take up a case about whether state and local governments can enforce laws banning conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ children. Three conservative justices dissented. The court on Monday turned away an appeal from Washington, where the law has been upheld. An appellate panel struck down local bans

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Organizers of the Paris Olympics say work will resume this week to prepare the surfing venue in Tahiti after an uproar over damage to a coral reef put efforts on hold. The venue at Teahupo’o is famed on the surfing circuit for its big waves. But there

By The Associated Press A combination of heavy rain, snow, and wind is bringing threats of flooding and power outages to the Northeast. It’s part of the same storm system that killed six people in Tennessee. National Weather Service teams are assessing damage as emergency workers and community members deal with the aftermath of several

DETROIT (AP) — Police say a person of interest has been arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing of a Detroit synagogue leader whose death after the start of the Israel-Hamas war prompted speculation the slaying could have been the result of antisemitism. The arrest is the second announced by the city’s police department since

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Grammy Award-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar has drawn raves in South Africa as a headliner at a music festival there over the weekend. Lamar told the crowd at the Hey Neighbor festival that his 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly was inspired by his first visit

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An activist organization says the United Arab Emirates is conducting a mass trial of nearly 90 prisoners on terrorism charges as it hosts the United Nations’ COP28 climate summit. The trial includes one man whose case was highlighted by demonstrators at the negotiations. Emirati

By LEANNE ITALIE AP Lifestyles Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Giving a pet as a surprise gift at the holidays isn’t generally recommended. But offering one after a little planning can enrich the lives of animals and humans alike. Animal shelters and rescue groups around the country say they’re experiencing crisis-level numbers of animals. But

By SUZAN FRASER Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The Turkish government is under pressure to seek the return of the Somali president’s son who allegedly fled Turkey after causing a fatal traffic crash in Istanbul. A 38-year-old motorcycle courier died of his injuries at a hospital on Dec. 6. That was six days after

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — “All I Want for Christmas is You,” Mariah Carey’s hit from 1994, has grown over the last three decades into the Christmas colossus. It’s arguably the most successful holiday song ever from an economic standpoint. Just try to avoid it if you go out in

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has traveled to a shipyard to attend the commissioning of new nuclear submarines. The visit on Monday showcased the country’s nuclear might amid the fighting in Ukraine. Putin’s trip to the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk in Russia’s northwestern Archangelsk region came three days after he declared his intention

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Allies of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny are sounding the alarm and saying that neither they nor his lawyers have heard from him in six days. Navalny is serving a 19-year prison term on the charges of extremism. He was due to appear in court

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — A rare and newly published Raymond Chandler poem is an ode to his late wife, Cissy, that holds a surprising plot twist. The 27-line “Requiem” is a grieving tribute, with opening lines that have the aura of a crime scene and an innocent victim. The

By REZA SAIFULLAH and EDNA TARIGAN Associated Press BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled Myanmar to escape a brutal counterinsurgency campaign are struggling to find a country that would accept them. Muhammad Amin who arrived in Indonesia, with over 300 others, has been relocated five times with his young family in

BERLIN (AP) — Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o will head the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival in February. The 2024 “Berlinale,” the first of the year’s major European film festivals, will run from Feb. 15-25. It will be the last edition under the current leadership duo of executive director Mariette Rissenbeek and artistic director

By DEREK GATOPOULOS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — All top-flight soccer matches in Greece will be played without fans in the stadiums for the next two months, in the latest crackdown on supporter violence following a sport-related riot last week that left a police officer with life-threatening injuries. The government said it would introduce

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Dozens of attacks on U.S. military facilities by Iran-backed factions in Iraq over the past two months have forced the government in Baghdad to perform a balancing act that is becoming more difficult by the day. A rocket attack on the sprawling U.S. Embassy

By LIZ WESTON of NerdWallet We often talk about 401(k)s and 403(b)s as if they’re the same, but they’re not. While both can help you save for retirement, 403(b)s have fewer consumer protections and can be a bad deal for the people — often teachers — they’re supposed to serve. If your employer offers a