Month: December 2023

By SARA CLINE Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A judge has voided the result of a Louisiana sheriff’s election that was decided by a single vote and ordered a new runoff, saying there was evidence of a handful of illegally cast ballots. Democrat Henry Whitehorn was declared the winner in Caddo Parish last

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — All members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation expressed outrage with the U.S. House leadership’s move to block compensation for people sickened by exposure to radiation during nuclear weapons testing and the mining of uranium during the Cold War. Originally, the bill expanded eligibility for compensation under the Radiation Exposure Compensation

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — Retiring Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the ousted House speaker, says he is endorsing Donald Trump for president. The outgoing Republican congressman also says he would consider serving in Trump’s Cabinet if the GOP front-runner were to win back the White House. McCarthy and Trump have had a

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities have raided and closed 31 drug stores in the Baja California coastal city of Ensenada, after they were detected selling false or fentanyl-laced pills. Marines and health inspection authorities seized 4,681 boxes of medications. The pills may have been offered for sale without proper safeguards, may have been faked

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press Recent assaults on two notorious, high-profile federal prisoners have renewed concerns about whether the federal Bureau of Prisons is capable of keeping people in its custody safe. Derek Chauvin was stabbed nearly two dozen times in the law library at a federal prison in Arizona in

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — European Union negotiators have clinched a deal on the world’s first comprehensive artificial intelligence rules. The announcement paves the way for legal oversight of emerging technology used in popular services like ChatGPT that’s promised to transform everyday life and spurred warnings of dangers to humanity. Negotiators

By TERRY SPENCER Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida sheriff’s office has concluded that two of its deputies were justified when they opened fire on a driver who sped through a checkpoint outside then-President Donald Trump’s home. Palm Beach County internal affairs investigators concluded that Detective Christopher Farron and Lt. John Paul

By ANTHONY McCARTNEY AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ryan O’Neal, the heartthrob actor who went from a TV soap opera to an Oscar-nominated role in “Love Story” and delivered a wry performance opposite his charismatic 9-year-old daughter Tatum in “Paper Moon,” died Friday, his son said. “My dad passed away peacefully today, with

MILLINOCKET The Maine Warden Service says a man checking the thickness of ice on a wilderness lake crashed into the icy water and drowned. Wardens say Walter Demmons, of Milford, was drilling holes with a friend to check the ice thickness when they heard the ice crack Friday morning. Both ended up in the water,

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden has been hit with new criminal charges in California accusing him of scheming to avoid paying his taxes while spending lavishly on everything from luxury hotels to escorts to exotic cars. The president’s son is also facing separate firearm charges in Delaware, raising the possibility

VISALIA, Calif. (AP) — A county prosecutor’s office says one of its law clerks passed the State Bar of California exam at age 17. The Tulare County District Attorney’s Office says that, according to research, Peter Park is the youngest person to pass the exam. The State Bar said Friday that it could not confirm

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s immigration agency says its agents have detained two Iranians who they say were under observation by the FBI. The National Immigration Institute did not say what the supposed FBI investigation was about. The agency said Friday a total of five Iranians were detained along with their Haitian guide on a

By BRUCE SCHREINER and KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A pregnant woman in Kentucky has filed a lawsuit demanding the right to an abortion, the second legal challenge in days to sweeping abortion bans that have taken hold in more than a dozen U.S. states since Roe v. Wade was overturned last

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Prosecutors in Guatemala have asked a court to strip President-elect Bernardo Arévalo of his immunity. It was the third time they have done so since he won election in August, and the Organization of American States said the moves were part of “a coup attempt.” Arévalo is scheduled to take office

By ELLIOT SPAGAT Associated Press SAN DIEGO (AP) — A federal judge is prohibiting the separation of families at the border for purposes of deterring immigration for eight years. U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw’s ruling on Friday in San Diego preemptively blocks resumption of a lightning-rod, Trump-era policy that the former president hasn’t ruled out

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman has voiced hope that a coalition of countries formed to facilitate the return of Ukrainian children illegally deported by Russia will be able to come up with a faster mechanism to repatriate them. Over 19,000 children are still believed to be in

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The solid hiring revealed in Friday’s jobs report for November, along with a raft of other recent economic data, is boosting hopes that the U.S. economy will achieve a “soft landing” next year rather than a widely feared recession. A so-called soft landing would occur if

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer Coach Dan Campbell and quarterback Jared Goff aren’t the only popular Detroit Lions these days. A movie about the franchise’s greatest running back and his sudden retirement is Amazon Prime Video’s most-viewed documentary. “Bye Bye Barry” looks back at Barry Sanders 10-year career with the Detroit Lions and his

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria’s parliament has approved the provision of additional military aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia. The state-run BTA news agency says 147 lawmakers in the 240-seat chamber voted on Friday in favor of supplying Ukraine with portable anti-aircraft missile systems and surface-to-air missiles of various types intended to bolster

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — LGBTQ+ activists in Minnesota want prosecutors to treat the killing of a trans woman in Minneapolis as a hate crime, and they want lawmakers to strengthen legal safeguards to protect a community that’s disproportionately the target of violence. Savannah Ryan Williams was shot in the head at

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer Starbucks says it’s committed to bargaining with its unionized workers and reaching labor agreements next year. The move Friday is major reversal for the coffee chain after two years fighting the unionization of its U.S. stores. Starbucks Chief Partner Officer Sara Kelly wrote a letter to Lynne Fox, the

By EDITH M. LEDERER and ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations chief and many Security Council members are demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. But the United States is reiterating its opposition, virtually dooming any action by the U.N.’s most powerful body. The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court in Washington has upheld a gag order on former President Donald Trump in his 2020 election interference case but has narrowed the restrictions on his speech. The three-judge panel’s ruling Friday modifies the gag order to allow the Republican

DECATUR, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama city has fired three police officers connected to the fatal shooting of a Black man in front of his own home during a dispute with a tow truck driver. Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling announced the decision Thursday night after the conclusion of personnel hearings. A fourth officer was suspended.

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Five billion dollars worth of gambling gets done each year in Atlantic City. But the seaside resort still does not have a grocery store. A state agency and two hospital systems are sending mobile grocery stores into poor areas of the city to bring residents

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Belarusian journalists association has reported that two journalists have been detained in Belarus. It’s the latest step in a crackdown against dissent in recent years. The chief editor of the Ranak television channel and a correspondent are being accused Friday of aiding extremist activities. A

By MELINA WALLING and JOSHUA BICKEL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A joint initiative from the United States and United Arab Emirates is announcing an additional $9 billion of funding to tackle agriculture’s role in the climate crisis. The announcement came Friday on the sidelines of the United Nations climate talks in

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona woman got a huge shock when surveillance footage showed the thief who stole her backyard cameras was four-legged and fluffy-tailed. Esmeralda Egurrola, of Tucson, noticed on Monday that her three motion-activated cameras appeared off-line. So she checked the most recent recording in each camera from an app on her

By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Universities of Wisconsin and Assembly Republican Speaker Robin Vos have reached a sweeping deal that would freeze hiring for diversity positions across the system in exchange for lawmakers approving employee pay raises and funding for a new engineering building at the flagship campus. Vos blocked

By JOSH FUNK Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The second of two former Black Panthers who always maintained their innocence in the 1970 bombing death of a white Omaha police officer has died in prison. A spokesman for the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services said Friday that Ed Poindexter had died a day earlier