Month: December 2023

By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Republican prosecutor says he plans to appeal a judge’s ruling invalidating Wisconsin’s 174-year-old abortion ban. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last year overturning Roe v. Wade reactivated an 1849 state law that conservatives argue bans abortion. But Dane County Circuit Judge Diane Schlipper ruled in

By ALI SWENSON and MICHELLE R. SMITH Associated Press Former President Donald Trump is urging supporters to “guard the vote” during next year’s election, a phrase that has set off alarm bells among pro-democracy advocates who say it signals permission to take extreme measures that could intimidate voters and threaten election workers. The phrase is

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer McDonald’s expects to open nearly 10,000 restaurants over the next four years, a pace of growth that would be unprecedented even for the world’s largest burger chain. At an investor update Wednesday, the Chicago burger giant said it aims to have 50,000 restaurants in operation worldwide by the end

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Autopsy reports on the carbon monoxide deaths of three North Carolina-based Marines in the summer say they were found at a gas station in a car with unconnected and rusted exhaust pipes. The Pender County Sheriff’s Office had already confirmed months ago that the autopsies of Camp Lejeune lance corporals Tanner

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says it has determined that both sides in the ongoing conflict in Sudan have committed atrocities in the western region of Darfur. The State Department said Wednesday that the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese military are responsible for either war crimes, crimes

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Fifty-two endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles suffering from “cold stun” are rehabbing at four facilities in Florida after a flight on a private jet from the New England Aquarium in Massachusetts. The turtles arrived in Tampa on Tuesday, and 16 were sent to Clearwater Marine Aquarium, officials said in a news

By CLAIRE RUSH Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Authorities in Oregon were investigating the deaths of two people whose bodies were found in creeks this week as an atmospheric river brought heavy rain, flooding and unseasonably warm temperatures to the Pacific Northwest. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued five people from flooded areas on Tuesday

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland says the Justice Department is investigating the deaths and kidnappings of Americans during the Hamas attack against Israel on Oct. 7.  Garland’s comments came Wednesday as he announced a war-crimes case filed against four Russian soldiers accused of torturing an American during Russia’s

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s Supreme Court has refused to immediately hear an appeal of a lower court’s ruling that would allow former President Donald Trump’s name on the state’s presidential primary ballot. The court said Wednesday that the case should remain before the state court of appeals, and not immediately move to the state’s

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The British government has published legislation that will let it ignore a part of the U.K.’s human rights laws in order to send asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda. The bill is part of government plans to overcome a block by the U.K. Supreme Court on

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — A stampede at a government-organized job fair involving hundreds of young people in Zimbabwe desperate for work has left some limping and others screaming in pain after being stomped on or beaten by security guards Wednesday. The chaos came as job seekers rushed to register for potential vacancies, but no serious

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun co-star in a love story about a satellite and a buoy, Chiwetel Ejiofor directs a film about the life of Rob Peace and Will Ferrell takes a road trip with his best friend who is transitioning in three of the films premiering at the

By ZEKE MILLER and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to publicly call on Congress to pass tens of billions of dollars in military and economic assistance for Ukraine as his administration warns of dire consequences for Kyiv if lawmakers don’t act. Biden’s address on Wednesday comes hours after

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Ten Republicans who posed as fake electors for former President Donald Trump in Wisconsin and filed paperwork falsely saying he had won the battleground state have settled a civil lawsuit, under which they admit their actions were part of an effort to overturn President Joe Biden’s

By JONEL ALECCIA AP Health Writer U.S. health officials have launched an inspection of a plant in Ecuador that made the cinnamon applesauce pouches linked to dozens of cases of acute lead poisoning in U.S. children. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said that contaminated cinnamon is the likely source of the problem. The

By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press MILAN (AP) — Milan prosecutors say there is no evidence of Russian secret services involvement in the escape from Italian custody of a Russian businessman wanted by the U.S. on sanctions-busting charges. Prosecutors on Wednesday said two suspects have been arrested, one in northern Italy and another in Croatia. Another

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Electricity utility PacifiCorp will pay $299 million to settle a lawsuit brought by about 220 customers who were harmed by devastating wildfires in southern Oregon in 2020. The settlement announced Tuesday comes after the utility lost a similar lawsuit in June for wildfires in other parts of the state, The Oregonian

BY NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Supreme Court is set to hear arguments over whether former President Donald Trump should be barred from running for president again under the Constitution’s ban against those who “engaged in insurrection.” The oral arguments are scheduled to begin Wednesday afternoon and come after a district

By The Associated Press New productions of Mieczysław’ Weinberg’s “Der Idiot” and Sergei Prokofiev’s “The Gambler” will highlight next summer’s Salzburg Festival. The festival will include 172 performances from July 19 to Aug. 31 plus 33 youth programs. The lineup was announced Wednesday by Markus Hinterhäuser, the artistic director since 2016. There will be new

By JOCELYN NOVECK AP National Writer In weather terminology, they call it “rapid intensification” — the process by which a storm strengthens dramatically in a short period. In pop culture terminology, they call it Taylor Swift. It’s not like Swift didn’t have big – huge! – years before this. But 2023? This was ridiculous. From

BALTIMORE (AP) — Maryland’s attorney general is requesting a new hearing after a federal appeals court struck down the state’s handgun licensing law last month. A three-judge panel considered the law in light of a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling and found it violates the Second Amendment by placing arduous requirements on would-be gun purchasers.

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Urie has a very hard job this winter: Not cracking up when he’s not supposed to on Broadway. The former “Ugly Betty” and current “Shrinking” star is in a revival of the madcap medieval musical “Spamalot” and that means regular silliness from his co-stars.

By JOHN WAWROW AP Sports Writer ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane is disappointed in the allegations of domestic violence made against Von Miller, while stressing he and the team are waiting for the legal process to play out rather than rush to judgement. Beane says Miller will participate in

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD AP Political Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy says he’s resigning from his congressional seat in California two months after his historic ouster as House speaker. McCarthy made history in October when a contingent of hard-right conservatives made him the only speaker to be voted out of the

By LOLITA C. BALDOR and MATTHEW LEE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials say the Biden administration is expected to announce a new $175 million package of military aid to Ukraine. The aid comes as Congress remains stalled on legislation that would provide new funding for Ukraine as well as money for Israel’s war

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government will propose to require drug and alcohol testing for employees of foreign aircraft-repair shops outside the United States. That would bring foreign repair shops under the same rules that apply to workers in the U.S. The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that it will publish its proposal this week

By DAVID KEYTON Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — This year’s climate talks should “mark the beginning of the end” of fossil fuels the European Commissioner for Climate Action said on Wednesday as the United Nations summit wrapped up its first week. Wopke Hoekstra told a news conference on the last day of

By DÁNICA COTO Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Guyana’s president tells The Associated Press his country is taking every necessary step to protect itself from a potential incursion by Venezuela, which has ordered its state-owned companies to explore and exploit oil and minerals in Guyana’s vast Essequibo region that it considers its

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The British government has apologized to the families of 97 Liverpool soccer fans who died after a stadium crush 34 years ago. The apology came Wednesday as it introduced a charter it said will sharply diminish the chances that others will endure the kinds of injustices they