Month: January 2024

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Christopher Nolan was still sleeping when his film, “Oppenheimer,” landed a leading 13 Academy Awards nominations Tuesday. Emma Thomas, Nolan’s wife and producing partner, roused him after a flurry of congratulatory messages came through on her phone. Nolan and Thomas didn’t have much reason to

BEIJING (AP) — A truck carrying 60 tons of liquified natural gas and a car collided at an intersection in the Mongolian capital, causing an explosion that killed at least six people and injured 11. Images showed a massive fireball at the scene of the crash outside a shopping center, close to an apartment building

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei believes it his job to be “incorrect.” He was hard at work Tuesday night during a 50-minute conversation-sparring match with author Mira Jacob at The Town Hall in Manhattan. Questions read by Jacobs were met with brief and often

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Inflation in New Zealand has slowed to its lowest rate in two and a half years the country’s official statistics agency has announced. Stats NZ revealed the latest consumers price index (CPI) data had slowed to 4.7% across 2023, a significant drop from the 5.6% result in the year to

By MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A U.S. District Court judge is standing by her decision to block portions of a public health order from New Mexico’s governor that would suspend the right to carry firearms in many public parks in the Albuquerque area. The Monday order from Judge Kea Riggs

By MAYA SWEEDLER and ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is the winner of the New Hampshire Republican primary. The Associated Press has declared Trump the winner based on an analysis of initial vote returns as well as the results of AP VoteCast, a survey of Republican primary voters. Both

By TARA COPP AND LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the U.S. military has struck three facilities in Iraq, targeting an Iranian-backed militia in retaliation for missile and drone attacks on American troops in Iraq and Syria over the past several days. Tuesday’s strikes came hours after the

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The co-chairs of the U.S. Congressional Taiwan Caucus are making their first trip to the island after an independence-leaning party won a third straight term in the island’s presidential elections this month. U.S. Reps. Ami Bera, a Democrat from California, and Florida Republican Mario Díaz-Balart arrived

By STEVE PEOPLES and NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — New Hampshire was supposed to present a formidable challenge for former President Donald Trump but he’s winning that state solidly. That shows he’s got a glide path to the Republican presidential nomination against former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. But New Hampshire delivered warning

By JACQUES BILLEAUD Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Federal prosecutors in Arizona will retry a co-founder of the lucrative classified site Backpage.com on dozens of prostitution facilitation and money laundering charges that allege he participated in a scheme to sell sex ads. A jury in mid-November convicted Michael Lacey of one count of international concealment

By JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s elections office has confirmed that the state’s toughened voting rights restoration policy requires people convicted of a felony to get their gun rights restored before they can become eligible to cast a ballot again. The state’s elections coordinator revealed the decision to The Associated Press

By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has won New Hampshire’s largely symbolic Democratic primary, prevailing via an unusual write-in campaign after he refused to campaign or appear on the ballot in the state. Biden has championed a new Democratic primary calendar that begins in South Carolina on Feb. 3 and

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia Senate committee wants to give the appointed State Election Board the legal power to investigate Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s handling of elections. But Raffensperger’s office says it’s unconstitutional for board members to legally oversee him. The Senate Ethics Committee voted for the bill

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military says North Korea fired several cruise missiles into the western sea as it continues a streak of weapons testing in the face of deepening nuclear tensions with the United States, South Korea and Japan. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday that the U.S. and South

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon jury awarded $85 million Tuesday to nine victims of wildfires that ravaged the state in 2020, the latest verdict in a series of legal proceedings that are expected to put the utility PacifiCorp on the hook for billions of dollars over its liability for the deadly blazes. “We are

By MAYA SWEEDLER and ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has won the New Hampshire Democratic primary as a write-in candidate. The Associated Press has declared Biden the winner based on an analysis of initial vote returns where write-in votes have been tabulated by candidate. The early returns confirm the findings

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A driver who plowed into a group of Los Angeles County sheriff’s recruits on a training run last year, killing one and injuring two dozen others, has pleaded not guilty to vehicular manslaughter. Nicholas Gutierrez also pleaded not guilty Tuesday to reckless driving that severely injured nine victims. He is free

By ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A proposal to scale back Arkansas’ abortion ban has cleared its first hurdle toward getting on the November ballot. Republican Attorney General Tim Griffin on Tuesday approved the wording of the measure prohibiting the state from banning abortion within the first 18 weeks of pregnancy.

By KEVIN McGILL Associated Press A divided federal appeals court has refused to revive the lawsuit of a Texas-based online citizen journalist who says she was wrongfully arrested for seeking and obtaining nonpublic information from police. A state judge dismissed the criminal case against Priscilla Villarreal and said the law used to arrest her in

By COLLEEN SLEVIN Associated Press DENVER (AP) — A Denver police officer has pleaded guilty to accidentally wounding six bystanders in a crowd while firing at an armed man as bars let out. A judge says Tuesday that the shooting polarized the community. Brandon Ramos didn’t speak in court except to acknowledge that he understood

By COREY WILLIAMS Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — A man has been ordered to stand trial in the slaying of a Detroit synagogue leader whose body was found in October outside her home. Judge Kenneth King of Detroit’s 36th District Court said Tuesday that he found enough evidence to bind 28-year-old Michael Jackson-Bolanos over to

By ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump are the front-runners for their respective parties’ presidential nominations. But The Associated Press won’t yet call them their parties’ “presumptive nominees.” AP only uses that term once a candidate has won the number of delegates needed to win a majority

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A farmworker has been charged with killing seven people last year in back-to-back shootings at two Northern California mushroom farms was indicted by a grand jury in an effort by prosecutors to move the case along. San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe says Chunli

By ZEKE MILLER and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is dispatching two of his senior-most White House advisers to bolster his reelection campaign in Wilmington, according to the campaign, as his focus shifts to the general election in November. The moves of his deputy chief of staff Jen O’Malley Dillon,

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press The Federal Emergency Management Agency says it is devoting more resources to processing outstanding claims filed by victims of the largest wildfire in New Mexico’s recorded history. The 2022 blaze raced across hundreds of square miles and destroyed hundreds of homes after two prescribed fires started by the U.S.

By BRIAN WITTE Associated Press ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld a county law in Maryland that requires gun dealers to distribute a pamphlet about suicide prevention, conflict resolution and mental health resources. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond ruled Tuesday in favor of

By CHRISTINA LARSON AP Science Writer Scientists have spotted previously unknown colonies of emperor penguins in new satellite imagery. At least some emperor penguins are moving their colonies as melting ice from climate change threatens breeding grounds. The British Antarctic Survey said Wednesday that the four newly found colonies likely existed for many years, but

UPPER DARBY, Pa. (AP) — A Philadelphia-area woman has been charged with animal cruelty after police say videos she posted show her torturing and killing animals live on the internet. Delaware County court records show 28-year-old Anigar Monsee is charged with four felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals. Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt of the Upper

By DEEPA BHARATH Associated Press The newest member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ top governing body said every faith — including his — must do more to protect victims of sexual abuse and help facilitate a healing process. Last month, Patrick Kearon, 62, became the first new member since 2018 named

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is pitching the United States as a better security partner for Africa in place of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, which he accuses of exploiting coup-hit and conflict-hit nations turning to it for help in the continent’s Sahel region. In Nigeria

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A proposed high-speed passenger train between Las Vegas and Southern California has gotten another boost. The Biden administration granted approval Tuesday for another $2.5 billion in tax-exempt bonds to be issued for the $12 billion project. The announcement benefiting the Brightline West project follows a $3 billion federal grant in December

FORT SMITH, Northwest Territories (AP) — A hospital in Canada’s Northwest Territories activated its mass casualty protocol after a passenger plane crashed near the community.  There is no word yet on injuries or fatalities. The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories says it made the move after the morning

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Adrián Beltré, Todd Helton and Joe Mauer were elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame on Tuesday while Billy Wagner and Gary Sheffield fell short. Beltré was picked on 366 of 385 ballots in his first appearance for 95.1%. Helton, making his sixth ballot appearance, got

By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska state lawmaker and Democrat who ran for governor in 2022 is seeking higher office again. Sen. Carol Blood confirmed Tuesday that she will run for Congress to represent Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District, which includes Lincoln and all or part of 13 counties in

MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) — A western Michigan woman convicted of murder and child abuse in the starvation death of a disabled 15-year-old son who weighed just 69 pounds has sentenced to life in prison without a chance of parole. Forty-four-year-old Shanda Vander Ark of Norton Shores was found guilty in the July 6, 2022, death

By CLAIRE RUSH Associated Press SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Democratic lawmakers in Oregon have unveiled a sweeping new bill that would undo a key part of the state’s first-in-the-nation drug decriminalization law. The bill would recriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs as a low-level misdemeanor. The lawmakers backing the bill say it would

By PAT EATON-ROBB Associated Press Prosecutors attempting to link a Connecticut woman to the disappearance of her boyfriend’s estranged wife say items from Hartford trash receptacles show the connection between defendant Michelle Troconis and the victim. The case was the subject of a TV movie titled “Gone Mom.” Prosecutors presented evidence Tuesday that included a

The recent blast of cold weather has given alligators a chance to show off their way of coping with freezing temperatures. The Swamp Park Outdoor Adventure Center in North Carolina posted videos on social media over the weekend showing alligators suspended in frozen ponds. The reptiles were shown with just the tips of their snouts

DENVER (AP) — Federal prosecutors say the founder of an orphanage in Haiti is facing criminal charges in the U.S. for allegedly traveling to the Caribbean country to sexually abuse minors. Michael Geilenfeld previously sued a Maine activist over accusations he abused boys in Haiti. Geilenfeld called the accusations “vicious, vile lies” before the investigation

OPHIR, Colo. (AP) — An avalanche killed a 67-year-old man as he was snowboarding solo in the Colorado backcountry, authorities said Tuesday, marking the fourth U.S. avalanche death this winter. The victim, Peter Harrelson, was a doctor and longtime resident of the small town of Ophir in southwest Colorado, the San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations chief is warning Israel that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyau’s rejection of a two-state solution will indefinitely prolong a conflict that is threatening global peace and emboldening extremists everywhere. In his toughest language yet on the Israeli-Hamas war, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Country singer Chris Young has been arrested at a Nashville bar after an alleged altercation with Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents who were doing compliance checks. News outlets cited court records saying Young was arrested Monday night and charged with assaulting an officer, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. An arrest affidavit said

By JOSH BOAK and LINLEY SANDERS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — New Hampshire Republicans are voting with a desire to curb immigration and overhaul the federal government. Yet they have some misgivings about former President Donald Trump and the criminal charges facing him. And there are signs that Democrats are rallying around President Joe Biden

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP) — The city council of the Minneapolis suburb where Daunte Wright was killed by police in a 2021 traffic stop has rejected a resolution that would have limited when officers can pull drivers over. The Star Tribune reports that the Brooklyn Center City Council rejected the measure Monday on a 3-2

By JOHN HANNA Associated Press TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Dozens of Kansas lawmakers have launched an effort to direct the state’s attorney general to release information from an investigation of a police raid last year on a weekly newspaper. But it’s unclear whether their measure will get a hearing in the Republican-controlled Legislature. Thirty-five Democrats

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Netflix has registered its third-consecutive quarter of accelerating subscriber growth in the final three months of 2023. The report Tuesday closes out a comeback year that included a crackdown on viewers freeloading on the video-streaming service and a smattering of price hikes. The fourth-quarter results

By MAYSOON KHAN Associated Press/Report for America FORT EDWARD, N.Y. (AP) — A man was convicted of second-degree murder Tuesday for fatally shooting a young woman when the SUV she was riding in mistakenly drove up his rural driveway in upstate New York. A jury found Kevin Monahan, 66, guilty of second-degree murder for shooting

By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press MILAN (AP) — An Italian Jewish leader on Tuesday protested a citation of Holocaust survivor Primo Levi on flyers for a planned pro-Palestinian demonstration in the Italian capital on Saturday. The event coincides with International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Noemi Di Segni, head of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, told