Month: January 2024

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republicans are making a last-ditch effort to avoid having the liberal-controlled state Supreme Court put in place new legislative district boundaries for the November election. Republican senators introduced new Senate and Assembly maps for a vote Tuesday. Democrats said before the maps were unveiled that

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A man convicted of fatally shooting a federal agent in Tucson in 2018 has been sentenced to life in prison. Authorities say 31-year-old Ryan Phillip Schlesinger was not in court for Monday’s sentencing as his lawyers argued for a prison term of less than 50 years. A jury last November found

By REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Dueling political factions are demonstrating on the streets of Venezuela’s capital, Caracas. The first competing rallies of the presidential election year took place Tuesday as both sides looked to showcase their ability to draw people en masse as Venezuelan voters grapple with uncertainty over the

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press New York (AP) — Oliver North says he was pushed out of the National Rifle Association after raising allegations of financial misconduct against the group’s CEO, Wayne LaPierre. North is best known for his central role in the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s. He served as president of the NRA

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Titus Kaphar wanted to find a way to talk to his children about his life experience, his addict father, generational trauma and healing. An acclaimed painter and MacArthur fellow, Kaphar found that images were insufficient on their own. Words were, too. He even tried

By JACK DURA Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s only member of the U.S. House of Representatives is running for governor of the sparsely populated state. Republican Rep. Kelly Armstrong’s announcement comes a day after Gov. Doug Burgum said he won’t seek a third term. Armstrong, an attorney and former state senator, was

By JOCELYN NOVECK AP National Writer Lily Gladstone knew she wanted to be somewhere special when the Oscar news came. And that somewhere was with the Osage community, where Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” is centered. She learned of her best actress nomination — the first for a Native American — while FaceTiming

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis’ water company has lifted a boil-water advisory for more than 600,000 people, five days after the precaution was put in place due to freezing temperatures that caused pipes to break throughout the southern city. Memphis Light, Gas and Water issued the notice on Friday after snowfall and sub-freezing temperatures caused

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Angela Patton has devoted her career to listening to the needs of young girls. Over a decade ago, the CEO of the nonprofit Girls For a Change and founder of Camp Diva Leadership Academy helped start a program in Richmond, Virginia, that created a

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s president says he has once again pardoned two politicians who were arrested earlier this month amid a bitter standoff between the new centrist government and the previous conservative administration. President Andrzej Duda made the announcement Tuesday shortly after the new justice minister refused Duda’s motion for a pardon procedure to

By SUDHIN THANAWALA Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter says her late brother was a fierce and visionary steward of their father’s legacy. The Rev. Bernice King choked back tears at times on Tuesday as she shared memories of her childhood and recent meetings with Dexter Scott King. King

By GERALD IMRAY Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A man has been arrested hours after he claimed responsibility for starting a building fire in South Africa last year that killed 76 people while trying to get rid of the body of someone he had killed. The man’s apparent confession came as a shock when he

By DENIS POROY Associated Press SAN DIEGO (AP) — Stunned residents, some breaking down in tears, pulled soggy and muddy furniture from their homes in San Diego on Tuesday, a day after flash floods from a torrential storm produced the city’s fourth-wettest day in nearly 175 years, an inundation in stark contrast to its image

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Times plans to lay off 94 newsroom employees. That’s according to the head of the journalists’ union who said Tuesday that the number, while substantial, is less than feared. The announcement comes after the LA Times Guild walked off the job last Friday to protest the imminent layoffs,

By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Ever since Israel was attacked on Oct. 7, a main Israeli highway has been flanked by billboards preaching national unity and a ubiquitous wartime slogan: “Together we will win.” But lately those billboards have been replaced with a starkly different message: a call for immediate

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez is asking a judge to toss out much of the evidence in the prosecution against him, saying investigators illegally searched his residence to get back at him for defeating a prior prosecution. The arguments were contained in papers filed late Monday

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s influential Orthodox Church has voiced strong opposition to the center-right government’s plans to legalize same-sex civil marriages. It says it will present its views to congregations nationwide and to lawmakers who will be debating the proposals. A statement by the Church’s governing body, the Holy Synod, says that while legislation

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Last weekend’s four NFL divisional round playoff games averaged 40.0 million viewers on television and digital platforms, the highest on record dating back to 1988. The viewer average is a 7% increase over last year and a 5% jump from two years ago. Sunday night’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs

By ROB GILLIES Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — A Canadian judge has ruled that the government’s use of the Emergencies Act to quell weeks of protests by truckers and others angry over COVID-19 restrictions in 2022 was unreasonable and unconstitutional. The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it will appeal. The protests eventually encompassed

By The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Charles Osgood, who anchored “CBS Sunday Morning” for more than two decades, was host of the long-running radio program “The Osgood File” and was referred to as CBS News’ poet-in-residence, has died. He was 91. CBS reported that Osgood died Tuesday at his home in New Jersey

By JACK DURA Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota judge has denied a requested temporary block on a part of the state’s revised abortion laws so that doctors can perform the procedures to save a patient’s life or health. They argue a provision that allows the procedure in life-saving or “serious health

By DÁNICA COTO Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico legislators are holding a public hearing on a bill that seeks to prohibit discrimination against certain hairstyles in the racially diverse U.S. territory, sparking a heated debate. While local government officials argue that federal and local laws already ban such discrimination, Puerto

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The manslaughter retrial for the man who fatally shot New Orleans Saints star Will Smith almost eight years ago has been delayed after an alternate juror dropped out. Twelve jurors and two alternates were chosen Monday for the trial against 36-year-old Cardell Hayes. But one of the alternate jurors said they

By ALBERT AJI and OMAR AKOUR Associated Press DAMASCUS (AP) — Syria’s foreign ministry has condemned recent presumed Jordanian airstrikes against suspected drug traffickers on Syrian territory, including one last week that killed women and children.  In response, Jordan has accused the Syrians of failing to take action to halt smuggling across the border. The

By SARAH RANKIN Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Public universities would be prohibited from giving preferential treatment in admissions to applicants who are related to alumni or donors under a bill that has sailed out of the Virginia Senate. The measure passed the General Assembly’s upper chamber Tuesday on a 39-0 vote. It now

By DAVID BILLER and DIANE JEANTET Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s statistics and geography institute has announced it will start using “favelas and urban communities” to describe thousands of poor urban neighborhoods. The institute began using “subnormal agglomerates” in the 1990s. It’s a term that was widely viewed as stigmatizing. The change

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has told top athletes he hopes that France will reach the top five of the Paris Olympics medal table, but he doesn’t want to put “excessive pressure.” He says France will have a record delegation of about 800 Olympic and Paralympic athletes when the games begin in July.

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Former Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. has reached a plea deal in a New York City domestic assault case that will keep him out of jail if he completes a court-ordered treatment program and stays out of trouble. Porter, 23, pleaded guilty Tuesday to

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS wants to rewrite its complicated letters to taxpayers and speak to people in plain English. The federal tax collector is rewriting and sending out commonly received notices ahead of the 2024 tax filing season as part of its new “Simple Notice Initiative.” “Redesigned notices will

WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington’s federal appeals court has rejected Donald Trump’s request to reconsider a gag order restricting the former president’s speech in the case charging him with plotting to overturn the 2020 election. Lawyers for the Republican presidential front-runner had asked the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to examine the

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Activists in Mexico have published photos of steel and cement pilings from a government project driven directly through the roofs of sensitive limestone caves on the Yucatan peninsula. The cave networks and their underground rivers are both environmentally sensitive, and have been found to hold some of the oldest human remains

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Canadian authorities say that three people have died in a heli-ski helicopter crash. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in west-central British Columbia said Tuesday that seven people were aboard. Three people were killed and four others were badly injured. Terrace Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the aircraft was one of

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Police say a former Haitian vice-consul who had been stationed in the Dominican Republic has been gunned down near an airport. Police spokesman Inspector Arold Jean told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Claude Joazard was killed near the sole international airport in the northern coastal city of Cap-Haitien. Joazard was

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Former Georgia mascot Uga X, whose eight-year run included back-to-back national championships, has died. Uga X was part of the line of English bulldog mascots that began in 1955. He was 2 when he began his run on the Sanford Stadium sideline in 2015. The bulldog known as “Que” retired in

By COLLEEN BARRY AP Business Writer MILAN (AP) — The European Commission has announced an in-depth investigation of German airline Lufthansa’s planned takeover of Italian carrier ITA Airways citing competitive concerns. Lufthansa signed a deal last year for a 41% minority share in the long-struggling ITA Airways formerly Alitalia. The deal calls for a 325-million-euro

WASHINGTON (AP) — Officials say the federal home energy assistance program served more than 7 million families in the last fiscal year, an all-time high that coincides with a record number of utility customers behind on payments. The National Energy Assistance Directors Association said the troubling numbers underscore the importance for Congress to act to

By LEANNE ITALIE AP Entertainment Writer After a bruising year for the film industry, Christopher Nolan’s atomic hit “Oppenheimer” emerged the winner of the Academy Awards nomination race Tuesday. The drama focuses on the Manhattan Project’s J. Robert Oppenheimer earned 13 nods from academy voters. It was followed in the nomination count by the Frankenstein-esque

By The Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft is defending himself against the state auditor’s claim that Ashcroft violated state law. Ashcroft is accused of failing to turn over cybersecurity reviews of Missouri’s 116 local election authorities. Ashcroft on Tuesday refuted what he called “false accusations” made by

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Police say an elderly man fatally shot his wife and then himself at an assisted living facility in Florida. Staff at the Addington Place at College Harbor facility found the couple dead in the woman’s room around 10 a.m. Tuesday, the St. Petersburg Police Department said in an email. The