Month: January 2024

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A group of people and businesses who say they are owed money by Rudy Giuliani gathered virtually for the first hearing since he declared bankruptcy last month. The Chapter 11 declaration has allowed Giuliani to avoid paying $148 million to two election workers whom he was

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Police say a man who died in prison decades ago has been identified through DNA as the attacker who abducted and physically attacked three Indiana girls in 1975 and left them in a cornfield. The 11-, 13- and 14-year-old girls survived the attack, but the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said “a clear

By SONIA PÉREZ D. Associated Press GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala President Bernardo Arévalo’s new administration says it will make addressing widespread extortion its top security priority. Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez, a security expert who has previously held the position, explained that Guatemala’s extortion problem is different from that in some neighboring countries. Only about

By JOHN O’CONNOR AP Political Writer SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois Supreme Court has upheld the consolidation of local police and firefighter pension systems, a rare victory in a yearslong battle to find an answer to the state’s besieged retirement accounts. The court’s unanimous opinion Friday rejected claims by three dozen working and retired

Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Four high school students in Las Vegas were indicted Friday as adults on second-degree murder charges in the deadly beating of their schoolmate in November. The fight left 17-year-old Jonathan Lewis Jr. dead and was captured on cellphone video that went viral. A prosecutor said Friday in court that

GLEN ROCK, Pa. (AP) — A school board in southern Pennsylvania has voted to reinstate the district’s old mascot logo portraying a Native American fighter, despite criticism that it’s outdated and culturally insensitive. The Southern York County School District voted 7-2 on Thursday to bring back the logo. It had been been retired in April

By TERRY SPENCER Associated Press Police have cleared the ousted chair of the Florida Republican Party of rape allegations, but have asked prosecutors to charge him with video voyeurism. Sarasota police said Friday that a video recording Christian Ziegler made of the October sexual encounter shows it was consensual. However, police say the woman did

BOSTON (AP) — One of two Rhode Island men charged with assault and battery and disorderly conduct in connection with the death of a fan at a New England Patriots game has pleaded not guilty. In a brief court appearance Friday, 59-year-old John Vieira entered the plea over allegations that he and 39-year-old Justin Mitchell

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Like other universities, Harvard is struggling to manage campus responses to Israel’s war in Gaza. On Friday it announced the creation of task forces to combat both antisemitism and Islamophobia. The task forces follow the resignation of Harvard president Claudine Gay, amid a backlash related to congressional

NEW YORK (AP) — Police in New York City say an 11-month-old baby has died after being burned by steam leaking from a radiator inside a Brooklyn apartment. Officers responding to a 911 call Friday morning found the boy unconscious inside an apartment bedroom. Police say the baby was taken to a hospital, where he

FORT EDWARD, N.Y. (AP) — An upstate New York man on trial for the shooting death of a 20-year-old woman who was with a group of friends who mistakenly drove up his backcountry driveway testified that he believed he was under siege that night and now feels “like my soul is dead.” But he maintained

By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Assembly Republicans have introduced a bill that would set up a binding statewide referendum on whether abortion should be banned after 14 weeks of pregnancy. Current Wisconsin law bars abortions after 20 weeks. The bill introduced Friday would outlaw abortions after 14 weeks if voters

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Some federal search warrants have revealed new details about a shooting in August on the University of North Carolina’s flagship campus that left a professor dead.  The warrants state the graduate student charged in the shooting bought a pistol and also visited a gun range the day before Zijie Yan

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Religious leaders say six nuns have been kidnapped in Haiti as they traveled on a bus through the capital. The Haitian Conference of the Religious said in a statement that the nuns were accompanied by an undetermined number of unidentified people on the bus who also were kidnapped on Friday. It

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A U.S. company’s failed moonshot has ended with a fiery plunge over the South Pacific. Astrobotic Technology said Friday that it had confirmation that its lunar lander broke apart as it reentered Earth’s atmosphere on Thursday. A fuel leak shortly after liftoff from Florida

By NICK PERRY and KATHY McCORMACK Associated Press THORNTON, N.H. (AP) — An experienced hiker who had accomplished the “Triple Crown” of challenging cross-country hikes has died in New Hampshire’s White Mountains while hiking alone in brutal conditions. Concerned friends of 37-year-old Christopher Roma started calling 911 Tuesday night after speaking with him by cellphone

By KEN RITTER and RIO YAMAT Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — School officials in Las Vegas have released police reports and body camera footage of a campus officer kneeling on a Black student last year, an incident that drew accusations of police brutality after bystander video of it circulated widely on social media. The

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and SUMMER BALLENTINE Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A historically Black college in Missouri is in turmoil after the suicide of an administrator who alleged bullying by the school’s president. Known for keeping her office door open and greeting everyone at Lincoln University with a smile, Antoinette Bonnie Candia-Bailey’s death

By MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A grand jury indicted Alec Baldwin on an involuntary manslaughter charge Friday in a 2021 fatal shooting during a rehearsal on a movie set in New Mexico, reviving a dormant case against the A-list actor. Special prosecutors brought the case before a grand jury in

DULLES, Va. (AP) — Authorities say a small aircraft made an emergency landing on a northern Virginia highway after taking off from nearby Washington Dulles International Airport. Virginia State Police say they received a call just before 1 p.m. Friday about a small aircraft making an emergency landing on Loudoun County Parkway. A Metropolitan Washington

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer The publisher of Sports Illustrated has notified employees it is planning to lay off a significant portion — possibly all — of the outlet’s staff after its license to use the iconic brand’s name in print and digital was revoked. In an email to employees Friday morning, the Arena

INDIO, Calif. (AP) — A jury deadlock has led to a mistrial in the voluntary manslaughter case against an off-duty Los Angeles police officer. Salvador Sanchez is accused of fatally shooting a mentally ill man who attacked him in a Costco store in 2019. The Southern California News Group reports that the state attorney general’s

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams is facing a lawsuit by three people wounded in bombings attributed to the Irish Republican Army that date back more than 50 years. A London judge said on Friday that Adams, who has denied any role or membership in the IRA,

By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine Gov. Janet Mills and a state representative who immigrated from Somalia are looking to create a new government office that would tap recent immigrants to try to solve a workforce shortage in the state. Mills and Rep. Deqa Dhalac of South Portland unveiled a bill

DENVER (AP) — One of three teens charged with starting a house fire in suburban Denver that killed five people — apparently out of revenge for a stolen cellphone that was mistakenly traced to the residence — pleaded guilty Friday to one count of second-degree murder. Gavin Seymour, 19, pleaded guilty for his role in

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has signed a short-term spending bill that keeps the federal government operating until early March. Signed Tuesday, the bill averts what would’ve been a partial government shutdown starting Saturday. It does not address additional aid for Ukraine, which remains in limbo as key senators continue to negotiate a border

BERLIN (AP) — Tens of thousands gathered in Hamburg on Friday for a demonstration against the far right, and organizers said the protest was ended early because the mass of people led to safety concerns. The event in Germany’s second-biggest city appeared to be the biggest yet in a string of protests that has grown

By TRISHA AHMED and MARK VANCLEAVE Associated Press/Report for America MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — As a bout of bitter and deadly cold sweeps the U.S., millions of Americans are being told to dress in layers if they must go outside. In places that rarely experience bone-chilling temperatures, that advice can be confounding. What does it mean

HATBORO, Pa. (AP) — A suburban Philadelphia man is accused of stabbing to death a neighbor with whom he had feuded after an argument about the accused man’s loud snoring that could be heard through a wall connecting their homes. Authorities said Friday that 55-year-old Christopher Casey killed neighbor Robert Wallace after Wallace removed a

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials say American fighter jets struck Iranian-backed Houthi rebel sites for the sixth time Friday, taking out anti-ship missile launchers that were prepared to fire. The officials says the strikes were carried out by F/A-18 aircraft off the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier. And

By BILL BARROW Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Donald Trump used his social media platform Friday to mock Nikki Haley ‘s birth name, the latest example of the former president keying on race and ethnicity to attack people of color, especially his political rivals. In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump repeatedly referred

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina is expected to endorse former President Trump ahead of Tuesday’s New Hampshire, GOP primary. A person familiar with Scott’s plans confirmed Friday to The Associated Press that Scott would travel from Florida to New Hampshire with the GOP front-runner. The

By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Southern California man has been sentenced to two life sentences plus 30 years for blowing up his ex-girlfriend’s spa business in 2018 with a package bomb, killing her and seriously injuring two clients. The sentencing of Stephen Beal happened Friday in federal court in downtown

By PAT EATON-ROBB Associated Press A judge on Friday dismissed a juror in the trial of a Connecticut woman accused of helping her boyfriend cover up the murder of his estranged wife. The judge said the panelist acknowledged comparing the case to the “Gone Girl” novel and movie in the presence of other jurors. “Gone

By CARLA K. JOHNSON AP Medical Writer Getting through winter healthy means trying to protect yourself from respiratory viruses. January can be the worst month for these illnesses and vaccination rates are low. When relatives, friends and co-workers are coming down with coughs, nasal congestion, fatigue and fever, keeping viruses at bay means thorough hand-washing,

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama inmate set to be the first person put to death by nitrogen gas will ask a federal appeals Friday to block the upcoming execution. Kenneth Smith is scheduled to be executed by the never-used method Thursday at a south Alabama prison. The 11th U.S.

By RISDEL KASASIRA Associated Press KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — African leaders have criticized Israel for its military campaign in Gaza and called for an end to the fighting that continues take its toll on mostly civilians. They’ve been speaking at a conference in Uganda of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), a group of 120 states which

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The leader of the California Senate says she will run for governor in 2026. Democrat Toni Atkins made history as only the third person and first woman to hold both of the top jobs in the state Legislature. Atkins was speaker of the state Assembly before

By JOHN HANNA Associated Press TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence for a man convicted of fatally shooting three adults and a toddler. The court’s 6-1 majority ruled Friday that Kyle Trevor Flack did not clearly invoke his right to remain silent by saying he wanted to be

By PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s mayor has vetoed legislation aimed at providing more transparency in police encounters with civilians, setting up a faceoff with the City Council, which has said it has enough votes to override him. Democratic Mayor Eric Adams announced Friday that he rejected the bill

By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press The U.S. Department of Defense plans to install more groundwater treatment systems at a former Michigan military base to control contamination from so-called forever chemicals. DOD officials said Thursday that they planned to install the filtration systems in a lagoon and drainage ditch on the now-shuttered Wurtsmith Air Force Base

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president is calling on citizens not to support drug cartels or oppose the installation of National Guard barracks, after a number of videos surfaced showing residents cheering convoys of cartel gunmen. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Friday he understood that the gangs may be pressuring civilians to appear in

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — On the surface, the platform beneath a new generation of automobiles has little to do with politics and elections. But at Stellantis, new large vehicle underpinnings announced Friday are key to the company’s ability to adjust to European and U.S. government electric vehicle requirements that could

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The South African government says it will challenge an auction of artifacts belonging to the country’s anti-apartheid stalwart Nelson Mandela. Friday’s announcement comes ahead of the auction of 75 artifacts belonging to Mandela, the country’s first democratically elected president who spent 27 years in jail for fighting