Month: January 2024

By STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — A New Hampshire man who had been accused of participating in a plot in which a caller issued bomb threats to Harvard University and demanded a large amount of bitcoin, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in federal court Wednesday. Fifty-five-year-old William Giordani, was arrested last year

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — The family of an elderly couple found dead in their South Carolina home where the temperature was about 120 degrees Fahrenheit had trouble with their furnace days before their deaths. Family members called Spartanburg police Saturday after not hearing from the couple. Authorities say a police officer and a paramedic found

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Police in South Florida say a man fatally shot a 30-year-old Buffalo Bills fan during an altercation outside Hard Rock Stadium after the Bills defeated the Miami Dolphins in the final regular season game. As Dylan Brody Isaacs and his friends were returning to their vehicle after the game Sunday

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Twitch, the video game streaming platform acquired by Amazon a decade ago for close to $1 billion, is laying off more than 500 employees as the company tries to turn the tremendously expensive division profitable. Twitch CEO Dan Clancy in an email to employees said that even with cost

By TERRY SPENCER Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A lawsuit filed against the Florida sheriff’s deputy who was on campus during the 2018 Parkland school massacre can go forward. Fired Deputy Scot Peterson had moved to dismiss the case before trial. Peterson is being sued by the 17 families of the victims and

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s center-right prime minister says his government will soon submit legislation allowing civil marriage for same-sex couples. That’s despite reservations from some of his party’s own lawmakers and the country’s powerful church. But Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis says the proposed law will not extend the right to parenthood through surrogate mothers

By JENNIFER PELTZ and JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump won’t make his own closing argument in his New York civil business fraud trial after his lawyers objected to the judge’s insistence that the former president would stick to “relevant” matters. Judge Arthur Engoron rescinded permission on Wednesday, a day ahead

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press The first criminal trial related to the 2019 killing of Connecticut mother of five Jennifer Dulos is set to begin this week. Michelle Troconis is scheduled to go on trial Thursday on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, evidence tampering and hindering prosecution. Troconis denies the allegations. Police believe Dulos’

By JIM HEINTZ Associated Press A court in Moscow has rejected a class-action lawsuit against a Russian TV presenter that sought $11 million in moral damages after she hosted a party where guests were encouraged to show up wearing next to nothing. The suit against Anastasia Ivleeva was one element of a scandal that erupted

By OMAR FARUK Associated Press MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Officials in Somalia say al-Shabab extremists have killed one person and captured five others on a United Nations helicopter that made an emergency landing in an area controlled by the fighters. The minister of internal security of Galmudug state in central Somalia told The Associated Press

By COLLEEN SLEVIN DENVER (AP) — The ex-husband of U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert was arrested on misdemeanor charges stemming from an apparent altercation with her at a Colorado restaurant, police said Wednesday. Authorities would not say whether Lauren Boebert could also face charges in Saturday’s incident in the town of Silt. Police Chief Mike Kite

By TOM MURPHY and HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press Prescriptions for ADHD treatments surged among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to fuel lingering shortages that are frustrating parents and doctors. A study published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry says new prescriptions for stimulants used to treat the condition jumped 30% for young adults and women during

GENEVA (AP) — The head of the U.N. health agency said Wednesday holiday gatherings and the spread of the most prominent variant globally led to increased transmission of COVID-19 last month. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said nearly 10,000 deaths were reported in December, while hospital admissions during the month jumped 42% in nearly 50 countries —

By SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to appoint a 34-year-old prime minister surprised many because of his age and relatively short career. But Gabriel Attal has become one of the most prominent and ambitious figures on the French political scene in recent years, saying there’s “nothing greater than

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Basketball Writer Sustained excellence is difficult to achieve in any sport. It takes hiring the right coaches, year after year. A constant stream of great players to replace those that depart. It takes luck, to be sure, but also passionate fans, elite facilities, proper marketing and the flexibility to adapt to

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has confirmed a new leader for India’s Syro-Malabar Church in a step toward healing a decades-long liturgical dispute. Francis confirmed the election of His Beatitude Mar Raphael Thattil as major archbishop of an area in the southern state of Kerala, where many of India’s Christians live.

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A smiling and joking Alexei Navalny appeared in court Wednesday via video link from the Arctic penal colony where he is serving a 19-year sentence, the first time the Russian opposition leader has been shown on camera since his transfer to the remote prison. Russian news

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — A program aimed at helping remove families and infants in Flint, Michigan, from deep poverty will give $1,500 to women during mid-pregnancy and $500 each month throughout the first year after the birth. Enrollment opened Wednesday for Rx Kids, lauded by officials as the first of its kind in the United

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writer The NHL players union has launched a mental health program aimed at educating and helping players learn more about their own well-being and that of their teammates and families. Players like Arizona’s Connor Ingram, Colorado’s Samuel Girard and Florida’s Spencer Knight have opened up about struggles with mental illness.

CHICAGO (AP) — A suburban Chicago man has been sentenced to more than four years in prison after pleading guilty in a hit-and-run crash that killed a retired Chicago police officer. WLS-TV reports Ted Plevritis, of Palatine, Illinois, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of failure to report the crash. He was given credit for

By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Ancient DNA helps explain why northern Europeans have a higher risk of multiple sclerosis than other ancestries: It’s a genetic legacy of horseback-riding cattle herders who swept into the region about 5,000 years ago. The findings come from a huge project to compare modern DNA with

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer NFL regular-season games averaged 17.9 million viewers, tied for the second highest since averages were first tracked in 1995. Buoyed by increases of at least 24% in two of the five packages, the first year of the league’s new television contracts saw a total increase of 7% from last

By BERT WILKINSON Associated Press GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Guyana says it is seeking help from the U.S. to improve its defense capabilities amid fears that neighboring Venezuela might one day seize a disputed region in western Guyana that is rich in minerals and oil. The announcement follows two days of talks among top Guyanese

By CHRISTINA LARSON AP Science Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — An ancient species of great ape was likely driven to extinction when climate change put their favorite fruits out of reach during dry seasons, scientists reported Wednesday. The species Gigantopithecus blacki, which once lived in southern China, represents the largest great ape known to scientists —

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — A veteran Laotian diplomat recently appointed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ special envoy to Myanmar, has arrived on his first mission to the strife-torn nation. He is meeting with the head of the ruling military council and other top officials. Alounkeo Kittikhoun faces the tough challenge

By THOMAS BEAUMONT and HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis in recent weeks is coming off to many would-be supporters in Iowa as looser and more personable than the strident and sometimes dour presence he was before. The Florida governor is showing more confidence even in the face

BOSTON (AP) — Boston has reached a $2.4 million settlement with a high ranking female police commander who accused the department of gender discrimination. The lawyer for Beth Donovan, the first woman to reach the rank of deputy superintendent of the police department’s Bureau of Field Services, said Wednesday a formal agreement was still being

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The 30th Screen Actors Guild Awards heaped awards on “Oppenheimer,” “Barbie” and “American Fiction,” while snubbing Leonardo DiCaprio for best actor. The nominees for the guild’s top award, best ensemble are: “American Fiction,” “Barbie,” The Color Purple,” “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Oppenheimer.” Most

By RIO YAMAT Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tech companies of all sizes are showing off their latest gadgets at CES 2024 in Las Vegas. And that includes new technology that’s changing the world of food and drinks. There are AI-powered appliances like air-fryers and grills, a cocktail-mixing machine that serves as your own

YURAS KARMANAU TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus state television says that Belarusian authorities sent a recently arrived group of Ukrainian children from occupied Ukraine to train with the Belarusian military to learn how to evacuate in the event of a fire. 35 children from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Antratsyt in eastern Ukraine were sent

BERLIN (AP) — The German government has approved the export of air-defense missiles to Saudi Arabia, underlining a softening of its hard line of recent years toward arms exports to the kingdom. A government spokesperson on Wednesday confirmed a report that Germany’s Security Council, made up of Chancellor Olaf Scholz and several other ministers, approved

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS is still too slow to process amended tax returns, answer taxpayer phone calls and resolve identity theft cases, according to an independent watchdog within the agency. The organization sent a report to Congress Wednesday that the backlog of unprocessed amended returns has quadrupled from 500,000

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban government in Afghanistan has confirmed the resumption of Air Arabia flights to Kabul’s international airport, two years after service stopped following the collapse of the Western-backed government. Afghanistan’s Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation says there will be one daily flight between Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, and Kabul. All international

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo’s prosecutors have charged 27 Kosovars with smuggling migrants to a neighboring country. The prosecutors in a statement said the suspects collaborated to transport some 700 Syrians to neighboring Serbia on their way to Western Europe. If convicted, they face up to 10 years in prison.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s center-right government has announced price controls on baby formula, accusing multinational suppliers of “greedflation” by imposing unjustifiably high prices on the country’s consumers. A 7% profit cap on formula will take effect in March and follows a series of similar initiatives over the past two years for basic items. Inflation