Month: January 2024

By JOSH FUNK and HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press The parents of the 17-year-old who killed a sixth grader and wounded seven others in a shooting at his small-town Iowa high school last week said in a statement Monday that they “had no inkling he intended the horrible violence he was about to inflict.” Dylan Butler’s

By ÉDGAR H. CLEMENTE Associated Press ARRIAGA, Mexico (AP) — About 2,000 migrants have resumed their journey through southern Mexico, after participants were left without the papers the Mexican government appeared to have promised. The original caravan of about 6,000 migrants from Venezuela, Cuba and Central America started walking on Christmas Eve. But after New

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The longtime head of National Rifle Association operated as the “King of the NRA,” spending lavishly on himself, punishing dissent and showering allies with country club memberships and no-show contracts, a lawyer for the New York attorney general’s office told jurors Monday. Wayne LaPierre’s methods

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — The blowout of part of the fuselage on a Boeing 737 Max flying over Oregon is the latest in a string of safety problems — including two devastating crashes — for the aerospace giant based in Arlington, Virginia. The most serious issues have involved the 737 Max,

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer The Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys are riding high after big Week 18 wins capped their regular seasons. The Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles are reeling after stumbling down the stretch. With or without momentum, the NFL playoffs begin for 12 of the 14 postseason qualifiers during wild-card weekend.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says that President Joe Biden has renominated Julie Su to serve as labor secretary, whose confirmation languished in the Senate for more than 10 months. The decision to renominate was widely expected and was formally announced Monday. Biden announced Su as his pick to replace Marty Walsh last February.

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is taking aim at the Democrat she’d like to face in the November election. She says it’s “offensive” that President Joe Biden gave “a political speech” Monday at the South Carolina church where nine Black parishioners were slain in a

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — A man accused of a jailhouse attack on the convicted killer of California college student Kristin Smart has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder. Jason Budrow entered his plea Monday in Fresno County. Prosecutors say Budrow slashed Paul Flores in the neck last August at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga.

MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge in Montana has issued an arrest warrant for a man accused of killing thousands of birds, including bald and golden eagles, after he failed to show up for an initial court appearance. A second defendant pleaded not guilty Monday and was released pending further

By ADRIAN SAINZ Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A judge has declined to reduce a $1 million bond for a man charged with shooting at a contractor at a Jewish school in Memphis after his attorney requested a lower amount to allow him to secure his release and get proper mental health treatment outside

CHICAGO (AP) — A 29-year-old Chicago woman has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder after authorities said she helped her mother kill a pregnant teenager whose baby was cut from her womb. Desiree Figueroa’s plea was made Monday. The Chicago Tribune reports that it stipulates that she testify against her mother, Clarisa Figueroa, whose first-degree murder

By KEVIN McGILL Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Advocates for LGBTQ rights have announced a lawsuit to block enforcement of Louisiana’s new ban on transgender health care procedures including hormone treatments, gender reassignment surgery or puberty-blocking drugs for anyone under 18. The lawsuit was prepared by Lamda Legal and other advocates on behalf of

NEW YORK (AP) — The CEO of JetBlue is stepping down, and he’s being replaced by the first woman to head a major U.S. airline. JetBlue said Monday that CEO Robin Hayes will leave the job on Feb. 12. He’ll be replaced by current JetBlue President Joanna Geraghty. She has been at JetBlue since 2005

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — A judge has dismissed a University of Notre Dame’s professor’s defamation lawsuit against a student-run publication over news coverage of her abortion-rights advocacy. St. Joseph County Superior Court Senior Judge Steven David said in his ruling Monday that sociology professor Tamara Kay’s assertions that the The Irish Rover’s coverage of

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A California man has been sentenced to four years in prison for seeking to win a $100 million lawsuit by making false sexual assault claims against Hollywood executives. Rovier Carrington was sentenced Monday in Manhattan federal court after he pleaded guilty to making a false declaration

By SARA CLINE Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Newly sworn-in Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has issued an executive order, calling for a special redistricting session. It gives lawmakers the opportunity to draw and replace the state’s current congressional map that a federal judge said dilutes the power of Black voters. Louisiana is among

By FRANK BAJAK AP Technology Writer BOSTON (AP) — The U.S. retail mortgage lender loanDepot says it’s struggling with a cyberattack that has impacted loan processing and phone service. In a filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company says data was encrypted by an unauthorized third party who broke into company systems.

By HOLLY RAMER Associated Press CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire’s attorney general has ordered national Democratic party leaders to stop calling the state’s unsanctioned presidential primary “meaningless,” saying doing so violates state law. The cease-and-desist notice issued Monday came three days after the co-chairs of the Democratic National Committee’s rules committee told New Hampshire

By JOHN O’CONNOR AP Political Writer SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a second Illinois case challenging the state’s ban on semiautomatic weapons. Decatur Republican state Rep. Dan Caulkins appealed last summer’s ruling by the Illinois Supreme Court upholding the prohibition. The state bans handguns and rifles of the

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A U.S. fugitive known as Nicholas Rossi, who is accused of faking his own death and fleeing the country to avoid rape charges, is in a Utah jail after he was extradited from Scotland last week, jail records showed on Monday. Rossi, whose legal name

By BEN FINLEY Associated Press Authorities say they’ve linked a smalltime fisherman who died in 2017 to three cold-case homicides in Virginia. Two of the killings were among a series of unsolved slayings of couples in the late 1980s that are known as the “Colonial Parkway Murders.” Virginia State Police said Monday that the suspect

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — An explosion at a Texas hotel in Fort Worth on Monday littered downtown streets with large section of building and debris and injured multiple people, authorities said. Investigators believe the blast was caused by natural gas, said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spokesperson Sara Abel, who was briefed

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lisa Bonet has filed for divorce from Jason Momoa 18 years after the two actors became a couple. The 56-year-old Bonet filed documents to end her marriage to the 44-year-old Momoa in Los Angeles County court Monday. The petition cites irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split. The filing says

By DIANE JEANTET and DIARLEI RODRIGUES Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil has observed the anniversary of last year’s uprising in the capital when thousands of supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed government buildings and called for a military intervention to remove President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from office. Several demonstrations

BESSEMER, Ala. (AP) — Police in Alabama said a 5-year-old boy has been killed when someone shot into a home where he was getting his hair cut. The shooting happened at about 10 a.m. Sunday in Bessemer. The Jefferson County Coroner’s officer says the child was identified as Brandon Jamal Nation, III, of Fairfield. Police

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer Franz Beckenbauer put himself a step ahead on the soccer field by taking a step back. The “libero” position is taken from the Italian word for “free” and describes a player who had a covering role behind a defensive line. It was not an entirely new concept to soccer

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan says he’s quitting the network rather than accept a demotion. The prominent Muslim journalism announced his exit on the final edition of his weekly hour on Sunday night. The network eliminated Hasan’s show without explanation during a November schedule shuffle, but said

By HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Legislature has reconvened at the state capitol in Des Moines for a somewhat subdued start to the 2024 session given the flurry of laws passed last year and the one-week countdown to Republicans’ presidential caucuses. Before gaveling in Monday, Iowa Republicans celebrated their

By ABDULRAHMAN ZEYAD Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Health officials say a fire erupted at a hospital in southern Iraq, sending smoke through a maternity ward and killing four premature babies. Iraqi health minister Saleh al-Hasnawi tells journalists at the scene that the fire at the Women and Children’s Hospital in Diwaniyiah started at a

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Five companies have agreed to pay the federal government more than $7.2 million overall to resolve claims stemming from longstanding pollution in two adjacent creeks in the Maumee River watershed in northwestern Ohio. The settlement with Ohio Refining Co., Chevron USA, Energy Transfer LLC, Pilkington North America and Chemtrade Logistics was

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco has been released from a jail in the Dominican Republic amid an ongoing investigation into allegations he had a relationship with a 14-year-old girl. Franco paid 2 million Dominican pesos ($34,000) as a type of deposit required by a judge who on Friday

By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press ROME (AP) — Opposition politicians in Italy are demanding that police investigate a rally in Rome where hundreds of participants raised an arm in the banned fascist salute. Use of fascist symbolism, including the salute which harks back to the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini, is banned in post-war Italy. On

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana’s Gov. Greg Gianforte and first lady Susan Gianforte have purchased a historic Helena mansion built by one of the state’s territorial governors that they eventually plan to donate to the state. Gianforte’s office said Monday that the couple purchased the house last week for $4 million and it will be

By PATRICK WHITTLE and DAVID SHARP Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The 911 calls flooding into dispatchers as a gunman opened fire at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston, Maine, reflect the chaos of the unfolding situation last October. The 911 transcripts released Monday showed that people began identifying the shooter soon

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS has announced January 29 as the official start date of the 2024 tax season, and expects more than 128.7 million tax returns to be filed by the April 15 tax deadline. The announcement comes as the agency undergoes a massive facelift, attempting to improve its

JACK DURA Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal judge has ordered a new legislative district for two Native American tribes who successfully challenged North Dakota’s 2021 redistricting map as violating the Voting Rights Act in diluting Native American voters’ strength. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Peter Welte’s decision Monday comes after a flurry

By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer New research shows that the average liter of bottled water has nearly a quarter million invisible pieces of ever so tiny nanoplastics. Scientists long figured there were lots of these microscopic plastic pieces, but until researchers at Columbia and Rutgers universities did their calculations they never knew how many

LAS VEGAS (AP) — CES 2024 kicks off in Las Vegas this week. The multi-day trade event, put on by the Consumer Technology Association, is set to feature swaths of the latest advances and gadgets across personal tech, transportation, health care, sustainability and more — with burgeoning uses of artificial intelligence almost everywhere you look.

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — More women on Monday joined a Tennessee lawsuit challenging the state’s broad abortion ban that went into effect shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. The legal challenge is part of a handful of lawsuits filed across the U.S. in Republican-dominant

By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate negotiators were trying to close on a bipartisan border security proposal this week that could unlock Senate Republican support for Ukraine aid. But as Congress returns, House conservatives are trying to interject their own hardline immigration demands. Senate negotiators met Monday morning as they raced to

By KAY DERVISHI of The Chronicle of Philanthropy Chronicle of Philanthropy Author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates is teaming up with two nonprofits to launch a new fund that will make awards to champions of sexual violence prevention and that will support education and healing programs, predominantly for Black women and girls, with plans to raise

By WYATTE GRANTHAM PHILIPS AP Business Writer LAS VEGAS (AP) — CES, the Consumer Technology Association’s annual show of all-things tech, is kicking off in Las Vegas this week. The multi-day event, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, is set to feature swaths of the industry’s latest advances and gadgets across personal tech, transportation,