Month: January 2024

By JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A trade group representing TikTok, Snapchat, Meta and other major tech companies has sued Ohio over a pending law that requires children to get parental consent to use social media apps. The law was part of an $86.1 billion state budget bill that Republican Gov.

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been hospitalized since Monday, due to complications following a minor elective medical procedure. That’s from Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary. It was the department’s first acknowledgement that Austin had been admitted to Walter Reed National Military

DALLAS (AP) — Boeing wants an exemption from federal safety standards for an anti-icing system on its new, smaller version of the 737 Max airliner. Without a permanent fix, pilots of current Max jets are being told to limit use of an anti-icing system in dry but cold weather. Otherwise, inlets around the engines could

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — A Catholic priest who married a teenager after leaving the country with her this summer has been removed from the priesthood. The Archdiocese of Mobile announced Friday that Alex Crow is no longer a member of the clergy. The church said that Crow requested that he be removed from the priesthood.

By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday allowed Idaho to enforce its strict abortion ban, even in medical emergencies, while a legal fight continues. The justices said they would hear arguments in April and put on hold a lower court ruling that had blocked the Idaho law in hospital

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced support for a plan to build a floating swimming pool in New York City’s waterways. Hochul says she would contribute $12 million in public funding to the long-stalled project, which was first proposed more than a decade ago and

By MARK SHERMAN and NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will decide whether former President Donald Trump can be kept off the 2024 presidential ballot because of his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss that culminated in the U.S. Capitol attack. The justices Friday agreed to take a Colorado case,

By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press Families of the 12 people killed in a Philadelphia row house fire that began in a Christmas tree two years ago are suing a pair of city agencies. The case filed on Friday says unsafe conditions on the property violated the victims’ civil rights. The federal lawsuit is against the

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press CUMMING, Iowa (AP) — The shooting in Perry, Iowa, has cast a shadow over the state’s upcoming first-in-the-nation Republican presidential caucuses. Three candidates were asked about it Thursday and Friday at campaign stops as they gear up for the Jan. 15 caucuses. Some were just a short drive from the

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN and MORGAN LEE Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s top prosecutor says the state’s five Republican electors cannot be prosecuted under the current law for filing election certificates that falsely declared Donald Trump the winner of the 2020 presidential race. However, Democratic Attorney General Raúl Torrez is making recommendations

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A former Ohio state lawmaker has been sentenced to two years of probation for domestic violence and must perform 250 hours of community service. Republican state Rep. Bob Young was also ordered Friday to abstain from alcohol as part of his probation and can’t enter bars and liquor stores. Young was

HAGATNA, Guam (AP) — Authorities in the U.S. territory of Guam are vowing to bring to justice those who fatally shot a Korean visitor in a tourist district. KUAM-TV reports the shooting occurred when the traveler and his wife were walking toward a hotel on Guam’s popular Tumon Bay from a nearby beach on Thursday

INVERNESS, Calif. (AP) — Time is apparently running out for California’s “Inverness Shipwreck,” an old wooden boat that became an Instagram star as it rotted on a shoreline north of San Francisco. Recent storms have made a shambles of the forlorn vessel Point Reyes, a landmark that was already deteriorated from the over-attention of visitors

By SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s top budget official is warning in stark terms about how lawmakers are running out of time to approve new aid for Ukraine. Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, calls the situation “dire” and said there is no money

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles judge has declined to give Cher an immediate court conservatorship over her son’s money. The judge at a hearing Friday said Cher’s attorneys hadn’t given lawyers for 47-year-old Elijah Blue Allman the necessary documents in time for them to prepare his opposition

STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Vatican has concluded a lengthy investigation into allegations of misconduct by Archbishop John Nienstedt, the former leader of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. It found that he did not violate church law, but he did take actions described as “imprudent” and therefore remains barred from

By The Associated Press Health officials say at least two dozen people in 14 states were sickened by salmonella poisoning tied to recalled meat snack trays sold at some Sam’s Club stores. Five people were hospitalized. Fratelli Beretta USA is a New Jersey meat processing company that has recalled more than 11,000 pounds of Busseto

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut military veteran has been arrested on allegations he threatened government officials, including showing up at a Congress member’s office wearing a tactical vest with knives. Federal authorities say Aubrey Rose, of Hartford, was charged Thursday with making threats against members of Congress, the Department of Veterans Affairs and other

Associated Press LEEDS, Alabama (AP) — Police in Alabama say a man crashed his car outside a Bass Pro Shop in Alabama, stripped down to his birthday suit and then plunged into the giant aquarium inside the store. Leeds Police Chief Paul Irwin said the ordeal happened Thursday night in front of shocked shoppers in

WARRENSBURG, N.Y. (AP) — New York state police say multiple people were injured when a tour bus carrying passengers rolled over on a highway in the southern Adirondacks. The accident occurred Friday just before 1 p.m. on the Adirondack Northway, north of Lake George Village. Gov. Kathy Hochul said police and Department of Transportation workers

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Five voters in Massachusetts have become the latest to challenge former President Donald Trump’s eligibility to appear on Republican primary election ballot in March, claiming he is ineligible to hold office because he encouraged and did little to stop the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S.

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The longtime head of the National Rifle Association said Friday he is resigning, just days before the start of a New York civil trial that’s poised to scrutinize his leadership of the powerful gun rights organization. Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice president and chief executive

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A light but widely felt earthquake shook Southern California on Friday. There were no immediate reports of damage to buildings, other infrastructure or injuries. The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 4.1 quake struck at 10:55 a.m. and was centered about a mile (1 kilometer) northwest of Lytle Creek, in the

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The flu season in the U.S. is getting worse with 38 states reporting high or very high levels for respiratory illnesses. That’s up from 31 states the week before. But it’s too soon to tell how much holiday gatherings contributed to a likely spike in

By JONEL ALECCIA AP Health Writer A new federal study finds that people taking popular diabetes and obesity drugs Ozempic and Wegovy had a lower risk of suicidal thoughts than those taking other medications to treat the same conditions. Researchers reviewed electronic medical records for about 1.8 million patients between 2017 and 2022. People taking

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press A former Alabama police officer has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a Black man in front of his own home during a dispute with a tow truck driver. Morgan County District Attorney Scott Anderson announced the indictment during a news conference Friday. Steve Perkins, 39, was shot and

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A petition initiative that would enshrine abortion rights in the Florida constitution has reached the necessary number of verified signatures to qualify for the 2024 ballot. More than 911,000 signatures have been verified by the Florida Division of Elections, surpassing the more than 891,500 petition signatures

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s former energy minister is quitting the Conservative Party and stepping down as a lawmaker over the government’s backtracking on its environmental commitments. Chris Skidmore said Friday he could not support a forthcoming bill that will authorize new North Sea oil and gas drilling. He said “I cannot vote for a bill

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS Associated Press NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has named a former Colombian foreign minister to scope out the chances of reviving talks to resolve Cyprus’ ethnic divide. U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said on Friday that María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar will work on Guterres’ personal envoy and chief advisor on

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — The former teacher who was shot by her 6-year-old student in a Virginia classroom said she still worries about the other children who saw it happen. She said she hopes their happiness “wasn’t completely stripped away.” Abby Zwerner spoke to media in Newport News on the January 6 anniversary of

HOUSTON (AP) — A pair of strays have landed in the doghouse after being caught on video causing more than a quarter-million dollars’ worth of damage at a Houston car dealership. KTRK-TV reports that one of the dogs was captured in early December and the second was caught on New Year’s Eve. Both dogs are

Associated Press The northeast is preparing for a weekend winter storm that threatens to dump a messy mix of snow, rain and ice. It also raises the possibility of ending a nearly two-year drought of significant snowfall in major cities like New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. The National Weather Service says localized accumulations of

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Police in St. Vincent and the Grenadines say U.S. actor Christian Oliver and his two daughters died in a plane crash near a tiny private island in the eastern Caribbean. Police said in a statement that the crash occurred Thursday just west of Petit Nevis island near Bequia as

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday that more than 500 gun purchases have been blocked since a new gun law requiring stricter background checks for young people went into effect in 2022. The bipartisan law passed in June 2022 was the most sweeping gun legislation in decades

By CLAIRE SAVAGE Associated Press/Report for America WAUKEGAN, Ill. (AP) — The man charged with killing seven people at a Fourth of July parade in 2022 asked to again be represented by public defenders after firing them last month. Robert Crimo III faces 21 counts of first-degree murder, 48 counts of attempted murder and 48

By ADRIANA MORGA Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A new online application designed to make applying for federal student aid easier went live this week, but not everyone has been able to access it. That’s led to worry and frustration for some students and parents. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid typically opens

By JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers for Donald Trump and New York state are launching a final effort to make their case in the former president’s civil business fraud trial. Both sides filed court papers Friday outlining their takeaways from the more than 10 weeks of testimony this fall. The filings

By LUIS ANDRES HENAO Associated Press Actor Shia LeBeouf has converted to Catholicism after being confirmed on New Year’s Eve at a Mass presided over by Capuchin Franciscan friars. The Capuchin Franciscans-Western American Province announced the news on its Facebook site where it posted images of a smiling LeBeouf receiving Communion, kneeling with his eyes

DALLAS (AP) — More details are coming out about a man accused of punching a flight attendant on an American Airlines plane this week. When he was being arrested in Amarillo, Texas, he spit on police officers and kicked one in the groin. That’s according to an FBI agent’s account, which was unsealed by early

By BASSEM MROUE, WAFAA SHURAFA and NAJIB JOBAIN Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — The leader of the Lebanese militia Hezbollah says his group must retaliate after a presumed Israeli strike hit a Beirut neighborhood this week, killing a senior Hamas official. Without a response, Hassan Nasrallah said, all of Lebanon would be vulnerable to Israeli

By SIBI ARASU Associated Press Azerbaijan’s ecology minister has been named to lead the United Nations’ annual climate talks later this year. That’s prompting concern from some climate activists over his former ties to the state oil company in a major oil-producing nation. Mukhtar Babayev worked at the country’s state oil company for over two

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Authorities say a man involved in a fight at a Philadelphia train station was killed when he fell onto the tracks and was struck by a train. The fight at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority station occurred around 4:30 p.m. Thursday, when 40-year-old Chaz Wearing and another man began arguing. The dispute