Month: January 2024

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A judge has ruled that a former county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Kentucky must pay up.  Kim Davis must pay a total of $260,104 in fees and expenses to attorneys who represented one couple. That’s in addition to $100,000 in damages a jury says

By OMAR FARUK Associated Press MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia’s president has rejected an agreement signed between Ethiopia and the breakaway region of Somaliland to give landlocked Ethiopia access to its coast. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud asserts that the agreement is a violation of international law. The deal would allow Ethiopia to lease a 20-kilometer

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI and COLLEEN SLEVIN Associated Press DENVER (AP) — A man leaving the scene of a car wreck Tuesday shot his way into the Colorado Supreme Court building and inflicted “extensive damage” to the building before being arrested by police, authorities said, adding the incident seems unrelated to the court’s recent ruling banning

BEIRUT (AP) — An explosion shook the Lebanese capital’s southern suburbs causing chaos in the militant Hezbollah group’s stronghold. But the nature of the blast Tuesday evening was not immediately known. It wasn’t clear if the explosion inflicted any casualties in the Beirut suburb but videos circulating on social media showed serious damage and fire.

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press DENVER (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is expected to appeal rulings from Colorado and Maine that he is no longer eligible for the presidency. It would set up a high-stakes showdown over a 155-year-old addition to the Constitution that bans from office those who “engaged in insurrection.” The appeal

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Police say a man who died after crashing an SUV loaded with gas cans outside an upstate New York concert venue appeared to have been aiming at a pedestrian crossing. But investigators have found no evidence that the crash that killed two ride-share passengers early on New Year’s Day was terror-related.

By LAURA UNGAR AP Science Writer Thousands of women stocked up on abortion pills just in case they needed them, new research shows, with demand peaking in the past couple years at times when it looked like the medications might become harder to get. Medication abortion accounts for more than half of all abortions in

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Basdeo Panday, a former prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago who was the first person of Indian descent to hold that position, has died. He was 90. His daughter posted on social media that Panday died on Monday. Panday served as prime minister from 1995 to 2001. Those were

By MARIA DI MENTO of The Chronicle of Philanthropy Chronicle of Philanthropy Investment guru Warren Buffett topped The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual list of the biggest charitable donations in 2023, with his $541.5 million gift to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named for his first wife, who died in 2004. The 2023 list of gifts

By KRISHAN FRANCIS Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A group of Rohingya refugees living in Sri Lanka has staged a protest outside the office of the U.N. refugee agency. They say they fear losing their living allowance once the agency’s office in the island nation closes at the end of this year. The

MADRID (AP) — A Spanish man who spent 15 months in an Iranian prison after visiting the tomb of Mahsa Amini has returned home to Madrid after being released. Santiago Sánchez Cogedor was on a solo walking trek to the men’s soccer World Cup in Qatar when he was arrested in Iran in October 2022.

By MARÍA TERESA HERNÁNDEZ Associated Press SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — The Dominican Republic is one of four Latin American nations that criminalizes abortion without exceptions. Women face up to 2 years in prison for having an abortion, while the penalties for doctors or midwives range from 5 to 20 years. Abortion rights activists

By MARÍA TERESA HERNÁNDEZ Associated Press AZUA, Dominican Republic (AP) — It was a busy Saturday morning at Marcia González’s church. A bishop was visiting, and normally she would have been there helping with logistics, but on this day she was teaching sex education at a local school. “I coordinate activities at the church and

By JARI TANNER Associated Press HELSINKI (AP) — Finland and Sweden have recorded the coldest temperatures this winter as thermometers plummeted to minus 40 degrees Celsius (minus 40 Fahrenheit) as a result of a cold spell prevailing in the Nordic region. In Nikkaluokta, a small village inhabited by the indigenous Sami people in northern Sweden,

By ALANA BENSON of NerdWallet I never wanted to be a vegetarian, and definitely not a vegan, but after seeing a family member change their diet for health reasons and enjoy some incredible results, I decided to give it a shot. I’ve noticed some health benefits myself, but the biggest change has been in my

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin says his country and China will soon implement visa-free entry for each other’s citizens. Srettha said Tuesday that Chinese nationals will be granted visa-free entry on a permanent basis beginning March 1. Chinese visitors have been allowed visa-free entry since September last year, but the privilege was

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s state-run news agency says authorities have detained 33 people suspected of spying on behalf of Israel. Anadolu Agency said Tuesday authorities were still searching for 13 other people believed to have links to Israel’s Mossad security service. Anadolu did not provide information on the suspects or the foreigners who were

BERLIN (AP) — Members of the smallest party in German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s unpopular coalition have voted in a low-profile ballot to stay in the troubled government, but the result underlines the three-party alliance’s difficulties. The pro-business Free Democrats, who in recent decades have leaned to the right, joined a coalition with Scholz’s Social Democrats

By WAFAA SHURAFA, SAMY MAGDY and MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Heavy fighting was reported in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on Tuesday, a day after Israel said it was withdrawing thousands of troops from other areas in a potential shift away from the massive air and ground

TOKYO (AP) — A plane has caught fire on the runway of Tokyo’s Haneda airport. Local TV showed a large burst of fire erupt from the side of a Japan Airlines plane as it taxied on a runway. The area around on the wing then caught fire. Later video showed fire crews working to put

JOHNSTON, Iowa (AP) — A lottery player in Michigan has won the $842.4 million Powerball jackpot on the first day of 2024, the first time it has been won on New Year’s Day since the game’s start in 1992. The winning numbers drawn were: 12, 21, 42, 44, 49 and red Powerball: 1. No one

By The Associated Press Asian markets were mostly lower Tuesday following the release of data showing more signs of weakness in the Chinese manufacturing and property sectors. U.S. futures were higher and oil prices gained more than $1 a barrel. Japan’s markets were closed for a holiday. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong sank

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s capital and its second-largest city came under heavy Russian missile attacks on Tuesday, killing one person and injuring dozens. The barrage of Kyiv and Kharkiv continues Russia’s escalated attacks on Ukraine in recent days, before and after Saturday’s shelling of the Russian border city of Belgorod in which more than

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police say unidentified gunmen have shot and killed six barbers in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban in the country’s northwest near the Afghanistan border. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the killings in Mir Ali, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The incident before dawn on Tuesday shocked

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — ESPN has apologized for a video clip of a woman bearing her breast that was shown during the broadcast of the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. It was aired coming out of a commercial during the second half of Washington’s 37-31 victory over Texas in a semifinal game of the College

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Michael Penix Jr. passed for 430 yards and two touchdowns, and Washington held off Texas 37-31 in the Sugar Bowl on Monday night to advance to the College Football Playoff championship game, earning both the sixth-year quarterback with two surgically repaired knees and

By RODNEY MUHUMUZA Associated Press MBARARA, Uganda (AP) — Tonto is a legendary traditional drink in Uganda. But the fermented banana juice is under threat as authorities move to regulate the production of what are considered illicit home brews. The drink is popular among many Ugandans ranging from officials in suits to laborers in sandals.

By MAURICIO SAVARESE Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva likes to boast he had a good first year after returning to the job. The economy is improving, Congress passed a long-overdue tax reform bill, rioters who wanted to oust him are now in jail, and his predecessor

By KEN RITTER Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — A former Los Angeles-area gang leader charged with killing hip-hop music icon Tupac Shakur in 1996 in Las Vegas plans to ask a judge on Tuesday to release him to house arrest ahead of the trial in June. Court-appointed lawyers for Duane “Keffe D” Davis say

By SOPHIA TAREEN Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Investigators specializing in cold cases and missing people have discovered the identity of an Illinois woman who went missing in the 1970s. The Cook County sheriff’s office says it’s one of the most unusual cases they’ve encountered because the person, who died in 2015, died with the

By SOPHIA TAREEN Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Investigators specializing in cold cases and missing people have discovered the identity of an Illinois woman who went missing in the 1970s. The Cook County sheriff’s office says it’s one of the most unusual cases they’ve encountered because the person, who died in 2015, died with the

By STEVE PEOPLES AP National Political Writer LACONIA, N.H. (AP) — U.S. presidential elections have been rocked in recent years by economic disaster, gaffes, secret video and a pandemic. But for all that tumult, the volatility surrounding this year’s presidential contest has few modern parallels, posing profound challenges to the future of American democracy. Not

By MARC LEVY Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The hacking of a municipal water authority in a small Pennsylvania town is prompting new warnings from U.S. security officials as states and the federal government are wrestling with how to harden water utilities against hackers. Officials say the danger is hackers gaining control of automated

By STEVE PEOPLES AP National Political Writer LACONIA, N.H. (AP) — U.S. presidential elections have been rocked in recent years by economic disaster, stunning gaffes, secret video and a pandemic. But for all the tumult that defined those campaigns, the volatility surrounding this year’s presidential contest has few modern parallels, posing profound challenges to the

By ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Prominent activist and publisher Jimmy Lai on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to three charges of sedition and collusion with foreign countries in a landmark national security trial in Hong Kong. Lai, a media tycoon who founded the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, faces one count of conspiring

ROCHESTER, New York (AP) — Police are investigating after a fiery two-vehicle collision killed two people and injured five others in Rochester, New York, early on New Year’s Day. Officials say a Ford Expedition struck a Mitsubishi Outlander, sending both vehicles through a group of pedestrians in a crosswalk. Investigators say once the flames were

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was attacked and injured by an unidentified man during a visit Tuesday to the southeastern city of Busan, emergency officials said. Busan’s emergency office said Lee was attacked as he visited the construction site of a new airport in the city. It said Lee,

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Blake Corum rushed for a 17-yard touchdown on the second snap of overtime, and top-seeded Michigan advanced to its first College Football Playoff championship game with a 27-20 victory over fourth-seeded Alabama in the Rose Bowl on Monday. Michigan’s defense ended only the second overtime