Month: January 2024

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland will undergo back surgery this weekend and delegate his duties to the deputy attorney general during the procedure. The news comes as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin returns to work at the Pentagon following a hospitalization related to prostate cancer that was criticized for

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips wants the Wisconsin Supreme Court to order that he be put on the primary ballot in the battleground state. The state’s top Democrats only put President Joe Biden’s name on the ballot. Phillips asked the state’s highest court to

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge on Monday rejected Cher’s request that her adult son be put into a court conservatorship controlling his money. The Oscar- and Grammy-winning singer and actor had argued in a petition that 47-year-old Elijah Blue Allman’s large payments from the trust of his late

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The leader of the Church of England says Britain will undermine its standing in the world if it enacts a government plan to send some asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said U.K. politicians were seeking to “outsource our moral and

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he wants lawmakers to change Washington this year. DeSantis held a news conference Monday less than two weeks after suspending his presidential campaign. He spoke as lawmakers are nearly halfway through their annual nine-week legislative session. He says he will

By JOSH FUNK Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — About 1,000 Norfolk Southern engineers and conductors will soon be able to report safety concerns anonymously through a federal system without any fear of discipline. Norfolk Southern is the first major freight railroad to follow through on promises made in the wake of the fiery eastern

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — A man convicted of shooting and wounding a bishop and assaulting the bride and groom at a church wedding ceremony in New Hampshire has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison. Dale Holloway, who acted as his own attorney, pleaded not guilty to the charges stemming from the October

DETROIT (AP) — Toyota and General Motors are telling the owners of about 61,000 older Corolla, Matrix, RAV4 and Pontiac Vibe models to stop driving them because their Takata air bag inflators are at risk of exploding and hurling shrapnel. The urgent warning Monday covers certain Corolla compact cars and Matrix hatchbacks from the 2003

BERLIN (AP) — A group of climate activists who infuriated many in Germany by gluing themselves to streets to block traffic says it will abandon the tactic and move on to holding what it calls “disobedient assemblies.” The Last Generation group has frequently blocked roads in Berlin and other cities over the past two years,

NEW YORK (AP) — Two New York City brothers are accused of stockpiling an arsenal of explosive devices and ghost guns in their family’s home. Prosecutors said Monday that Andrew and Angelo Hatziagelis were indicted on 130 counts of an array of crimes, including criminal possession and sale of weapons, and detained. Authorities say they

DETROIT (AP) — Federal prosecutors have charged a Michigan man with threatening President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The Detroit News reports that Russell Douglas Warren of Prudenville was charged Sunday in the Eastern District of Michigan. Prosecutors allege that he posted on X that both Biden and Harris should be taken to

By BILL BARROW Associated Press CONWAY, S.C. (AP) — For South Carolina’s conservatives, deciding whether Nikki Haley’s record warrants a promotion to the Oval Office seems less about her experience and abilities and more about the man standing in her way: Donald Trump. Haley is Trump’s last major Republican rival. Now she faces a make-or-break

BOSTON (AP) — A Boston doctor indicted last year on a charge of lewd acts near a 14-year-old girl on an airplane has appeared in federal court for his trial. Dr. Sudipta Mohanty was indicted on one count of lewd, indecent and obscene acts on an aircraft. Investigators say Mohanty was a passenger aboard a

By DAVID SHARP Associated Press SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A school’s diversity, equity and inclusion coordinator in Maine has left the state for fear of his family’s safety after receiving a threatening, hateful letter from a white supremacist. The attack on Mohammed Albehadli, who came to the United States a decade ago from Iraq,

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say arrests have been made in the investigation into six bodies found last week at a remote desert crossroads in Southern California. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department says a press conference will be held late Monday on the homicide investigation. A spokesperson declined to immediately provide details. Authorities

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor says his “clear finding” is that there are grounds to believe both Sudan’s armed forces and paramilitary rivals are committing crimes in the western Darfur region during the country’s current conflict. Karim Khan recently visited people who fled Darfur and

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A judge is recommending 30-day suspensions for a pair of Florida lawyers who criticized a ruling in a discrimination case. A lawyer for Orlando attorney Jerry Girley, who is Black, and his daughter, Brooke Girley, says Monday that his clients planned to ask the judge for

By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — The family of a 24-year-old U.S. Army reservist from Georgia confirms she was among three American service members killed in a weekend drone attack in Jordan. Spc. Kennedy Sanders joined the Army Reserve about five years ago and volunteered to deploy to the Middle East last

BOSTON (AP) — Federal authorities say a Massachusetts man has been arrested for allegedly threatening to kill members of the state’s Jewish community and bomb local synagogues. Fifty-nine-year-old John Reardon, of Millis, Massachusetts, allegedly called Congregation Agudas Achim on Jan. 25 and left a voicemail making several threats to kill congregants and bomb the synagogue.

NEW YORK (AP) — Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Atkinson has a multi-book deal that reunites him with his longtime editor and brings him to a new publisher. Atkinson has signed with Crown Publishing Group to complete the final two volumes of his highly anticipated Revolutionary War trilogy. The second volume, “The Fate of the Day,”

By RONALD BLUM Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The Los Angeles Opera scrapped plans for the world premiere of Mason Bates’ “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay” this fall because of finances, and the work will instead open with a student cast at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. Bates’ composition, based on

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A federal judge is ordering an Oregon newspaper not to publish documents linked to a sex discrimination lawsuit against Nike. The Oregonian is reporting that an attorney for plaintiffs in the case sent documents to one of its reporters and then asked for them back. When the news outlet declined, the

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — An Iranian man who federal prosecutors say operates a criminal network that targets dissidents and activists abroad has been charged alongside a pair of Canadians with plotting to kill two people who had fled to the United States. Prosecutors say both of the intended victims lived in

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — Authorities say two Tennessee deputies were wounded and a kidnapping suspect was killed in an exchange of gunfire on Interstate 75 after a pursuit. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says the pursuit began Sunday in Catoosa County, Georgia, when deputies tried to stop 31-year-old Tyler L. Roberts. The TBI says Roberts

By MARC LEVY Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court says a lower court must hear a challenge to the constitutionality of a decades-old state law that limits the use of state Medicaid dollars to cover the cost of abortions. Monday’s 3-2 decision overturns the lower court’s ruling and puts aside an

By The Associated Press Supporters of prominent Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr. says he has disappeared from the Siberian prison where he was behind bars. The 42-year-old Kara-Murza is serving a 25-year sentence for treason. He was held in a prison in the Omsk region. But a letter sent to him by an activist

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The company behind a global recall of sleep apnea machines says it will stop selling the devices in the U.S., under a tentative agreement with regulators. Philips has recalled more than 5 million pressurized breathing devices due to risks that their internal foam can break down

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia House members have passed a bill that would revive a commission with powers to discipline and remove prosecutors. But Democrats warned that Monday’s vote was aimed at disrupting Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ prosecution of former President Donald Trump. The bill now heads to the

By ED WHITE Associated Press A counselor says staff expressed concerns about a Michigan teenager long before he killed four students during a 2021 school shooting. Shawn Hopkins testified Monday on the third day of the attacker’s mother’s trial in Oakland County. Ethan Crumbley’s mother, Jennifer Crumbley, is charged with involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors say she

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — As tax filing season officially starts Monday, a limited number of taxpayers in 12 states will soon be eligible for a program that will allow them to calculate and submit their returns directly to the IRS without having to pay for commercial tax preparation software. The Direct

By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer The highest court in sports sanctioned Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva for doping violations at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. The ruling set the stage for U.S. skaters to receive gold medals after they finished second behind Valieva and her teammates in the team competition. The case rocked the Olympics

By REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado says the court ruling blocking her presidential candidacy represents “judicial criminality” and vows to stay in the race. She says last week’s decision shows the ruling party’s fear of having to face her at the polls. Machado says she

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Authorities say an 11-year-old girl who was hospitalized for burns following a northern Indiana house fire has died, bringing the fire’s death toll to six children, all of them siblings. The Marion County Coroner’s Office said Monday that Angel Smith died Friday at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. Her

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A trial has started in Serbia for the parents of a teenager who is accused of killing 10 people and injuring six in a mass shooting at his school last May that left the Balkan nation in shock. The suspected shooter, 13-year-old Kosta Kecmanovic, has been held in a mental institution

By COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has made some strong claims about shutting down the U.S.-Mexico border over the past few days. He’s trying to salvage a border deal in Congress that also would unlock money for Ukraine. He also trying to disarm criticism of his handling of migration at

MEXICO CITY (AP) — An undetermined number of hacked-up bodies have been found in two vehicles abandoned on a bridge in Mexico’s Gulf coast state of Veracruz. Prosecutors said Monday that the bodies were found Sunday in the city of Tuxpan, not far from the Gulf coast. They said police found “human anatomical parts” in

By ADRIANA MORGA Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Tax season starts today and for many people filing U.S. tax returns — especially those doing it for their first time — it can be a daunting task that’s often left to the last minute. But if you want to avoid the stress of the looming

By SAM McNEIL Associated Press KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Islamic cemetery in southern Gaza was demolished, graves excised from the earth. A skull with no teeth rested atop the sandy, churned rubble. The neighborhood of Bani Suheila in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, which soldiers showed foreign journalists Saturday, was

By JIM SALTER Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri prosecutor now believes that inmate Marcellus Williams is innocent of the crime that landed him on death row and very nearly cost him his life, and is seeking to overturn his conviction. St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell filed a court motion Friday

By GERALD IMRAY Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa’s ruling party has suspended former President Jacob Zuma after he gave his backing to a new political party for this year’s national elections. The decision by the African National Congress is another sign of the political feud between Zuma and his successor,

By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers seeking to keep Donald Trump off the ballot are urging the Supreme Court to declare he’s ineligible to be president again because he spearheaded the U.S. Capitol attack in an effort to overturn his 2020 election loss. Their legal brief Friday was filled with vivid descriptions

PRINCETON, Ky. (AP) — An Amber Alert has been issued for a 5-year-old western Kentucky girl police say they believe is with the father suspected of killing her mother. Kentucky State Police said Monday that troopers were called to the child’s home in Princeton on Sunday and found that mother Kelly Black had been fatally

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A potato farmer and former North Dakota lawmaker is running for the state’s only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Republican Tom Campbell, of Grafton, announced his campaign Friday. He served in the state Senate from 2012 to 2018 and previously ran for the at-large seat in 2018, but withdrew

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press The drone strike that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan and was apparently launched by Iran-backed militants was the latest in a flurry of attacks and reprisals across the Middle East. The strikes are linked to the war in Gaza and threaten to ignite a wider conflict. As Israel, with

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A former contractor for the Internal Revenue Service who pleaded guilty to leaking tax information to news outlets about former President Donald Trump and thousands of the country’s wealthiest people was sentenced to five years in prison on Monday. Charles Edward Littlejohn of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty