Month: March 2024

By MICHAEL GOLDBERG Associated Press/Report for America JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A proposal to expand Medicaid to tens of thousands of residents in one of the poorest states in the U.S. is still alive in the Mississippi Legislature. But Senate Republicans changed the plan Wednesday so it would cover far fewer people and bring less

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, and who taught generations of climbers during his more than 250 trips up Mount Rainier, the tallest peak in Washington state, has died at age 95. RMI Expeditions, the guide company

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee criminal court judge is in jail after her bond was revoked for testing positive for cocaine while she was out of custody pending a trial on charges of coercion of a witness and harassment. Online records show Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Melissa Boyd was booked in the Shelby

By BEN FINLEY Associated Press A debate has emerged over whether modern safety protections could have saved a Baltimore bridge after it was struck by a cargo ship. The 47-year-old Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed Tuesday morning from the vessel strike. U.S. Transportation Secretary Peter Buttigieg said Wednesday that the engineering community is discussing whether

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge has recommended that conservative attorney John Eastman lose his California law license over his efforts to keep former President Donald Trump in power after the 2020 election.  Eastman faced 11 disciplinary charges in the state bar court stemming from his development of a dubious legal strategy aimed at having then-Vice

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Police in Greece have clashed with Communist-backed demonstrators who tried to prevent a concert by U.S. military cadets. The protest occurred in the central Greek city of Larissa ahead of a concert by members of the West Point Glee Club, a musical group of the U.S. Military Academy which is currently

By STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut have received proposals for offshore wind projects as the three East Coast states hope to boost their reliance on the renewable energy source. Massachusetts received bids from Avangrid Renewables, South Coast Wind Energy and Vineyard Offshore. Rhode Island announced Wednesday that it

COOLIDGE, Ariz. (AP) — Visitors to Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in south-central Arizona might not be able to use the attraction’s picnic area until May. Monument officials announced Wednesday that the picnic area will be closed from March 28 through April 30 due to the density of an invasive and noxious winter weed called

By The Associated Press Martin Scorsese will host, narrate and produce an eight-part docudrama for Fox Nation where he examines the evolution of eight men and women beatified as saints. Among those who will be profiled are Joan of Arc, Francis of Assisi, Thomas Becket, Mary Magdalene and Maximilian Kolbe. The first four episodes of

By MAURICIO SAVARESE Associated Press SAO PAULO (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has told Brazilian executives that a proposed deal between the European Union and the  South American trade bloc Mercosur is bad for both parties. Speaking at a forum in Sao Paulo, Macron said the Mercosur-EU deal is outdated and needs reworking to

By GARY FIELDS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The second day of former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark’s disciplinary system painted a picture of someone who, despite numerous attempts by his superiors to convince him otherwise, remained adamant that there were instances of irregularities and fraud in the 2020 election that required deeper examination. Clark

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration issued a final rule Wednesday aimed at curbing methane leaks from oil and gas drilling on federal and tribal lands, its latest action to crack down on emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to global warming. The rule issued by

BARNSTABLE, Mass. (AP) — Massachusetts state police say a robotic dog helped avert a tragedy after being deployed at a Barnstable home where police were responding to an armed individual barricaded in a home. The dog named Roscoe was part of the state’s bomb squad and was shot several times and disabled during the situation

NEW YORK (AP) — Former Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut has died, according to his family. He was 82 and died of complications from a fall. Lieberman nearly won the vice presidency with Democrat Al Gore in the disputed 2000 White House race. Eight years later, he came close to joining the GOP ticket as

ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) — Authorities say four people were killed and five were wounded in stabbings in northern Illinois. The Rockford Police Chief said Wednesday that a suspect is in police custody and was being questioned. The police chief said one of the people wounded remained in critical condition. Rockford’s population is about 150,000 and

By LEAH WILLINGHAM Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Justice broke with the GOP-majority Legislature to veto a bill that would have loosened one of the country’s strictest school vaccination policies. West Virginia is only one of a handful of states in the U.S. that offers only medical exemptions to

By ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An audit of a $19,000 lectern that was purchased for Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is nearing completion, but officials are awaiting a response from the governor’s office on it. Legislative Auditor Roger Norman told lawmakers Wednesday that a draft report of the audit has

WALTHAM, Mass. (AP) — Prosecutors and police say a pickup truck driver accused of crashing into and killing a Massachusetts police officer and a utility employee at a work site has been indicted on two counts of second degree murder and other charges. Fifty-four-year-old Peter Simon of Woodsville, New Hampshire, is also accused of pulling

By JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Kari Lake, a Republican Senate candidate in Arizona who says she lost a 2022 race for governor because of fraud, is declining to defend against a defamation lawsuit filed by a top election official. Lake this week asked a judge to jump directly to the damages

By STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Financially embattled hospital operator Steward Health Care has struck a deal to sell its nationwide physician network to Optum, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, as it works to stabilize its finances. Optum would acquire a Steward affiliate that includes the company’s primary care doctors and other clinicians

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Members of a transitional presidential council who will be responsible for selecting a new prime minister for Haiti have issued their first official statement. They are pledging to restore “public and democratic order” and “alleviate the suffering of the Haitian people.” The statement issued Wednesday was signed by eight members of

By MATTHEW CHOI The Texas Tribune WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee. The bipartisan panel made the announcement Tuesday. It did not specify the focus of the investigation, but the Republican from Richmond said it was related to his campaign’s finances. The committee announced it was

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainians have expressed gratitude toward their men’s soccer team for qualifying for the European Championship. It’s a rare bit of good news and a welcome distraction from the war with Russia. Though celebrations after Ukraine’s 2-1 win over Iceland were muted as Russian missiles kept raining down, the team’s success gives

NEW YORK (AP) — Reddit and Trump Media are the first notable social media companies to begin trading publicly in the last five years. They’re also, thanks to the rabid reception among investors coupled with the companies’ fuzzy profit outlooks, the latest meme stocks. Meme stocks are typically shares in companies whose underlying business fails

By BABACAR DIONE Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Results from Senegal’s tightly contested presidential election show a previously little-known opposition figure won over 54% of the votes. Sunday’s election marked a stunning victory for 44-year-old Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who was released from prison less than two weeks ago and is now due to be

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — A former Houston police officer facing charges after a 2019 deadly drug raid he led prompted a probe that revealed corruption within the police department’s narcotics unit has won a legal victory. Gerald Goines had been set to go to trial in June on two counts

By TOM KRISHER AP Business Writer Manufacturers and shippers are scrambling to figure out where they can load or unload cargo while the main operations at the Port of Baltimore remain closed due to Tuesday’s deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Supply chain experts say other ports up and down the East Coast

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan has been convicted of racketeering, bribery, fraud and giving false statements to investigators in a sprawling pay-to-play corruption scandal at City Hall. The federal jury reached the guilty verdict on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after lawyers finished closing arguments. Chan’s lawyer says they’ll

By JOHN O’CONNOR AP Political Reporter SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois Supreme Court will hear an appeal of actor Jussie Smollett’s disorderly conduct conviction for staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019 and lying to Chicago police. The court on Wednesday accepted the appeal. Smollett was a cast member on the

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia animal shelter is pleading for help fostering its dogs after a vehicle plowed into its building. The Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association says one dog’s leg was injured after a rental truck struck its building Wednesday. A photo in a social media post shows the truck wedged into the side

By SARAH RANKIN and MATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The city of Alexandria says negotiations to lure the NHL’s Washington Capitals and NBA’s Washington Wizards to northern Virginia have “ended” and the proposal to create a development district with a new arena for the teams “will not move forward.” The city posted

By JOHN HANNA Associated Press TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators in Kansas have advanced proposals to limit the state’s involvement with individuals and companies from China and other U.S. adversaries. Bills approved Wednesday by the Kansas House would prevent them from owning farmland or business property, limit state investments in their companies and restrict

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — It may not be too “appeeling,” but the price of some bananas are rising by a few cents. Trader Joe’s recently upped the price to 23 cents for a single banana, marking a 4-cent — or 21% — increase from the grocer’s previous going rate

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s former Controller Betty Yee says she will run for governor in 2026. She announced her candidacy Wednesday and will compete against a strong field of Democrats. They include Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, outgoing state Senate leader Toni Atkins and state top education chief Tony Thurmond. Attorney General Rob Bonta is

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina House has given key approval to a wide-ranging bill that supporters say will make sure the fast-growing state has plenty of electric power. Opponents of the bill that passed 88-21 almost entirely on party lines say the legislation rolls back billions of dollars

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press Jill Biden has written a children’s book about her White House cat, Willow, that will be published in June. The first lady’s publisher announced Wednesday that “Willow the White House Cat” tells the story of how the tabby arrived at her new home from a farm in Pennsylvania. The cat

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Protesters in Slovakia formed a human chain around the country’s public television and radio building Wednesday in anger over a takeover plan by the government whose populist, pro-Russia prime minister recently labeled several private media outlets his enemies. The takeover plan was drafted by Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová, who represents an

By CEDAR ATTANASIO Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York is on track to become the first U.S. city with congestion tolls on drivers entering its central business district. Transit authorities approved the pricing plan Wednesday, authorizing a $15 toll for most motorists entering a zone that’s south of Manhattan’s Central Park during the

By CLAUDIO ESCALÓN Associated Press AZACUALPA, Honduras (AP) — The missing workers from the Baltimore bridge collapse all hailed from Mexico or Central America before they settled in the Maryland area. Police managed to close bridge traffic seconds before a cargo ship slammed into one of the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s supports early Tuesday, causing

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press MISSION, Kan. (AP) — A man who was briefly handcuffed in the chaos that followed a deadly shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl rally is suing a Tennessee congressman. The suit claims the congressman falsely accused Denton Loudermill Jr. in social media posts of being one of the

NEW YORK (AP) — One of the suspects in the fatal shooting of a New York City police officer has been arrested on weapons charges. Police say 41-year-old Lindy Jones was awaiting arraignment on Wednesday for his suspected role in Monday’s shooting of Officer Jonathan Diller. Police say Jones was behind the wheel of a

NEW YORK (AP) — A man has been arrested for randomly assaulting a young woman who was walking down a New York City street earlier this week. The 40-year-old man was arrested in connection with an assault on a 23-year-old woman in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood on Monday morning. The arrest comes after several videos went