Month: March 2024

By GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press A legal settlement in Florida, legislative action in Arkansas and a lawsuit in Georgia this week made waves in an ongoing national battle over the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans. Over the past three years or so, many Republican officials have been trying to limit those rights, imposing rules on which

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbian prosecutors say that 10 people are facing charges for stealing as many as 43,000 state decorations of honor from a government building. A statement on Friday said that the suspects colluded to carry out a “grave theft of state property” from the awards office that is located in an administration

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Protests at Kentucky’s Capitol can seem as commonplace as basketball pep rallies when Republican lawmakers are advancing bills that stir up opponents. But a protest last year against anti-transgender legislation — which resulted in arrests — has spurred a response from lawmakers. The Kentucky House has

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Catholic activist in Belarus has been handed a three-year prison sentence on charges that Western diplomats have denounced as politically driven, the latest move in the authorities’ sweeping crackdown on the country’s civil society. Thirty-three-year-old Uladzislau Beladzed taught the catechism at the city’s Cathedral of

By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has ruled that thousands of low-level drug dealers are ineligible for shortened prison terms under a Trump-era bipartisan criminal justice overhaul. The justices on Friday settled a dispute among federal courts over the meaning of the word “and” in a muddy provision of the

By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A unanimous Supreme Court has ruled public officials can sometimes be sued for blocking their critics on social media, an issue that first arose for the high court in a case involving then-President Donald Trump. Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for the court Friday, saying officials who

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch government says that French defense industry heavyweight Naval Group has been chosen to build four new diesel-electric submarines for the Dutch navy. The government did not immediately announce the price tag for the new submarines. In a letter to lawmakers, the Ministry of

By AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and allies warned Iran on Friday that major Western economies will pile new sanctions on Tehran if it moves forward with an advancing plan to provide ballistic missiles to Russia for its war with Ukraine. The Biden administration has raised alarms for months that

By THOMAS ADAMSON AP Fashion Writer PARIS (AP) — France’s parliament has unanimously approved a pioneering bill to curb the environmental impact of fast fashion, marking a significant step towards sustainability in the global fashion industry. The first-of-its-kind legislation targets low-cost, mass-produced garments, particularly from China, introducing measures such as a ban on advertising for

BERLIN (AP) — A German court says former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn will go on trial in September on charges of fraud and market manipulation linked to the automaker’s diesel emissions scandal. The state court in Braunschweig said the trial in what were originally two separate cases will start on Sept. 3. It added in

By ANDREEA ALEXANDRU Associated Press BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Andreea Alexandru, a photographer with The Associated Press based in Bucharest, Romania, still faces comments from family members that her job is not one for a woman. “I try to take it as a pep talk,” she says. Alexandru has covered riots, elections, sporting events and

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumers became slightly less optimistic about the economy this month, though they continue to expect inflation to cool further, a potential sign that price increases will keep slowing. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index slipped to 76.5 in March, barely below February’s figure of 76.9.

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republican U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde pledges in a new campaign ad to donate his salary to charity if elected. The move comes as Democrats try to paint the California bank owner as an out-of-touch multimillionaire. Hovde has suggested he will spend as much as

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Thousands of Orthodox Christians from across Bulgaria have flocked to Sofia’s Alexander Nevski Cathedral to pay their respects to their late spiritual leader, Patriarch Neophyte, who passed away on Wednesday. He was 78. The government declared a two-day period of national mourning. Black-clad priests held a memorial service as lines of

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT Associated Press In the Arizona desert, a Danish company is building a massive solar farm that includes batteries that charge when the sun is shining and supply energy back to the electric grid when it’s not. Ørsted’s Eleven Mile Solar Center has more than 850,000 solar panels and opens this summer. The

By BABACAR DIONE and JESSICA DONATI Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal’s top opposition leader is expected to speak publicly, a day after his release from prison ahead of the country’s March 24 election. Ousmane Sonko’s release late on Thursday night triggered a mix of jubilation and political uncertainty on the streets of the

By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis must step aside from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump or remove the special prosecutor with whom she had a romantic relationship before the case can proceed, the judge overseeing it ruled Friday. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott

NEW YORK (AP) — Best Buy is recalling more than 287,000 air fryers and air fryer ovens due to an overheating issue that can cause the products’ parts to melt or shatter, posing fire and laceration risks. According to a Thursday notice from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Insignia-branded air fryer ovens can

By OMAR ALBAM and ABBY SEWELL Associated Press AL-NAYRAB, Syria (AP) — Syria’s civil war has entered its 14th year, a somber anniversary in a long-frozen conflict. The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus government, various opposition groups and Kurdish forces. Lately, however, violence has been on the rise on

By JOSHUA BICKEL Associated Press LAKEVIEW, Ohio (AP) — Severe storms with probable tornadoes tore through several central U.S. states, damaging homes and businesses and killing at least three people, with more bodies likely to be discovered, authorities said. Thursday night’s storms left trails of destruction and injuries or deaths in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British cellphone company Vodafone has confirmed that it’s selling its Italian business to Switzerland’s Swisscom for about $8.7 billion. It said Friday that it will hand back half of the proceeds to its shareholders through the buyback of company shares. Vodafone said the move represents an “attractive

By OMAR FARUK Associated Press MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Security forces in Somalia say they have killed all five attackers who laid siege to a hotel in a normally secure area of the capital. Police say three soldiers were killed and 27 people injured in the attack Thursday night on the SYL Hotel in Mogadishu.

By ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Voting in the races for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations happens again Tuesday. It’s a week after President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump secured enough delegate support to become their parties’ presumptive nominees. California, Illinois and Ohio also will hold primaries for other offices

PRAGUE (AP) — Hospital officials say former Czech President Milos Zeman is in serious but stable condition a day after undergoing surgery for a blood clot in his leg. Motol University Hospital in Prague says Zeman had an insufficient blood supply in one of his legs because of the blood clot. It says the supply

By ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Three incumbent congressmen face tough challenges from within their own parties in Tuesday’s primaries in Illinois. Democratic congressmen Chuy Garcia and Danny Davis have drawn strong challengers, as has Republican congressman Mike Bost. The seats are not expected to change hands in November. At the top of

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — More homeowners eager to sell their home are lowering their initial asking price in a bid to entice prospective buyers as the spring homebuying season gets going. Some 14.6% of U.S. homes listed for sale last month had their price lowered, according to Realtor.com. That’s

By MAYA SWEEDLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The first step toward filling the seat vacated by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy kicks off Tuesday with a special primary in California’s 20th Congressional District. McCarthy announced his resignation in December, two months after hard-right members of his conference successfully engineered his ouster. McCarthy’s brief tenure as

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian missile strike on Odesa in southern Ukraine on Friday killed at least 14 people and injured 46 others, local officials said. A first missile struck houses and when emergency crews arrived at the scene a second missile landed, authorities said

By MAYA SWEEDLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The most high-profile election in Ohio’s primary on Tuesday will be the Republican contest to take on the state’s Democratic U.S. senator. Sen. Sherrod Brown was first elected in 2006 and is among the most vulnerable members of a closely divided chamber. Brown has held onto his

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Pattie Boyd was at the epicenter of the Swinging 60s, but not always the center of attention. The model and photographer was often in the shadow of her rock icon husbands George Harrison and Eric Clapton. But she comes into sharp focus through a trove of letters, photos and other items

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has sought to mobilize support for his brand of right-wing populism, urging his supporters in a speech to help him “occupy Brussels” in European Union elections this summer. Orbán’s address Friday, coinciding with a national holiday commemorating Hungary’s failed 1848 revolution

Croatia will hold a parliamentary election on April 17. The country’s president on Friday scheduled the vote after parliament dissolved a day earlier. The ballot next month will pit ruling conservative Croatian Democratic Union against a group of center and left-leaning parties who have announced they will run as an alliance. The HDZ party have

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Former Polish prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski appeared before a special parliamentary committee Friday to testify about his government’s purchase and allegedly illegal use of advanced spyware. The NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware was used to spy on mobile devices belonging to opponents of the governing Law and Justice Party. Recent findings suggest

By WAFAA SHURAFA Associated Press WADI GAZA, Gaza Strip (AP) — A ship carrying 200 tons of aid is approaching the coast of Gaza to inaugurate a sea route from Cyprus. The ship was expected to arrive later Friday. The sea route is intended to bring more assistance to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — An official says a rubber dinghy carrying migrants sank off Turkey’s northern Aegean coast, leaving at least 16 people dead. Gov. Ilhami Aktas says coast guard personnel on Friday rescued two migrants from the sea while two others reached the shore by themselves. It was not clear how many people were

LONDON (AP) — System outages at McDonald’s have been reported around the world on Friday, shuttering restaurants and leading to social media complaints. McDonald’s in Japan posted on X, formerly Twitter, that “operations are temporarily out at many of our stores nationwide” and earlier calling it “a system failure.” It added that it apologized for

HONG KONG (AP) — China’s markets regulator has renewed its efforts to pep up the stock market, pledging to raise the quality of companies listed on domestic markets. The China Securities Regulatory Commission issued draft guidelines Friday to more strictly vet applications for share listings and to more closely oversee listed companies by measures such

By DAVID BRANDT AP Baseball Writer TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Teenage pitchers are throwing a baseball harder than ever as they try to attract attention from Major League Baseball scouts and college programs. The added velocity also could be leading to more young pitchers needing Tommy John surgery. The good news is that with the

BERLIN (AP) — Official data shows Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped by one-tenth last year as renewable energy grew in importance, the use of coal and gas diminished and economic pressures weighed on businesses and consumers. The country’s vice chancellor, who is also the economy and climate minister, said on Friday that Europe’s biggest economy

By LISA MASCARO and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s top White House lawyer is encouraging House Speaker Mike Johnson to end his chamber’s efforts to impeach the president over unproven claims that Biden benefited from the business dealings of his son and brother. White House counsel Ed Siskel writes in