Month: March 2024

By JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Republican-led Tennessee House has advanced a proposal that would require law enforcement agencies in the state to communicate with federal immigration authorities if they discover people are in the the country illegally. The legislation passed by the House on Thursday also would broadly mandate cooperation

By SUSAN HAIGH Associated Press Connecticut lawmakers are considering banning the use of legacy and donor preferences in admissions to all colleges and universities across the state, including private ones like Yale University. A bill was advanced to the Senate floor on Thursday. It comes days after the Virginia governor signed legislation barring consideration of

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans are taking aim at a new federal courts policy aimed at curbing “judge shopping,” a practice that gained national attention in a major abortion medication case. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke out against it on the Senate floor Thursday and joined with two other GOP

By MARCO UGARTE Associated Press VALLE DE BRAVO, Mexico (AP) — Once a glittering weekend getaway for wealthy residents of Mexico City, Valle de Bravo has been reduced to a shrinking muddy puddle by a combination of drought, water transfers to the capital, bad planning and lawlessness. Valle, as the reservoir has been known since

PHOENIX (AP) — Authorities say a former jail officer in Phoenix has been sentenced to two years in prison for smuggling drugs into the detention facility where he worked. Prosecutors say Andres Salazar was arrested in November 2022 as he arrived for work at the Lower Buckeye Jail with close to 60 grams of methamphetamine

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — A Purple Heart recipient who lost Nevada’s 2022 GOP Senate primary has filed his formal candidacy for the seat held by first-term Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen. It is a race Republicans have targeted nationally as one of their best chances to knock off an incumbent Democrat. Retired Army Capt. Sam

By MARLON GONZÁLEZ Associated Press TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Honduras’ former first lady Ana García de Hernández says her decision to seek the presidency next year is about showing the world the injustice that was done to her recently convicted husband, not an attempt to protect herself from prosecution as some allege. In an interview

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration says it’s investigating an incident in which an American Airlines plane flying from Dallas to Los Angeles suffered a tire problem. American flight 345 landed safely at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday night. American says pilots got a warning of low pressure in one of

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press Voters are heading to the polls in Russia for a three-day presidential election that is all but certain to extend President Vladimir Putin’s rule by six more years after he stifled dissent. The election takes place against the backdrop of a ruthless crackdown that has crippled independent media and prominent

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) — Environmental officials are monitoring the air quality in a Maryland suburb of Washington, D.C. after several oil tanks caught fire late Thursday morning at a quarry in Rockville. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesperson Pete Piringer says no injuries were reported. The fire was contained by early afternoon as three tanks

By FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press NORTON, Zimbabwe (AP) — A man claiming to be a prophet has been charged in a Zimbabwean court after police raided the compound where he led a religious sect and found more than 250 children being kept away from school and used as workers. Police also discovered 16 unregistered graves,

By STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee says a critical bridge that was partially shut down over safety concerns in December will need to be demolished and replaced. McKee said Thursday that an independent review of the Washington Bridge found additional structural deficiencies requiring that it be replaced. The bridge carries Interstate

By JIM SALTER Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — It’s a scenario that plays out over and over again at American crime scenes: The investigation reveals that the shooter didn’t get his firearm legally from a store or gun show, but instead obtained it from someone who did. It’s known as a straw purchase. A

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a network of supporters has helped fugitives from Florida avoid capture to face charges stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Prosecutors argued Thursday that a Jan. 6 defendant, Thomas Osborne, is a flight risk because he is close to

ATLANTA (AP) — Former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines was among more than a dozen college athletes who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing Lia Thomas to compete at the national championships in 2022. The lawsuit details the shock Gaines and other swimmers felt when they

By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press A trailblazing Southern woman who worked as a speechwriter for President Jimmy Carter after covering the civil rights movement as a newspaper reporter has died. Achsah Nesmith wrote Martin Luther King Jr.’s front-page obituary for The Atlanta Constitution following his 1968 assassination and covered Carter’s first campaign for Georgia governor,

By SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has reiterated his position that sending Western troops into Ukraine should not be ruled out, but also says that today’s situation doesn’t require that. In an interview on French national television Thursday, Macron was asked about the prospect of sending Western troops to

By OMAR FARUK Associated Press MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The Somali extremist group al-Shabab says its fighters have attacked a hotel in the capital Mogadishu, where a loud explosion and gunfire have been heard. Al-Shabab said on its Telegram channel that its fighters managed to penetrate the SYL hotel, which is located not far from

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (AP) — Two suburban Detroit police officers are under investigation after police video of officers arresting a Black man accused of domestic violence shows one officer kicking him in the head during a chaotic arrest. The Sterling Heights Police Department says two officers have been placed on administrative leave as the Macomb

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors said Thursday they’re open to delaying the start of Donald Trump’s New York hush-money criminal trial to give the former president’s lawyers time to review evidence that was only recently turned over. The Manhattan district attorney’s office said in a court filing that it’s

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Republicans have powered a voucher plan funding private school tuition and home schooling through the state House. Thursday’s 91-82 vote gets the measure close to becoming law. The same bill failed last year when 16 Republicans voted against it. Thursday, it passed with one vote to

By JOHN HANNA Associated Press TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators are close to banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors in Kansas over the Democratic governor’s expected veto. At least a dozen GOP lawmakers who voted against a ban last year are supporting one this year. The Republican-controlled state Senate expected to approve a bill

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The leaders of Poland’s influential Catholic Church have chosen moderate Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda to be their new principal, at a time when the church is struggling to reckon with the abuse of minors by some Polish clergy. The number of Poles attending mass has also fallen sharply. Bishops and archbishops chose

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A major deadline under the half-century-old War Powers Resolution came this week for President Joe Biden to obtain Congress’ approval to keep waging his military campaign against Yemen’s Houthis, in line with its sole authority under the U.S. Constitution to declare war and otherwise authorize military force.

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer Frida Kahlo used her own experiences to inform her art. In that spirit, Kahlo’s personal writings are used to help tell the story of her life in a new documentary, “Frida.” Filmmaker Carla Gutiérrez blends first person narration with archival footage and interpretive animation of Kahlo’s work in the

By RONALD BLUM Associated Press Calixto Bieito added an element to “The Exterminating Angel” that Luis Buñuel and Thomas Adès left out: cannibalism. Adès’ 2016 opera is based on Buñuel’s 1962 film and details psychologically blocked dinner guests who can’t depart a mansion and the disintegration of decorum after days of dystopian detachment. Bieito’s new

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — In Oregon, two Republican state senators barred from reelection after last year’s record-long walkout are seeking statewide office. Oregon Public Broadcasting reports that Sen. Brian Boquist is running for state treasurer and Sen. Dennis Linthicum is running for secretary of state. Boquist had served in the Legislature since 2009, and Linthicum

By HOLLY RAMER Associated Press CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The League of Women Voters filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to prevent those who sent robocalls mimicking President Joe Biden’s voice to New Hampshire voters from using artificial intelligence for future deceptions. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in New Hampshire against Steve Kramer, the

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Esa-Pekka Salonen will leave the San Francisco Symphony following the 2024-25 season, just his fifth as music director, announcing his departure with a statement critical of the orchestra’s leadership. Salonen says: “I do not share the same goals for the future of the institution as the board of governors does.” Salonen

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has appointed his longtime economic adviser to be the next prime minister. The appointment on Thursday came in the face of U.S. pressure to reform the Palestinian Authority as part of Washington’s postwar vision for Gaza. Mohammad Mustafa is a U.S.-educated economist and political independent. He

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey residents may soon get the chance to vote on whether they have the right to a clean environment. A measure advancing through the state Legislature would place a referendum on the November ballot on whether to amend the state Constitution to guarantee people the

By FLORENT BAJRAMI and LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — A senior U.S. official has said he was “very concerned” that Kosovo’s decision to ban the use of Serbian dinar in the north could cause “an emerging humanitarian issue” for the ethnic Serb minority. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Gabriel Escobar on Thursday

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi police officer was set to plead guilty to federal civil rights charge on an accusation that he forced an arrested man to lick his own urine off the floor of a jail cell. Michael Christian Green was scheduled to appear in court Thursday.

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — UFC Hall of Famer and former champion Mark Coleman called himself “the happiest man in the world” as he embraced members of his family from a hospital bed. Coleman was airlifted to a hospital on Wednesday after saving his parents from a house fire in Ohio this week, according to daughter

WEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) — “Duty, Honor, Country” has been the motto of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point for 126 years. The motto isn’t changing, but a decision to take those words out of the school’s lesser-known mission statement is generating outrage. Conservative radio host Jeff Kuhner posted on X that West Point

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A plane carrying British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps had its satellite signal jammed as it flew near Russian territory, the government said Thursday. The government said the Royal Air Force jet carrying Shapps, officials and journalists “temporarily experienced GPS jamming when they flew close to Kaliningrad” on

BOSTON (AP) — The National Labor Relations Board has certified a union to represent Dartmouth basketball players after the deadline passed for the school to object to the election. Big Green players voted 13-2 to join the Service Employees International Union Local 560. It’s the first-ever labor union for college athletes. The deadline was for

By BERT WILKINSON AND PIERRE-RICHARD LUXAMA Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Caribbean officials say a plan to create a transitional presidential council is moving forward after a majority of Haitian parties and coalitions submitted the names of those charged with finding new leaders for the country. Officials said Thursday that the names were provided

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency is imposing stricter limits on a chemical used to sterilize medical equipment after finding a higher-than-expected cancer risk at facilities that use ethylene oxide to clean billions of devices including catheters and syringes. The EPA says a rule finalized Thursday will reduce ethylene