Month: March 2024

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A lawyer for Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small says law enforcement officers have visited the mayor’s home to execute search warrants. But he declined to reveal further information, including whether anyone was taken into custody on Thursday. Lawyer Edwin Jacobs confirmed the search warrants were executed at the mayor’s home.

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials are warning of an increase in illnesses caused by a bacteria that can cause meningitis and possible death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an alert to U.S. doctors Thursday about an increase in cases of one type of invasive

By STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Top Massachusetts officials joined with NCAA President and former Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday to announce a new initiative aimed at tackling the public health harms associated with sports gambling among young people. Baker says those harms extend not just to young people making bets, but

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s center-right government has survived a motion of no-confidence brought by opposition parties over its handling of the country’s deadliest rail disaster a year ago. Four left-wing opposition parties accused the government of hindering an investigation into the rail crash in February 2023 that left 57 people dead, many of them

By FERNANDA PESCE Associated Press TAXCO, Mexico (AP) — A mob in the Mexican tourist city of Taxco brutally beat a woman they suspected of kidnapping and killing a young girl, just hours before the city’s Holy Week procession. On the eve of Good Friday, men walk through the colonial streets of Taxco wearing hoods,

By MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s Supreme Court has ordered an end to government subsidies for many ultra-Orthodox men who don’t serve in the army. It’s a blockbuster ruling that could have far-reaching consequences for Israel’s government and the tens of thousands of religious men who refuse to take part

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — An Orlando city commissioner has been arrested on charges of elderly exploitation, identity fraud and mortgage fraud following accusations that she had spent a constituent’s money on herself after getting power of attorney over the 96-year-old woman. Regina Hill pleaded not guilty Thursday to seven felony counts following her arrest by

By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has fired rockets with heavy warheads at towns in northern Israel. There were no media reports of Israelis hurt in Thursday’s assault and the Israeli military did not immediately offer comment on the attack. Hezbollah says it used the heavy rockets against

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Florida police are seeking the public’s help in finding a car stolen from an older couple who were found shot to death in their home. Fort Lauderdale Police said Thursday they have issued an all-points bulletin for a red 2014 Ford Fusion that belonged to 89-year-old Major Melvin and his

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A new proposal from California regulators would change how power companies calculate their customer’s bills. Power rates are currently calculated mostly based on how much power people use. The new proposal unveiled Wednesday would make a portion of power bills a fixed charge. That charge would

By JOSH FUNK Associated Press Critics say the patchwork system of safety regulations governing massive cargo ships like the one that toppled a Baltimore bridge this week can allow shippers to skirt oversight. That’s why one safety expert called maritime shipping “the weakest link in the transportation system.” The thousands of container ships that carry

By SALLEE ANN HARRISON Associated Press Meta will be sunsetting Facebook News in early April for users in the U.S. and Australia as the platform further deemphasizes news and politics. Meta says users will still be able to view links to news articles, and news organizations will still be able to post and promote their

By FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans invited President Joe Biden to testify before Congress as part of their impeachment inquiry into him and his family’s business affairs. Rep. James Comer, chair of the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter Thursday to the Democratic president, inviting him to sit for a public

By The Associated Press A media freedom organization says that Russian authorities have detained six journalists across the country. Reporters Without Borders said Thursday that the journalists include one who covered Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny’s trials for several years. Russian human rights group OVD-Info said that Antonina Favorskaya was detained and accused by Russian

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Kentucky have wrapped up work on a sweeping criminal justice bill that would deliver harsher sentences to combat crime. Opponents warn it will carry a hefty price tag with no assurances the tougher approach will lower crime. The House voted 75-23 Thursday after

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Lawyers for convicted killer Alex Murdaugh want to release to the public statements he made to the FBI about what happened to million of dollars he stole from clients and his law firm. They also want to release statements he made about who might have helped

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez has decided not to appeal a judge’s ruling on Constitutional grounds that would have delayed his May trial. The Democrat’s lawyers notified the Manhattan federal judge who will preside over the trial on Thursday. They wrote in a letter to Judge

By LIUDAS DAPKUS Associated Press VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Several central and Eastern European countries have begun marking the 20th anniversary of the largest expansion of the NATO military alliance when formerly socialist countries became members of the bloc. Military aircraft Thursday roared over the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. At the main airbase hosting Spanish and

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A nonprofit organization has sued the U.S. National Park Service over a plan to remove Puerto Rico’s famous stray cats from a historic district in the U.S. territory. The lawsuit filed by Maryland-based Alley Cat Allies comes four months after the federal agency announced it would contract an animal

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (AP) — A Republican state lawmaker in Michigan made claims on social media Wednesday that buses at a Detroit airport carrying college basketball players were undocumented immigrants being transported into the city. Michigan state House Rep. Matt Maddock said the buses were carrying “illegal invaders” getting off

By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Endangered smalltooth sawfish, marine creatures virtually unchanged for millions of years, are showing erratic behavior, spinning around and dying in unusual numbers in Florida waters. Federal and state wildlife agencies want to know why as they begin an effort to rescue and rehabilitate the ancient

By GARY GERARD HAMILTON Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Flo Milli always felt different from her peers growing up, believing she was destined for greatness. For her, the writing was always on the walls — and in the stalls. “In high school, I used to have a lot of girls that used to hate

By COLLIN BINKLEY and JOHN HANNA Associated Press TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A group of Republican-led states is suing the Biden administration to block a new student loan repayment plan that provides a faster path to cancellation and lower monthly payments for millions of borrowers. In a federal lawsuit filed Thursday, Kansas’ Republican attorney general

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Green Day will headline a United Nations Human Rights-backed global climate concert on Tuesday at the famed Fillmore in San Francisco. The event, which is co-hosted by the Recording Academy, aims to bring attention to the inequalities exacerbated by climate change. According to a press

By DÁNICA COTO Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Dengue is surging across the Americas early this year from Puerto Rico to Brazil. Officials said Thursday that 3.5 million cases of the tropical disease had been reported in the region as of this week. The regional office of the World Health Organization say

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The U.K. government says that the Oscar-winning “Oppenheimer” director Christopher Nolan and his producer wife Emma Thomas will receive a knighthood and damehood for their services to film. Their recognition that was announced on Thursday came after their biopic about the “father of the atomic bomb” swept

By ACACIA CORONADO Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Dash camera video released by a Texas school district shows the moment a cement truck veered into oncoming traffic, hitting a school bus carrying more than 40 pre-K students returning from a zoo field trip. The deadly collision on March 22 sends the bus rolling over

By LEAH WILLINGHAM Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia’s unemployed people will need to do more to prove they are searching for jobs to collect state benefits under a new law that will take effect next year. The controversial bill was passed by the GOP-majority Legislature on the final day of the 60-day

By KAREN MATTHEWS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York City officials have announced a pilot program to deploy portable gun scanners in the subway system. Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday that the scanners will be introduced in certain stations after a legally mandated 90-day waiting period. Adams said officials would work to identify

By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Legislature has passed a bill that will recognize civil rights icon Malcolm X every May 19, the day he was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1925. The legislation falls short of declaring the day a state holiday. Instead, it sets aside

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A judge has rejected an attempt by four former Connecticut police officers to have criminal charges against them erased in the case of a man who was paralyzed in the back of a police van in 2022. The former New Haven officers’ applications for a

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A federal court has ruled that congressional elections in South Carolina will be held under a map that it had previously deemed unconstitutional and discriminatory against Black voters. A panel of three federal judges from the state on Thursday called it “plainly impractical” to make changes

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson will send articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate shortly after Congress returns to Washington next month. The Republican speaker said Thursday he would send the two articles on April 10. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to swear in senators as jurors

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer Caitlin Clark has been invited to the USA Basketball national team training camp during the Final Four in Cleveland, contingent on Iowa’s season being over. The NCAA’s Division I all-time scoring leader has earned three gold medals with USA Basketball junior teams, most recently as a member of the

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer The Oscar-nominated documentary “Food, Inc” helped change the way many consumers think about the systems behind the things we eat. But in the 16 years since it came out, new problems have arisen and old problems got worse, magnified in part by shortages during the pandemic. They’re given a

DENVER (AP) — A Denver truck driver has been convicted of five counts of vehicular homicide for crashing a semi tractor-trailer into a sport utility vehicle carrying a Wyoming family in June 2022, killing all five of them. A Weld County jury also convicted Jesus Puebla of five other counts on Wednesday, including reckless driving

By GABRIELA SÁ PESSOA Associated Press SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro has requested federal authorities return his passport and authorize travel to Israel so he can accept an event invitation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit in May. Bolsonaro’s lawyers said Thursday in a statement that the proposed trip wouldn’t

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. saw the most tuberculosis illnesses in a decade in 2023. That’s according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that was published Thursday. More than 9,600 cases were reported, which is a 16% increase from 2022. Forty states

By SALLEE ANN HARRISON Digital Engagement Editor Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX was sentenced to 25 years in prison after being convicted of fraud for stealing at least $10 billion from customers and investors. The collapse of one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world shook the digital currency

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A new study in Hungary shows that dogs, beyond being able to respond to commands like “sit” and “stay,” can learn to associate words with specific objects. Such a relationship with language is called referential understanding and has not been proven in dogs until now. Science

By STEVE PEOPLES AP National Political Writer NEW YORK (AP) — When No Labels’ critics got the loudest, it was Joe Lieberman who came to the group’s defense. The former Connecticut senator was a founding chairman of the centrist organization that focused, above all, on promoting bipartisanship in national politics. Despite its benign stated mission,

By JOHN HANNA Associated Press LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — As Kansas prepares to ban gender-affirming care for minors, students at the state’s largest university taking action. They’re trying counter Republican efforts to roll back transgender rights by pushing to make the University of Kansas a haven for trans young people. The GOP-controlled Legislature approved its

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura has announced he is entering the cannabis market as a seller. But the state is still figuring out retail sales of the drug after legalizing marijuana for adults last year. Minnesota Public Radio reported that former Ventura is launching his own brand of cannabis edibles in partnership

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer Owning a soccer club is hitting Ryan Reynolds in the wallet. Wrexham is the Welsh team bought by Reynolds and fellow Hollywood actor Rob McElhenney in 2021. The club has released its accounts for the latest financial year and reported that the amount owed to celebrities was nearly 9