Month: March 2024

By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration on Thursday restored rules to protect imperiled plants and animals that had been rolled back back under former President Donald Trump. Among the changes announced, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will reinstate a decades-old regulation that mandates blanket protections for species newly

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The top United Nations court has ordered Israel to take measures including opening more land crossings to allow food, water, fuel and other supplies into Gaza to tackle crippling shortages in the war-ravaged enclave. The International Court of Justice issued two new so-called provisional measures in a case brought by

By KENYA HUNTER AP Health Writer For some cancer patients, sharing the news can be a difficult decision. Not everyone is comfortable telling others, for cultural or privacy reasons _ or because they just don’t want to talk about it. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin initially kept his prostate cancer quiet. Kate, Princess of Wales, also

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press Start handing out those groundhog-size cigars: Punxsutawney Phil is a father. The Pennsylvania group that handles the spring-predicting groundhog and his groundhog wife Phyliss says the couple became parents on Saturday. A member of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club was bringing fruit and vegetables to Phil and Phyliss on Saturday when

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A teenager has been sentenced to four years for his role in a St. Paul killing that led to the fatal shooting of Amir Locke by a police officer. Locke’s killing focused scrutiny on the use of no-knock warrants. Eighteen-year-old Feysal Jama Ali, of Minneapolis, was sentenced Wednesday to being

NEW YORK (AP) — Sam Bankman-Fried co-founded the FTX crypto exchange in 2019 and quickly built it into the world’s second most popular place to trade digital currency. It collapsed almost as quickly — by the fall of 2022, it was bankrupt. Prosecutors soon charged Bankman-Fried with misappropriating billions of dollars in FTX customer deposits.

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — The last coal-fired power plant in New England is set to close in a victory for environmentalists. Granite Shore Power said Wednesday it reached an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency to close the Merrimack Station in New Hampshire by June 2028. It had been the focus

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves will evidently remain in the control of owner Glen Taylor, after he announced Thursday that a deal where Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez would have acquired the controlling stake in the team has expired. Taylor agreed to sell the Timberwolves for $1.5 billion in 2021 to Lore and Rodriguez,

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Tuition at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and other campuses in the system would increase 3.75% next school year under a recommendation announced Thursday by UW President Jay Rothman. The proposal is up for a vote of approval by the UW Board of Regents on April 4. If approved, it would be

By ALEXA ST. JOHN, MATTHEW DALY and JOSHUA A. BICKEL Associated Press LONDON, Ohio (AP) — Electric vehicle charging ports are a key part of President Joe Biden’s effort to encourage drivers to move away from gasoline-powered cars and trucks that contribute to global warming, but only four states have them. New public chargers outside

By THOMAS ADAMSON AP Fashion Writer PARIS (AP) — The former Gucci designer Alessandro Michele has been named the new creative director at Valentino, following the sudden departure last week of Pierpaolo Piccioli after 25 years. Valentino confirmed the move in a statement Thursday, calling it the start of a new journey aimed at continuing

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay All-Star shortstop Wander Franco was placed on administrative leave through June 1 under an agreement between Major League Baseball and the players’ association while the investigation continues in an alleged relationship with a minor. Administrative leave is not disciplinary under the sport’s joint domestic violence, sexual assault and

By LEA SKENE and BRIAN WITTE Associated Press BALTIMORE (AP) — Massive barges carrying cranes streamed toward Baltimore on Thursday to begin the challenging work of removing twisted metal and concrete in an attempt to open a key shipping route blocked by the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. U.S. Coast Guard officials said

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algeria’s government has flooded newly opened markets selling subsidized goods with pantry staples to stave off shortages during Islam’s holy month of Ramadan, when demand typically increases in Muslim-majority countries and prices tend to rise. Authorities have moved to increase food and fuel imports and also limit exports, hoping to meet

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia vetoed a U.N. resolution on Thursday, effectively abolishing the monitoring of U.N. sanctions against North Korea by a panel of U.N. experts. The Security Council resolution sponsored by the United States would have extended the mandate of the panel for a year, but Russia’s veto will halt its operations. The

PARIS (AP) — French lawmakers have condemned an infamous 1961 police crackdown on Algerian protesters in Paris as a “bloody and murderous repression.” The nonbinding vote on Thursday marked another step in France’s recognition of the massacre that authorities sought to cover up for decades. The National Assembly voted 67-11 in favor of a resolution

By KATHLEEN FOODY, RICK CALLAHAN and COREY WILLIAMS Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Authorities say a mail carrier was among four people killed when a man went on a stabbing rampage in a northern Illinois city. Seven more people were injured in the attacks in Rockford Wednesday and a 22-year-old suspect is in custody. A

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky lawmakers have given final passage to a bill stripping the Democratic governor of any role in picking someone to occupy a U.S. Senate seat if a vacancy occurs. Kentucky is the home state of 82-year-old Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. The state Senate voted Thursday

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A well-known politician in the Bahamas has been killed when two gunmen opened fire on a group of people while trying to rob them. Officials say Don Saunders, a former parliamentarian and the deputy chairman of the Free National Movement Party, died at the scene late Wednesday. The Royal

HELSINKI (AP) — A shortage of eggs in shops during Holy Week has led Norwegians to flock to supermarkets across the border in Sweden and hoard the traditional Easter food. Norwegian news outlet Nettavisen said Thursday that the Nordby shopping center in Sweden — located just off the border about 100 kilometers (62 miles) south

By YURI KAGEYAMA Assoiated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is reiterating his determination to work toward a summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to realize the return of Japanese people believed abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 80s. He was speaking Thursday at a news conference after

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The Palestinian Authority has announced the formation of a new Cabinet as it faces international pressure to reform. President Mahmoud Abbas, who has led the PA for nearly two decades, announced the new government in a presidential decree on Thursday. None of the incoming ministers is a well-known figure. At

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The British Museum has appointed Nicholas Cullinan as its new director. It comes as the 265-year-old institution grapples with the apparent theft of hundreds of artifacts and growing international scrutiny of its collection. Previous director Hartwig Fischer resigned in August after the museum disclosed that more than

NEW YORK (AP) — The number of Americans signing up for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week, another sign that the labor market remains strong and most workers enjoy extraordinary job security. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims dipped by 2,000 to 210,000. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week ups

By ROB GILLIES Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Four of the largest school boards in the Canadian province of Ontario have launched lawsuits against TikTok, Meta and SnapChat alleging the social media platforms are disrupting student learning. The lawsuits announced Thursday claim that platforms like Facebook and Instagram are “designed for compulsive use, have rewired

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — King Charles III stressed the importance of friendship and acts of caring in a recorded message delivered to a traditional pre-Easter church service, which the monarch skipped as he undergoes cancer treatment. Queen Camilla represented her husband during the Royal Maundy Service at Worcester Cathedral, presenting bags

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — For the first time in 27 years, the U.S. government is changing how it categorizes people by race and ethnicity, an effort that federal officials believe will more accurately count residents who identify as Hispanic and of Middle Eastern and North African heritage. The revisions to

By JESSICA DONATI Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Rights groups say the Russian mercenary group known as Wagner is helping government forces in central and northern Mali carry out raids and drone strikes that have killed scores of civilians. Mali, along with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger, has for over a decade battled

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a solid 3.4% annual pace from October through December, the government said Thursday in an upgrade from its previous estimate. The government had previously estimated that the economy grew at a 3.2% annual rate last quarter. The Commerce Department’s revised measure

By ILLIA NOVIKOV and BARRY HATTON Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has scoffed at the possibility of his country launching an attack on a NATO member, calling it “sheer nonsense.” But he warned late Wednesday that any Western air base hosting U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets that are slated for deployment

By DARREN SANDS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many churches moved their services online, the Rev. William H. Lamar IV initially shuddered at the thought that he needed to morph into a “video personality” to stay engaged with his parishioners. “I resisted kicking and screaming because I’m

By GLENN GAMBOA AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi, and Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg are among the diverse group of political, business and philanthropic leaders Global Citizen will convene in New York on May 1 and 2, the nonprofit announced on Thursday. The Global Citizen NOW

LONDON (AP) — A British comedian has been ordered to remove a picture of a hot dog from a poster in London subway stations for his new standup show. Transit bosses say it violates the transit network’s ban on junk food advertising. The poster for Ed Gamble’s show, “Hot Diggity Dog,” showed a mustard- and

NEW DELHI (AP) — An Indian court has extended custody of a top opposition leader for four more days after his arrest last week triggered protests, as the country gears up for a general election starting next month. Arvind Kejriwal, New Delhi’s top elected official and one of the country’s most consequential politicians of the

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine president says his government will enforce a “countermeasure package” in response to “aggressive and dangerous attacks” by the Chinese coast guard and suspected militia ships in the disputed South China Sea. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did not provide details of the actions his government will