Month: March 2024

By JESSE BEDAYN Associated Press/Report for America DENVER (AP) — The Democratic majority in Colorado’s House has pushed forward two bills protecting transgender people’s chosen names. One would allow a person convicted of a felony to change their name to conform with their gender identity. The second would require school staff to use a student’s

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense officials say Gen. Eric Smith is taking steps to return to full duty as commandant of the Marine Corps, about four months after being sidelined due to a heart attack. Smith quietly returned to the Pentagon on one occasion a few weeks ago and was

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s economy grew 2.9% in 2023, beating expectations in the first year of the administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The number announced Friday by the country’s statistics institute impressed many economists. Early last year, the forecast was for only 0.8% growth. Brazil’s economy grew 3% in 2022, partly

BANGOR, Maine (AP) — Officials say a United Airlines flight from London to Newark, New Jersey, had to divert to Bangor International Airport because of unruly passengers. An airline spokesperson says two passengers who appeared to be intoxicated became disruptive, and both were removed from United Airlines Flight 883 upon landing late Friday morning in

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has vetoed what would have been one of the most far-reaching social media bans for minors. After Friday’s veto, lawmakers proposed new language that seeks to keep children under 14 off of addictive platforms. The original bill would have banned social media

By RUSS BYNUM and FRANK BAJAK Associated Press Georgia’s largest county is still repairing damage inflicted on its government offices by a cyberattack a month ago. Hackers in late January shut down online systems and phone service in Fulton County, which includes most of Atlanta. The attack left clerks unable to register vehicles or issue

By RANDALL CHASE AP Business Writer DOVER, Del. (AP) — A Delaware judge has declared a mistrial in the latest lawsuit alleging that exposure to the popular weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Friday’s ruling came about two hours after jurors sent a note saying they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict after three days of

By SEAN MURPHY and JIM VERTUNO Associated Press SKELLYTOWN, Texas (AP) — Ranchers in the fire-scarred Texas Panhandle are facing a grim task of disposing possibly thousands of dead cattle killed by smoke and flames. Officials have estimated this week’s fires have killed thousands of cattle. For some ranches, the impact could be severe, though

By PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams is standing by a longtime adviser whose properties were raided by the FBI Thursday. He’s also shrugging off concerns about the mounting federal probes into members of his inner circle. During a round of local media appearances Friday, the Democrat

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The first rioter to enter the U.S. Capitol building during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack was convicted on Friday of charges that he interfered with police and obstructed Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. Michael Sparks, 46, of Kentucky, jumped through a shattered window

By ACACIA CORONADO Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Family members and victim advocates are mourning the death of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham, who was killed near Houston. But as more details come to light, questions remain about how the suspect in her death was allowed to remain free despite a long criminal history involving violence.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Attorney General Letitia James is demanding that a county on Long Island rescind its ban on transgender athletes competing in female sports. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman issued an executive order on Feb. 22 banning sports organizations from county-run facilities if they allow transgender girls and women to compete

By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press The University of Florida is eliminating its chief diversity officer position, scrapping the program’s staff jobs and halting any contracts involving the subject because of a new law passed last year that was pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. The university said in a memo released Friday that staff whose

By The Associated Press Thousands of mourners gathered in Moscow to bid farewell to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny two weeks after his still-unexplained death in an Arctic penal colony. Crowds faced a heavy police presence as they thronged the church where Navalny’s funeral was held, and the cemetery in the snowy suburb where he

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State University has begun sending documents from its investigation into convicted sexual abuser Larry Nassar to state Attorney General Dana Nessel. School spokesperson Emily Guerrant says a group of 2,000 documents was being transferred Friday, but the transfer of all 9,000 documents will take about a month. She says

By JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The latest rail layoffs this week, combined with an investment fund’s ongoing campaign for control of Norfolk Southern, are renewing concerns among unions and regulators about all the cuts hurting safety and service. The worries about the lean operating model the freight railroads have used

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday rejected a Democratic lawsuit that sought to throw out the battleground state’s congressional maps, marking a victory for Republicans who argued against the court taking up the case. The decision not to hear the congressional challenge comes after the

ZEKE MILLER AP White House Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday announced that the U.S. will begin airdropping sorely needed humanitarian assistance into Gaza amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Here’s what you need to know: WHEN WILL THE AIRDROPS START? Biden said the airdrops will be coordinated with Jordan, which has conducted

By BIANCA VÁZQUEZ TONESS and MORIAH BALINGIT AP Education Writers Four years after the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools and upended child care, the CDC says parents can start treating the virus like other respiratory illnesses. Gone are mandated isolation periods and masking. But will schools and child care centers agree? In case you’ve lost track:

By SARAH RANKIN Associated Press Virginia lawmakers have passed legislation that would legalize skill games, the slots-like betting machines that proliferated in businesses around the state before an on-again, off-again ban took effect. The bill now heads to Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. It would tax and regulate the devices, which are also known as gray

NEW YORK (AP) — A firetruck has plowed through the facade of a furniture store on New York’s Long Island. A Rockville Centre Police Department spokesperson said the Friday morning crash injured four people. Video shared on social media shows the truck careening into the corner of the furniture repair shop after swerving to avoid

By LOLITA C. BALDOR and TARA COPP Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials tell The Associated Press that the Pentagon will lift the ban on flights by the grounded V-22 Osprey next week. The decision follows a high-level meeting where Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin endorsed the military services’ plans for a safe and measured

CANTON, Mich. (AP) — A sport-utility vehicle crashed into a Walmart and injured several people in suburban Detroit. A Canton police statement says numerous people were transported from the scene Friday afternoon, but the number of injured and cause of the crash weren’t immediately clear. Video posted on social media showed the aftermath, with a

By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press Nebraska’s top election official has ruled voters will get to decide whether to repeal a law that pays for private school tuition scholarships with taxpayer money. But Secretary of State Bob Evnen acknowledges the courts will likely ultimately decide if the repeal question makes it onto November’s ballot. His

By KATIE MARIE DAVIES Associated Press The final images of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny are tinged with deep despair for many of his compatrios. Navalny was in an open casket with red and white flowers heaped around him. The politician bade his final farewell Friday to those who believed in his vision of a

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Dutch armed forces have been deployed to the Caribbean to help clean up oil affecting beaches in the island of Bonaire that originated from an offshore spill blamed on an overturned barge hundreds of miles away. The government of the Dutch Caribbean island said Thursday that the military cleaned

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky House has passed a bill that would give lawmakers authority over what statues are installed or removed from the state Capitol’s Rotunda. The bill sponsor says it has nothing to do with the removal of a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis four years

By COREY WILLIAMS Associated Press A police department in suburban Chicago has released officer body camera footage of the fatal shooting of a 30-year-old man inside his apartment. Isaac Goodlow III died at a hospital after he was shot Feb. 3 in Carol Stream, about 34 miles west of Chicago. Carol Stream police say the

GENEVA (AP) — Geneva-based commodities trading firm Gunvor said Friday that it has reached $661 million settlement with U.S. and Swiss prosecutors after a conviction for bribery of foreign officials in connection with the petroleum industry in Ecuador. The Swiss attorney general’s office said the company didn’t take “reasonable and necessary organizational measures” to prevent

By ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ Associated Press HAVANA (AP) — Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello, a veteran Cuban dissident and leading proponent of human rights who was imprisoned twice but never left the island, will be awarded the 2024 International Women of Courage Award, a recognition granted by the U.S. Department of State. The 78-year-old economist will not

LONDON (AP) — Irish President Michael Higgins is expected to spend the weekend in the hospital as a precaution after he felt ill. Higgins’ office said Friday that he was admitted to St James’s Hospital after feeling unwell on Thursday. He underwent tests and was to remain in the hospital to monitor his blood pressure.

By SUZAN FRASER Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A Turkish official has rejected allegations by a human rights group that Turkey bears responsibility for some of the abuses and possible war crimes carried out mostly against Kurdish residents in northern in Syria. Human Rights Watch said in a 74-page report released Thursday that the

By ROB GILLIES Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there will be a state funeral for former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, though no date has been set yet. Mulroney, who forged close ties with two US. Republican presidents, died Thursday. He was 84. Trudeau also said there will also be

By JIMMY GOLEN AP Sports Writer BOSTON (AP) — Fanatics founder Michael Rubin says his company is being unfairly blamed for new Major League Baseball uniforms that have see-through pants and other fit and design problems. “This is a little bit of a difficult position,” he said on Friday at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics

DETROIT (AP) — The family of a 70-year-old man who died after a Detroit police officer punched him in the face, causing him to fall to the ground, is suing the former officer and the city of Detroit. The Detroit News reports the federal lawsuit filed Thursday on behalf of Daryl Vance’s family names former

By JONEL ALECCIA AP Health Writer Yogurt sold in the U.S. can make claims that the food may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes based on limited evidence. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has agreed that eating at least 2 cups of yogurt a week might reduce the risk of the disease. The

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry has scored a tactical victory in his battles with British tabloids. Government ministers on Friday said he could use confidential documents that show payments by the publisher of the Daily Mail to private investigators who allegedly snooped on him and several celebrities. The Duke of

NEW YORK (AP) — A New Jersey businessman pleaded guilty Friday to trying to bribe U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez after signing a cooperation deal with prosecutors. Jose Uribe entered the plea in Manhattan federal court to seven charges, including conspiracy to commit bribery, honest services wire fraud, obstruction of justice and tax evasion. Prosecutors allege

By ISABELLA VOLMERT Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana University’s board of trustees has abandoned a plan that would have split the university from the Kinsey Institute, which is widely recognized for decades of research on sex and gender. Indiana lawmakers forbade state appropriations from funding the center last year. While the Kinsey Institute has

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press A federal appeals court in Washington has ordered a new sentence for a retired Air Force officer who stormed the U.S. Capitol dressed in combat gear, in a ruling issued Friday that could impact dozens of other cases stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. While a panel of

By TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer Drugstore chains CVS Health and Walgreens plan to start dispensing the abortion pill mifepristone in a few states. A CVS Health spokesperson says the company will start filling prescriptions for the medication in Rhode Island and neighboring Massachusetts “in the weeks ahead.” Walgreens will begin dispensing the medication within