Month: March 2024

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Pope Francis is urging his priests to avoid “clerical hypocrisy” and treat their flocks with mercy. He delivered a lengthy set of marching orders in a Holy Thursday Mass to Rome-based priests at the start of a busy few days leading to Easter. Francis has been hobbled

Home Depot is buying SRS Distribution, a materials provider for professionals, in a deal valued at approximately $18.25 billion. The home improvement retailer said Thursday that the acquisition will help speed up its growth with the contractors. SRS provides materials for those including professional roofers, landscapers and pool contractors.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal is in Poland for talks with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk to address Polish and western European farmers’ demands that regulations be applied to the cheap Ukraine grain and food imports that they say are undercutting their livelihoods. Farmers in many countries have been staging vehement

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s main national postal carrier has stopped using domestic flights to transport letters after nearly 63 years. The move reflects the declining significance of letter mail and allows it to improve its climate footprint. Deutsche Post said Thursday the last planes carrying letters between northern and southern Germany, operated by Lufthansa unit

By REESE DUNKLIN Associated Press Every day, police in the U.S. rely on common use-of-force tactics that, unlike guns, are meant to stop people without killing them. But when misused, these tactics can still end in death. Over a decade, more than 1,000 people died after police subdued them through physical holds, stun guns, body

By TAYLOR STEVENS, JUSTIN PRITCHARD and HELEN WIEFFERING Associated Press After George Floyd was killed under a Minneapolis police officer’s knee, reporters at The Associated Press wanted to know how many other people died following encounters in which law enforcement used not firearms but other kinds of force that is not supposed to be fatal.

By REESE DUNKLIN, RYAN J. FOLEY, JEFF MARTIN, JENNIFER McDERMOTT, HOLBROOK MOHR and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press Carl Grant, a Vietnam veteran with dementia, wandered out of a hospital room to charge a cellphone he imagined he had. When he wouldn’t sit still, the police officer escorting Grant body-slammed him, ricocheting the patient’s head off

LONDON (AP) — The coach of Oxford’s crew taking part in the Boat Race has described the pollution in London’s River Thames as a “national disgrace.” His team has also expressed concerns about maintaining the post-event tradition of throwing the winning cox into the water. Testing by a campaign group has found high levels of

By MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writer U.S. federal agencies must show that their artificial intelligence tools aren’t harming the public, or stop using them, under new rules unveiled by the White House. Vice President Kamala Harris says government agencies that use AI tools will be required to verify that those tools do not endanger the

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press The White House says it’s getting ready to welcome 40,000 people for its annual Easter Egg Roll. The egg-stravaganza was first held on the lawn in 1878. Guests this year will include thousands of military and veteran families, their caregivers and survivors. Members of the general public claimed tickets through

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press President Joe Biden is announcing new steps to protect consumers who buy short-term health insurance plans that critics say amount to junk. A new rule finalized by the Democratic president’s administration will limit short-term health insurance to just three months. And the plans can only be renewed for a maximum

By JADE LE DELEY Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French lawmakers are debating a bill Thursday that would ban discrimination over the texture, length, color or style of someone’s hair. Its authors hope the groundbreaking measure sends a message of support to Black people and others who have faced hostility because of their hair. The

BEIJING (AP) — China says it will lift tariffs placed on Australian wine over three years ago, in a sign of improving ties between the two countries. China’s Ministry of Commerce says the decision will take effect Friday. China imposed tariffs on Australian wine in 2020 during a diplomatic feud over Australia’s support for a

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares were mixed on Thursday after U.S. stocks broke out of a three-day lull to close at a record. Oil prices advanced, while U.S. futures edged lower. The dollar remained strong against the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, a trend that has unsettled regulators in

By TIAN MACLEOD JI Associated Press BOAO, China (AP) — A top Communist Party official says China is committed to introducing reforms that will upgrade the technological level of its largely manufacturing-based economy.  and generate huge revenues from green technologies that would drive around $1.4 trillion in annual revenues. Zhao Leiji, who heads China’s rubberstamp

By SIMINA MISTREANU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation has pledged continued support for Taiwan, days after Congress approved $300 million in military aid for the self-governed island that’s claimed by China. The Chinese government regards Taiwan as a breakaway province to be brought under its control, by force if

By FRANCIS KOKUTSE and JESSSICA DONATI Associated Press ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Shoppers may get a bitter surprise in their Easter baskets this year. Chocolate eggs and bunnies are more expensive than ever as changing climate patterns eat into global cocoa supplies and the earnings of farmers in West Africa. About three-quarters of the world’s

By KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — Xiaomi, a well-known maker of smart consumer electronics in China, is joining the country’s booming but crowded market for electric cars. The tech company will start taking orders for its SU7, a sporty four-door sedan, following a launch event on Thursday. Analysts think it will be priced

By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — Michelangelo’s David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But curators worry the marble statue’s religious and political significance is being diminished by the thousands of refrigerator magnets and other souvenirs focusing on David’s genitalia. The Galleria dell’Accademia’s director has

By EMMA BURROWS Associated Press For Evan Gershkovich, the dozen appearances in Moscow’s courts over the past year have fallen into a pattern. Guards take the American journalist from the notorious Lefortovo Prison in a van for the short drive to the courthouse. He’s led in handcuffs to a defendants’ cage in front of a

By SUZAN FRASER Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — With local elections across Turkey days away, legal experts are coaching thousands of volunteer election monitors on the rules they’ll need to watch for fraud and ensure a fair vote. The vote Sunday will determine who controls offices across Turkey, from major municipalities to tiny districts

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — As Yemen’s Houthi rebels continue to target ships in a Mideast waterway, satellite pictures analyzed by The Associated Press show what appears to be a new airstrip being built at an entrance to that crucial maritime route. No country has publicly claimed the construction taking

NEW DELHI (AP) — Ukraine’s foreign minister has arrived in New Delhi for a two-day visit to boost bilateral ties between the two countries. Dmytro Kuleba will meet with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Friday. His visit comes a week after Indian leader Narendra Modi spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President

By JESSE BEDAYN Associated Press/Report for America DENVER (AP) — Rep. Ken Buck’s early departure from the U.S. House prompted a special election to fill the remainder of his term. A Colorado Republican committee on Thursday will select their candidate for the special election, and is expected to pick one of the primary candidates already

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN, ELLIOT SPAGAT and VALERIE GONZALEZ Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — An immigration crackdown in Mexico has hit Venezuelans especially hard. The development highlights how much the U.S. depends on Mexico to control migration. It’s a top issue for voters as President Joe Biden seeks reelection. Large numbers of Venezuelans are still

SYDNEY (AP) — Taylor Swift’s father will not be charged over a photographer’s claim that Scott Swift assaulted him on the Sydney waterfront hours after the pop star’s Australian tour ended last month. Photographer Ben McDonald had alleged that one of Swift’s security guards forced an umbrella into his face and camera and that Scott

By CAROLYN THOMPSON Associated Press CLEVELAND (AP) — Seventh-grade student Henry Cohen bounced side to side in time to the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” playing in teacher Nancy Morris’ classroom, swinging his arms open and closed across the planets pictured on his T-shirt. Henry and other classmates at Cleveland’s Riverside School were on their

By KEN SWEET and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Former crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried faces the potential of decades in prison when he is sentenced for his role in the 2022 collapse of FTX. The company was once one of the world’s most popular platforms for trading digital currency. Bankman-Fried was convicted

By WAFAA SHURAFA and KAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza (AP) — An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned. One toddler died from a brain injury caused by

By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — The charges against former President Donald Trump in the Georgia election interference case seek to criminalize political speech and advocacy conduct that the First Amendment protects, his lawyers argued in a court filing challenging the indictment. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee plans to hear arguments

By NICK PERRY Associated Press Here’s what to know about the cargo ship that crashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse and leaving six construction workers presumed dead. If stood upright, the Dali would reach almost to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris or about two-thirds of the way

By MICHELLE L. PRICE and PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump is set to attend the wake of a New York City police officer gunned down in the line of duty. The former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee is expected Thursday at the visitation on Long Island for Officer Jonathan

By CHRIS MEGERIAN and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton are teaming up with President Joe Biden for a glitzy reelection fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Thursday night’s event brings together more than three decades of Democratic leadership. It also provides a

By AUDREY McAVOY Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — The U.S. military has finished draining more than 104 million gallons of fuel from an underground fuel tank complex in Hawaii that poisoned 6,000 people when it leaked jet fuel into Pearl Harbor’s drinking water in 2021. Joint Task Force Red Hill began defueling the tanks in

By DAVID HAMILTON AP Business Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Daniel Kahneman, a psychologist who won a Nobel Prize in economics for his insights into how ingrained neurological biases influence decision making, died Wednesday at the age of 90. Kahneman and his longtime collaborator Amos Tversky reshaped the field of economics, which prior to their

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — A former correctional officer at a federal women’s prison in California has been sentenced to six years in prison for sexually abusing inmates. The ex-prison guard supervised inmates at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin. A 2022 investigation by The Associated Press revealed a rampant culture of sexual abuse and cover-up

By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A federal appeals court says a requirement for Pennsylvania voters to put accurate handwritten dates on the outside envelopes of their mail-in ballots doesn’t run afoul of a civil rights law. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday to uphold enforcement of the required

By AUDREY McAVOY Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii Gov. Josh Green says some 3,000 people displaced by Lahaina’s wildfires are still living in hotels more than seven months after the August blaze. But he told a news conference that between 25 and 30 of them are moving to longer-term housing each day. Green says

HONOLULU (AP) — A woman who purchased a vacant lot in Hawaii was surprised to find out a $500,000 house was built on the property by mistake. She’s now mired in legal wrangling over the mix-up. In 2018, Annaleine “Anne” Reynolds purchased a lot in Hawaiian Paradise Park, a subdivision in the Big Island’s Puna

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Bob Uecker will be back behind the microphone when the Milwaukee Brewers play their home opener Tuesday against the Minnesota Twins. How heavy a broadcasting workload the 90-year-old Uecker will have the rest of the season remains uncertain. Brewers president of business operations Rick Schlesinger said in a statement that “he’ll take

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The special U.N. envoy for Congo says security in the African nation’s mineral-rich east has deteriorated since recent elections, with a rebel group allegedly linked to neighboring Rwanda making “significant advances and expanding its territory.” Bintou Keita told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that