Month: April 2024

By MICHAEL R. SISAK, JENNIFER PELTZ, JAKE OFFENHARTZ and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Defense lawyers in Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial are poised to dig into a former tabloid publisher’s accounts of how he worked to protect the Republican’s 2016 presidential campaign. David Pecker will return to the witness

By THALIA BEATY Associated Press One of the demands of antiwar protestors on college campuses is for their schools to divest their endowments from companies that are profiting from Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Endowments are the holdings and investments that universities and some nonprofits manage as a kind of perpetual savings account. Georges

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Millions of Indians are voting in the second round of multi-phase national elections with some big names in the contest. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is strongly promoting his party’s pro-Hindu line in his campaign. Rahul Gandhi, a top opposition party leader, is contesting from Wayanad constituency

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer BEIJING (AP) — The United States and China are butting heads over a number of contentious bilateral, regional and global issues. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is meeting Friday with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Both have underscored the importance of keeping lines of communication open, but they

By JULIA DIAS CARNEIRO and ALAN K. GUIMARÃES Associated Press BELEM, Brazil (AP) — The bodies of nine migrants found on an African boat off the northern coast of Brazil’s Amazon region have been buried in a cemetery in Belem, Para state’s capital. Fishermen off the coast of Para found a boat adrift on April

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A man questioned about his role earlier this month in the fatal carjacking of a woman in central Florida told investigators that he was paid to kidnap her and deliver her to someone. That is according to court documents filed Thursday. Jordanish Torres-Garcia says he was the masked man in a

Associated Press GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemalan prosecutors have raided the offices of the charity Save the Children, citing a complaint alleging the violation of migrant children’s rights. Thursday’s action comes just a week after officials wrote a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asking for support in addressing allegations that Save the Children

By MARC LEVY Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania wants a series of three debates with his Republican challenger David McCormick ahead of the November election, and McCormick is readily accepting. Casey says in a statement Thursday he intends to participate in debates in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg.

By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — The University of Southern California’s decision Thursday to cancel its main graduation ceremony, a move that came 10 days after administrators said the student valedictorian who had expressed support for Palestinians would not be allowed to speak, left students and alumni stunned as protests over the

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer DETROIT (AP) — Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades. The Bears selected Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft on Thursday night after deciding weeks ago to bank on the 2022

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama has set a July 18 execution date for a man convicted in the 1998 shooting death of a delivery driver who had stopped at an ATM. The state’s governor announced the lethal injection date Thursday for 64-year-old Keith Edmund Gavin. Gavin was convicted of capital murder for the fatal shooting

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The head of Mexico’s detective service has apologized for saying his country is “the champion” of fentanyl and meth production. The comments Tuesday appeared to contradict past statements by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has denied any fentanyl is produced in Mexico. The office of Felipe de Jesus Gallo, the

By DAVID HAMILTON AP Technology Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday voted to restore “net neutrality” rules that prevent broadband internet providers such as Comcast and Verizon from favoring some sites and apps over others. The move effectively reinstates a net neutrality order the commission first issued in 2015 during

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers advanced legislation that could see librarians prosecuted for providing “harmful” materials or programs to minors. The Alabama bill removes the existing exemption for public libraries in the state’s obscenity law. It also expands the definition of prohibited sexual conduct to include any “sexual or

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials say the Pentagon is expected to announce that it will provide about $6 billion in long-term military aid to Ukraine. It will include much sought after munitions for Patriot air defense systems and other weapons. The officials say the aid package will be funded

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A transitional council tasked with bringing political stability to Haiti has been installed in the capital of Haiti, a nation marred by gang violence and soaring hunger and poverty. The freshly sworn-in council will appoint a new prime minister and Cabinet, and create a road map to eventually hold long-awaited general

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s GOP-controlled General Assembly has adjourned for the year, concluding months of tense political infighting that ultimately doomed Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s universal school voucher push. But the session also ended Thursday with outrage from Democrats and gun control advocates over the last minute approval of

By TARA COPP Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine has sidelined U.S.-provided Abrams M1A1 battle tanks for now in its fight against Russia, in part because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, two U.S. military officials told The Associated Press. The U.S. agreed

By ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Seventeen states are challenging new federal rules entitling workers to time off and other accommodations for abortions. Arkansas and Tennessee filed the lawsuit in federal court on Thursday and called the new rules an illegal interpretation of a 2022 federal law. The lawsuit comes days

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A former Arkansas mortuary worker has pleaded guilty to charges that she sold 24 boxes of stolen body parts from medical school cadavers to a Pennsylvania man. Candace Chapman Scott changed her plea on Thursday in federal court to guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico City prosecutors are seeking to downplay the case of a suspected serial killer who kept women’s bones and a saw in his room. The city’s head prosecutor said the remains linked to only six women were found in the suspect’s rented room, “not 20 as some unfounded reports have suggested.”

By COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump on Thursday claimed a 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia was “nothing” compared to the college campus protests that have sparked around the country over the Israel-Hamas war. Trump’s comments mark an attempt to downplay one of his biggest electoral vulnerabilities — his history

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The two NASA astronauts assigned to Boeing’s first human spaceflight have arrived in Florida for their May launch. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams flew from Houston to Kennedy Space Center on Thursday. They will serve as test pilots for Boeing’s Starliner. The capsule is

By MAYSOON KHAN Associated Press/Report for America ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — It’s now illegal to sell weight-loss and muscle-building supplements to minors in New York. The first-in-the-nation law went into effect this week. Experts say loose federal regulation of dietary supplements has resulted in these products sometimes including unapproved ingredients, like steroids, putting kids at

By The Associated Press The Palestinian militant group Hamas has said for more than 15 years that it could accept a two-state compromise with Israel — at least, a temporary one. But Hamas has also refused to say that it would recognize Israel or renounce its armed fight against it. For Israel and many others,

By ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Attorney Jack Wagoner, who helped successfully challenged Arkansas’ ban on same-sex marriage, has died. He was 62. An attorney who worked with Wagoner said he died Tuesday in Little Rock and that a cause of death was not yet known. Wagoner represented couples who challenged

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s GOP-controlled Statehouse on Thursday gave their final approval to legislation criminalizing adults who help minors receive gender-affirming care without parental consent, clearing the way for the first-in-the-nation proposal to be sent to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk for his signature. The bill mirrors almost the same

By JOHN SEEWER and MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Two police officers are on paid leave after the death of an Ohio man who was handcuffed and left facedown on a barroom floor.  Authorities in Canton, Ohio, released police body-camera footage Wednesday that shows the arrest and subsequent medical crisis of 53-year-old

By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — As Donald Trump seeks a return to the White House, criminal charges are piling up for the people who tried to help him stay there in 2020 by promoting false theories of voter fraud. Several of those charged or accused of involvement in election interference across the

By AMY BETH HANSON Associated Press HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Montana law that appeared to require people to cancel previous voter registrations before signing up to vote, or risk facing felony charges. U.S. District Judge Brian Morris said Wednesday that he agreed with the plaintiffs that the law

By SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Kim Kardashian has joined Vice President Kamala Harris for a roundtable highlighting the administration’s efforts on criminal justice reform. The Thursday event was the same week that President Joe Biden granted clemency to 16 people who were convicted of non-violent drug crimes, and four of those

By ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — There was talk of drone strikes and presidential bribes, of a potential ruling “for the ages” and of the Founding Fathers, too. The current presidential race went unmentioned but was also not far from mind. The Supreme Court heard more than 2 1/2

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press Connecticut state police have charged a man in a fiery crash that shut down a major highway bridge for hours and killed a fuel delivery truck driver. Reginald Collins was charged Wednesday with negligent homicide with a motor vehicle and other offenses related to the April 2023 crash on Interstate

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press LONG BEACH TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — Supporters of offshore wind energy projects in New Jersey and New York are trading blows with opponents in some shore towns who say vacationers and local residents don’t want to see turbines filling the ocean horizon. Eight Jersey Shore beach towns tell state utility

By GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Reggie Bush says the return of his Heisman Trophy is the biggest step yet in his fight against the NCAA to restore his reputation and his records from his incredible career at Southern California. Bush and his family celebrated the restoration of his Heisman honors

By JOHN HANNA Associated Press Arkansas authorities say the death of a Missouri doctor who was found 11 months ago in a northwest Arkansas lake has been ruled a suicide. The Benton County, Arkansas, sheriff’s department said in a statement Thursday that Dr. John Forsyth died of a gunshot wound to the head. The statement

By LOLITA C. BALDOR, JULIA FRANKEL and JON GAMBRELL Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — The construction of a new port in Gaza and a U.S military-built pier offshore are underway, but the complex plan to bring more desperately needed food to Palestinian civilians is still mired in fears over security and how the aid will

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president says the country’s violent criminal gangs and drug cartels are essentially “respectful people” who “respect the citizenry” and mostly just kill each other. The claims by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador are at odds with the reality of millions of Mexicans who live in areas dominated by drug cartels.

SEATTLE (AP) — The federal government plans to restore grizzly bears to an area of northwest and north-central Washington. Plans announced this week by the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service call for the release of three to seven bears a year for five to 10 years to achieve an initial population

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer Ridley Scott’s “Alien” is back in theaters Friday for its 45th anniversary and to get audiences excited about the new installment coming in August. The Alien franchise has sunk its teeth into different genres over the years, but “Alien: Romulus” filmmaker Fede Álvarez wanted to take it back to

NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s highest court overturned the 2020 rape conviction of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. The decision Thursday by the New York Court of Appeals reopens a painful chapter in America’s reckoning with sexual misconduct by powerful figures. The court found the trial judge prejudiced Weinstein with “egregious” improper rulings. That includes

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Special anti-terrorism measures being put in place to safeguard the unprecedented opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics on the River Seine will also apply to all buildings along the route. The Paris police chief said Thursday that will mean people who work and live along the route