Month: May 2024

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii health officials say testing on west Maui residents shows no evidence of widespread lead exposure from last summer’s wildfires. Blood samples were taken from more than 500 people to screen for the toxic metal after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century ripped through the town of Lahaina, killing

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly is expected to vote Friday on a resolution that would grant Palestine new “rights and privileges” and call on the Security Council to favorably reconsider its request to become the 194th member of the United Nations. The United States vetoed a

By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caitlin Clark walked into her new home arena Thursday night with No. 22 shirts and jerseys peppered from floor to ceiling. A late-arriving but still louder-than-usual crowd roared during her first official introduction to Fever fans. And when Clark made the layup for her first basket

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Air Vanuatu has filed for bankruptcy protection a day after the South Pacific state-owned carrier cancelled all international flights. Ernst & Young Australia’s Morgan Kelly, Justin Walsh and Andrew Hanson were appointed liquidators on Friday in a local equivalent of a U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Thousands of travelers have been left

Associated Press WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) — Maui officials say they will hire an outside expert to analyze how the county’s emergency management agency handled devastating wildfires nine months ago. The Aug. 8 wildfire was the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. It killed 101 people and destroyed much of the historic town of

By COLLEEN SLEVIN Associated Press DENVER (AP) — A man who says he was paralyzed after being hit with a Taser while running from police in Colorado has filed a federal lawsuit against one of the officers. Lawyers for Jacob Root allege the officer fired a Taser at Root’s back without warning and he couldn’t

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A bill that would have consolidated six South Carolina heath care agencies and was overwhelmingly passed by both chambers of the General Assembly has died in a procedural move by a member angry he was mocked by his colleagues. Republican Rep. Josiah Magnuson has been against

By TOM CANAVAN AP Sports Writer CLIFTON, N.J. (AP) — Nelly Korda is going to have some work to do if she wants to win a record sixth straight LPGA tournament, especially the way Rose Zhang is playing. Korda shot a relatively mistake-free 3-under 69 early in the first round of the Cognizant Founders Cup

By STEPHEN SMITH and SUDHIN THANAWALA Associated Press FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The family of the U.S. Air Force airman shot and killed by a deputy in Florida says he was devoted to improving the lives of a younger sister, brother and his mom. An Okaloosa County sheriff’s deputy shot 23-year-old Roger Fortson

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press A Chinese billionaire has been sentenced to time served in connection with a scheme to funnel illegal straw donations to politicians’ campaigns in New York and Rhode Island. Hui Qin appeared in federal court on Long Island, New York, on Thursday and was sentenced to seven months in prison —

By MOUTA ALI and EDOUARD TAKADJI Associated Press N’DJAMENA, Chad (AP) — Chad’s military leader, Mahamat Deby Itno, has been declared the winner of this week’s presidential election, according to provisional results released Thursday. The results were contested by his main rival, Prime Minister Succès Masra. The national agency that manages Chad’s election released results

By MATT BROWN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has recorded a video commencement message that is being played for graduates at historically Black colleges and universities across the country this spring. The surprise video, which has debuted at a handful of HBCU commencement ceremonies in the past week, will appear at

By MATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A judge must decide whether Virginia law allows frozen embryos to be considered property that can be divided up and given a monetary value. The Fairfax County judge heard arguments Thursday from a divorced couple who disagree over the ex-wife’s desire to use two frozen embryos

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York lawmakers may soon change the legal standard that allowed Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction to be overturned, with momentum building behind a bill to strengthen sexual assault prosecutions after the disgraced movie mogul’s case was tossed. The state’s highest court late last month threw out

Associated Press The fatal shooting of a U.S. Air Force airman at his off-base apartment by a Florida sheriff’s deputy brings to mind other instances of Black people being killed by law enforcement in their own homes as they’re going about their day. Senior Airman Roger Fortson was killed last week in his apartment in

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Washington’s attorney general says the Seattle Archdiocese isn’t cooperating in a sex abuse investigation, but church officials disagree. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Thursday asked a judge to force the church to turn over documents to his office in an investigation into whether the archdiocese unlawfully

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has welcomed the reigning WNBA champions, the Las Vegas Aces, to the White House, celebrating what he called a “banner year” for women’s basketball. “It matters to girls and women, finally seeing themselves represented,” Biden said during the celebration. “It matters to all Americans. That’s why as a nation,

By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is scrambling to pass a $105 billion bill designed to improve air safety and improve customer service for air travelers before the law governing the Federal Aviation Administration expires at midnight on Friday. If senators can’t resolve a series of disputes over the measure

By CHRISTOPHER WEBER Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge says a plan to close a troubled prison in California where female inmates suffered sexual abuse by guards was “ill-conceived and, like Swiss cheese, full of holes.” The judge on Wednesday ordered a close monitoring and care of the incarcerated women who were

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior FBI official says the agency is concerned that foreign adversaries could deploy artificial intelligence as a way to interfere in American elections and spread disinformation. The official describes the technology as an area “that’s probably going to see growth over the coming years.” The threat

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A Maine man who admitted trying to kill three police officers with a machete near New York’s Times Square on New Year’s Eve 16 months ago has been sentenced to 27 years in prison. The sentencing of Trevor Bickford in Manhattan federal court Thursday came after

By JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The nation’s largest public utility pledged to be more transparent after it took months to disclose that a general budget vote by its board last year also gave the CEO the final decision over several proposed natural gas power plants. The Tennessee Valley Authority’s board announced

By MARC LEVY Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania will join the majority of states that ban motorists from handling a cell phone for almost any purpose while driving as state lawmakers hope to reduce distracted driving accidents. Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office said Thursday he’ll sign the bill. The ban takes effect a year

By STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Several people have been detained by police at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after demonstrators blocked a parking garage in their ongoing protest movement connected to the Israel-Hamas war. Tensions have ratcheted up in standoffs with protesters of the Israel-Hamas war on campuses across the United

REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A new Biden administration rule aims to speed up asylum processing at the southern border, enabling it to quickly reject a limited group of people believed to have committed serious crimes or who have terrorist links. The change announced Thursday comes during an election year when immigration is

By LAURA UNGAR AP Science Writer A new report finds fewer U.S. medical school graduates are applying to residency programs, but the drop is more pronounced in states that ban abortion compared with other states. Figures released Thursday by the Association of American Medical Colleges showed continuing declines for the second straight year. According to

Associated Press One skier was rescued and two remained missing following an avalanche Thursday in the mountains outside of Salt Lake City that occurred after several days of spring snowstorms, authorities said. A rescue team responded just after 10 a.m. to an avalanche reported near Lone Peak in the in the Wasatch Range southeast of

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it found “insufficient evidence” that racial discrimination shaped decisions made by two Mississippi agencies about water system funding for the state’s majority-Black capital city of Jackson. The EPA’s Office of External Civil Rights Compliance issued findings this week. The

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber are expecting their first child together. A representative for Hailey Bieber confirmed to The Associated Press that the model is just over six months pregnant. The Canadian singer and supermodel wife announced the news on their respective Instagram pages with

By GABRIELA SÁ PESSOA and MAURICIO SAVARESE Associated Press PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (AP) — About 24 hours after it was first spotted and with people clamoring for the rescue of a horse social media users nicknamed Caramelo, a team in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul state have successfully removed Caramelo, providing a dose of hope

By KATHY McCORMACK Associated Press CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire man convicted of killing his 5-year-old daughter and moving her corpse around for months before disposing of it has been sentenced to a minimum of 56 years in prison on murder and other changes. That sentence will be added on to the minimum

By JIM VERTUNO Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A top former aide to U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar and a political and business consultant have agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to help the Democratic congressman from Texas launder more than $200,000 in bribes and to assist prosecutors in a federal criminal investigation. Colin Strother,

NEW YORK (AP) — Former Boston Celtics forward Glen “Big Baby” Davis was sentenced to 40 months in a federal prison for his participation in a scheme that New York prosecutors said defrauded an insurance plan for NBA players and their families of more than $5 million. More than 20 people were convicted in the