Month: December 2024

Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — A prominent human rights attorney has quietly parted ways with the International Criminal Court to protest what he sees as an unjustified failure of its chief prosecutor to indict members of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government for crimes against humanity, The Associated Press has learned. The Chilean-born Claudio Grossman, a

Associated Press HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Six critically endangered Mekong giant catfish — one of the largest and rarest freshwater fish in the world — were caught and released in Cambodia recently in just a few days, offering new hope for the survival for the species. They can grow up to 10 feet long (3

HARRISON, N.Y. (AP) — Authorities in New York say one person died when a small plane crashed onto an interstate highway in suburban Westchester County. The other of the two people on board was injured in Thursday evening’s crash. It shut down traffic on Interstate 684 in Harrison around 7 p.m. Video shows the damaged

Associated Press The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee has placed an employee on administrative leave after The Associated Press reported that one of its coaches was accused of sexually abusing a young biathlete, causing her so much distress that she attempted suicide. USOPC officials sent an email to the U.S. Biathlon national team saying it

Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former Syrian military official who oversaw a prison where alleged human rights abuses took place has been charged with several counts of torture. Samir Ousman al-Sheikh was arrested in July for visa fraud charges. He oversaw Syria’s infamous Adra Prison from 2005 to 2008 under recently ousted President

Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico would make new investments in early childhood education, pilot projects to recycle oil-fracking water, and expand treatment for drug addiction and mental health disorders under a new annual spending proposal from Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The budget blueprint would increase general fund spending by about

Associated Press After Luigi Mangione made the difficult decision to undergo spinal surgery last year for chronic back pain, he became a proponent of the procedure that changed his life for the better. He repeatedly posted on Reddit about his recovery and offered words of encouragement for people with similar conditions, telling them to push

CHICAGO (AP) — A jury has awarded nearly $80 million to the family of a 10-year-old Chicago girl who was killed during a police chase and crash in 2020. The city of Chicago had acknowledged liability in the death of Da’Karia Spicer. The only issue for the jury was the financial award. Da’Karia was in

Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — The National Transportation Safety Board says in a report that a Hawaiian Airlines flight hit severe turbulence that injured passengers and crewmembers because of the flight crew’s decision to fly over a hazardous storm cell instead of around it. Four people suffered serious injuries during the December 2022 flight from

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is offering his support for the dockworkers union before their contract expires next month at Eastern and Gulf Coast ports. He posted on social media Thursday that he met with union leaders and that any further “automation” of the ports would harm workers. He wrote that the

Associated Press BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Dozens of environmental nonprofits issued a manifesto Thursday condemning new laws in Brazilian states that threaten to dismantle the Amazon soy moratorium. This landmark voluntary agreement stipulates that traders and oil producers do not buy soybeans grown on land cleared after 2008. The soy moratorium gathered strange bedfellows, ranging

Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Millions of faithful have gathered to mark Mexico’s Virgin of Guadalupe Day, honoring the country’s patroness. But calls by the Roman Catholic Church for a truce in the country’s ongoing drug cartel violence apparently went unheeded. Enormous crowds gathered early on Thursday and sang the traditional Mexican birthday song

GEORGETOWN, Ky. (AP) — Toyota says it will build a new paint facility as part of a $922 million investment at its factory complex in Georgetown, Kentucky. It’s the second big addition announced this year at the automaker’s largest global manufacturing plant. In February, the company said it will invest $1.3 billion at the complex,

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. Department of Energy says $365 million is available to install solar and battery storage systems in homes and healthcare centers across Puerto Rico. Up to $190 million is available to Puerto Rico’s Housing Administration and a private company to pay for solar and battery installations in public

Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Niger’s ruling junta suspended the BBC for three months over its coverage of an extremist attack that allegedly killed dozens of Nigerien soldiers and civilians. Niger’s ruling junta suspended the BBC for three months over its coverage of an extremist attack that allegedly killed dozens of Nigerien soldiers and

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has announced what it called the first-ever national strategy to counter Islamophobia. A proposal released Thursday details more than 100 possible steps to curb hate, violence, bias and discrimination against Muslims and Arab Americans. It follows a similar national plan to battle antisemitism that President Joe Biden

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — An Argentine tourist has been shot in the head and chest in Rio de Janeiro after he mistakenly drove his car into a low-income community, police said. He was using a GPS device to make his way to the Christ the Redeemer statue, local media reported. Gastón Fernando, 51, was

NEW YORK (AP) — The man charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was not a client of the medical insurer and may have targeted it because of its size and influence, a senior police official said Thursday. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told NBC New York in an interview Thursday that investigators have

Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The deputy executive director of the U.N. World Food Program has been on whirlwind visits to hotspots in the Middle East and Sudan to assess dire humanitarian situations and escalating demands for food from millions of people trapped or fleeing conflicts. But Carl Skau said in an interview with

Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s prime minister has held his first press conference since being appointed more than a month ago to oversee the troubled Caribbean country reeling from recent massacres as Haitians demand government protection. Alix Didier Fils-Aimé said Thursday that he and the entire government bow deeply to those killed in

Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republicans will meet on Tuesday as required under federal law to cast the state’s Electoral College votes for President-elect Donald Trump, not a day earlier as state law calls for. Elections officials and the state Department of Justice agreed that federal law should be followed The Wisconsin Republican

Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A northern Wisconsin tribe and a coalition of groups are moving to block plans to reroute an aging pipeline around the tribe’s reservation. The Bad River Band of Lake Superior filed a lawsuit in Ashland County on Thursday challenging the validity of the environmental impact statement on rerouting Enbridge’s

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping would likely see President-elect Donald Trump’s invitation to attend his inauguration as too risky to accept, and the gesture from Trump may have little bearing on the increasingly competitive ties between the two nations as the White House changes hands, experts say. Trump’s incoming press secretary,