Month: December 2024

Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin public worker and teachers unions have scored a major legal victory with a ruling that restores collective bargaining rights they lost under a 2011 state law. That law effectively ended the ability of most public employees to bargain for wage increases and other issues and forced them to

AP Technology Writer Antitrust enforcers with the Federal Trade Commission have opened a wide-ranging investigation into Microsoft’s business practices, starting off a big legal project that an incoming Trump administration must take up or abandon. The FTC is investigating Microsoft’s cloud computing business and related product lines such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, according to

AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Federal Reserve official said Monday that he is leaning toward supporting an interest rate cut when the Fed meets in two weeks but that evidence of persistent inflation before then could cause him to change that view. Speaking at George Washington University, Christopher Waller, a key member

Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The FBI says it is offering a reward of up to $15,000 for information leading to the return of a northern Maine teenager whose disappearance earlier in the fall has attracted international attention. Fourteen-year-old Stefanie Damron of New Sweden, Maine, was reported missing by her family on Sept. 24,

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is demanding the immediate release of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza, saying that if they are not freed before he is sworn into office for a second term there will be “HELL TO PAY.” “Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the

Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — The creator of the widely debunked film “2000 Mules” has issued a statement saying “inaccurate information” was provided to him about ballot box surveillance videos featured in the film. He also apologized to a Georgia man seen in one of those videos and falsely accused of ballot fraud during the

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The ACC has fined N.C. State, North Carolina, Virginia and Virginia Tech for scuffles during their rivalry games. The league announced the penalties Monday, although it did not disclose the amount of the fines. It said the amounts would be the maximum allowed by league bylaws. The Wolfpack and Tar Heels

Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — A program that provides federal funds to groups in Detroit working to cut down the numbers of homicides and shootings is showing reductions of 83%, 73% and 61% in some of the city’s most violent areas. The city says the numbers come as Detroit is on pace to continue setting

AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The Golden Globes are raising a glass to former “Cheers” star Ted Danson by naming him the Carol Burnett Award honoree for 2025. Danson, a three-time Globes winner, has been a fixture on TV since he broke out as Boston bartender Sam Malone on NBC’s comedy “Cheers.” His

Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French Prime Minister Michel Barnier is bracing for a no-confidence vote this week, a political reckoning poised to topple his fragile government and send shockwaves across the eurozone. Barnier on Monday invoked a rarely used constitutional mechanism to push through the contentious 2025 budget without parliamentary approval, arguing it was

HONOLULU (AP) — Authorities say a Hawaii crime boss who was convicted of racketeering charges last summer has died in prison. The Bureau of Prisons said in a news release Monday that 50-year-old Michael Miske was found unresponsive Sunday morning at the Federal Detention Center Honolulu and that life-saving efforts failed to save him. His

Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Already reeling from their November defeats, Democrats now are grappling with President Joe Biden’s pardoning of his son for federal crimes after the party spent years slamming Donald Trump as a threat to democracy who disregarded the law. The president pardoned Hunter Biden late Sunday evening, reversing his previous pledges

Associated Press BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A top Romanian court has validated the first round of a presidential race in which a far-right outsider emerged as the frontrunner, plunging the country into a week of turmoil amid allegations of electoral violations and Russian meddling. The Constitutional Court’s decision Monday came after it asked the Central

DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. (AP) — The Coast Guard recovered the bodies of two boaters off the Alabama coast but suspended the search for a missing 7-year-old boy after combing the area over the weekend. Searchers were unable to find Hunter Slezak. He was on a boat that went missing Friday. Searchers on Saturday found a

Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A critically endangered species of leopard has died at age 21 in a Southern California zoo. Officials at the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert say Amur leopard Zoya died of old age last Tuesday after over a decade there. She was one of the oldest leopards

Associated Press TAPACHULA, Mexico (AP) — A small migrant caravan has set out from southern Mexico, heading north, but is unlikely to reach the U.S. border after authorities broke up two other small caravans headed to the United States over the weekend. About 1,500 migrants — mostly from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Established nonprofits, everyday individuals and mutual aid groups all want your dollars to make a difference. But with so many worthy causes and the rise of new giving technologies, how should you donate? The choices can be immobilizing. Many value conventional charities. But others like to crowdfund by pooling

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian officials said Monday that most of the victims of a bus crash in Southern France, in which two people were killed and dozens were injured, are citizens of the South American country, who reside in Spain. Colombia’s Ambassador to France,  Alfonso Prada, said the bus that crashed on Sunday evening

BANGOR, Maine (AP) — Stephen King’s rock ‘n’ roll radio station is going silent at year’s end. King, a 77-year-old rocker who used to perform with the Rock Bottom Remainders, a band that featured literary icons, said Monday that it’s time to say farewell to his rock station and two others that have been bleeding

Associated Press KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — A military spokesperson says at least 10 people were killed and an unspecified number of others were abducted in eastern Congo by extremist rebels linked to the Islamic State group. He says the rebels with the Allied Democratic Forces, an IS-affiliate in the region, attacked the area of Batangi-Mbau

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgia is convulsed by political upheaval again after its pro-Moscow government, fresh off parliamentary elections denounced as rigged by its critics, decided to suspend negotiations for the small former Soviet republic to join the European Union. The small but ancient Caucasus country has long inhabited a crossroads between Slavic, Turkish and

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Ireland’s election is over but the country faces weeks of coalition talks before it gets a new government. With all seats filled in the 174-seat legislature on Monday, center-right party Fianna Fail had won 48 seats and fellow center-right party Fine Gael 38. The two parties will now hold talks

Associated Press SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia judge has thrown out a lawsuit challenging a Savannah city ordinance that imposes fines or even jail time for people who leave guns in unlocked cars. Chatham County Superior Court Judge Benjamin Karpf dismissed the case Nov. 22. He ruled that Georgia gun owner Clarence Belt lacked

Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri’s governor has denied clemency for Christopher Collings, an inmate who is scheduled to be executed Tuesday for sexually assaulting and killing a 9-year-old girl. The 49-year-old prisoner was condemned to die for the 2007 killing of Rowan Ford, a fourth-grader whose body was left in a sinkhole. Parson’s

AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Bobby Flay’s latest cookbook is really a sort of recipe for how Bobby Flay was made. The chef, restaurateur and TV personality has compiled 100 of his most important recipes into a lush, beautifully photographed coffee table book he hopes will inspire home cooks. “Bobby Flay: Chapter One:

AP Medical Writer The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a case involving Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender people under age 18. At least 26 states have adopted laws restricting or banning such care for minors, and most of those states face lawsuits. The nation’s top court will be weighing whether Tennessee’s

MADRID (AP) — Thousands of delivery drivers in Spain working for the food delivery app Glovo will soon be full employees after the company announced that it was moving to an employment-based model. The decision Monday follows years of pressure from the Spanish government to give app-based drivers labor contracts. In a statement, Glovo’s parent

WEDDINGTON, N.C. (AP) — Authorities in North Carolina say an 82-year-old man has died two weeks after an explosion at his home. The Union County Sheriff’s Office said reports came in on Nov. 17 of an explosion at a Weddington home that was felt across the county. First responders found severe damage to part of

Associated Press The Michigan Supreme Court has cleared the way for a police officer to face trial for second-degree murder in the death of a man who was shot in the head. Patrick Lyoya was shot by Grand Rapids Officer Christopher Schurr in 2022. The Supreme Court turned down an appeal Monday. Lyoya was killed

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s police say they have arrested and opened an extradition procedure for a Norwegian rapper who is wanted in his country for alleged drug crimes, causing bodily harm to a person and assault on a police officer. Polish media are identifying the 37-year-old man as the popular rapper Pappaisjappa, who was

Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — A Brussels appeals court has ruled that the Belgian state committed a crime against humanity in the case of five mixed-race women who were taken away from their Black mothers in infancy. In a landmark case addressing the Belgian colonial past in Africa, the five women fought a legal battle

DETROIT (AP) — A Stellantis joint venture with Samsung SDI has won a commitment from the U.S. Energy Department for up to a $7.54 billion loan to help build two electric vehicle battery plants in Kokomo, Indiana. The project being built by StarPlus Energy LLC is expected to create at least 2,800 jobs at the

Travelers heading home after the Thanksgiving holiday set a record on Sunday, as airport officers screened more than 3 million people. The Transportation Security Administration said Monday that it handled 3.09 million travelers on Sunday, breaking the previous record by about 74,000. That mark was set on July 7, also a Sunday after a holiday.

GENEVA (AP) — Swiss prosecutors say a right-to-die activist was released after more than two months in police custody over the reported first use of a so-called “suicide capsule,” after ruling out the possibility of an intentional homicide. Florian Willet, head of advocacy group The Last Resort, was released by authorities in the northern Schaffhausen

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading back to Europe for what will likely be the last high-level NATO meeting before the Biden administration leaves office next month. Shoring up allied support for Ukraine ahead of President-elect Donald Trump return to the White House will top the agenda at the NATO foreign

Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was reelected as secretary-general of his Socialist Party over the weekend despite corruption probes besetting his inner circle. One of Europe’s longest-serving leaders, Sánchez has displayed adroit skills in staying in power since 2018. But with mounting legal cases touching his inner circle, the right-wing

Fifty-six people were killed in a stampede at a soccer stadium in southern Guinea on Sunday. Guinea’s government said the chaos followed clashes between fans in the city of Nzerekore during the final of a local tournament between the Labe and Nzerekore teams in honor of Guinea’s military leader, Mamadi Doumbouya. Local media reported security

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Authorities on the Greek islands Rhodes and Lemnos have declared a state of emergency after powerful storms caused extensive flooding and infrastructure damage. The flooding was blamed for the weekend deaths of two people on Lemnos. Rescue teams, assisted by the military and local authorities, rescued many older residents in flood-hit

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — A new report says major companies in the arms industry saw a 4.2% increase in overall revenue in 2023 with sharp rises for producers based in Russia and the Middle East. The report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says revenues from the top 100 arms companies totaled $632 billion