AP National

Associated Press A Georgia judge has ordered a halt to a special election initiated by residents of the one of the South’s last remaining Gullah-Geechee communities of Black slave descendants, who hoped to undo zoning changes that they say threaten island homes. The judge’s ruling Wednesday comes after hundreds had already voted early in coastal

Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s Supreme Court says presidential candidates Cornel West and Claudia De la Cruz aren’t qualified to be on the state’s ballots and votes for them should not count. The names of West and De la Cruz will appear on Georgia’s ballots, but election officials said Wednesday that any votes for

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge has directed New York City officials to work on a plan for a possible federal takeover of Rikers Island jail. U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain said Wednesday that she will also rule later on whether to hold the city in contempt of court orders mandating

Associated Press NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A slow-motion catastrophe has been playing out in the coastal North Carolina village of Rodanthe, where 10 houses have fallen into the Atlantic since 2020. Three have been lost since Friday. The most recent collapse was Tuesday afternoon, when the wooden pilings of a home nicknamed “Front Row Seats”

AP Fashion Writer PARIS (AP) — Olivier Rousteing opened Balmain’s Wednesday show at Paris Fashion Week with an audacious angular micro-gown — a glittering number featuring peaked shoulders, humped hips and a massive clasping hand motif. It was clear from the start: this season’s Balmain was not going to be a study in subtlety. Meanwhile,

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican congressman who slandered Haitian immigrants in a social media post is facing a censure push from Democrats. Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana described Haitians in racist terms Wednesday afternoon, calling them “wild” and “slapstick gangsters.” in a post on X. Higgins deleted the post after Democrats confronted him

Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — The U.S. Senate has approved a resolution intended to hold Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre in criminal contempt for failing to testify before a Senate panel. The senate approved the measure Wednesday by unanimous consent. Members of a Senate committee looking into Steward Health Care’s bankruptcy adopted

NEW YORK (AP) — The author of a new biography of Phillis Wheatley, one of the country’s first major poets, has received a $50,000 history award. David Waldstreicher’s “The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet’s Journey Through American Slavery and Independence” is this year’s winner of the George Washington Prize, which honors works arising from

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona on Friday as her campaign tries to turn the larger issue of immigration from a liability into a strength and hopes to counter a line of frequent, searing political attacks from former President Donald Trump. Her campaign announced Wednesday

Associated Press/Report for America TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities are analyzing evidence collected from a Democratic campaign office in a suburban strip mall in Arizona that has twice been shot at over the last week. While police have yet to identify any suspects or a motive, workers remain worried. Police were at the strip mall

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Three county officials from upstate New York accused of conspiring to commit ballot fraud in 2021 local elections have been found not guilty of all charges by a federal jury. The three Rensselaer County officials were charged by federal prosecutors last year of conspiring to use their positions to obtain absentee

Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Questions are still swirling around the execution of a Missouri man convicted of fatally stabbing a woman in 1998. Marcellus Williams was put to death Tuesday evening with a lethal injection. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and top judicial officials were convinced of his guilt. But advocates for Williams

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Votes cast in Ohio for Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein won’t count because the party nominated her running mate after a state administrative deadline. State election officials say Stein will still appear on state ballots. She filed to run as an independent presidential candidate in Ohio because the Green Party

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Former corrections officer Joshua Conner Jones has pleaded guilty to criminal charges for his role in the death of a mentally ill incarcerated man in Alabama. The plea deal says Tony Mitchell died of hypothermia and sepsis after being incarcerated at Walker County Jail in 2023. One additional jailer has entered

Associated Press A veteran CIA officer has been found guilty of assault and battery for reaching up a colleague’s skirt and forcibly kissing her during a drunken party at a CIA worksite. Donald Asquith said he would appeal the misdemeanor conviction following a brief trial in Loudoun County, Virginia. The case came days after the

Associated Press/Report for America SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin has signed new laws to reduce oil and gas pollution. One of the measures signed Wednesday will give local governments more authority to restrict oil and gas operations. Another aims to close more so-called “idle wells” that aren’t in use but haven’t been properly

AP Business Writer An arbitration board has ruled that U.S. Steel may proceed with its proposed acquisition by Nippon Steel. The board, which was jointly chosen by U.S. Steel and the United Steelworkers to decide disputes between them, said Wednesday that U. S. Steel has satisfied each of the conditions of the successorship clause of

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted by a federal grand jury on criminal charges that are still sealed. That’s according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter

AP Congressional Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson is calling on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to fire his country’s ambassador to the U.S. The Republican speaker is criticizing Zelenskyy’s visit to an ammunition plant in Pennsylvania, a swing-state, as a political stunt. Johnson’s demand Wednesday comes as Zelenskyy addressed the United Nations in

Associated Press A federal judge on Wednesday approved a $600 million class-action settlement Wednesday that Norfolk Southern railroad offered to everyone who lived within 20 miles (32 kilometers) of last year’s disastrous derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Judge Benita Pearson gave the deal final approval after a hearing where the lawyers who negotiated it with

Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Left-leaning groups and voting rights advocates are asking Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court to stop counties from throwing out what could be thousands of mail-in ballots in November’s election in the presidential battleground state. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday directly to the state’s highest court. It is the latest attempt by

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has confirmed a new commander of U.S. Army forces in the Pacific after Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville dropped his objections and allowed a quick vote on the nomination. Tuberville had blocked Lt. Gen. Ronald Clark’s nomination for months over concerns that the top military aide to Defense Secretary

AP Technology Writer A high-ranking executive at OpenAI who served a few days as its interim CEO during a period of turmoil last year says she’s leaving the artificial intelligence company. Mira Murati, OpenAI’s chief technology officer, said in a written statement Wednesday that after much reflection she has made the difficult decision to leave

Associated Press Donald Trump this week falsely accused Democrats of cheating their way to a win in November, using a bipartisan 1986 act to claim without evidence that anyone overseas can get a ballot emailed to them, even if they’re not eligible to vote. This latest accusation builds on similar election-related falsehoods Trump and other

Associated Press PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — As Jimmy Carter nears his 100th birthday this October 1st, he remains in hospice care at his home in Plains, Georgia. It’s where he wanted to be. Carter has spent most of his life as a political outsider, even as president. Carter never mastered Capitol Hill, the national press

Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The mayor of a central Wisconsin city who ran for office on his opposition to absentee ballot drop boxes says he did nothing wrong when he removed a drop box outside City Hall. Wausau Mayor Doug Diny put on work gloves, donned a hard hat and used a dolly

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is warning that he would kick out hundreds of thousands of people who entered the country under two key Biden administration programs if he’s reelected. Trump railed against the programs in an interview Wednesday with Fox News. One allows migrants to use an app while in

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials briefed Donald Trump’s campaign this week on Iranian threats against the Republican presidential nominee, but the briefing centered on previously reported threats and not a new plot. In July, authorities boosted Trump’s security after linking a threat against Trump’s life to Iran. Iranian hackers also stole information from

Associated Press ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) — A Maryland judge has indefinitely postponed a resentencing hearing for convicted sniper Lee Malvo. Malvo and John Allen Muhammad shot and killed 10 people over a three-week span in 2002, which terrorized the Washington, D.C., region. Malvo, who was 17 years old at the time, was convicted of murder

Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The remains of 49 freedom fighters who died while exiled in Zimbabwe and Zambia during the struggle against white minority rule in South Africa have been returned to the country. The bodies were received Wednesday by government officials and family members at the Waterkloof Air Force Base in the capital

AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Adam Pearson is an ardent believer in the old adage: Nothing wagered, nothing gained. For Pearson, that means something a little different than most. Since he was a young boy, Pearson has had neurofibromatosis, a condition that covers much of his face with benign skin tumors. But far

AP Business Writer Italy’s antitrust watchdog is investigating the online fastfashion giant Shein for potentially making misleading claims about its sustainability practices. The country’s independent competition authority said in a statement that the probe would focus on Infinite Styles Serves Co. Limited. That’s a Dublin-based company that does business as Shein and operates the online

AP Sports Writer KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kareem Hunt is ready to step on the field again for the Kansas City Chiefs, six years after he was released when a video surfaced showing the running back kicking a woman in a hotel hallway. The 29-year-old running back was signed last week when the Chiefs

Associated Press HELSINKI (AP) — A zoo in Finland has agreed with Chinese authorities to return two loaned giant pandas to China more than eight years ahead of schedule because they have become too expensive for the facility to maintain amid declining visitors. The private Ähtäri Zoo in central Finland some 330 kilometers (205 miles)

Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — An attorney for Karen Read has asked the highest court in Massachusetts to dismiss a murder charge and one other charge she faces in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend. Read’s attorneys filed a brief Tuesday to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court arguing that trying her again on

AP Technology Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Social media platform X on Wednesday published its first transparency report since the company was purchased by Elon Musk. The report, which details content moderation practices, shows the company has removed millions of posts and accounts from the site in the first half of the year. X, formerly

AP Science Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis tells The Associated Press that his nation is in a financial pickle. Like many other countries in the Global South, Bahamas has got lots of debt from warming-connected weather disasters that it did little to cause and is seeking more help, more money,

AP Sports Writer A New York City track meet will be unlike any other, featuring lucrative prize money, big-name entertainers, silver crowns instead of gold medals for the winners and an all-female field. It’s another win for women’s sports. Recently crowned Olympic 200-meter champion Gabby Thomas and company are helping the sport take a big

Associated Press JDEIDET YABOUS, Syria (AP) — Families fleeing the escalating conflict in Lebanon poured into Syria in growing numbers on Wednesday, waiting for hours in heavy traffic to reach the relative safety of another war-torn country. U.N. officials estimated that thousands of Lebanese and Syrian families had already made the journey. Those numbers are

Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Eswatini’s main opposition party claims its leader was poisoned in an assassination attempt. It puts renewed scrutiny on the southern African country that is one of the last remaining absolute monarchies and has for years moved to quash pro-democracy movements. The People’s United Democratic Movement says its

MOSCOW (AP) — In a strong, new warning to the West, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that any nation’s conventional attack on Russia that is supported by a nuclear power will be considered a joint attack on his country. The threat, outlined in a revision of Moscow’s nuclear doctrine, was clearly aimed at discouraging the

Associated Press NORTH HAVERHILL, N.H. (AP) — A man who pleaded guilty as a teenager to the 2001 stabbing deaths of two married Dartmouth College professors is challenging his life-without-parole sentence, saying that the New Hampshire Constitution prohibits it. Robert Tulloch was 17 when he was part of a conspiracy with a friend that resulted

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A New York appeals court is set to hear arguments in former President Donald Trump’s fight to overturn a civil fraud judgment that could cost him close to half a billion dollars. Arguments are scheduled for noon Thursday in the state’s intermediate appellate court. Trump is asking the court

AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The rush for gold just keeps coming. Gold hit another all time high this week. The New York spot price of gold closed Tuesday at just over $2,657 per Troy ounce — the standard for measuring precious metals. That’s the highest recorded to date, up nearly $145 from

Associated Press ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has welcomed King Abdullah II of Jordan to Maryland’s Capitol. They met in the Maryland State House on Wednesday for a roundtable discussion with business and education leaders from around the state. Moore says it’s the first time a foreign head of state has visited

AP Airlines Writer DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines is planning to cut about one-third of its flights in Atlanta next year to save money, and employees affected by the change are furious. The cutback comes as Southwest management is under pressure from a hedge fund to increase profits and boost the airline’s stock price. Southwest

Associated Press HAIFA, Israel (AP) — The sandy beaches of Haifa are empty. Businesses are shutting early in Israel’s third-largest city, and many restaurants are closed. The only places filling up, as the threat of a wider war with Hezbollah mounts, are public bomb shelters. Haifa is a seaside city of nearly 300,000 people. It

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anna Sorokin, the convicted con artist who swindled banks, hotels and friends under the guise of being a “heiress” named Anna Delvey, has reached the end of her run on “Dancing With the Stars.” As a controversial casting choice on the competition reality series, Sorokin had to don an ankle monitor

Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court determination that a Montana health clinic submitted hundreds of false asbestos claims on behalf of patients. A jury decided last year that the clinic in a town where hundreds of people have died from asbestos exposure submitted more than 300

AP Pro Football Writer SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco 49ers All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey has traveled to Germany to consult with a specialist about his Achilles tendinitis. Coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed that McCaffrey made the trip in hopes of resolving an issue that has bothered him since early in training camp and

GRAYSON, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky sheriff accused of walking into a judge’s chambers and fatally shooting him has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge. Sheriff Shawn “Mickey” Stines is being held in another Kentucky county but was arraigned by video on Wednesday. The hearing was before a special judge, who is standing in

Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is moving toward backing plans to remove some of its protections for wolves on the continent as their population grows, in the latest political clash between farmers and environmentalists. Ambassadors of the 27 EU nations reached a qualified majority Wednesday to seek to loosen protection rules enshrined

AP Business Writer Coca-Cola Co. is discontinuing its newest “permanent” flavor a little more than seven months after putting it on the market. The beverage giant said Wednesday that Coca-Cola Spiced and Coca-Cola Spiced Zero Sugar will be phased out and replaced with a new flavor that will be introduced next year. “We’re always looking

AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — After fueling so many other people’s parties, it will be time for Kool & the Gang to themselves finally celebrate when they are inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame next month in Cleveland. The opening of the Hall of Fame door for the group coincides

Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A passenger was killed after a gunman hijacked a city bus in Los Angeles early Wednesday, leading to a slow police chase through downtown before the suspect was eventually arrested, authorities said. The armed man boarded the Metro bus with the driver and two passengers aboard shortly before 1

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s Senate has approved putting the National Guard under the command of the military despite widespread criticism over deepening the country’s militarization. Wednesday’s move is the second constitutional change in two weeks, giving outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador another victory days before his exit. The Congress passed on Sept. 11

Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Cross-border attacks between Israel and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah have reignited concerns that the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip could break out into a regional conflict, nearly a year after it began. That wider war could draw in Iran, and other regional militias that it has

WHITEWATER TOWNSHIP, Ohio (AP) — An evacuation order remains in effect for residents in an Ohio community as crews work at the scene of a dangerous chemical leak. Styrene, a toxic and flammable chemical that is used to make plastic and rubber, began leaking Tuesday afternoon from a railcar in Whitewater Township, just west of

AP Film Writer VENICE, Italy (AP) — “Joker” is a hard act to follow. Todd Phillips’ dark, Scorsese-inspired character study about the Batman villain made over a billion dollars at the box office, won Joaquin Phoenix his first Oscar, dominated the cultural discourse for months and created a new movie landmark. Knowing that it was

HAMDEN, Conn. (AP) — Hip-hop artist Fatman Scoop, who collapsed onstage while performing in Connecticut last month, died of heart disease, the state medical examiner’s office has determined. The official cause of death for the performer, born Isaac Freeman III, was hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, a spokesperson for the Connecticut medical examiner’s office said

AP College Football Writer The convoluted way college athletes are paid for the use of their name, image and likeness and a dispute between player and coaches over money appears to have cost an undefeated team its quarterback three games into the season. UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka has decided to sit out the rest of

PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech Republic’s central bank has cut its key interest rate for the seventh time in a row as inflation remains low and amid the economy’s slow recovery. The cut on Wednesday had been predicted by analysts. It brought the interest rate down by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.25%.

Edmunds Honda has a long reputation for building highly fuel-efficient cars and trucks, and now it’s getting serious about EVs with the all-new 2024 Prologue. Stretching slightly longer than Honda’s midsize and gas-powered Passport SUV, the Prologue is entirely electric and has room for five. One of its key competitors is the Toyota bZ4X, which,

Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — One of the nation’s largest Muslim voter-mobilization groups is endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential bid. The Muslim-advocacy group Emgage Action made the announcement Wednesday in a statement first provided to The Associated Press. The group said it recognizes “the responsibility to defeat” Donald Trump in November. Emgage Action

Associated Press Some groups that have been helping women pay for abortions and associated travel are cutting back their aid as travel costs rise. Abortion funds have been around for decades, but they got big boosts from donors around the time the Supreme Court ended a national right to abortion. But this year, some of

OSLO, Norway (AP) — Norwegian police say they have detained a German national of Cameroonian heritage for allegedly inciting crimes against humanity in Cameroon, the first time Norway is embarking on legal proceedings for such crimes. Officers said Wednesday that the man, who is in his 50s but has not been named, “had a central

Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday resentenced Julie Chrisley to seven years in prison for her conviction on bank fraud and tax evasion charges, declining the reality TV star’s request for less time in prison than was originally imposed. Chrisley and her husband, Todd Chrisley, gained fame on their show, “Chrisley

Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China has test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean in a rare occurrence, adding to tensions in the region where multiple countries have overlapping territorial claims. The Defense Ministry says the launch Wednesday was part of routine training by the People’s Liberation Army’s Rocket Force and was

Associated Press An Ohio sheriff has deleted a social media post in which he said people with Kamala Harris yard signs should have their addresses written down so that immigrants can be sent to live with them. Good-government groups had called the post by Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski a threat and urged him to

Associated Press When their church no longer felt safe, deacon Francisco Alvicio and his congregation made a plan. Cautiously, discreetly, they took their worship to their homes. “If I’m pursued at the church, I still have my Bible,” the 63-year-old Nicaraguan said. Praying in hiding became his last resort before fleeing his country in 2023.

MOSCOW (AP) — The lower house of Russia’s parliament has given overwhelming approval to the first reading of a proposed law to prohibit the adoption of Russian children by citizens of countries where gender transitioning is legal. The measure needs to pass two more readings in the Duma before being sent to the upper house

Associated Press LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Members of Britain’s governing Labour Party have dealt Prime Minister Keir Starmer a blow by rejecting his decision to cut a payment that offsets winter heating costs for millions of retirees. The vote on Wednesday at Labour’s annual conference is not binding, but it’s a setback to Starmer’s efforts