Month: August 2023

BOSTON (AP) — Democratic Gov. Maura Healey is activating members of the Massachusetts National Guard to assist at shelters and hotels as the state struggles with an influx of migrants. The move, announced Thursday, comes after the governor declared a state of emergency several weeks ago because the newcomers were straining the shelter system. Healy

By KAREN MATTHEWS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A headless bronze statue believed to depict the Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius has been ordered seized from the Cleveland Museum of Art. A warrant signed by a judge in New York City this month ordered the seizure of the statue. A spokesperson for Manhattan

By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press ROME (AP) — Italian police on Thursday took into custody in Pakistan a Pakistani man who is on trial in Italy for the murder of his daughter after she refused family demands to marry a cousin in their homeland. The court case, in Reggio Emilia, northern Italy, is the most

By RANDALL CHASE Associated Press DOVER, Del. (AP) — A federal judge in Delaware ordered prosecutors and defense attorneys on Thursday to provide a status report regarding a felony gun charge against Hunter Biden. Judge Maryellen Noreika directed lawyers to provide the report by next Wednesday, including any steps they believe the court needs to

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s first-in-the-nation law placing strict limits on drag shows is facing another legal challenge. The ACLU is suing a local district attorney who is warning Blount County Pride organizers that he intends to enforce the new statute. A federal judge in Memphis has ruled the ban

By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — A senior U.S. envoy visiting Beirut says Washington is looking into possibilities for solving a decades-old border dispute between Lebanon and Israel. Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden, spoke in Beirut nearly a year after he brokered a deal on the maritime border

By YURAS KARMANAU TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A court in Belarus has sentenced a high-profile journalist to 3 1/2 years for “facilitating extremist activities” and “discrediting Belarus” after she provided data for a renowned human rights group. Fifty-year-old Larysa Shchyrakova will serve her sentence in a high-security penal colony and must pay a fine of

By JIM VERTUNO Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Supreme Court allowed a new state law banning gender-affirming care for minors to take effect on Friday, setting up Texas to be the most populous state with such restrictions on transgender children. Legal advocates who sued on behalf of the families and doctors, including

By SCOTT McFETRIDGE Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa teenager says he feared for his life when he fatally shot two fellow students at an alternative educational program for at-risk youth. The trial of 19-year-old Preston Walls began Thursday in Des Moines. His lawyer pushed back against a claim by prosecutors that

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Even before the newly elected justice who gave liberals a one-seat majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court has heard a case, Republican lawmakers are talking about taking the unprecedented step of impeaching and removing her from office. And they have the votes to do it. Republicans

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Two former leaders of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group have been sentenced to more than a decade each in prison for spearheading an attack on the U.S. Capitol to try to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — The deputy governor of Germany’s Bavaria state has defended himself against mounting allegations that he was responsible for an antisemitic flyer, that he gave the Hitler salute, and that he imitated the Nazi dictator as a high school student. The claims have come weeks before a state

By NICOLE WINFIELD and SARUUL ENKHBOLD Associated Press ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (AP) — Pope Francis arrived in Mongolia on Friday morning to encourage one of the world’s smallest and newest Catholic communities. It’s the first time a pope has visited the landlocked Asian country and comes at a time when the Vatican’s relations with Mongolia’s two

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Defense ministers for Poland and South Korea say the two countries plan to hold joint military exercises in Poland soon to show the effectiveness of Korean equipment in the Polish armed forces. Poland’s Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak and South Korea’s Defense Minister Lee Jong-Sup made the comments after holding talks in

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri judge ruled Thursday that the 84-year-old white homeowner who shot a Black teenager after he mistakenly went to the man’s house must stand trial. Clay County Judge Louis Angles issued the ruling after a dozen witnesses spoke at a preliminary hearing, including Ralph

By ROB GILLIES Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Canada has updated its travel advisory to the U.S., warning members of the LGBTQ+ community that some American states have enacted laws that may affect them. The country’s Global Affairs department did not specify which states, but is advising travelers to check the local laws for their

By SYLVIA HUI Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Iceland’s government says commercial hunting of fin whales can resume in the country with stricter requirements on hunting methods and increased supervision. Animal rights groups responded to the decision with dismay and called it “shameful.” The temporary ban that Icelandic authorities imposed in June on animal welfare

By THALIA BEATY Associated Press Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson have committed $10 million to make direct payments to people on Maui who are unable to return to their homes because of the wildfires. The People’s Fund of Maui announced Thursday will give $1,200 a month to adults who are not able to return to

By RIAZ KHAN Associated Press PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s military and officials say a suicide bomber has targeted a security convoy in northwest Pakistan, killing nine soldiers and wounding 20 others. The attack happened Thursday in Bannu, a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, the military said in a statement. There was no

By COLLIN BINKLEY AP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is canceling $72 million in student loans for 2,300 borrowers who say they were cheated by Ashford University, a former for-profit college that was purchased by the University of Arizona in 2020. The Education Department announced the action Wednesday, saying it will seek

SAVAGE, Md. (AP) — Police in Maryland say the driver of an SUV was killed and 18 people were injured in a wrong-way crash with a Greyhound bus. Howard County police say the bus was traveling eastbound on Route 32 near Interstate 95 in the Savage area with 38 passengers aboard around 3:30 a.m. Thursday.