Month: September 2023

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani security agents have arrested a senior Islamabad-based TV anchor known for his criticism of the authorities on charges of spreading false content about state institutions on social media. His ABN news channel and family said on Friday that Khalid Jamil was taken into custody by the Federal Investigation Agency late the

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A privately owned high-speed passenger train service has been launched between Florida’s two biggest tourist hubs. The Brightline train is a $5 billion bet by owner Fortress Investment Group that eventually 8 million people annually will make the 3.5-hour trip between Miami and Orlando. Friday’s launch was marred by the death

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A man who attacked an Associated Press photographer and threw a flagpole and smoke grenade at police officers guarding the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison. Rodney Milstreed, 56, of Finksburg, Maryland, “prepared himself for battle” on Jan.

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A military judge at Guantanamo Bay has ruled one of the 9/11 defendants unfit for trial after a military medical panel found that the man’s sustained abuse in CIA custody years earlier has rendered him lastingly psychotic. The judge, Col. Matthew McCall, said the incompetency finding for

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A bipartisan coalition of U.S. lawmakers has introduced a proposal designed to cut food waste in half by 2030. The lawmakers submitted their legislation on Thursday and said it would improve collaboration between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and regional waste prevention and food recovery organizations. The lawmakers said the proposal

CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago man convicted of fatally shooting five people during a 2016 home invasion has been sentenced to life in prison. A Cook County judge sentenced 35-year-old Lionel Parks on Thursday. The Chicago Sun-Times reports Parks was convicted in July in the December 2016 killings at a drug dealer’s home on the

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s right-wing leaders are denouncing a new feature film by Polish director Agnieszka Holland as it opens in the country. “Green Border” is a harrowing exploration of human suffering in the border zone between Belarus and Poland. Its fictional characters include Polish security officials who mistreat

By MAURICIO SAVARESE Associated Press SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s top court is deciding whether abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy will be decriminalized nationwide. The South American nation currently allows abortions only in cases of rape, an evident risk to the mother’s health or if the fetus has no functioning brain. The

By HARUNA UMAR Associated Press MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Residents and local media in northcentral Nigeria say at least 20 students have been abducted by gunmen in northwestern Nigeria during an attack that targeted their school. A police spokesman said the students were taken hostage early Friday when the gunmen broke into their accommodation near

By MATTHEW LEE and DÁNICA COTO Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The Biden administration is pledging $100 million to support a proposed Kenyan-led multinational force to restore security to conflict-ravaged Haiti and urged other nations to make similar contributions. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Friday that the U.S. would provide logistics, including intelligence,

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Some adults in North Carolina will soon get Medicaid coverage because Gov. Roy Cooper says he’ll let the state budget bill become law. The budget’s enactment was the last step necessary for Medicaid expansion provided in the 2010 federal health care law to states to

By SARAH BRUMFIELD and BRIAN WITTE Associated Press ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Tropical Storm Ophelia gained strength as it churned toward the North Carolina coast on Friday, promising a weekend of heavy rain and windy conditions throughout the mid-Atlantic. Forecasters issued a hurricane watch for parts of eastern North Carolina. The storm was expected to

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Everyone who enters Barter Theatre in southwestern Virginia is met and welcomed by Katy Brown, the producing artistic director. It’s a simple touch but a telling one for the 90-year-old theater in Abingdon that has forged a very human connection with its 8,000 residents. Barter

By MADDIE BURAKOFF AP Science Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Fall is in the air — officially. The equinox arrives on Saturday, marking the start of the fall season for the Northern Hemisphere. But what does that actually mean? Here’s what to know about how we split up the year using the Earth’s orbit. WHAT

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ, ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Powerful Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey was charged Friday with secretly aiding the authoritarian government of Egypt and trying to thwart the criminal prosecution of a friend in exchange for gold bars and cash under a corruption indictment that

By THALIA BEATY Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Across New York City, civil society groups and large philanthropies meet on the sidelines of the United Nations while world leaders gather at the annual General Assembly. Nonprofit organizations send their senior leaders at significant expense to make sure their voices are heard in the right

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the U.N. General Assembly on Friday that Israel is “at the cusp” of a historic breakthrough leading to a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia, without outlining a clear path over the significant obstacles facing such an accord. He struck an optimistic tone throughout his roughly

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Some names are just the wurst. Just four months after announcing that the hot dog-shaped Wienermobile was changing its name to the Frankmobile, the distinctive wiener on wheels is reverting to the original. Oscar Mayer, which has several of the vehicles, announced Wednesday on Instagram that the Frankmobile name is toast.

By PETER SMITH Associated Press A United Methodist Church court acquitted a California bishop Friday of all charges in the first trial of one of the church’s bishops in nearly a century. Bishop Minerva Carcaño, the first Latina bishop in the denomination and a prominent voice on behalf of immigrants, faced four charges of violating

By MATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press Two Virginia Beach parents have filed a lawsuit seeking to force their local school system to adopt Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s initiatives for the treatment of transgender students. Those policies roll back many accommodations for transgender students urged by the previous Democratic administration. Last month, the Virginia Beach School

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria’s government has approved the purchase of U.S.-made Stryker combat vehicles to modernize the country’s land forces and bring them in line with NATO standards. The decision was announced Friday by the government’s press office. The statement followed the approval by the U.S. State Department of the sale of 183 Stryker