Month: October 2023

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE and FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House turned down the pizazz for Wednesday’s state dinner, but more than 300 guests from politics, business, government and beyond turned out to celebrate close U.S. ties to ally Australia while striking a measured tone in a time of death and suffering

NEW YORK (AP) — Scholastic Inc. will end a widely criticized policy that made it easier for school book fairs not to sell works with racial, disability and LGBTQ+ themes. The children’s publisher angered many authors and educators when it created a separate package of more than two dozen books, labeled “Share Every Story, Celebrate

By AMANDA SEITZ Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Billions of dollars for a global HIV/AIDS program that’s saved millions of lives are in limbo and now the George W. Bush Institute is urging the U.S. Congress to keep money flowing  to the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, also known as PEPFAR. The program

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A second U.S. Attorney says he has testified to Congress that the prosecutor overseeing the Hunter Biden investigation had full authority over filing charges, rebutting whistleblower claims that Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss didn’t have the final say. The claim that Weiss was blocked from filing tax

By JACK DURA Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s Republican-controlled Legislature has adjourned after rewriting provisions of a major budget bill that was voided by the state Supreme Court, resolving a mess that had threatened to stymie government operations. North Dakota lawmakers completed their three-day special session Wednesday, less than a month after

By AAMER MADHANI, SEUNG MIN KIM and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has spoken out against retaliatory attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. He also says he’s redoubling his commitment to working on a two-state

By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press ELLABELL, Ga. (AP) — Construction of Hyundai’s first U.S. plant dedicated to making electric vehicles is moving quickly. A year has passed since the South Korean automaker broke ground on a sprawling site in southeast Georgia. Now the steel skeletons of the buildings that make up the plant’s assembly line

By DÁNICA COTO Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Environmental groups are urging a moratorium on deep-sea mining ahead of an international meeting in Jamaica where an obscure U.N. body will debate the issue amid fears it could soon authorize the world’s first license to harvest minerals from the ocean floor. More than

SEDONA, Ariz. (AP) — Operators of a northern Arizona golf course think they have finally found the right repellent for javelinas ripping apart their turf — chili oil. “Even though they’re Southwest animals, they don’t like Southwest seasoning,” Dave Bisbee, general manager at Seven Canyons Golf Club in Sedona, said Tuesday. This is not the

By SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron sought to promote — with little success so far — the creation of an international coalition to fight the armed Palestinian group Hamas, during a two-day trip to the Middle East that started in Israel. Leaders he met with in Israel, the West

By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal prosecutors say the captain of a scuba dive boat should be held responsible for the deaths of 34 people killed in a fire aboard the vessel in 2019. But his defense attorneys said the boat’s owner is to blame in the deadliest maritime disaster in

By DANIEL POLITI Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Former Argentine presidential candidate Patricia Bullrich has endorsed right-wing populist Javier Milei for next month’s runoff. She placed third in Sunday’s election behind Milei and Economy Minister Sergio Massa. Bullrich made sure to emphasize that the support for Milei was only from her presidential team

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union said Wednesday it has reached a tentative contract agreement with Ford that could be a breakthrough toward ending the nearly 6-week-old strikes against Detroit automakers. The four-year deal, which still has to be approved by 57,000 union members at the company,

By BEN FINLEY Associated Press NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — A heated debate has emerged about the once-unimaginable shooting of a teacher by her 6-year-old student: How should the school district take care of the teacher? Should she only get workers’ compensation? Or does she deserve millions of dollars over claims that the school system

CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple Inc. is raising the prices for its AppleTV+ streaming and Arcade gaming plans as well as its bundled Apple One service that includes streaming, music and other subscriptions. Arcade will now cost $6.99, up from $4.99. AppleTV+ is now $9.99, up from $6.99. Apple One will increase to $19.95 from

By CLAIRE SAVAGE Associated Press/Report for America CHICAGO (AP) — A man accused of pepper spraying pro-Palestinian protesters who gathered near an Israel solidarity rally over the weekend has been charged with hate crimes and aggravated battery, prosecutors said Wednesday. Zevulen Ebert, 33, of Skokie, Illinois, is charged with two felony counts of aggravated battery

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Pope Francis’ big meeting on the future of the Catholic Church is heading into its final stretch. The Vatican released its first document, a letter from the 364 members to rank-and-file faithful. It updates them in general terms on where things stand in their deliberations. It was

By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has approved Jacob Lew to be ambassador to Israel, moving quickly to get him in place during the country’s new war with Hamas. The panel voted 12-9 on Wednesday to move Lew’s nomination to the Senate floor for a final vote,

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Bitcoin is having another moment. The world’s largest cryptocurrency soared to almost $35,000 this week, marking its highest value in nearly 18 months. The recent rally for volatile bitcoin coincides with the prospect of exchange-traded funds being launched based on spot bitcoin. Industry advocates say

By JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Voters in a Tennessee city have firmly rejected a far-right mayoral candidate after she refused to denounce white supremacists who showed up to support her at a candidate forum. Unofficial results show Gabrielle Hanson lost Tuesday by a wide margin to the incumbent Franklin mayor, Ken