Month: November 2023

SHERMAN, Texas (AP) — A Texas school district has apologized and reversed a decision that ousted a transgender student from a part in the musical “Oklahoma!” The school board in Sherman voted unanimously Monday to reinstate the original show and cast after a meeting in which dozens criticized them and spoke in support the 17-year-old

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A man awaiting trial in the kidnapping of a 16-year-old western Michigan girl who was later killed has died from medical complications. U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said Tuesday that 63-year-old Gerald Bennett was admitted Nov. 7 to a hospital for cancer treatment. He died Monday. Bennett was found competent last

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia has begun the sterilization of hippopotamuses, descendants of animals illegally brought to the country by late drug kingpin Pablo Escobar in the 1980s. Two male hippos and one female underwent surgical sterilization as part of a larger government’s effort to control the population of more than 100 of the mammals

HOUSTON (AP) — The U.S. Army is overturning the convictions of 110 Black soldiers — 19 of whom were executed — for a mutiny at a Houston military camp a century ago, an effort to atone for imposing harsh punishments linked to Jim Crow-era racism. U.S. Army officials announced the historic reversal Monday during a

By JOHN HANNA Associated Press TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Offices belonging to top election officials in Kansas were evacuated after a suspicious letter was delivered to the building. Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab says the letter delivered Tuesday contained what he called a suspicious substance. He did not provide more details. The incident occurred

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Police in El Salvador have arrested 10 people accused of operating a migrant smuggling ring. Two of the accused were active members of the Salvadoran national police. A third was an ex-officer. According to El Salvador’s attorney general, the smugglers charged up to $15,000 for the promise of safe

By JOSH FUNK Associated Press A business owner whose companies are near the site where a Norfolk Southern train derailed in eastern Ohio in February is suing the railroad. Edwin Wang is seeking $500 million, saying most of his companies have remained closed and he hasn’t been able to reach an agreement on compensation. Wang

By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter on a search and rescue mission crashed in southeast Alaska, seriously injuring two of the four crew members on board. A Coast Guard spokesperson says all four crew members were taken to Seattle for treatment following the crash late Monday on

By AMY BETH HANSON Associated Press A tiny Jack Russell terrier survived in the Colorado mountains for more than 10 weeks after her owner died of hypothermia, despite losing half her body weight, a rescuer said. Richard Moore of Pagosa Springs, Colorado, and his 12-pound dog Finney had set out to climb Blackhead Peak east

By RANDALL CHASE Associated Press DOVER, Del. (AP) — A suspected serial killer accused in the deaths of six people in Delaware and Pennsylvania in 2021 has been convicted of murder and other crimes by a Delaware jury. The jury deliberated for about six hours over Monday and Tuesday before finding Keith Gibson guilty of murder

By COREY WILLIAMS and NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — A Michigan judge ruled Tuesday that former President Donald Trump will remain on the state’s primary ballot, dealing a blow to the effort to stop Trump’s candidacy with a Civil War-era Constitutional clause. It marks the second time in a week that a state

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Maine’s yellow flag law has been invoked more than a dozen times since the deadliest shootings in state history. The law is used to restrict access to guns during a mental health crisis. An updated list shows the yellow flag law has been used 13 times since the Oct. 25 mass

NEW YORK (AP) — The head of Hachette Book Group, Michael Pietsch, is retiring as CEO and will be succeeded by Hachette UK CEO David Shelley. Pietsch, who has worked with authors ranging from Keith Richards to Donna Tartt, will serve as chairman of the U.S. publisher starting Jan. 1 of next year. Pietsch presided

By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A congressional hearing devolved into an angry confrontation between a senator and a witness on Tuesday after Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma challenged Sean O’Brien, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, to “stand your butt up” and settle longstanding differences right there in

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — Federal accident investigators want automakers to install systems on all new vehicles that warn drivers when they go over the speed limit. It’s also asking safety regulators to figure out how states can electronically limit speeds on vehicles driven by repeat traffic offenders. The National Transportation

By KAREN MATTHEWS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York City officials say retailers and food delivery companies must do more to halt the proliferation of unsafe e-bike and e-scooter batteries, after a fire blamed on an electric scooter’s lithium ion battery killed three people. Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh spoke Monday in front of

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia county is asking a federal appeals court to overturn a ruling that it illegally discriminated against a sheriff’s deputy by failing to pay for her gender-affirmation surgery. But lawyers for Houston County Sgt. Anna Lange are urging a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press A former fundraiser for U.S. Rep. George Santos pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal wire fraud charge, admitting he impersonated a high-ranking congressional aide while raising campaign cash for the embattled New York Republican. Sam Miele was caught soliciting donations in late 2021 under the alias Dan Meyer, who was

By ADRIAN SAINZ Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Two Tennessee jail deputies are charged with attacking a Memphis inmate who was injured but survived. Court records show Shelby County Sheriff’s Office deputies Odell Underwood and Reginald Wilkins have been indicted on multiple charges. Shelby County district attorney Steve Mulroy says jail inmate Damian Florez-Ramirez

By BERNIE WILSON AP Sports Writer SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego Padres owner Peter Seidler has died. He was 63. Seidler poured hundreds of millions of dollars into trying to bring a World Series championship to San Diego. He didn’t succeed, despite paying for stars like Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts. He was a