Month: November 2023

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Comedian John Oliver has succeeded in his campaign to have what he describes as a weird, puking bird with a colorful mullet win New Zealand’s Bird of the Century contest. He managed to elbow out the iconic national bird, the kiwi, which came in second.

By MARIA CHENG AP Medical Writer LONDON (AP) — Earlier this year, the doctor who leads the World Health Organization’s efforts to prevent sexual abuse travelled to Congo to address the biggest known sex scandal in the U.N. health agency’s history, the abuse of well over 100 local women by staffers and others during a

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Defense officials from South Korea, the United States and other nations have warned North Korea over its nuclear ambitions and threats. Their joint statement came after a meeting in Seoul involving U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik and officials

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The man accused of attacking former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer apologized Tuesday, echoing right-wing conspiracy theories to explain to jurors that he went to the Pelosis’ home as part of a bigger plot to end what he viewed as government

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — The head of the Catholic church in China began a trip to Hong Kong on Tuesday at the invitation of the city’s pope-appointed Roman Catholic cardinal, marking the first official visit by a Beijing bishop in history. Joseph Li, who was installed by China’s state-controlled Catholic

By MARÍA VERZA Associated Press ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — During the first minutes of Oct. 25 when Hurricane Otis roared into Acapulco Bay with 165 mph winds, sailor Ruben Torres recorded a 10-second audio message from a yacht called the Sereno. “All things considered I’m alright, but it’s really horrible, it’s really horrible, it’s really

By AMANDA SEITZ and KENYA HUNTER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Up to 30 million of the poorest Americans could be purged from the Medicaid program, many the result of error-ridden state reviews that poverty experts say the Biden administration is not doing enough to stop. The projections from the health consulting firm Avalere come

By ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge in Washington is weighing whether to hold in contempt a veteran journalist who has refused to identify her sources for stories about a Chinese scientist who was investigated by the FBI but never charged. The lawsuit from Yanping Chen seeks

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Legislature adjourned nearly a month earlier than usual on Tuesday after Democrats lost a majority in the state House due to two state representatives winning mayoral races last week. The decision to adjourn early leaves key legislation on the table for next year, including

By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin legislators have approved a plan to spend nearly half a billion dollars on repairs at the Milwaukee Brewers’ stadium over the next three decades. In October, the state Assembly approved a plan for the state to contribute $411.5 million and the city and county of

By AAMER MADHANI, COLLEEN LONG and DIDI TANG Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping swept into San Francisco on Tuesday as the two leaders made their final preparations for their first engagement in a year at a historic estate outside of the city. Biden expressed hope that the

By KEN RITTER Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — The famous fountains at the Bellagio won’t be very visible this week amid the roar of Formula One racing on the Las Vegas Strip, and gondoliers won’t be serenading tourists at the Venetian resort. “Fountains have been shut off, canals drained, streets closed or harder to

By MEGAN JANETSKY Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Thousands have marched in Mexico’s capital demanding justice for an influential LGBTQ+ figure who was found dead at home in the city of Aguascalientes after receiving death threats. Jesús Ociel Baena was the first openly nonbinary person to assume a judicial post in Mexico, becoming a

By STEPHEN GROVES and LISA MASCARO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to prevent a government shutdown after new Republican Speaker Mike Johnson was forced to reach across the aisle to Democrats when hard-right conservatives revolted against his plan. Johnson’s proposal to temporarily fund the government into the new year passed

By COLLEEN SLEVIN Associated Press BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — A man accused of a mass shooting at a Colorado supermarket in 2021 pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity Tuesday as a judge ruled the case can move to a trial following testimony giving new details of how he killed most of the 10 victims

By TERRY TANG and LINLEY SANDERS Associated Press Despite ongoing advocacy and legislation to combat anti-Asian racism that arose after the pandemic, about a third of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders say they have experienced an act of abuse based on their race or ethnicity in the last year, including being on the receiving end

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Long past its painful peak, inflation in the United States may be heading steadily back toward its pre-pandemic levels, without the need for further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Such a scenario became more likely, if hardly guaranteed, after Tuesday’s surprisingly tame report on