Month: January 2024

By AMANDA SEITZ Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says 20 million people have enrolled for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, with still a few days left for signing up. That’s a figure President Joe Biden will likely talk about regularly on the campaign trail as the Republican front-runner,  former

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The SXSW Film & TV Festival will open with the premiere of “3 Body Problem,” the anticipated Netflix series from “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and “True Blood” writer Alexander Woo. “3 Body Problem” will kick off the 31st edition of the Austin, Texas, festival on

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The Securities and Exchange Commission has reluctantly approved trading of the first exchange-traded funds that hold bitcoin. But the agency said Wednesday that it is still deeply skeptical about cryptocurrencies and did not approve or endorse bitcoin in its decision. An exchange traded fund, or

By JAMES POLLARD Associated Press/Report for America COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A bill banning transgender medical care for minors is heading to the South Carolina House floor. Republicans are moving the ban in the first days of the 2024 legislation session. The proposal bars health professionals from performing gender transition surgery, prescribing puberty-blocking drugs or

By SCOTT SONNER and STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press RENO, Nev. (AP) — An avalanche roared through a section of expert trails at a California ski resort near Lake Tahoe on Wednesday, sweeping up four people and killing one, as a major storm with snow and gusty winds moved into the region, authorities said. The avalanche

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer Alaska Airlines is canceling through Saturday all flights on Boeing 737 Max 9 planes like the one that suffered an in-flight blowout of a fuselage panel last week as it waits for new instructions from Boeing and federal officials on how to inspect the fleet. The development came as

By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A Democratic Florida prosecutor suspended by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis will get another chance to show his political advocacy was protected by the First Amendment and could not be the basis for his removal. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama will be allowed to put an inmate to death with nitrogen gas later this month, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, clearing the way for what would be the nation’s first execution under a new method the inmate’s lawyers criticize as cruel and experimental. U.S. District

By ALEXA ST. JOHN and TOM KRISHER Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Engine maker Cummins Inc. will recall 600,000 Ram trucks as part of a settlement with federal and California authorities that also requires the company to remedy environmental damage caused by illegal software that let it skirt diesel emissions tests. New details of the

By ADAM BEAM and OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers are debating a ban on tackle football for children under 12 to reduce the risk of brain injuries under a bill that has cleared a key legislative hurdle. A legislative committee voted 5 to 2 during a public hearing Wednesday

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom is announcing a $291 billion state spending plan with an estimated $37.9 billion deficit. That’s a significantly smaller budget hole than the Legislative Analyst’s Office predicted in December. It estimated the state would face a $68 billion deficit. The proposal Newsom is

By MICHAEL GOLDBERG Associated Press/Report for America JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal judge has postponed sentencing for six former Mississippi law enforcement officers who pleaded guilty to a long list of state and federal charges for torturing two Black men. Sentencing had been set to begin on Jan. 16, but a court hearing schedule

By STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — A New Hampshire man who had been accused of participating in a plot in which a caller issued bomb threats to Harvard University and demanded a large amount of bitcoin, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in federal court Wednesday. Fifty-five-year-old William Giordani, was arrested last year

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — The family of an elderly couple found dead in their South Carolina home where the temperature was about 120 degrees Fahrenheit had trouble with their furnace days before their deaths. Family members called Spartanburg police Saturday after not hearing from the couple. Authorities say a police officer and a paramedic found

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Police in South Florida say a man fatally shot a 30-year-old Buffalo Bills fan during an altercation near Hard Rock Stadium after the Bills defeated the Miami Dolphins in the final regular season game. As Dylan Brody Isaacs and his friends were returning to their vehicle after the game Sunday

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Twitch, the video game streaming platform acquired by Amazon a decade ago for close to $1 billion, is laying off more than 500 employees as the company tries to turn the tremendously expensive division profitable. Twitch CEO Dan Clancy in an email to employees said that even with cost

By TERRY SPENCER Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A lawsuit filed against the Florida sheriff’s deputy who was on campus during the 2018 Parkland school massacre can go forward. Fired Deputy Scot Peterson had moved to dismiss the case before trial. Peterson is being sued by the 17 families of the victims and

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s center-right prime minister says his government will soon submit legislation allowing civil marriage for same-sex couples. That’s despite reservations from some of his party’s own lawmakers and the country’s powerful church. But Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis says the proposed law will not extend the right to future parenthood through surrogate

By JENNIFER PELTZ and JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump won’t make his own closing argument after all in his New York civil business fraud trial after his lawyers objected to the judge’s insistence that the former president stick to “relevant” matters and “not deliver a campaign speech.” Judge Arthur Engoron

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press The first criminal trial related to the 2019 killing of Connecticut mother of five Jennifer Dulos is set to begin this week. Michelle Troconis is scheduled to go on trial Thursday on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, evidence tampering and hindering prosecution. Troconis denies the allegations. Police believe Dulos’

By JIM HEINTZ Associated Press A court in Moscow has rejected a class-action lawsuit against a Russian TV presenter that sought $11 million in moral damages after she hosted a party where guests were encouraged to show up wearing next to nothing. The suit against Anastasia Ivleeva was one element of a scandal that erupted

By OMAR FARUK Associated Press MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Fighters with al-Qaida’s East Africa affiliate al-Shabab attacked a United Nations helicopter that made an emergency landing Wednesday in territory controlled by the extremists in Somalia, killing one passenger and abducting five others, officials said. The minister of internal security of Galmudug state in central Somalia,