Month: January 2024

By SONIA PÉREZ D. Associated Press GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — The U.S. State Department has barred former Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei from entering the United States, accusing him “significant corruption” just- three days after he left office. The Biden administration had become increasingly critical of Giammattei’s administration as Guatemalan prosecutors sought to block Sunday’s inauguration

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer Apple says it will disable a blood-oxygen monitoring feature on its two most popular watches in the U.S. beginning Thursday to comply with a court-ordered revival of a sales ban stemming from a patent dispute. The decision to turn off the blood-oxygen sensor for consumers who buy either the

By SARA CLINE Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A proposed Louisiana congressional map that would create a second majority-Black district has sailed through the state Senate. The measure passed on Wednesday and will advance to the House chamber for debate. Under the proposed map, the district currently held by Republican U.S. Rep. Garret

By COLLEEN SLEVIN and MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press DENVER (AP) — Two Colorado funeral home owners apparently sought to cover up their financial difficulties by abandoning nearly 200 bodies that they had agreed to cremate or bury, instead storing the remains in a neglected building in many cases for years, a Colorado judge said Wednesday

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota House has passed a bill that would make xylazine a controlled substance. Xylazine is a large-animal sedative that is being mixed with fentanyl and then used by some people. The measure would establish penalties of up to two years in prison and fines of up to $4,000 for

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Winter weather brings various hazards that people have to contend with to keep warm and safe. These dangers can include carbon monoxide poisoning, hypothermia and frozen pipes that can burst and make homes unlivable. Public safety officials and experts say there are multiple ways people can

By TRÂN NGUYỄN Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Authorities are investigating a suspicious envelope that was sent to the elections office in rural Yuba County. A county spokesperson said the package didn’t look suspicious at first, but a worker found a powdery substance inside and called law enforcement. A field test revealed traces of

By ERIC TUCKER, ACACIA CORONADO, LINDSAY WHITEHURST and JAKE BLEIBERG Associated Press UVALDE, Texas (AP) — Police officials who responded to the deadly Uvalde, Texas, elementary school shooting waited far too long to confront the gunman, acted with “no urgency” in establishing a command post and communicated inaccurate information to grieving families, according to a

RICHMOND, Texas (AP) — A man fatally shot his estranged wife and three other relatives, including his 8-year-old niece, at a home in suburban Houston over the weekend before killing himself, authorities said Wednesday. Alrick “Shawn” Barrett, 46, opened fire at the home just before 7 a.m. Saturday after returning his young child from a

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — A prosecutor in Ecuador who was investigating an attack on the set of a public television channel by a group of armed men last week has been slain. The attorney general says prosecutor César Suárez was shot to death Wednesday while driving in Guayaquil, the most dangerous city in Ecuador. Suárez

By HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa has become the latest state to sue TikTok over claims that the social media company deceives consumers over the amount of “inappropriate content” that children have access to via the platform. TikTok claims an age rating of 12 and older in app stores. But

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — A public school district in Michigan approved a resolution calling for a bilateral cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war while also encouraging its teachers to discuss the conflict in its classrooms following an emotionally charged meeting Wednesday. The resolution approved by the Ann Arbor Public Schools

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Fourteen people, including nine construction workers who were renovating a Yale University-owned building, have been hospitalized for carbon monoxide poisoning. New Haven’s emergency operations director says a worker was found unconscious Wednesday outside of the building, a couple of blocks from Yale’s campus. That worker is in critical condition at

By MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Nella Domenici, a daughter of longtime U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, said Wednesday that she will compete for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic incumbent Sen. Martin Heinrich as he seeks a third term. Domenici, who has registered with the Federal Election Commission to raise campaign

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Republicans advanced a bill Wednesday that would ban teachers from wearing a rainbow flag lapel pin in public schools and universities. The language forbids government employees from displaying any flag or even depictions of flags that shows a “racial, sexual orientation and gender, or political

By MATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press A newly released report shows that an 18-year-old student fatally shot last year after his high school graduation in Virginia had been kept home for months because of fears for his safety but was still allowed to attend commencement ceremonies. The report released Wednesday found that Richmond Public Schools allowed

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes will be hitting the road for the first time in the playoffs when the Kansas City Chiefs visit the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round Sunday night. His previous 15 playoff games have been played at Arrowhead Stadium. In fact, Mahomes has

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojević, a mentor to two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and a former star player in his native Serbia, died Wednesday in Utah after suffering a heart attack, the team announced. Milojević, part of the staff that helped the Warriors win the 2022 NBA

By BROOKE SCHULTZ Associated Press/Report for America HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democrats in majority control of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives have advanced several gun control measures. One of the proposals passed by the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday would ban sales of automatic and semi-automatic guns. The bills were passed on party lines and await

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press UNION, N.J. (AP) — Families of two New Jersey firefighters killed in a cargo ship fire and a powerful firefighters’ union want the top leadership of the Newark Fire Department to be replaced. Ed Kelly, president of the International Association of Firefighters, joined relatives of Newark Fire Captains Augusto Acabou

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — For nearly a week, frigid temperatures from Chicago to northern Texas have made life painful for electric-vehicle owners, with reduced driving range and hours of waiting at charging stations. In Oak Brook, Illinois, near Chicago, on Monday, television reporters found Teslas that were running

DENVER (AP) — Colorado state Rep. Mike Lynch, who is also running for a seat in Congress, was arrested in 2022 on suspicion of drunken driving and possession of a gun while intoxicated — an episode that stayed under wraps until the The Denver Post reported it Wednesday. Lynch, the Republican minority leader in the

By ZEKE MILLER AP White House Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Wednesday apologized to former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson for a Democratic National Committee statement a day earlier that mocked the end of his long-shot 2024 bid for the Republican presidential nomination. White House chief of staff Jeff Zients called Hutchinson on