Month: February 2024

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans have blocked legislation that would protect access to in vitro fertilization, objecting to a vote on the issue Wednesday even after widespread backlash to a recent ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that threatens the practice. The objection was to a

By LEANNE ITALIE AP Lifestyles Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Leap year. It’s a delight for the calendar and math nerds among us. So how did it all begin and why? Ancient civilizations had calendars that made periodic corrections to realign with lunar and solar cycles. But it was Julius Caesar who put into practice

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI and MIKE HOUSEHOLDER Associated Press DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Dearborn and two other Michigan cities with large Arab and Muslim populations turned against President Joe Biden in the state’s primary after Democratic leaders there warned for months that voters were angry about his handling of the Israel-Hamas war. Biden won the state

By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to decide whether former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted on charges he interfered with the 2020 election, calling into question whether his case could go to trial before the November election. While the court set a course for a quick

By HALLIE GOLDEN Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — The Washington state House has overwhelmingly approved legislation that would ban police from hog-tying suspects, a restraint technique that has long drawn concern because of the risk of suffocation. The vote on Wednesday came nearly four years after Manuel Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man, died in Tacoma,

By LEAH WILLINGHAM Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia’s Republican-controlled House of Delegates has approved a bill that doctors treating transgender youth in the state say would prevent the prescription of certain medical interventions like hormone therapy to patients at risk for self-harm or suicide. The proposal, which now heads to the Senate,

By FRANCIS KOKUTSE Associated Press ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Ghana’s parliament has passed a highly controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill that could send people to prison for more than a decade. The bill was introduced to parliament three years ago and criminalizes members of the LGBTQ+ community as well as its supporters, including promotion and funding of

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian space officials have acknowledged a continuing air leak from the Russian segment of the International Space Station, but say it poses no danger to its crew. The Roscosmos state corporation said Wednesday that specialists were monitoring the leak and the crew “regularly conducts work to locate and fix possible spots of

By The Associated Press Stacy Wakefield, the widow of former Boston Red Sox pitcher and two-time World Series champion Tim Wakefield, has died. Her family said in a statement released through the Red Sox that she died Wednesday at her Massachusetts home, less than five months after her husband died at the age of 57.

By AMY BETH HANSON and MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale says he will seek reelection to his U.S. House seat representing eastern Montana. Rosendale, a member of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, announced his reelection bid Wednesday after abandoning a short-lived Senate campaign under pressure from party leaders.

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A person who previously pleaded guilty in a welfare misspending case in Mississippi is making new allegations about former Gov. Phil Bryant. Nancy New says in a court filing Monday that Bryant told people at a 2019 Christmas party, weeks before leaving office, that he’d

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City Chiefs superfan known as “ChiefsAholic” pleaded guilty Wednesday to a string of robberies and attempted robberies of banks and credit unions in multiple states. Xaviar Michael Babudar, 29, pleaded guilty in federal court in Kansas City, Missouri, to one count each of money laundering, transporting stolen property

By MICHAEL GOLDBERG Associated Press/Report For America JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi’s Republican-led House has passed a bill to expand Medicaid to hundreds of thousands more residents in one of the poorest states in the U.S. It would be a landmark shift after state leaders refused to consider the policy for years. The bill passed

By ISABELLA O’MALLEY Associated Press The rapid growth of raging wildfires in the Texas Panhandle has been staggering. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties Tuesday as the blaze forced widespread evacuations. On Wednesday, the Texas A&M Forest Service said the fire had grown to rival the largest in state history.

By RUTH ALONGA Associated Press KAMANYOLA, Congo (AP) — United Nations peacekeepers have handed over their first military base to security forces in eastern Congo as part of an eventual withdrawal after decades of operating in the country, and as violence soars in the conflict-riddled region. Peacekeepers on Wednesday transferred responsibility and equipment at its

BERKELEY Leaders of the University of California, Berkeley, have denounced a protest against an event organized by Jewish students that forced police to evacuate attendees and a speaker from Israel. Chancellor Carol Christ and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Benjamin Hermalin say the incident Monday night violated fundamental values. A crowd of about 200 protesters

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Richard Lewis, an acclaimed comedian known for exploring his neuroses in frantic, stream-of-consciousness diatribes while dressed in all-black, leading to his nickname “The Prince of Pain,” has died. He was 76. Lewis, who revealed he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2023, died at

By DAVID SHARP Associated Press AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Democrats in the Maine Legislature have unveiled sweeping gun violence measures, including a 72-hour waiting period for most gun purchases and $17.5 million in spending for community mental health programs. The proposals unveiled Wednesday add to firearm legislation and mental health spending already proposed by the

NEW YORK (AP) — Actor Hunter Schafer was among dozens of war protesters arrested at NBC’s headquarters in Manhattan during President Joe Biden’s appearance on “Late Night with Seth Myers” earlier this week. Protest organizers confirmed Wednesday the 25-year-old “Euphoria” star was among more than 100 demonstrators who packed the lobby at 30 Rockefeller Plaza

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs are planning an $800 million renovation to Arrowhead Stadium that would begin after the team plays host to games for the 2026 World Cup and take about four years to complete. The plan is to bring the third-oldest stadium in