Month: February 2024

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has approved a Democrat-drawn congressional map that gives the party a modest boost in a few battleground districts. The map approved Wednesday comes as the party’s candidates face a heavily contested election year in which House races in the state could

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The family that had wanted to build the world’s tallest flagpole in rural eastern Maine has agreed to pay a $250,000 penalty for construction of more than 50 cabins without obtaining environmental permits from the state. The Board of Environmental Protection on Wednesday signed off on the consent agreement signed by

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The first private U.S. spacecraft to land on the moon broke a leg at touchdown before falling over, according to company officials who said Wednesday it was on the verge of losing power. Intuitive Machines, the company that built the lander, released new photos

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — When Hayao Miyazaki was contemplating whether he would come out of retirement in 2016, he put together a curiously self-critical proposal. “There’s nothing more pathetic than telling the world you’ll retire because of your age, then making yet another comeback,” wrote the filmmaker, now 83.

By KATHLEEN FOODY Associated Press Wisconsin cities recorded nearly 60-degree swings in temperatures within 24 hours from Tuesday into Wednesday morning. A review of the National Weather Service data shows the changes tied a record in at least one city and may have set a record for Milwaukee. Madison’s 70-degree high on Tuesday plunged to

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The last remaining child of famed conservationist and author Aldo Leopold has died at age 97. Estella Leopold, a researcher and scientist who dedicated her life to the land ethic philosophy of her famous father, died on Sunday in Seattle after several months in hospice, the

By REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A proposal meant to guide electoral authorities in setting the date for Venezuela’s presidential election includes more than 20 potential options ranging from as soon as mid-April through early December. The proposal announced Wednesday will be presented over the next few days to the governing

By VALERIE GONZALEZ and ELLIOT SPAGAT Associated Press McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Presidential visits to the border are usually short on substance and long on political theater and symbolism — starting with the choice of location. President Joe Biden and his Republican rival, Donald Trump, are making dueling appearances Thursday on the Texas border, but

By MARYCLAIRE DALE Associated Press EAST LANSDOWNE, Pa. (AP) — Officials near Philadelphia are closing their investigation into a shootout and house fire that killed six members of an extended family. They say 43-year-old Canh Le shot and killed his brother, sister-in-law and two nieces before setting fire to the home and killing himself. The

By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Government scientists have cooked up a new concept for how to potentially cool an overheating Earth: Fiddle with the upper atmosphere to make it a bit drier. Water vapor — water in its gas form — is a natural greenhouse gas that traps heat, just like

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Federal health officials say older U.S. adults who got a COVID-19 shot in the fall should get a booster dose now. People 65 and older should get another dose of the updated vaccine that became available in September — if at least four months has

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s National Disaster Prevention Center said Wednesday the Popocatépetl volcano, located just 50 miles from the country’s capital, has erupted 13 times in the past day and urged people to not try to climb it due to debris shooting out of the crater. Volcanic ash from the Popocatépetl disrupted flights out

MILAN (AP) — Italian alpine rescuers say one German backcountry skier was killed and two others injured in an avalanche near the Austrian border. The skiers were all found quickly thanks to electronic location devices. The two survivors were transported to a hospital in critical condition. About 60 centimeters (more than 23 ½ inches) of

By WAFAA SHURAFA and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Aid convoys carrying food reached northern Gaza this week, Israeli officials said. The delivery on Wednesday is the first major one in a month to the devastated, isolated area, where the U.N. has warned of worsening starvation. The U.S., Egypt and Qatar

LONDON (AP) — Tractors lined a road leading to the Welsh capital as thousands of farmers and their supporters thronged parliament to protest proposed environmental protections that would be required to receive farm subsidies. Protesters on Wednesday held signs reading, “No Farmers, No Food,” and “We Will Not Be Mooooved!” Leaders say 5,500 farmworkers would

By SUMMER BALLENTINE Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers are once again trying to block Medicaid funding from going to Planned Parenthood. The Republican-led House on Wednesday voted to bar federal health care dollars from going to Planned Parenthood, which is already banned by state law from providing abortions in most circumstances.

PARIS (AP) — French maritime authorities say a body has been found and searches are underway for two people feared missing on the treacherous English Channel crossing route used by migrants hoping to reach Britain from France. The maritime authorities overseeing French waters in the channel say about 180 people were assisted in four rescue

By ROBERT YOON and STEPHEN OHLEMACHER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Dissatisfied Democratic primary voters in Michigan have cast enough protest votes to deny President Joe Biden two of the state’s 117 delegates. Michigan gives presidential primary voters an option to vote for “uncommitted,” which is listed in the last slot on the ballot. “Uncommitted”

By ALANIS THAMES AP Sports Writer A social media influencer is suing Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill over an alleged incident that happened at the NFL star’s South Florida home last summer. In a lawsuit that Sophie Hall’s attorneys filed in Broward County circuit court on Feb. 23, the influencer claims that Hill “forcefully

By SARA CLINE Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A baby pig that was rescued after being tossed like a football near a Mardi Gras event in New Orleans was “pardoned” Wednesday and has found a permanent home with a Louisiana lawmaker. The weeks-old little pink critter — dubbed Earl “Piglet” Long, a play

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Supporters who want to make South Carolina the next-to-last U.S. state to pass a hate crimes law that increases penalties for some crimes fueled by race, gender or sexual orientation are running out of time. The hate crimes bill has sat undebated on the state Senate

RINCON, Ga. (AP) — Authorities in Georgia say they discovered an estimated $1 million worth of stolen cargo inside a warehouse a few miles from Savannah’s busy seaport. The Effingham County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Wednesday that investigators with a search warrant found pallets of consumer goods including cellphones, food and Peloton exercise

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press LANSING, Michigan (AP) — The “uncommitted” campaign protesting President Joe Biden in Michigan has enough primary election votes to win two delegates. That’s according to Associated Press tabulations of Tuesday’s Democratic vote. While Biden won the state with more than 618,000 votes, more than 100,000 Michigan Democratic

MOSCOW (AP) — Former Soviet Prime Minister Nikolai Ryzhkov has died at age 94. Ryzhkov presided over botched efforts to shore up the crumbling national economy in the final years of the USSR. Ryzhkov worked during his six-year tenure to implement Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s liberal reforms that lifted rigid centralized controls and encouraged private