Month: February 2024

By GARY FIELDS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan report is calling for greater transparency in elections and steps to make voting easier. It says extreme partisanship in the U.S. combined with a complicated and highly decentralized voting system have led to a loss of faith in election results among some. The report released

BERLIN (AP) — Two Czech climbers have been rescued from Austria’s highest mountain after holding out in a shelter for two nights as high winds prevented helicopters from getting to them. The two men informed authorities on Sunday evening that they had been injured by a rockfall on the north face of the Grossglockner. They

By TRÂN NGUYỄN Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A pair of California lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill on Tuesday to allow people 21 and older to consume psychedelic mushrooms under professional supervision as part of an agenda to tackle the state’s mental health and substance use crises. It comes after Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s National Assembly has held a tense inaugural session as the ruling nationalists ignored widespread reports that parliamentary and municipal elections held in December were marred by vote rigging and numerous other irregularities. Opposition lawmakers gathered around the speaker’s stand as the session started on Tuesday,

LONDON (AP) — As King Charles III receives treatment for cancer, he remains Britain’s monarch and head of state. His older son, Prince William, is next in line to inherit the throne. The crown does not pass from reigning monarchs to their spouses, so Queen Camilla is not in the line of succession. After William

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP National Writer San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York was asked the other day what comes to mind when he thinks back to his team’s Super Bowl loss to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs four years ago, and he quipped: “I mean, I remember Nick Bosa getting held on third-and-long

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has played down fears of a war with Somalia over his quest for sea access for his landlocked country. He said Tuesday that Ethiopia is only interested in peace with its neighbor. Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with the breakaway region of of Somaliland

By COURTNEY BONNELL AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — Oil and natural gas giant BP has beat expectations with earnings of $3 billion in the last three months of 2023. London-based BP reported Tuesday that its underlying replacement cost profit is down from $3.3 billion in the previous quarter. It brought in $13.8 billion for

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer The new chief of the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday that his agency is midway through a review of manufacturing at Boeing, but he already knows that changes must be made in how the government oversees the aircraft manufacturer. FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker suggested that Boeing — under pressure

By KAVISH HARJAI Associated Press The White House is pressing Congress to extend a federal program that helps families afford internet. The Affordable Connectivity Program is projected to run out of money at the end of April. Twenty-three million families are currently enrolled in the program and receive a discount on their monthly internet bills.

By KRISTIN M. HALL AP Entertainment Writer Toby Keith, a hit country crafter of pro-American anthems who both riled up critics and was loved by millions of fans, has died. He was 62. The “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” singer-songwriter, who had stomach cancer, died peacefully Monday surrounded by his family, according to a statement posted

MOSCOW (AP) — A Moscow court has ordered the arrest of bestselling detective novelist and dissident Grigory Chkhartishvili, known under the pen name Boris Akunin, on charges of “justifying terrorism.” The order Tuesday comes two months after he was pranked by two pro-Kremlin activists into expressing support for Ukraine on a phone call. In December,

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Nearly 68 million American adults — about 1 in 4 — plan to bet on this year’s Super Bowl, setting a record by a wide margin, according to the gambling industry’s national trade association. Figures released Tuesday by the American Gaming Association include bets placed

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog says security at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant remains fragile amid recent staff cuts enacted by Russian authorities occupying the facility. The plant is one of the 10 biggest nuclear plants in the world and the almost two-year

By ANDREW WILKS and MEHMET GUZEL Associated Press ISTANBUL (AP) — Two people attacked Turkey’s largest courthouse before being shot dead in an exchange of fire that also left one other person dead and five wounded. Authorities say the assailants were part of an extremist organization that had been largely inactive in recent years. Interior

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — The Ukrainian-born winner of this year’s Miss Japan beauty pageant says she has renounced her title after a magazine published an article about her affair with a married man. Karolina Shiino was crowned Miss Japan on Jan. 22, setting off an old question about what it means

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s executive arm is shelving an anti-pesticides proposal in yet another concession to farmers after weeks of protests blocked major capitals and economic lifelines across the 27-nation bloc. Although the proposal had languished in EU institutions for the past two years, the move by European