Month: February 2024

By COLLEEN SLEVIN Associated Press DENVER (AP) — An American founder of a Haitian orphanage who is accused of forcing four boys who lived in the institution to engage in sexual acts more than a decade ago will remain behind bars for now even though a magistrate judge in Colorado ruled Thursday that he should

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia, once a self-proclaimed leader in criminal justice reform, is sliding a little further toward its old lock-’em-up ways. State senators voted 30-17 on Thursday to require cash bail for 30 additional crimes. That includes 18 offenses that are always or often misdemeanors. The bill is only

By ISABELLA VOLMERT Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana’s Republican leaders in the statehouse have promised to address declining literacy rates with legislation that would hold back thousands more third graders who don’t pass the state’s literacy test. Introduced in Senate Bill 1, the measure cleared one chamber of the General Assembly following a vote

By STEPHEN GROVES, MARY CLARE JALONICK and LISA MASCARO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate leaders are attempting to push forward a deal to pair new policies at the southern border with wartime aid for Ukraine and other American allies, but they will have to overcome heavy skepticism from Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kris Jenner has a new term: “Twist on it.” The driven matriarch of the Kardashian-Jenner family will bring the phrase to the Super Bowl forefront during her commercial. She will guest star in the ad for Oreo, which will be returning to the NFL’s

By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press A Nebraska state lawmaker has introduced a bill to require the state to accept $18 million in federal funding to help feed children who might otherwise go hungry while school is out. The bill by Omaha Sen. Jen Day comes after Republican Gov. Jim Pillen drew national attention in

By ASHRAF KHALIL Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — One of the great interspecies love stories of our time has come to an end. Walnut, a white-naped crane and internet celebrity, has passed away at age 42. She is survived by eight chicks, the loving staff at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, and

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina Senate has approved a bill that would allow anyone who can legally own a gun to carry their weapon in public. The bill passed Thursday would also provide free gun training that is currently needed to get a concealed weapons permit and create

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s Republican-dominant Legislature is once again facing pressure to reconsider when doctors can legally offer the procedure to pregnant patients. The pressure comes nearly a year after lawmakers begrudgingly tweaked the ban in 2023. However, it remains unknown if state lawmakers will be receptive to changes

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A new report says inaccurate racial profiling data on traffic stops made by the Connecticut State Police was largely the result of data-entry mistakes and other errors, not intentional efforts by troopers to submit bogus information. Gov. Ned Lamont ordered the independent review after an audit

NEEDLES, Calif. (AP) — Federal authorities say they might have a break in a long-running investigation into the killing of wild burros in California’s Mojave Desert nearly five years ago. Nineteen burros were found shot to death along a Interstate 15 northeast of Los Angeles in August 2019. The Bureau of Land Management says Thursday

By ACACIA CORONADO Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — As Republicans cheer on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s escalating feud with the Biden administration over immigration enforcement, some governors are considering deploying National Guard members to the border — again. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday was among the first to commit more personnel to Texas,

By JOSH FUNK and TOM KRISHER Associated Press Residents of eastern Ohio can now get an up-close view in newly released videos of the toxic towers of fire that forced them from their homes last February when officials decided to blow open five tank cars filled with vinyl chloride they worried might explode days after

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Providence health care system is refunding nearly $21 million in medical bills paid by low-income residents of Washington — and it’s erasing $137 million more in outstanding debt for tens of thousands of others — to settle the state’s allegations that it overcharged those patients and then

By JANIE HAR Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Black lawmakers in California are proposing ways to remedy the long-lasting effects of slavery. However, the 14 bills they unveiled Wednesday do not call for direct cash payments to most descendants of enslaved Black people. The only descendants who could expect to see money from the

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Disney is appealing a federal judge’s dismissal of its free speech lawsuit over Gov. Ron DeSantis’ takeover of Walt Disney World’s governing district. Disney filed its notice of appeal Thursday. The company had said after Wednesday’s decision that it would set a dangerous precedent if left

By KILEY ARMSTRONG and ANDREW DALTON Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Adele Zerilli Springsteen, the longtime legal secretary, musical muse and concert dance partner who captured countless hearts in her son Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Nation and beyond, has died at 98. Bruce Springsteen announced in an Instagram post that his mother died Wednesday.

By JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Yarrah Concepcion was a teenaged aspiring R&B singer and rapper when she got an appointment with Jam Master Jay at his New York City recording studio. But just minutes after Concepcion met the Run-DMC star, he was shot dead. Concepcion was brought to tears Thursday as

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — In the early hours of New Year’s Day in 1987, a French tourist was mugged while walking with his wife through Times Square. The man, 71-year-old Jean Casse, struck his head on the pavement. He was pronounced dead soon after. Within days, police hauled in a

By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — An apparent cyberattack that affected government operations in Georgia’s most populous county is creating challenges for the election office as it prepares for the state’s March 12 presidential primary. As a precaution, Secretary of State spokesman Robert Sinners says the county’s access to the state voter

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A former CIA software engineer has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for what the government called the biggest theft of classified information in CIA history and for possession of child sexual abuse images and videos. Joshua Schulte’s sentence was announced Thursday in Manhattan federal

WEST CALN, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say a small plane has crashed in a central Pennsylvania neighborhood. But it’s not yet known if there were any injuries. The crash in West Caln occurred around 1:30 p.m. Thursday. The pilot was the only person aboard the aircraft when it went down just minutes after taking off

By ADRIAN SAINZ Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A 16-year-old boy has pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree murder and carjacking in the death of a prominent United Methodist Church leader in Tennessee. The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office says Miguel Andrade entered the plea Thursday in a Memphis courtroom. He was then sentenced