Month: February 2024

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom is denying a news report that he pushed for an exception to the state’s fast food minimum wage law that benefits a donor. The law requires most fast-food restaurants to pay workers a minimum wage of $20 per hour. It exempts restaurants

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Tour booking agents and managers of a New Zealand island where a volcanic eruption killed 22 people in 2019 were ordered Friday to pay nearly $13 million (US$7.8 million) in fines and reparations. The holding company of the island’s owners, a boat tour operator and three companies that operated helicopter

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee police say a third person has died from injuries sustained in a shooting earlier this week that claimed four victims. Police said that a 39-year-old person died Thursday in a hospital from the shooting Sunday in which several people opened fire on each other. The person’s name and gender haven’t been

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — A tourist driving in the early morning dark on the southern tip of Hawaii’s Big Island accidentally drove his rented Jeep off a cliff. But the man was able to swim to shore until firefighters pulled him up with a rope and helicopter. The Hawaii County

By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Attorneys for Donald Trump and other defendants in the Georgia election interference case hoped that lawyer Terrence Bradley would provide key testimony in support of their effort to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis — and they had good reason for their optimism. Over several months,

BABYLON, N.Y. (AP) — A girl walking to school on Long Island in New York found a severed arm on the side of the road and police searching the area discovered another arm and a disembodied leg nearby. Suffolk County Police say the girl spotted the severed left arm along a road near the popular

By PETER SMITH and MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press SPARTANSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Search warrant filings for the Pennsylvania home where a pregnant Amish woman was killed this week say she appeared to have suffered cutting wounds to her neck and head. The body of 23-year-old Rebekah Byler was found in the living room of her

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Republicans are voting to protect religious rights from state and local governments. But Democrats warn the measure opens the door for people and groups to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people in the name of religion. The Senate voted 33-19 on Thursday for a state-level Religious Freedom Restoration

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah faith leaders who learn about ongoing child abuse from a perpetrator during a religious confession will be able to alert police without fear of legal ramifications. A bill extending to clergy members the same legal protections that exist for mandatory reporters of child abuse

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors are requesting a July 8 trial for Donald Trump on charges that he illegally retained and concealed classified documents. The former president’s lawyers say no trial should be conducted this year but have proposed August 12 as an alternative possibility. The dueling proposals were submitted

By JACQUES BILLEAUD Associated Press Three former Arizona Department of Education employees were indicted on conspiracy and money laundering charges in what prosecutors say was a scheme to defraud more than $600,000 from an education voucher program that has drawn criticism for its skyrocketing costs and lax regulation by the state. Prosecutors said Thursday that

By HANK KURZ Jr. AP Sports Writer Iowa star Caitlin Clark says she will leave the Hawkeyes after this season and enter the WNBA draft. Clark made the announcement Thursday on social media. She is 18 points away from passing LSU’s Pete Maravich for the all-time NCAA Division I record for men or women with

By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy has threatened to veto an education package overwhelmingly passed by lawmakers. He says it lacks provisions he favors, such as a pilot program to pay bonuses to attract and keep teachers. Some key lawmakers say the package was a compromise and

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday it is delaying planned rules for existing natural gas plants that emit harmful air pollutants and contribute to global warming. The agency said it is still on track to finalize rules for coal-fired power plants and new gas plants that have

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Investigators in Alabama have released a video recording showing a person of interest as they seek information about an explosion outside the state attorney general’s office. The video shows a person strolling down a sidewalk wearing a stocking cap and facemask, dark jacket and gloves. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency asked

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge held veteran investigative reporter Catherine Herridge in civil contempt on Thursday for refusing to divulge her source for a series of Fox News stories about a Chinese American scientist who was investigated by the FBI but never charged. U.S. District

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The first U.S. spacecraft to land on the moon since the Apollo astronauts fell silent Thursday, a week after breaking a leg at touchdown and tipping over near the lunar south pole. Intuitive Machines’ lander, Odysseus, lasted longer than the company anticipated after it

By JIM SALTER and JOHN HANNA Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri’s attorney general has filed a lawsuit accusing Planned Parenthood of illegally taking minors into Kansas to obtain abortions without parental consent. The lawsuit filed Thursday in state district court by Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey is based on a video from a

By ROB GILLIES and CHARMAINE NORONHA Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney has died at 84. He forged close ties with two Republican U.S. presidents through a sweeping free trade agreement that was once vilified but is now celebrated. A family spokesman said Mulroney died Thursday at a Florida hospital

By JONATHAN MATTISE and KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A group of Democratic Tennessee lawmakers is asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate how the state has further restricted the process for people with felony records to get their voting rights back. According to the letter, 22 Democratic lawmakers argue Tennessee’s

By JEFFREY SCHAEFFER and MASHA MACPHERSON Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French actor Judith Godrèche is urging lawmakers to establish a commission to investigate sex crimes and sexism in France’s cinema industry. Godrèche gave a dramatic speech at France’s version of the Oscars last week calling on the French film world to “face the truth”

By ELÉONORE HUGHES Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s finance minister told his peers during a G20 meeting in Sao Paulo that countries should implement a global tax on the super-rich in an effort to tackle rampant tax evasion. Fernando Haddad said Thursday that tax evasion can be resolved through international cooperation so

By EVENS SANON and DÁNICA COTO Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Heavy gunfire has paralyzed Haiti’s capital and at least four police officers have been killed as a powerful gang leader announced he will try to capture the country’s police chief and government ministers. The move comes with the prime minister in Kenya looking