Month: February 2024

By JOSHUA GOODMAN and JIM MUSTIAN Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — A former career U.S. diplomat told a federal judge Thursday he will plead guilty to charges of working for decades as a secret agent for communist Cuba, an unexpectedly swift resolution to a case prosecutors called one of the most brazen betrayals in the

By ED WHITE Associated Press A Michigan village has agreed to a $320,000 settlement with a man from Japan who was wrongly accused of drunken driving. It turns out that a Fowlerville police officer badly misread a breath test. Ryohei Akima blew a 0.02 on the test. But it was mistakenly read by Officer Caitlyn

By GABE STERN Associated Press/Report for America RENO, Nev. (AP) — A Nye County spokesperson says top elections official Mark Kampf is resigning. The rural Nevada county has been roiled by voting machine conspiracy theories. That led to a hand-count in the 2022 midterms. The reason for Kampf’s resignation is not immediately clear. County spokesperson

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress passed another short-term spending measure Thursday that would keep one set of federal agencies operating through March 8 and another set through March 22, avoiding a shutdown for parts of the federal government that would otherwise kick in Saturday. The bill now goes to President Joe

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers rushed to protect in vitro fertilization services Thursday after fertility clinics shut down in the wake of a state court ruling that frozen embryos are children under the state wrongful death law. Facing public pressure to get IVF services resumed in the state, both

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI and GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press A national LGBTQ+ advocacy group is suing the Texas Attorney General’s office rather than hand over information about its support of transgender children receiving gender-confirming medical care. According to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in Texas court, PFLAG National says Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office is demanding

By LEAH WILLINGHAM Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia bill that would outlaw the gender designation of non-binary on birth certificates is headed to Gov. Jim Justice’s desk. The Republican governor hasn’t spoken publicly about the bill. Justice previously signed laws restricting gender-affirming care for minors and transgender children’s participation in sports.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — The board overseeing North Carolina’s public university system will require schools to get approval to change athletic conferences. The system’s board of governors approved the measure Thursday. It’s a move that could most notably impact any potential move by Atlantic Coast Conference members North Carolina and North Carolina State. It

By FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zambia’s president Hakainde Hichilema has declared the country’s debilitating drought a national disaster and emergency. In an address to the nation Thursday, Hakainde Hichilema said 84 of the country’s 116 districts are affected by the prolonged drought. The declaration provides a legal basis to mobilize more

BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. (AP) — Hatch watch is underway in Southern California mountains. Three bald eagle chicks could emerge this week from eggs laid in a nest monitored by nature lovers via a popular online camera feed. The mother, Jackie, laid the eggs in late January atop a tree overlooking Big Bear Lake high

By TOM ODULA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Haiti’s prime minister has arrived in Kenya to try to salvage a plan to have the African country deploy 1,000 police officers to the troubled Caribbean nation to help combat gang violence.Kenya agreed in October to lead a U.N.-authorized international police force to Haiti. But the

By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press Grand jury transcripts from a 2006 Florida investigation into wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of dozens of underage girls will be released publicly later this year under legislation signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The measure will take effect July 1. Epstein cut a deal with South Florida federal

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Justin Amash announced on social media Thursday that he will run for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat. Amash will pursue the Republican nomination in the race. He had previously left the Republican party in 2019 after supporting an impeachment inquiry in then-President Donald

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris plans to return to the swing state of Wisconsin next week for an event touting worker apprenticeship programs. The White House announced the visit on Thursday. The trip to Madison will mark her sixth trip to the state as vice president and her second this year. She

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment NEW YORK (AP) — Liev Schreiber is chewing on big ideas in a revival of John Patrick Shanley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Doubt,” which lands on Broadway during Lent. It opens March 7. Schreiber plays jovial Father Flynn, a teacher who is alleged to have an inappropriate relationship with a student,

NEW YORK (AP) — Morning commutes on a New York City subway line were severely delayed Thursday after a train conductor was slashed in the neck, with transit officials blaming union members for disrupting service as they demanded safer working conditions. The attack on the conductor happened around 3:40 a.m. Thursday as an A train

By DAVID A. LIEB Assocaited Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri residents could see a roughly $138 million tax break under legislation passed Thursday by the House in an attempt to offset a recent surge in local tax collections caused by higher vehicle values. The legislation changing the way Missouri’s personal property tax collections

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Mitch McConnell’s decision to step down as Senate Republican leader in November is reverberating back home in Kentucky. His announcement Wednesday has set off a wave of speculation about not only what impact the loss of influence might have on the Bluegrass State but the future

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan Court of Appeals is being urged to step into a dispute over leadership of the state Republican Party. Lawyers for Kristina Karamo are asking the court to throw out a decision by a Kent County judge, who said a January vote to oust Karamo was valid. The judge

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Former talk show host Oprah Winfrey is leaving WeightWatchers board of directors and donating all of her interest in the company to a museum. Shares of WW International Inc. tumbled more than 23% in Thursday morning trading. Winfrey, who told People magazine in December that she was using a

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Early estimates suggest flu shots are performing OK in the current U.S. winter flu season. The vaccines were around 40% effective in preventing adults from getting sick enough from the flu that they had to go to a doctor’s office, clinic or hospital. Children who

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — A Myanmar fighter jet has crashed and burned in the countryside in the central region of Magway, with at least one pilot safely rescued after ejecting from the aircraft. State television MRTV reported that Thursday’s crash took place shortly after noon during what was described as training