Month: February 2024

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Beyoncé made history once again: The superstar singer has become the first Black woman to top Billboard’s country music chart. The Grammy winner achieved the feat after her new single “Texas Hold ‘Em” reached No. 1 on the country airplay chart this week. She dropped the song on Feb. 11 —

By DÁNICA COTO Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — An attorney for Haitian President Jovenel Moïse’s widow, who was indicted in his assassination, says he believes the accusations against her are politically motivated. The U.S.-based attorney says he was surprised by media reports this week detailing the indictments against Martine Moïse and dozens

HANOVER Dartmouth College will honor the memory of its winningest football coach by adding his name to its athletic complex next fall. Buddy Teevens, known nationally for his efforts to make football safer, died in September of injuries he had sustained in a bicycle accident six months earlier. The Ivy League school announced Wednesday that

By CLAUDIA LAUER Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Justice Department says a suspect in a plot to kill an Iranian American author and activist has been extradited from the Czech Republic to face charges. Polad Omarov was arrested by Czech officials in January 2023, when charges were announced against him and two other men

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors say the explosive allegations at the center of an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden were false and came from an ex-FBI informant who said he was in touch with Russian intelligence. Prosecutors said in court documents Wednesday that informant Alexander Smirnov is “actively peddling

By STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Appeals Court Associate Justice Gabrielle R. Wolohojian, a former romantic partner of Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, says she’s ready to serve on the state’s highest court. Wolohojian testified Wednesday before the Governor’s Council on her nomination to the court. Healey has said her past relationship with Wolohojian

By SAM METZ Associated Press RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Spain’s prime minister has visited Morocco as the two nations reckon with a spike in migration to the Canary Islands and a Europe-wide debate and protests about agricultural regulations and imports. The neighboring countries maintain close business and political ties as Moroccans make up the single

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Harvard University condemned what it called a “flagrantly antisemitic cartoon” that an undergraduate group posted on social media over the weekend. It also appeared on the Instagram account of Harvard Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine. Copied from a newsletter published by students in the U.S.

By KATHY McCORMACK Associated Press CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A jury has begun deliberations in the case of a New Hampshire man charged with second-degree murder in the death of  his 5-year-old daughter. Adam Montgomery said last year that he loves Harmony Montgomery unconditionally and did not cause her death. His attorneys acknowledged his guilt

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Gay rights advocates are pushing back against a measure to broaden Kentucky’s religious freedom law. They say the bill would undermine community-level “fairness ordinances” meant to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination. The measure won approval from a House committee Wednesday. But some supporters signaled a willingness

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama’s largest hospital paused in vitro fertilization treatments Wednesday as providers and patients across the state scrambled to assess the impact of a court ruling that said frozen embryos are the legal equivalent of children. The University of Alabama at Birmingham health system said in a

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine would become the 27th state to ban paramilitary training under a bill narrowly passed by the state’s House of Representatives. The House approved the proposal Wednesday by a vote of 66-60. Supporters say it’s designed to block groups hoping to create civil unrest. Democratic Rep. Laurie Osher of Orono sponsored

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — U.K. lawmakers have called for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. But the move came after dozens of lawmakers walked out of the House of Commons in protest at how the vote was handled on Wednesday. Parliament descended into chaos as legislators from the government and an

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appears skeptical of the federal government’s argument that the Environmental Protection Agency should be allowed to continue enforcing its anti-air-pollution rule in 11 states. The government made its arguments Wednesday before the court. The “good neighbor” rule is intended to restrict smokestack

By TERRY SPENCER Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The collapse of a sand hole that killed a 7-year-old Indiana girl who was digging with her brother on a Florida beach is an underrecognized danger that kills and injures several children a year around the country. Sloan Mattingly died Tuesday afternoon at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea’s beach

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press The 88-year-old mother of Connecticut mother-of-five Jennifer Dulos has testified at a murder conspiracy trial that she has not seen or communicated with her daughter since she disappeared and was presumed by police to be murdered in 2019. Gloria Farber took the stand Wednesday in Stamford, Connecticut, in the trial

SEATTLE (AP) — Boeing said Wednesday that the head of its 737 jetliner program is leaving the company in an executive shake-up weeks after a door panel blew out on a flight over Oregon, renewing questions about safety at the company. Boeing announced that Ed Clark, who had been with the company for nearly 18

By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s governor has rolled out legislation she says will prevent dangerous people from possessing weapons and strengthen mental health services to help prevent future tragedies like the Lewiston mass shooting that shook the state. Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, called for changes in January in a

By JOSEPH KRAUSS Associated Press From the earliest days of the Israel-Hamas war, the United States and much of the international community have pressed Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. But as the fighting rages on with no end in sight, the humanitarian catastrophe there has only worsened. United Nations agencies

By LAURA UNGAR AP Science Writer Alabama lawmakers and Gov. Kay Ivey have agreed to protect in vitro fertilization providers from legal liability. The Alabama Supreme Court ruled last month that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law and touched off immediate backlash. Many doctors and patients are concerned about ripple effects across

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Thousands have rallied in dozens of cities and towns across Slovakia to mark the sixth anniversary of the slayings of an investigative journalist and his fiancee amid a wave of anti-government protests. Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova were shot dead at their home in a town east of Bratislava on Feb.

By FRANK BAJAK and DAKE KANG Associated Press Chinese police are investigating an unauthorized and highly unusual online dump of documents from a private security contractor linked to the nation’s top policing agency and other parts of its government — a trove that catalogs apparent hacking activity and tools to spy on both Chinese and

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials acknowledged at their most recent meeting in January that there had been “significant progress” in reducing inflation. But some of the policymakers expressed concern that strong growth in spending and hiring could disrupt that progress. In minutes from the January 30-31 meeting, most

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — First, there were trackers on Taylor Swift and other celebrities’ private jet usage. Now, there will be more scrutiny on executives’ personal use of business aircraft who write it off as a tax expense. IRS leadership said Wednesday that the agency will start up dozens of audits