Month: February 2024

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Police in Oklahoma say a teen who died a day after an altercation at school did not die as a result of injuries sustained in the fight. The fight may have been prompted by bullying over gender identity. The student has been identified by family members

By PAMELA HASSELL Associated Press The orchid show at the New York Botanical Garden this year is a whimsical mix of fashion and flower creations. There are multitudes of diverse orchids and accessorizing plants. And there are fashion-inspired floral designs from Hillary Taylour for Collina Strada, Olivia Cheng for Dauphinette, and Kristen Alpaugh, aka Flwr

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The U.N’s top representative in Ukraine says the U.N.’s humanitarian appeal to meet needs there is only 10% funded for 2024. That puts in jeopardy crucial assistance needed to reach those in need across frontline areas. Denise Brown says an estimated 8.5 million Ukrainians who are

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Authorities say a Michigan man whose 2-year-old daughter shot herself in the head with his revolver pleaded not guilty after becoming the first person charged under the state’s new law requiring safe storage of guns. John Potbury, Genesee County’s deputy chief assistant prosecuting attorney, says a not guilty plea was entered

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia lawmakers are seeking to change state law to say that officers don’t have to arrest people who refuse to sign traffic tickets. The change comes after a church deacon died in August after initially refusing to sign a citation and struggling with an Atlanta police officer.

By DIANE JEANTET and ELEONORE HUGHES Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s foreign minister is calling for reforms of the United Nations and other multilateral institutions, as his country kicked off its presidency of the Group of 20 nations. Mauro Vieira told fellow foreign ministers during opening remarks for a G20 meeting in

By LEA SKENE Associated Press BALTIMORE (AP) — A leading manufacturer of ghost guns has agreed to stop selling its untraceable, unassembled firearms to Maryland residents. Under a settlement agreement announced Wednesday by the city of Baltimore, the Nevada-based company Polymer80 will also pay $1.2 million in damages. City leaders sued the company two years

MOSCOW (AP) — A liberal Russian politician has lost another appeal against election officials’ decision to bar him from running in next month’s vote in which President Vladimir Putin is all but certain to win another six-year term. Boris Nadezhdin had made a call for halting the conflict in Ukraine his main campaign slogan and

By MORGAN LEE Associate Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Prosecutors in New Mexico are pursuing accountability for the 2021 death of a cinematographer who was fatally shot by actor Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal for the Western film “Rust.” Before Baldwin’s case progresses, the armorer on the set is being tried on charges of

By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press Federal investigators say the city of Pittsburgh did not adequately maintain or repair a bridge, leading to the corrosion of the structure’s steel legs and its collapse into a ravine more than two years ago. The city-owned Forbes Avenue bridge fell down in January 2022, plunging a bus and four

By KATHLEEN FOODY Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — A judge has ruled that the man accused of killing seven people and injuring dozens more at a Fourth of July parade in suburban Chicago in 2022 will stand trial next February. Robert Crimo III is charged with 21 counts of first-degree murder, 48 counts of attempted

LA PARAGUA, Venezuela (AP) — The collapse of an illegally operated open-pit gold mine in central Venezuela killed at least 14 people and injured several more, state authorities said Wednesday, as some other officials reported an undetermined number of people could be trapped. Bolivar state Gov. Angel Marcano told local reporters that 14 bodies had

By KEN MILLER Associated Press A student who carried a handgun into school in Texas had meant to harm others before three police officers fired 19 times at him, leaving him with a minor leg wound, police said Wednesday. “He brought a gun to school to hurt people,” Mesquite police Lt. Brandon Ricketts said. “He

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee woman who posted photos on Instagram that appear to show her 5-year-old daughter helping her apply wax to adult clients for hair removal has been charged with child neglect. The Commercial Appeal, citing an arrest affidavit, reports that the Memphis Police Department received multiple complaints on Feb. 15 about

By AAMER MADHANI, COLLEEN LONG and COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press CULVER CITY, Calif. (AP) — President Joe Biden says that while a college degree is still a ticket to a better life, that ticket is often too expensive. He was talking Wednesday at a library in Culver City, California, where he announced he was canceling

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A prosecutor has described former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, at the start of his trial, as a corrupt politician who let his country’s biggest drug traffickers fuel his rise to power. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Robles told a Manhattan federal court jury during opening statements

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers are advancing legislation that would define who is considered female and male under state law. A Senate committee approved definitions based on reproductive systems on Tuesday, and a House committee planned to take up similar legislation Wednesday. Supporters say it gives necessary guidance to

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — European diplomats in Belarus have condemned the trial of a Catholic activist in Minsk as “unfair” and “politically motivated.” The trial of Uladzislau Beladzed began behind closed doors at Minsk City Court on Wednesday. The 33-year-old activist stands accused under four articles of Belarus’ criminal code

MARION, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa school board has resolved a lawsuit over a now-rescinded district policy that let students request a gender support plan to begin socially transitioning at school, without the permission of their parents. The Gazette newspaper in Cedar Rapids reports that the Linn-Mar Community Schools’ insurance company will pay $20,000 to

By MARIA CHENG Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Whales sing loud enough that their songs travel through the ocean, but knowing the mechanics behind that has been a mystery. Scientists now think they have an idea, and it’s something not seen in other animals: a specialized voice box. Experts say the discovery, while based on

By RONALD BLUM Associated Press The financially struggling Metropolitan Opera will present 18 productions in 2024-25, matching the current season and pandemic-curtailed 2019-20 for the fewest since 14 in strike-shortened 1980-81. Met general manager Peter Gelb is keeping his pivot to contemporary works, starting the season with Jeanine Tesori’s “Grounded” on Sept. 23, then presenting

By ALICIA RANCILIO Associated Press PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Love can blossom in the strangest of places, even in a post-apocalyptic world where your life is threatened by zombies all day, every day.  That’s what happened for “The Walking Dead” characters Rick Grimes and Michonne, played by Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira. Just friends in

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The German government says Europe’s largest economy is in “troubled waters.” It’s slashing its growth forecast for this year as it struggles with a lack of skilled labor, excessive bureaucracy, high interest rates and lagging investment in new projects. Meanwhile, a relatively modest set of

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — A new entry in the “Avatar” franchise is about to soar and James Cameron has no part in it. “Avatar: The Last Airbender” is a completely different fictional world from Cameron’s blue moon Pandora, but the two similarly named dueling sci-fi fantasy properties keep throwing

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A private U.S. lunar lander reached the moon and eased into a low orbit Wednesday, a day before it will attempt an even greater feat — landing on the gray, dusty surface. A smooth touchdown would put the U.S. back in business on the

By MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel on Wednesday said it has found evidence of “systematic and intentional” rape and sexual abuse during the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that ignited the war in Gaza. The report said the attacks were more widespread than

By FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden’s brother has told lawmakers that the president “never had any involvement” in the family’s business dealings. That statement came from James Biden when he appeared for a voluntary private interview Wednesday on Capitol Hill as part of House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry. The more than eight-hour

By R.J. RICO Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — For years, churches and nonprofits have banded together money to bail out people from jail, often in time for Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. But these wide-scale initiatives could be significantly restricted, if not criminalized, under a recently passed Georgia bill. Opponents have called the bill an