Month: February 2024

By SAM MEDNICK and BABACAR DIONE Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal’s government says it will hold a presidential election as soon as possible given that the country’s top election authority has overturned a decree by President Macky Sall to postpone the vote.  Sall in early February sought to postpone the Feb. 25 election

LAKE TOXAWAY, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina health officials say they are removing all children from the care of a nature-based therapy program nearly two weeks after the death of a 12-year-old New York boy. North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced Friday the action “needed to be taken to ensure the health

BOSTON (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped a domestic violence charge against Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic, saying the decision by his wife to invoke marital privilege made it impossible for them to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. They said Friday that after his wife opted not to testify, their motion to admit 911

By HALLIE GOLDEN Associated Press BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports Native Americans and Alaska Natives in Washington state die of opioid overdoses at five times the state average. The state Senate unanimously approved a bill this week that would provide nearly $8 million in funding annually to combat

By JONEL ALECCIA AP Health Writer A medication used to treat asthma can now be used to help people with food allergies avoid severe reactions. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved a new use for Xolair. It is the first medication approved to reduce allergic reactions caused by accidental exposure to foods

By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A suspended magistrate judge in Pennsylvania shot her estranged boyfriend in the head as he slept last weekend, police said Thursday in filing attempted murder and aggravated assault charges against her. Tests showed Magisterial District Judge Sonya M. McKnight, 57, had gunshot residue on her hands

By MATT O’BRIEN and ALI SWENSON Associated Press Major technology companies signed a pact Friday to voluntarily adopt “reasonable precautions” to prevent artificial intelligence tools from being used to disrupt democratic elections around the world. Executives from Adobe, Amazon, Google, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI and TikTok gathered at the Munich Security Conference to announce a

By STEVE PEOPLES and MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin says he is not running for president. Manchin announced his decision in a speech Friday at West Virginia University, saying he didn’t want to be a “spoiler.” The centrist Democrat who often bucked his party’s leadership had

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The head of the World Trade Organization says the body remains relevant and its leaders focus on reform “no matter who comes into power” as Donald Trump — who as U.S. president bypassed WTO rules by slapping tariffs on America’s friends and foes alike — makes another

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Paul McCartney no longer gently weeps for his original bass guitar. A five-year search by the manufacturer of the instrument that was aided by a husband-and-wife team of journalists helped reunite The Beatles star with the distinctive violin-shaped 1961 electric Höfner that went missing a half century

By WAFAA SHURAFA Associated Press RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A small sewing workshop making cloth diapers with cotton padding in Gaza’s crowded city of Rafah is helping desperate parents with babies afford a basic necessity. Israel’s military campaign in the besieged enclave has hit parents of young children particularly hard, turning diapers and baby

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA finally has counted up all the asteroid samples returned by a spacecraft last fall — and it’s double the rubble return goal. Officials reported Thursday that the Osiris-Rex spacecraft collected 121.6 grams (4.29 ounces) of dust and pebbles from asteroid Bennu. That’s just

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — The management team of Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson has filed papers to put him in a conservatorship. The court filing says Wilson needs someone to oversee his daily life and medical decisions because of the recent death of his wife, Melinda Ledbetter Wilson. A

By MEG KINNARD and MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Top congressional leaders have recommended that Nikki Haley receive protection from the U.S. Secret Service after she reported a growing number of threats during her 2024 presidential campaign. That’s according to, a person familiar with the matter. The person said the panel of

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — A judge on Friday rejected Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ’s attempts to throw out felony securities fraud charges that have shadowed the Republican for nearly a decade. The decision by state District Judge Andrea Beall, an elected Democrat, keeps Paxton on track for an April

By DAVID SHARP Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — An Army reservist responsible for Maine’s deadliest mass shooting told state police in New York before his hospitalization last summer that fellow soldiers were worried about him because he was “gonna friggin’ do something.” Reservist Robert Card told troopers who escorted him to a hospital in

LOS ANGELES (AP) — After a winter barrage of award shows — the Emmys, the Golden Globes, the Grammys — the grandaddy of them all, the Academy Awards, are around the corner. The 96th Oscars may be a coronation for “Oppenheimer,” which comes in with a leading 13 nominations, though other films, including “Barbie,” “Killers

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Taylor Swift has donated $100,000 to the family of Lisa Lopez-Galvan, the woman killed in the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade. Two $50,000 donations were posted Friday under the singer’s name on a GoFundMe page. Swift’s representative confirmed the donations to Variety, the trade publication

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — In a single week, the Republican chairs of three House committees announced they would not be seeking reelection, raising questions about whether the chaos that has reigned this Congress is driving out some of the GOP’s top talent. What makes the retirements particularly noteworthy is that none

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio woman who disappeared with her 5-year-old foster son will now face a murder charge. Columbus police say 48-year-old Pammy Maye was found wandering in her nightgown before 10 p.m. Thursday in the Cleveland suburb of Brooklyn. That’s about 150 miles from her home in Columbus. Police Chief Elaine Bryant

By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden plans to welcome Kenyan President William Ruto to the White House in May, hosting a state visit after reneging on his promise to visit Africa last year. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced Friday that the visit set for May 23 will seek

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — A measure of consumer sentiment ticked higher this month, after soaring in December and January, underscoring that Americans are starting to feel better about the economy after years of gloom. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index. released Friday, ticked up to 79.6 in February, from

By FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s powerful vice president says the government will block a university scholarship for young LGBTQ+ people. The state university scholarship for people between the ages of 18 and 35 is sponsored by GALZ, a membership organization for LGBTQ+ people in Zimbabwe. The association started offering it

By CEDAR ATTANASIO Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A man who succeeded in using a New York City housing law to live rent-free in an iconic hotel has been charged with fraud after he claimed to own it. Manhattan prosecutors charged Mickey Barreto with fraud and contempt, including filing false property records. They say