Month: February 2024

By KATE BRUMBACK and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis took the witness stand Thursday and forcefully pushed back against what she described as “lies” about her romantic relationship with a special prosecutor during an extraordinary hearing over misconduct allegations that threaten to upend one of four

By NICHOLAS PAPHITIS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece on Thursday became the first Orthodox Christian country to legalize same-sex civil marriage, despite opposition from the influential, socially conservative Greek Church. A cross-party majority of 176 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament voted late Thursday in favor of the landmark bill drafted by Prime Minister

By MICHAEL R. SISAK, JENNIFER PELTZ, JAKE OFFENHARTZ and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s hush-money trial will go ahead as scheduled with jury selection starting March 25, a New York judge ruled Thursday, turning aside demands for delay from the former president’s defense lawyers, who argued it would interfere with

By JOCELYN NOVECK AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Thom Browne, ever the master showman of American fashion, closed out New York Fashion Week on a blustery day with his own wintry landscape, blanketing the floor with fake snow and presenting his latest inventive designs to the words of Edgar Allan Poe’s chilling “The

By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA Associated Press KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — An unknown number of sacred statues of Hindu deities were stolen and smuggled abroad in the past. Now dozens are being repatriated to the Himalayan nation, part of a growing global effort to return such items to countries in Asia, Africa and elsewhere. The National Museum

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he hopes for an amicable end to the prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after lawmakers pssing a motion calling for the Australian citizen to be allowed to return to his home country. Albanese told Parliament that the days before

By MEG KINNARD and MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump again said Wednesday that if he returns to the White House, he would not defend NATO members that don’t meet defense spending targets, days after he set off alarms in Europe by suggesting he would tell Russia

EVANSVILLE, Wis. (AP) — Officials say the first tornadoes ever recorded in Wisconsin in the usually frigid month of February caused more than $2.4 million in damages. They said Wednesday that the tornadoes that ripped through Rock County on Feb. 8 killed some cattle and hit 30 homes. Kevin Wernet, director of Rock County Emergency

By SARA CLINE Associated Press BATON ROGUE, La. (AP) — In Louisiana, around 60 people currently sit on death row, but an execution hasn’t occurred since 2010. Between a conservative governor and a new execution method, there has been a renewed push to find alternatives to lethal injection. Ahead of Louisiana’s short crime-related legislative session

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia and China accused the United States and Britain of illegally attacking military sites used by Yemen’s Houthi rebels to launch missiles at commercial vessels in the Red Sea. U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood and UK Ambassador Barbara Woodward countered that the Houthi attacks are

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military government on Wednesday said it will draft 60,000 young men and women yearly for military service under its newly activated conscription law, with call-ups beginning after the April festival marking the country’s traditional New Year. The conscription measure was activated on Saturday by order of

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Senate voted Wednesday to put a politically appointed board in control of the Alabama Department of Archives and History. The change was proposed after some lawmakers were upset about the department hosting a lecture on LGBTQ+ history. The Alabama Senate approved the bill on

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s economy is now the world’s fourth-largest after it contracted in the last quarter of 2023 and fell behind Germany. The government reported the economy shrank at an annual rate of 0.4% in October to December, according to Cabinet Office data on real GDP released Thursday,

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) — Authorities say a 13-year-old southern Illinois girl who suffered a gunshot wound to her head while standing on a porch has died. Ra’niya Steward of Alton was shot around 3 p.m. Feb. 3 while standing on the front porch at a relative’s home. Investigators do not believe she was the target

By MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s Democrat-led House of Representatives narrowly rejected a bill Wednesday that would have guaranteed paid time off for workers to cope with serious illnesses or care for newborns and loved ones, amid concern about companies’ opposition in an election year. The proposal failed 34-36

By TRÂN NGUYỄN Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California voters will decide on a statewide ballot measure that Gov. Gavin Newson says would address the state’s ongoing homelessness issue. Proposition 1 is one of the most complicated measures in the last few years. It would authorize the state to borrow $6.4 billion to build

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un supervised a test of new surface-to-sea missiles and warned that the country would take a more aggressive military posture in disputed waters. The state media report Thursday came a day after North Korea was detected firing multiple cruise

By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — U.S. safety investigators are looking into what caused last week’s helicopter crash that killed the CEO of one of Nigeria’s largest banks and five others. Two aviation safety experts told The Associated Press that the flight probably should have been canceled because of poor nighttime weather.

By MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s former White House adviser and his son-in-law, is defending his business dealings with the Saudi crown prince after leaving the U.S. government. Kushner, speaking at a summit in Miami on Tuesday sponsored by media company Axios, said he followed every law

By REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A United Nations-backed expert on food security is urging Venezuela’s government to develop a robust plan to address hunger. He is also calling for an end to the crippling economic sanctions imposed on the South American country. Michael Fakhri is the U.N. special rapporteur on

By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska lawmaker who tanked an effort last year by his fellow Republicans to pass a near-total abortion ban has given top priority this year to a bill that would allow abortions beyond the state’s 12-week ban in cases of fatal fetal anomalies. The bill

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Green has announced that he won’t run for a fourth term. Green has served in the 7th Congressional District, which encompass a portion of Nashville, since 2019. He previously served as an Army surgeon and is from Montgomery County. In 2022,