Month: February 2024

By JOHN RABY Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia’s Republican-led House of Delegates has overwhelmingly passed legislation to narrow the definitions of gender. Democrats say the bill is meant to suppress transgender people. The legislation was approved Wednesday. It now goes to the GOP-dominated Senate. The legislation says “equal” does not mean “same”

By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A conservative group has told a Georgia judge that it doesn’t have evidence to support its claims of illegal ballot stuffing during the the 2020 general election and a runoff two months later. Texas-based True the Vote filed complaints with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger

DANA POINT, Calif. (AP) — A massive landslide on a coastal bluff has left a Southern California mansion on the edge of a cliff, but authorities have determined that the ocean-view home and neighboring residences are not in immediate danger. The slide occurred last week in the city of Dana Point after back-to-back drenching storms

By STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — A bust of famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass was unveiled in the Massachusetts Senate Chamber on Wednesday. It’s the first bust of an African American to be permanently added to the Massachusetts Statehouse. It’s also the first bust to be added to the Senate Chamber in more than

By JUAN A. LOZANO and JIM VERTUNO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Nearly a week after a woman opened fire at celebrity pastor Joel Osteen’s Texas megachurch, there are still questions about a motive behind the attack and scrutiny on how a person with a record of criminal misdemeanors and a history of mental illness

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi winning back his Long Island seat could provide a blueprint for Joe Biden’s reelection campaign heading into November. His supporters say it demonstrates his party’s strength in competitive suburban territory that also happens to be where Donald Trump grew

By MARK THIESSEN Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An avalanche on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula killed one backcountry skier and injured two others, prompting warnings for people to stay away from steep slopes as warm weather and high winds raise the risk of more snowslides around the state. The avalanche occurred Tuesday afternoon between the

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A lawmaker has resumed his push to limit a Kentucky governor’s pardon powers. It’s a fallout from the pardons granted by the state’s last GOP governor. The proposed constitutional change won approval from a Senate committee Wednesday. Sen. Chris McDaniel wants to guarantee what happened at

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court has set an execution date for David Hosier, who is on death row for killing a Jefferson City woman in 2009. The court on Wednesday scheduled Hosier’s execution for 6 p.m. June 11 at the state prison in Bonne Terre, Missouri. It is the second execution

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The family of imprisoned Belarusian opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova says it hasn’t received a letter from her for a year. Kolesnikova is serving 11 years for organizing anti-government protests. Other imprisoned opposition figures have been held incommunicado for months. Mass protests rocked Belarus in 2020 after

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has imposed sanctions on three people and four firms — across Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey — for allegedly helping to export goods and technology purchased from U.S. companies to Iran and the nation’s central bank. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said

By MICHAEL GOLDBERG Associated Press/Report for America JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal lawsuit says inmates at a Mississippi prison were forced to mix raw cleaning chemicals without protective equipment. A former inmate who filed the lawsuit says she later contracted cancer and was denied timely medical care. Susan Balfour was incarcerated for 33 years

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina House has given key approval to a bill allowing liquor stores to open for a few hours on Sunday if their local governments allow it. Supporters say it is time to get rid of another antiquated rule based on religion that designated Sunday

By BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI and SAMANTHA HENDRICKSON Associated Press/Report For America COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Prosecutors in the murder trial of a former Ohio sheriff’s deputy say his claims that the man he fatally shot posed a threat are not credible. Also Wednesday, defense lawyers insisted that testimony and evidence presented at trial has been consistent

By MICHAEL MAROT AP Sports Writer INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The signs are all around downtown Indianapolis now. NBA All-Star weekend has finally arrived. Yes, nearly seven years after Larry Bird drove a blue-and-gold IndyCar down New York’s Fifth Avenue to hand-deliver the city’s bid and three years after the league’s midseason classic was scheduled to

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A former Philadelphia police inspector has been acquitted of assault in the use of a baton during an encounter with a protester during a racial injustice demonstration in 2020. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports jurors in Philadelphia acquitted 57-year-old Joseph Bologna on Wednesday of charges of simple assault and possessing an instrument of

By BASSEM MROUE and JON GAMBRELL Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — The slow-simmering cross-border conflict between Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group and Israeli forces escalated Wednesday, reviving fears that the daily clashes could expand into an all-out war. A rocket fired from Lebanon struck the northern Israeli town of Safed, killing a 20-year-old female soldier and

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A St. Louis man has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for a series of carjackings, including one in which a high school football coach was fatally shot. U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White on Wednesday handed down the sentence for 31-year-old Kurt Wallace. Wallace pleaded guilty in September to

By CARLOS MUREITHI Associated Press A team of scientists says extreme wind and rain may contribute to bigger and worse desert locust outbreaks. A study published in the journal Science Advances on Wednesday found a strong link between the magnitude of desert locust outbreaks and climate dynamics such as air temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, and

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The 29-year-old filmmaker Sean Wang can’t believe it, himself, but he’s going to the Oscars with his grandmothers. His Oscar-nominated short “Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó” is a deeply charming portrait of his two grandmothers: 96-year-old Yi Yan Fuei and 86-year-old Chang Li Hua. They’re

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s National Security Bureau says the country’s president has met the CEO of U.S. manufacturer Lockheed Martin about strengthening security in the region and continued U.S. investment in Poland’s military weapons and equipment. The bureau says the talks Wednesday included “securing the participation of Poland’s defense sector” in deliveries and maintenance

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Federal authorities announced they have charged over 40 gang members in Boston with a range of federal crimes including drug trafficking, racketeering and COVID-19 fraud. The Heath Street Gang, which mostly operated out of a public housing development in a Boston neighborhood, was also allegedly involved in

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Estonia’s foreign minister says NATO has about three or four years to strengthen its defenses as Russian President Vladimir Putin ramps up his country’s “war machine.” The minister spoke during a visit to Poland. He says Estonia doesn’t view Russia as an immediate threat because it’s

By REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Representatives of several human rights organizations have held a press conference demanding the immediate release of a prominent attorney and activist detained last week. They expressed concern on Wednesday over Rocio San Miguel’s well-being and condemned her inability to access legal representation of her choice.