Month: April 2024

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis met Monday with relatives of hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, marking the six-month anniversary of the attack in southern Israel with an hourlong audience. The Vatican released photos of the encounter, showing relatives of several of the hostages sitting in a semicircle in front of Francis in

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (AP) — For nearly two decades, Mitch McConnell’s only job uncertainty hinged on whether he’d serve as Senate majority or minority leader after the next election. With his days as Republican leader now numbered, the Kentuckian is back in the Bluegrass State and talking more expansively about his

By MEAD GRUVER Associated Press Someone in Oregon has claimed the $1.3 billion Powerball jackpot won last weekend, which is the eighth-largest lottery prize in U.S. history. Should the winner of Sunday’s drawing forgo the rarely claimed option of a payout over 30 years, the lump-sum before taxes would be $621 million. Federal and state

CHILPANCINGO, Mexico (AP) — Protesters in southern Mexico have set the state government building afire and torched vehicles in the parking lot. The protests Monday occurred in the city of Chilpancingo, the capital of the Pacific coast state of Guerrero. The protesters are demanding answers in the case of 43 students at a rural teachers

By MICHAEL R. SISAK, JAKE OFFENHARTZ and JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A New York appeals court judge on Monday rejected Donald Trump’s bid to delay his April 15 hush money criminal trial while he mounts a last-minute fight to move the case out of Manhattan, foiling the former president’s latest attempt

By ERIC OLSON AP Sports Writer The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics announced a policy Monday that all but bans transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports at its 241 mostly small colleges across the country. The NAIA Council of Presidents approved the policy in a 20-0 vote at its annual convention in Kansas City,

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — An appellate court has granted Disney’s request for a two-month pause in its federal lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and his appointees to Walt Disney World’s governing district. The request filed last Friday came after Disney and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District settled separate

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer Kevin Costner’s multi-episode epic “Horizon, An American Saga” will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next month, festival organizers announced Monday. The first chapter of “Horizon” will debut at the French film festival on May 19, giving the world its first glimpse of Costner’s ambitious Western epic. The first

By FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is blasting Republicans’ effort to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt over his refusal to turn over unredacted materials related to the special counsel probe into President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents. That’s according to a letter obtained Monday by The Associated

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB and ALBERT AJI Associated Press DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Iran’s foreign minister Monday accused the United States of giving Israel the “green light” for a strike on its consulate building in Syria that killed seven Iranian military officials including two generals. Hossein Amirabdollahian reiterated Tehran’s vows that it will respond to the

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A police officer died and six other officers were wounded in a grenade attack at a mosque in southwestern Pakistan, authorities said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack near Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province. Local police chief Nasir Shah said officers were still investigating. In a statement, Interior

The Associated Press MOORELAND, Okla. (AP) — Two Oklahoma volunteer firefighters are recovering after suffering burns battling a weekend wildfire in northwest Oklahoma. Mooreland Fire Department Chief Travis Case says firefighters Jared Brittain and Max Clark suffered the injuries Saturday when their truck was overrun by flames. Case says Clark was treated and released, but

PANAMA CITY (AP) — The trial of 27 people charged in connection with the worldwide “Panama Papers” money laundering started Monday in a Panamanian criminal court. Those on trial include the owners of the Mossack-Fonseca law firm that was at the heart of the 2016 massive document leak. The Panama Papers include a collection of

By HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer The first labor union for Amazon workers in the United States is divided, running out of money and still does not have a contract two years after clinching a historic victory in New York City. Despite campaigns at several facilities in the past few years, a Staten Island warehouse

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer South Carolina can add another first to its perfect season: The national champion Gamecocks finished atop the first Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll to be released after the NCAA Tournament. The Gamecocks, who won their second title in three years Sunday with an 87-75 victory over Iowa,

By The Associated Press Russians in the city of Orsk gathered in a rare protest Monday calling for compensation following the collapse of a dam and subsequent flooding in the Orenburg region near the border with Kazakhstan. The protests were an unusual sight in Russia, where authorities have consistently cracked down on any form of

ROME (AP) — Police have arrested a Tajik national accused of being an active member of the Islamic State group. The man, identified only as S.I. was nabbed after he landed at Rome’s international airport on a flight from the Netherlands. An international arrest warrant accused him of having gone to Syria to fight for

By PAT EATON-ROBB AP Sports Writer STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Precautions were in place Monday at the University of Connecticut designed to prevent a repeat of the violence and vandalism that marred the celebrations of the school’s 2023 NCAA men’s basketball championship. In advance of the Final Four, the school removed the aluminum light posts

By JIM SALTER Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has denied clemency for Brian Dorsey one day before his scheduled execution for killing his cousin and her husband. Dorsey’s attorney says she was informed Monday of the decision, calling it “devastating.” Parson’s spokesman didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment. Dorsey

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — All of the New Jersey clerks who opposed a federal court ruling requiring them to redraw Democratic primary ballots have withdrawn their appeals. Following the action, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals based in Philadelphia formally dismissed the appeal Friday. U.S. District Court Judge Zahid Quraishi had ordered Democrats to scrap a

MADRID (AP) — The Spanish government says it will scrap so-called “golden visas” that allow wealthy people from outside the European Union to obtain residency permits on investing more than half a million euros (dollars) in real estate. Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said his minority coalition government would study the reform in the weekly

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — The governing party in the country of Georgia has submitted to parliament a draft law calling for media and non-commercial organizations to register as being under foreign influence if they receive more than 20% of their budget from abroad. The measure is nearly identical to a proposal that the Georgian Dream

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s National Police says it has recovered a hijacked cargo ship laden with rice following a gunbattle with gangs that lasted more than five hours. Authorities said Sunday that two policemen were injured and an undetermined number of gang members killed in the shootout off the coast of the Port-au-Prince capital.