Month: May 2024

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Thousands of protesters angered by the government’s decision to hand over control of some border villages to Azerbaijan have demonstrated in the center of the Armenian capital for a second day to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The rally in Yerevan ended Friday evening without incident. But the

By ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports Writer ROME (AP) — Novak Djokovic said he was “fine” after accidentally getting knocked on the head by a water bottle after a win at the Italian Open on Friday. A man was leaning over the railing to hand Djokovic a notebook for a signature and an aluminum-type water bottle

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — U.S. officials who predict, prepare for and respond to natural disasters have a message for Floridians: It’s not a matter of if but when a hurricane will hit the state. With the 2024 hurricane season expected to be busier than average, the nation’s top federal, state

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s legal cannabis market has been hampered by inexperienced leaders who treated the state licensing agency like a “mission-driven” startup rather than a government office, according to an internal review. The report released Friday detailed several problems at the state Office of Cannabis Management, including

By COREY WILLIAMS Associated Press Associated Press newsman Ken Kusmer has died at his Indianapolis home after a short illness at the age of 65. Kusmer’s long award-winning career included exposing flaws in efforts to privatize Indiana’s welfare system. He began his career as a reporter and writer in AP’s Indianapolis bureau in 1984. He

By JAY COHEN AP Sports Writer Maggie Steffens asked for more support for the U.S. women’s water polo team, and the captain received one particularly surprising response. From a clock-wearing rap icon. Moved by Steffens’ Instagram post, Flavor Flav has stepped forward to help the U.S. team as it goes for an unprecedented fourth consecutive

By MARK ANDERSON AP Sports Writer LAS VEGAS (AP) — The betting public is throwing money on Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever as the WNBA prepares to open one of the more-anticipated seasons in league history. A Fever championship would have bookmakers sweating. They are the biggest liability at BetMGM Sportsbook, with nearly half

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Authorities in Russia say seven people were killed when a bus veered off a bridge in St. Petersburg, the country’s second-largest city. The death toll from Friday’s crash was reported by the Investigative Committee, Russia’s top criminal investigations body. It did not state how many others were injured but the

MALMO, Sweden (AP) — Acts from more than two dozen countries will take the stage in Malmo, Sweden, to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. The action kicks off Saturday at 9 p.m. Central European Summer Time, which is 8 p.m. in Britain and 3 p.m. EDT in the U.S. and Canada.

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER, AAMER MADHANI and MATTHEW LEE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says Israel’s use of U.S-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law. But the administration says wartime conditions in the Palestinian territory prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes. The administration’s findings of “reasonable”

By JOHN HANNA, TOM MURPHY and KATHLEEN FOODY Associated Press TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A cyberattack on the Ascension health system operating in 19 states across the U.S. forced some of its 140 hospitals to divert ambulances, caused patients to postpone medical tests and blocked online access to patient records. A spokesperson for Ascension says

BY ABDULRAHMAN ZEYAD Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — The Iraqi government has requested the United Nations end a mission set up to promote governance and human rights reforms in the country by the end of 2025, the latest in a series of international bodies operating in the country that Iraq has sought to wind down.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — About 700 workers have walked off the job at a hotel-casino near the Las Vegas Strip in what union organizers say will be a 48-hour strike after spending months trying to reach a deal for new five-year contract with Virgin Hotels. Culinary Union Local 226 said Friday’s action marks their first

By LEAH WILLINGHAM Associated Press WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) — Rosemary Ketchum became West Virginia’s first openly transgender lawmaker when she was elected to the Wheeling City Council in 2020. Now, she’s running for mayor of the city of around 26,000 in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Ketchum says her time in local politics has

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Powerful storms packing hurricane-force winds killed at least one woman Friday in Florida as a week of deadly severe weather continued in the South, where uprooted trees crashed onto homes and knocked out electricity to thousands in several states. City officials in Tallahassee said wind gusts of 80 to 100 mph

BY STEPHEN McGRATH and NICOLAE DUMITRACHE Associated Press BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A court in Romania’s capital has extended geographical restrictions against online influencer Andrew Tate. He’s awaiting trial on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. The Bucharest Tribunal extended by 60 days the restrictions stipulating that Tate,

ROME (AP) — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced a $500 million fundraising campaign Friday to ensure long-term, global support for its Oscar prizes, museum, educational programming and screenings in view of its 100th anniversary in 2028. Academy officials announced the campaign at a press conference in Rome alongside the leadership of

By JONEL ALECCIA and MIKE STOBBE Associated Press U.S. health and agriculture officials pledged nearly $200 million in new spending and other efforts Friday to help track and contain an outbreak of bird flu in the nation’s dairy cows that has spread to more than 40 herds in nine states. The new funds include $101

By PATRICK ORSAGOS Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Bidders will fight with their dollars next week at an Ohio auction house for the sword of the Civil War Union general who led a scorched-earth campaign across Georgia and coined the phrase “War is hell.” General William Tecumseh Sherman’s wartime sword, likely used between 1861

By FRANKLIN BRICEÑO Associated Press LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peruvian authorities have arrested President Dina Boluarte’s brother and her lawyer over influence-peddling accusations. Their detentions Friday come a day after the South American country’s government disbanded a police unit that assisted prosecutors in investigating the president’s inner circle. A judge signed off on the arrests.

By ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — At least 90 people were injured in Argentina’s capital when a passenger train struck an empty boxcar on the tracks and derailed Friday, authorities said, a rare collision that fueled questions about basic safety. The train was on its way from Buenos Aires to the

By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court has upheld the first-degree murder conviction and life sentence of a 30-year-old woman in the 2017 death and dismemberment of a Nebraska hardware store clerk. Bailey Boswell was convicted in 2020 in the death of 24-year-old Sydney Loofe. Boswell’s co-defendant and