Month: May 2024

By MATT BROWN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has recorded a video commencement message that is being played for graduates at historically Black colleges and universities across the country this spring. The surprise video, which has debuted at a handful of HBCU commencement ceremonies in the past week, will appear at

By MATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A judge must decide whether Virginia law allows frozen embryos to be considered property that can be divided up and given a monetary value. The Fairfax County judge heard arguments Thursday from a divorced couple who disagree over the ex-wife’s desire to use two frozen embryos

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York lawmakers want to change the legal standard Harvey Weinstein used to get his rape conviction overturned, proposing a bill to strengthen sexual assault prosecutions after the disgraced movie mogul’s case was tossed. The state’s highest court late last month threw out Weinstein’s conviction in

Associated Press The fatal shooting of a U.S. Air Force airman at his off-base apartment in the Florida Panhandle by a sheriff’s deputy brings to mind other instances of Black people being killed by law enforcement in their own homes as they’re going about their day. Senior Airman Roger Fortson, 23, was killed on May

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Washington’s attorney general says the Seattle Archdiocese isn’t cooperating in a sex abuse investigation, but church officials disagree. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Thursday asked a judge to force the church to turn over documents to his office in an investigation into whether the archdiocese unlawfully

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has welcomed the reigning WNBA champions, the Las Vegas Aces, to the White House, celebrating what he called a “banner year” for women’s basketball. “It matters to girls and women, finally seeing themselves represented,” Biden said during the celebration. “It matters to all Americans. That’s why as a nation,

By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has passed a $105 billion bill designed to improve safety and customer service for air travelers, a day before the law governing the Federal Aviation Administration expires. The bipartisan bill, which comes after a series of close calls between planes at the nation’s airports,

By CHRISTOPHER WEBER Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge says a plan to close a troubled prison in California where female inmates suffered sexual abuse by guards was “ill-conceived and, like Swiss cheese, full of holes.” The judge on Wednesday ordered a close monitoring and care of the incarcerated women who were

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior FBI official says the agency is concerned that foreign adversaries could deploy artificial intelligence as a way to interfere in American elections and spread disinformation. The official describes the technology as an area “that’s probably going to see growth over the coming years.” The threat

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks guard Patrick Beverley was suspended by the NBA on Thursday for four games without pay to begin next season for his actions during and after the final game of an Eastern Conference first-round playoff series with the Indiana Pacers. The league announced the suspension and said Beverley was getting punished

By MOUTA ALI and EDOUARD TAKADJI Associated Press N’DJAMENA, Chad (AP) — Chad’s military leader, Mahamat Deby Itno, has been declared the winner of this week’s presidential election. The provisional results released Thursday were contested by his main rival, Prime Minister Succès Masra. The results were released weeks earlier than planned. The figures showed Deby

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A Maine man who admitted trying to kill three police officers with a machete near New York’s Times Square on New Year’s Eve 16 months ago has been sentenced to 27 years in prison. The sentencing of Trevor Bickford in Manhattan federal court Thursday came after

By JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The nation’s largest public utility pledged to be more transparent after it took months to disclose that a general budget vote by its board last year also gave the CEO the final decision over several proposed natural gas power plants. The Tennessee Valley Authority’s board announced

By MARC LEVY Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania will join the majority of states that ban motorists from handling a cell phone for almost any purpose while driving as state lawmakers hope to reduce distracted driving accidents. Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office said Thursday he’ll sign the bill. The ban takes effect a year

By STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Several people have been detained by police at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology after demonstrators blocked a parking garage in their ongoing protest movement connected to the Israel-Hamas war. Tensions have ratcheted up in standoffs with protesters on campuses across the United States and increasingly in

REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A new Biden administration rule aims to speed up asylum processing at the southern border, enabling it to quickly reject a limited group of people believed to have committed serious crimes or who have terrorist links. The change announced Thursday comes during an election year when immigration is

By LAURA UNGAR AP Science Writer A new report finds fewer U.S. medical school graduates are applying to residency programs, but the drop is more pronounced in states that ban abortion compared with other states. Figures released Thursday by the Association of American Medical Colleges showed continuing declines for the second straight year. According to

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it found “insufficient evidence” that racial discrimination shaped decisions made by two Mississippi agencies about water system funding for the state’s majority-Black capital city of Jackson. The EPA’s Office of External Civil Rights Compliance issued findings this week. The

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Cue up his 2010 megahit “Baby.” Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber (nee Baldwin) are expecting their first child together — and have renewed their vows. A representative for Hailey Bieber confirmed to The Associated Press on Thursday that the model is just over six months

By GABRIELA SÁ PESSOA and MAURICIO SAVARESE Associated Press CANOAS, Brazil (AP) — A Brazilian horse nicknamed Caramelo by social media users garnered national attention after a television news helicopter filmed him stranded on a rooftop in southern Brazil, where massive floods have killed more than 100 people. About 24 hours after he was first

By JIM VERTUNO Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A top former aide to U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar and a political and business consultant have agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to help the Democrat congressman from Texas launder more than $200,000 in bribes and to assist prosecutors in a federal criminal investigation, according to

NEW YORK (AP) — Former Boston Celtics player Glen “Big Baby” Davis was sentenced Thursday to 40 months in a federal prison for his participation in a scheme New York prosecutors said defrauded an insurance plan for NBA players and their families of more than $5 million. More than 20 people were convicted in the