Year: 2024

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appears skeptical of the federal government’s argument that the Environmental Protection Agency should be allowed to continue enforcing its anti-air-pollution rule in 11 states. The government made its arguments Wednesday before the court. The “good neighbor” rule is intended to restrict smokestack

By TERRY SPENCER Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The collapse of a sand hole that killed a 7-year-old Indiana girl who was digging with her brother on a Florida beach is an underrecognized danger that kills and injures several children a year around the country. Sloan Mattingly died Tuesday afternoon at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea’s beach

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press The 88-year-old mother of Connecticut mother-of-five Jennifer Dulos has testified at a murder conspiracy trial that she has not seen or communicated with her daughter since she disappeared and was presumed by police to be murdered in 2019. Gloria Farber took the stand Wednesday in Stamford, Connecticut, in the trial

SEATTLE (AP) — Boeing said Wednesday that the head of its 737 jetliner program is leaving the company in an executive shake-up weeks after a door panel blew out on a flight over Oregon, renewing questions about safety at the company. Boeing announced that Ed Clark, who had been with the company for nearly 18

By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s governor has rolled out legislation she says will prevent dangerous people from possessing weapons and strengthen mental health services to help prevent future tragedies like the Lewiston mass shooting that shook the state. Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, called for changes in January in a

By JOSEPH KRAUSS Associated Press From the earliest days of the Israel-Hamas war, the United States and much of the international community have pressed Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. But as the fighting rages on with no end in sight, the humanitarian catastrophe there has only worsened. United Nations agencies

By LAURA UNGAR AP Science Writer Alabama lawmakers and Gov. Kay Ivey have agreed to protect in vitro fertilization providers from legal liability. The Alabama Supreme Court ruled last month that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law and touched off immediate backlash. Many doctors and patients are concerned about ripple effects across

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Thousands have rallied in dozens of cities and towns across Slovakia to mark the sixth anniversary of the slayings of an investigative journalist and his fiancee amid a wave of anti-government protests. Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova were shot dead at their home in a town east of Bratislava on Feb.

By FRANK BAJAK and DAKE KANG Associated Press Chinese police are investigating an unauthorized and highly unusual online dump of documents from a private security contractor linked to the nation’s top policing agency and other parts of its government — a trove that catalogs apparent hacking activity and tools to spy on both Chinese and

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials acknowledged at their most recent meeting in January that there had been “significant progress” in reducing inflation. But some of the policymakers expressed concern that strong growth in spending and hiring could disrupt that progress. In minutes from the January 30-31 meeting, most

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — First, there were trackers on Taylor Swift and other celebrities’ private jet usage. Now, there will be more scrutiny on executives’ personal use of business aircraft who write it off as a tax expense. IRS leadership said Wednesday that the agency will start up dozens of audits

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Police in Oklahoma say a teen who died a day after an altercation at school did not die as a result of injuries sustained in the fight. The fight may have been prompted by bullying over gender identity. The student has been identified by family members

By PAMELA HASSELL Associated Press The orchid show at the New York Botanical Garden this year is a whimsical mix of fashion and flower creations. There are multitudes of diverse orchids and accessorizing plants. And there are fashion-inspired floral designs from Hillary Taylour for Collina Strada, Olivia Cheng for Dauphinette, and Kristen Alpaugh, aka Flwr

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The U.N’s top representative in Ukraine says the U.N.’s humanitarian appeal to meet needs there is only 10% funded for 2024. That puts in jeopardy crucial assistance needed to reach those in need across frontline areas. Denise Brown says an estimated 8.5 million Ukrainians who are

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Authorities say a Michigan man whose 2-year-old daughter shot herself in the head with his revolver pleaded not guilty after becoming the first person charged under the state’s new law requiring safe storage of guns. John Potbury, Genesee County’s deputy chief assistant prosecuting attorney, says a not guilty plea was entered

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia lawmakers are seeking to change state law to say that officers don’t have to arrest people who refuse to sign traffic tickets. The change comes after a church deacon died in August after initially refusing to sign a citation and struggling with an Atlanta police officer.

By DIANE JEANTET and ELEONORE HUGHES Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s foreign minister is calling for reforms of the United Nations and other multilateral institutions, as his country kicked off its presidency of the Group of 20 nations. Mauro Vieira told fellow foreign ministers during opening remarks for a G20 meeting in

By LEA SKENE Associated Press BALTIMORE (AP) — A leading manufacturer of ghost guns has agreed to stop selling its untraceable, unassembled firearms to Maryland residents. Under a settlement agreement announced Wednesday by the city of Baltimore, the Nevada-based company Polymer80 will also pay $1.2 million in damages. City leaders sued the company two years

MOSCOW (AP) — A liberal Russian politician has lost another appeal against election officials’ decision to bar him from running in next month’s vote in which President Vladimir Putin is all but certain to win another six-year term. Boris Nadezhdin had made a call for halting the conflict in Ukraine his main campaign slogan and

By MORGAN LEE Associate Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Prosecutors in New Mexico are pursuing accountability for the 2021 death of a cinematographer who was fatally shot by actor Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal for the Western film “Rust.” Before Baldwin’s case progresses, the armorer on the set is being tried on charges of

By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press Federal investigators say the city of Pittsburgh did not adequately maintain or repair a bridge, leading to the corrosion of the structure’s steel legs and its collapse into a ravine more than two years ago. The city-owned Forbes Avenue bridge fell down in January 2022, plunging a bus and four

By KATHLEEN FOODY Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — A judge has ruled that the man accused of killing seven people and injuring dozens more at a Fourth of July parade in suburban Chicago in 2022 will stand trial next February. Robert Crimo III is charged with 21 counts of first-degree murder, 48 counts of attempted

LA PARAGUA, Venezuela (AP) — The collapse of an illegally operated open-pit gold mine in central Venezuela killed at least 14 people and injured several more, state authorities said Wednesday, as some other officials reported an undetermined number of people could be trapped. Bolivar state Gov. Angel Marcano told local reporters that 14 bodies had

By KEN MILLER Associated Press A student who carried a handgun into school in Texas had meant to harm others before three police officers fired 19 times at him, leaving him with a minor leg wound, police said Wednesday. “He brought a gun to school to hurt people,” Mesquite police Lt. Brandon Ricketts said. “He

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee woman who posted photos on Instagram that appear to show her 5-year-old daughter helping her apply wax to adult clients for hair removal has been charged with child neglect. The Commercial Appeal, citing an arrest affidavit, reports that the Memphis Police Department received multiple complaints on Feb. 15 about

By AAMER MADHANI, COLLEEN LONG and COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press CULVER CITY, Calif. (AP) — President Joe Biden says that while a college degree is still a ticket to a better life, that ticket is often too expensive. He was talking Wednesday at a library in Culver City, California, where he announced he was canceling

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A prosecutor has described former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, at the start of his trial, as a corrupt politician who let his country’s biggest drug traffickers fuel his rise to power. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Robles told a Manhattan federal court jury during opening statements

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers are advancing legislation that would define who is considered female and male under state law. A Senate committee approved definitions based on reproductive systems on Tuesday, and a House committee planned to take up similar legislation Wednesday. Supporters say it gives necessary guidance to