Year: 2024

By MATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press MANASSAS, Va. (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped the last remaining charge against a northern Virginia elections official who had been accused of misconduct related to the 2020 elections. A judge on Monday formally dismissed a misdemeanor charge of willful neglect of duty against Michele White, the former registrar in Prince

By STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Harvard University is trying to move past the firestorm brought on by the plagiarism allegations, congressional testimony and resignation of Claudine Gay, the school’s first Black president. The elite Ivy League School is aiming to heal divisions as it seeks a new leader. The school’s governing

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer The runway fire in Tokyo is providing a key test of the safety of carbon-composite material on planes. Composite materials reinforced with carbon fibers make planes lighter, which helps them save fuel — a major cost consideration for airlines. But safety experts say there has always been concern about

By The Associated Press Iranian officials said that at least 95 people were killed Wednesday after back-to-back explosions at an event commemorating the 2020 slaying of a prominent general by the United States. More than 200 people were wounded in the attack, for which there was no immediate claim of responsibility. The attack came on

By MARTÍN ADAMES ALCÁNTARA Associated Press SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Dominican prosecutors have accused Wander Franco of commercial sexual exploitation and money laundering following allegations that the Tampa Bay Rays shortstop had a relationship with a minor whose mother also faces the same charges. Prosecutors on Wednesday requested that a judge hold Franco

By RISDEL KASASIRA Associated Press KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A well-known gay rights activist in Uganda has been stabbed by unknown assailants, and police say he has been hospitalized in critical condition. A video posted on the social media platform X shows Steven Kabuye lying on the ground writhing in pain with a deep and

By KEN RITTER Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — A California man accused of firing dozens of gunshots from a high-rise condo near the Las Vegas Strip the morning before New Year’s Eve is being held on $500,000 bail. A Las Vegas judge who set bail Wednesday said it appears Jon Letzkus is mentally unstable

By MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Hamas and Hezbollah have accused Israel of carrying out an airstrike that killed a top Hamas leader in Beirut. While Israel has not claimed responsibility, Tuesday’s airstrike had the hallmarks of an Israeli attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders have repeatedly threatened

By CAROLYN THOMPSON Associated Press MAYVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — The New Jersey man charged with stabbing author Salman Rushdie is allowed to seek material related to Rushdie’s upcoming memoir about the 2022 attack before standing trial. Jury selection in Hadi Matar’s attempted murder and assault trial had been scheduled to start Jan. 8. Instead, a

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The lethal injection of an Oklahoma man set to die next month has been paused for 100 days so that a hearing can be held to determine if he’s mentally competent enough to be executed. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals issued a 100-day stay of

LONDON (AP) — A sign directed the animals to line up to be counted and several of the 74 Humboldt penguins did just that, waiting patiently Wednesday to be tallied in the London Zoo’s annual census. Not all the animals were as obedient. Crispin, an endangered Sumatran tiger cub, treated a chalk board like cat

By ALMUDENA CALATRAVA Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina has arrested three men under suspicion of belonging to a terror cell as the country hosts a major Jewish sporting event. Security Minister Patricia Bullrich did not disclose the identity of the men — who were detained over the weekend — but released images

By ALANIS THAMES AP Sports Writer MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill and his family are safe after fire rescue crews responded to a large fire at his South Florida home Wednesday afternoon. The house, which is located in Southwest Ranches about 30 miles northwest of Miami, was shown Wednesday on

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press Michigan state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet has announced that she will seek a U.S. House seat in Michigan being left vacant after U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee’s retirement this year. McDonald Rivet becomes the fifth candidate, and third Democrat, to enter the competitive race. Democrats are hoping to defend the seat

By COREY WILLIAMS Associated Press Authorities in western Michigan are looking into missing persons cases and unsolved homicides after interviewing a convicted murderer and long-haul truck driver with terminal cancer who died last week in a prison hospital. Kent County sheriff’s detectives questioned Garry Artman on three occasions before his death Thursday at a state

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says she will push for schools to reemphasize phonics in literacy education programs, a potential overhaul that comes as many states are revamping curriculums amid low reading scores. Hochul, a Democrat, debuted the proposal on Wednesday. If approved by the state

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s policymakers concluded last month that inflationary pressures were easing and that the job market was cooling. In response, the officials chose to leave their key interest rate unchanged for the third straight time and signaled that they expected to cut rates three times

By MICHAEL HILL Associated Press Forest rangers successfully rescued an upstate New York hiker who survived a frigid night on a rugged Adirondack mountain peak trapped above a cliff, after she slipped and fell hundreds of feet down from the summit. “I thought I might have froze to death. There were like 45-mile-an-hour winds (70

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI and JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee judge has squashed an attempt to release more records involving a sexual harassment complaint against a former state lawmaker, including information about how tax dollars may have been spent as part of the investigation. Davidson County Chancellor Russell Perkins’ ruling was

By MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The killing of a top Hamas commander in an apparent Israeli airstrike on a Beirut apartment has given Israel an important symbolic achievement in its 3-month-old war against the Islamic militant group. But history has shown the benefits of such dramatic operations are often short-lived,

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has once again renewed taxpayer-funded protection for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and one of his top aides, who have been the target of persistent threats from Iran. The State Department notified Congress late last month that the threats against Pompeo and

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — The body of a woman who went missing 12 years ago appears to have been found in a minivan submerged in a central Florida retention pond near Walt Disney World, according to family members and volunteer divers who discovered the remains last week. The family of Sandra Lemire told local media

By MEGAN JAENTSKY Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Prosecutors in central Mexico say a drug cartel set up its own makeshift internet antennas and told locals that they had to pay to use their Wi-Fi or they would be killed. The criminal group allegedly set up three internet antennas in various towns in the

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A judge says a North Carolina law that makes it a serious crime for someone to vote while still on probation or parole for a felony conviction shouldn’t be thrown out. U.S. Magistrate Judge Joe Webster recommended Tuesday that the request by groups representing poor

By JOHN WAWROW AP Hockey Writer TORONTO (AP) — An hour before one of the most significant faceoffs in the history of women’s hockey, New York players were roused by a commotion at the entrance of their dressing room. Enter Billie Jean King. “I just wanted to say, hi,” the former tennis star and gender