Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is pushing toward a vote on legislation that would provide full Social Security benefits to millions of people. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer began the process on Thursday for a final vote on the bill, known as the Social Security Fairness Act. It would eliminate policies that currently
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Associated Press TOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) — A U.S. senator has called for mysterious drones spotted flying at night over sensitive areas in New Jersey and other parts of the Mid-Atlantic region to be “shot down, if necessary,” even as it remains unclear who owns the unmanned aircraft. “We should be doing some very urgent
Continue Reading Associated Press DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Hundreds of Syrians marched through central Damascus in a funeral procession for one of the country’s most prominent anti-government activists, whose body was found after the ouster of President Bashar Assad. The procession for Mazen al-Hamada would have been unimaginable only a week earlier. Mourners turned the display into
Continue Reading AP Sports Writer BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Travis Hunter is a throwback-type player — an elite receiver one moment, a lockdown cornerback the next — who rarely leaves the field and has a knack for making big plays all over it. The Colorado Buffaloes’ two-way standout ( see: unicorn ) even celebrates at an elite
Continue Reading Associated Press HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s senate has approved a bill to abolish the death penalty and it is now set to be signed into law by the president. Zimbabwe uses hanging for capital punishment but last executed someone in 2005. Parliament said Thursday that senators passed the Death Penalty Abolition Bill on Wednesday
Continue Reading Associated Press PUERTO PLATA, Dominican Republic (AP) — The trial against Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco, who has been charged with sexually abusing a minor, sexual and commercial exploitation against a minor, and human trafficking, was postponed on Thursday and scheduled to resume June 2, 2025. Dominican judge Yacaira Veras postponed the hearing at
Continue Reading Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department and the city of Louisville have reached an agreement to reform the city’s police force after an investigation prompted by the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor and police treatment of protesters, officials said Thursday. The consent decree, which must be approved by a judge,
Continue Reading AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Mets wanted Juan Soto to know his future with them could be set in stone. When the free agent outfielder traveled to owner Steve Cohen’s house in Beverly Hills, California, for a presentation last month, the team unveiled a video that included an image of
Continue Reading Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — A senior official in Canada’s most populous province says that Ontario could bar American-made alcohol and restrict electricity to three U.S. states if President-elect Donald Trump imposes sweeping tariffs on all Canadian products. The states are Michigan, New York and Minnesota. An official in Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s government said
Continue Reading Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Paraguay has reopened its embassy in Jerusalem, a move that marks a diplomatic win for Israel as it faces increasing international isolation because of the Gaza war. It’s a controversial move, putting Paraguay among a handful of countries to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Israel annexed east Jerusalem
Continue Reading Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A newly elected state lawmaker in West Virginia is facing at least one felony and is accused of making terroristic threats. State police say 61-year-old Joseph de Soto was arrested in Martinsburg after an investigation found he made “several threatening/intimidating threats” against government officials. Authorities didn’t provide details about
Continue Reading AP Golf Writer The Skins Game is returning with a modern look. Details are still being worked out. But the new media company Pro Shop announced a deal with the PGA Tour that will bring back the Skins Game for the first time since 2008. Pro Shop is run by Chad Mumm. He’s best known
Continue Reading Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — What was once a bipartisan effort to expand by 66 the number of federal district judgeships across the country passed the House of Representatives on Thursday, though prospects for becoming law are murky after Republicans opted to bring the measure to the floor only after President-elect Donald Trump had won
Continue Reading Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The December holidays are supposed to be a time of joyful celebration, but the season can be especially grueling for the millions of people who work in retail stores, staff airline counters and field complaints coming into call centers. Instead of compassion or good cheer, service sector workers often
Continue Reading AP Sports Writer Bill Belichick had just been introduced Thursday as North Carolina’s next football coach when chancellor Lee Roberts came armed with a gift: a short-sleeved gray hoodie — a bit of a trademark from Belichick’s NFL coaching days — bearing a blue interlocking “NC” logo. It was the visual confirmation, which will take
Continue Reading AP Airlines Writer The head of the Federal Aviation Administration, who has led a tougher enforcement policy against Boeing since a panel blew off a jetliner in January, said Thursday that he will step down next month, clearing the way for President-elect Donald Trump to name his choice to lead the agency. Mike Whitaker announced
Continue Reading Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is capping the fees at $5 with a rule set to take effect in October 2025, if it isn’t overturned by Congress or altered under a Trump administration. President Joe Biden had called the fees, which can be as high as $35, “exploitative,” while
Continue Reading AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The story of RaMell Ross’ “Nickel Boys,” laced with the cruelties of the Jim Crow-era South, has commonalities with films made before. But the grammar of “Nickel Boys” is entirely its own. Ross shot the Colson Whitehead adaptation almost entirely from the point of view of its two
Continue Reading Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The global chemical weapons watchdog has opened an emergency meeting to discuss the situation in Syria over concerns about the country’s stockpile of toxic chemicals in the wake of the overthrow of President Bashar Assad. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons told Syria on Monday the
Continue Reading AP Medical Writer Some early breast cancer patients can safely avoid specific surgeries, according to two studies exploring ways to lessen treatment burdens. One new study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, examines whether removing lymph nodes is always necessary in early breast cancer. Another in the Journal of the American Medical Association
Continue Reading NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is planning to donate $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration fund, a move that comes as major tech companies seek to improve their relationship with the incoming president. A company spokesperson confirmed Thursday evening that the e-commerce giant will also stream Trump’s inauguration on its Prime Video service, a
Continue Reading Associated Press WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders to his inauguration next month — an unorthodox move that would fold U.S. allies and adversaries into a very American political tradition. Trump said Thursday during an appearance at the New York Stock Exchange,
Continue Reading Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI informant accused of fabricating a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden’s family has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges. Alexander Smirnov’s deal with Justice Department special counsel David Weiss to plead guilty comes just weeks after prosecutors filed new tax evasion charges against him. Attorneys
Continue Reading WARSAW, Poland (AP) — France’s President Emmanuel Macron and Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Ukraine must have a pivotal role in any potential negotiations over Russia’s war in the country. Both leaders met in Warsaw. Macron insisted Europeans must be involved in security talks in “very close” coordination with the United States to ensure
Continue Reading Associated Press MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland has sworn in its new president after last month’s election that gave a boost for its push for international recognition. Thursday’s inauguration ceremony came a day after Somalia and Ethiopia agreed in Turkey to hold “technical talks” over a dispute sparked by a controversial
Continue Reading AP Business Writer An appeals court in Louisiana has ruled that Nasdaq can’t require diversity on the boards of companies that list on the exchange. The decision comes more than three years after the Securities and Exchange Commission approved Nasdaq’s proposal to boost the number of women, racial minorities and LGBTQ people on U.S. corporate
Continue Reading Associated Press STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish prosecutors say they have dropped a rape investigation that was launched in connection with soccer star Kylian Mbappé’s visit to Stockholm in October. In a statement, lead investigator Marina Chirakova says there is not enough evidence to continue the investigation into the allegation at a hotel. Prosecutors never publicly
Continue Reading Selena Gomez is having quite a year, and it’s being capped with an engagement to music producer and songwriter Benny Blanco. The Grammy- and Emmy-nominated performer announced she was off the market in an Instagram post Wednesday of her ring and an embrace with her fiancé, with the caption “Forever begins now.” Celebrity fans sent
Continue Reading SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has undergone a second procedure to stop a brain bleed. The 79-year-old Lula had surgery at the hospital on Tuesday for a kind of slow bleeding that resulted from a fall at home in October. Thursday’s procedure was to plug an artery that continued
Continue Reading Associated Press MILAN (AP) — A humanitarian rescue group says its sailboat plucked from the central Mediterranean an 11-year-old girl believed to be the only survivor of a shipwreck in stormy seas. The Compass Collective said the crew aboard their German-flagged sailboat heard a voice over the motors off the Italian island of Lampedusa early
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