Month: March 2023

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM Associated Press Last week’s fatal blast at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory highlighted the combustibility of food plants in general and chocolate making in particular. Local, state and federal investigations are ongoing. Pennsylvania State Police have said “everything’s on the table” as fire marshals try to pinpoint the origin and cause. Some workers

By DÁNICA COTO Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi has announced new solar energy initiatives during his annual state of the territory address. It was a speech viewed by many as critical as he fights plummeting ratings amid growing discontent over costly electric bills, deep government corruption and

By SAM METZ and CHRISTOPHER WEBER Associated Press PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Skiers have likely noticed signs at mountain resorts across the country saying, “Know the code.” They refer to universal rules of conduct that apply to people who partake in inherently risky snow sports that involve navigating down crowded slopes, often at high

By ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An Arkansas bathroom bill that had been criticized as the most extreme in the country has been revamped to address concerns it would criminalize transgender people using public restrooms matching gender identity. The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday endorsed the bathroom bill after it was

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A powerful weather system from the Gulf of Alaska has pushed into Northern California, bringing more wind, rain and snow to a state battered by months of storms. Forecasters warned Tuesday that coastal mountains and the Sierra Nevada will see heavy snow, with possible accumulations of up to 4 feet and

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a new law that could penalize oil companies for making too much money. The law is in response to record high gas prices last summer while oil companies made enormous profits. Newsom is scheduled to sign the bill into law

By MARÍA VERZA and MORGAN LEE Associated Press CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) — After migrants in northern Mexico placed mattresses against the bars of their detention cell and set them on fire, guards quickly walked away and made no apparent attempt to release the men before smoke filled the room and killed at least 40,

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Associated Press/Report for America RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s state elections board has removed two county election officials who had refused to certify the 2022 election results after state officials determined they violated their duty to comply with state law. The state board voted unanimously Tuesday to dismiss Surry County elections

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former Southern California man who convinced troubled girls as young as 12 to perform masochistic acts and urged one to become his sex slave has been sentenced to 27 years in federal prison. Matthew Locher was sentenced in Los Angeles on Tuesday by a judge who called him “a parent’s

By HOLLY MEYER, BEN FINLEY and TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The head of the Christian elementary school in Nashville who was killed in a shooting there on Monday was described by friends as someone who would run toward danger and a rare female leader within a male-led religious culture. Katherine Koonce