Month: January 2024

RICHMOND, Texas (AP) — Authorities say a man fatally shot his estranged wife and three other relatives, including his 8-year-old niece, at a home in suburban Houston over the weekend before killing himself. Fort Bend County Sheriff Eric Fagan said at a news conference Wednesday that 46-year-old Alrick “Shawn” Barrett opened fire at the home

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Biden administration has finalized approval of $1.1 billion to help keep California’s last operating nuclear power plant running. The funding is a financial backbone of the plan to keep the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant producing electricity until at least 2030. An earlier agreement to close the reactors by 2025

By COLLEEN SLEVIN and MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press DENVER (AP) — A judge says two Colorado funeral home owners apparently sought to cover up their financial difficulties by abandoning nearly 200 bodies that they had agreed to cremate or bury. The remains were instead stored in a neglected building, in many cases for years. Judge

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. construction company that built solar farms across the country will pay $2.3 million in penalties to settle claims that it violated federal and state water protections in Alabama, Idaho and Illinois, the U.S. Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday. California-based Swinerton agreed to pay the

By BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Newly unredacted documents from New Mexico’s lawsuit against Meta underscore the company’s historical reluctance to keep children safe on its platforms. That’s according to a complaint filed New Mexico’s attorney general. who sued Facebook and Instagram owner Meta in December. The lawsuit says the company

By SONIA PÉREZ D. Associated Press GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — The U.S. State Department has barred former Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei from entering the United States, accusing him “significant corruption” just- three days after he left office. The Biden administration had become increasingly critical of Giammattei’s administration as Guatemalan prosecutors sought to block Sunday’s inauguration

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press A Florida man who assaulted at least six police officers during a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol has been sentenced to five years in prison. Prosecutors described Kenneth Bonawitz as one of the most violent rioters on Jan. 6, 2021. He grabbed one of the officers in a chokehold

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota House has passed a bill that would make xylazine a controlled substance. Xylazine is a large-animal sedative that is being mixed with fentanyl and then used by some people. The measure would establish penalties of up to two years in prison and fines of up to $4,000 for

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Winter weather brings various hazards that people have to contend with to keep warm and safe. These dangers can include carbon monoxide poisoning, hypothermia and frozen pipes that can burst and make homes unlivable. Public safety officials and experts say there are multiple ways people can

By TRÂN NGUYỄN Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Authorities are investigating a suspicious envelope that was sent to the elections office in rural Yuba County. A county spokesperson said the package didn’t look suspicious at first, but a worker found a powdery substance inside and called law enforcement. A field test revealed traces of

A Massachusetts man convicted of murder in the 2021 death of a Black man after a racist road rage encounter has been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years. Dean Kapsalis, of Hudson, was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder, violation of constitutional rights and other offenses in

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer Apple says it will disable a blood-oxygen monitoring feature on its two most popular watches in the U.S. beginning Thursday to comply with a court-ordered revival of a sales ban stemming from a patent dispute. The decision to turn off the blood-oxygen sensor for consumers who buy either the

By HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa on Wednesday became the latest state to sue TikTok over claims that the social media company deceives consumers over the amount of “inappropriate content” that children can access via the platform. TikTok claims an age rating of 12 and older in app stores, which