By SUSAN HAIGH Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — When it comes to state insects, most states honor beloved and benign bugs, like butterflies, honey bees and ladybugs. Connecticut has designated a voracious predator as its bug-to-be-most-proud-of for decades, but its reign could soon come to an end. The European “praying” mantis, recognized by its
Continue ReadingBy AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday endorsed legislation that could lead to the popular video-sharing app TikTok being banned in the United States, a move that comes amid growing concern in Washington about keeping Americans’ data out of China’s hands. The legislation that passed through the U.S. House
Continue ReadingWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man faces up to life in prison for severely beating his young daughters, one of them fatally. Prosecutors say the man so brutally stomped his 8-year-old daughter last year, it ruptured her heart. The Wichita Eagle reports that the 52-year-old Wichita man pleaded no contest Thursday to first-degree murder
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By Clare Duffy, CNN New York (CNN) — When Raúl Torrez, then a young prosecutor in a rural New Mexico, was preparing one of his first child abuse cases, he went to his father for advice. Torrez expected his dad, a career prosecutor, to offer some tips about preparing evidence or addressing the jury. Instead,
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By John King, CNN (CNN) — Angela Lang needs to hear and see more but she called President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address a big help to her work: getting Black voters energized and to the polls. “It was a strong and firm speech,” said Lang, a community activist in Milwaukee. “Now, he needs to
Continue ReadingBy Chandelis Duster, CNN (CNN) — A newly proposed law in Missouri could charge teachers and counselors with a felony and require them to register as sex offenders if they’re found guilty of supporting transgender students who are socially transitioning. Missouri state Rep. Jamie Gragg, a Republican, introduced HB 2885 last week. If passed and signed into
Continue ReadingSAN ANTONIO (AP) — Officials say the bodies of four people have been discovered inside a Texas home that was engulfed by flames. San Antonio Fire Department spokesperson Joe Arrington says firefighters were called to a house fire just after 11 a.m. on Friday on the city’s south side. Arrington says the fire was so
Continue ReadingBy Cheri Mossburg, CNN (CNN) — Fire detection sensors are being placed around Maui and other Hawaiian islands to respond more quickly when wildfires break out, Gov. Josh Green announced Friday. At a news conference, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said, “The introduction of an early detection system will give our first responders a critical advantage
Continue ReadingBy JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican Matt Dolan has landed the endorsement of former U.S. Sen. Rob Portman in the three-way primary to face Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown this fall. The Cincinnati Republican’s backing Friday could provide an important boost to Dolan, a Cleveland-area state senator, particularly in southwest
Continue ReadingBy ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — President Joe Biden is facing disappointment and anger from some allies for calling the suspect in the killing of a Georgia nursing student an “illegal” during his State of the Union speech. Others are backing him as better on immigration issues than his likely rival in
Continue ReadingBy JACK DURA Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — An oil and gas trade group in North Dakota has ended a workforce recruitment program that brought Ukrainians from their war-torn country to North Dakota’s oil fields to fill jobs. The North Dakota Petroleum Council pitched the Bakken Global Recruitment of Oilfield Workers program as a
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By Ana Melgar and David Shortell, CNN (CNN) — Former President of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernández was found guilty Friday of drug trafficking by an American jury after a two-week trial in Manhattan federal court. Prosecutors had accused Hernández, 55, of conspiring with drug cartels during his tenure as they moved more than 400 tons
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TONIGHT: Overnight lows cool to the lower 30s with mostly cloudy skies. Winds remain out of the north at 10-15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph. TOMORROW: Saturday begins partly cloudy before clearing becoming mostly sunny by the later morning hours. Highs only reach into the upper 40s as winds continue out of the
Continue Reading By Gregory Krieg, Jason Morris, Nick Valencia and Zachary Cohen, CNN (CNN) — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is already facing a charged legal battle to bar her from prosecuting the election subversion case she brought against former President Donald Trump and more than a dozen allies in Georgia. Now, she’s facing at least two new
Continue ReadingBy Mackenzie Lofgren Click here for updates on this story MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Sen. Gene Dornink found himself apologizing after referring to a female Delta pilot as a “stewardess” during a sick and safe time amendment hearing on Tuesday. Following her testimony where Laura Haynor identified herself, Dornink (R-Brownsdale) began by asking her, “What does
Continue ReadingBy y Ginger Allen, Lexi Salazar, Katie Standing Click here for updates on this story FORT WORTH, Texas (KTVT) — A local family will likely never look at gift cards the same way again after they became victims of an increasingly popular scam. They’re now out tens of thousands of dollars and it all started
Continue ReadingHUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Authorities have detected a 2.5-mile-long oil sheen off the coast of Southern California but say it doesn’t appear to be a crude spill and are investigating the cause. U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Richard Brahm said authorities spotted the sheen after daybreak Friday. He says there were no reports of
Continue ReadingBy Rohan Mattu Click here for updates on this story BALTIMORE, Maryland (WJZ) — A Baltimore man has been charged in the death of Jamal Barney, a former Loyola men’s basketball standout found dead in a vacant home last year. Dayrel McFarland, 28, is charged with first-and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault and other
Continue ReadingBy AMY BETH HANSON Associated Press The Colorado Bureau of Investigation says a former DNA scientist cut corners and didn’t follow standard testing protocols, raising questions about hundreds of criminal cases in which she processed evidence. The investigation found that Yvonne “Missy” Woods manipulated data in the DNA testing process and posted incomplete results in
Continue ReadingBy MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer Apple has reversed course under regulatory pressure and cleared the way for a nettlesome adversary, video game maker Epic Games, to set up an alternative store for iPhone apps in Europe. The about-face disclosed Friday is the latest twist in a bitter fight between Apple and Epic Games, the
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