Associated Press BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Dozens of environmental nonprofits issued a manifesto Thursday condemning new laws in Brazilian states that threaten to dismantle the Amazon soy moratorium. This landmark voluntary agreement stipulates that traders and oil producers do not buy soybeans grown on land cleared after 2008. The soy moratorium gathered strange bedfellows, ranging
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has announced what it called the first-ever national strategy to counter Islamophobia. A proposal released Thursday details more than 100 possible steps to curb hate, violence, bias and discrimination against Muslims and Arab Americans. It follows a similar national plan to battle antisemitism that President Joe Biden
Continue ReadingAssociated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The deputy executive director of the U.N. World Food Program has been on whirlwind visits to hotspots in the Middle East and Sudan to assess dire humanitarian situations and escalating demands for food from millions of people trapped or fleeing conflicts. But Carl Skau said in an interview with
Continue ReadingAssociated Press The popularity of drones has exploded in recent years, as small unmanned aircraft have become cheap enough for many hobbyists to buy. Recent reported sightings of drones flying over New Jersey at night have raised concerns about safety and privacy. The federal government has rules for drones and those who operate them. There
Continue ReadingSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. Department of Energy says $365 million is available to install solar and battery storage systems in homes and healthcare centers across Puerto Rico. Up to $190 million is available to Puerto Rico’s Housing Administration and a private company to pay for solar and battery installations in public
Continue ReadingAssociated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Niger’s ruling junta suspended the BBC for three months over its coverage of an extremist attack that allegedly killed dozens of Nigerien soldiers and civilians. Niger’s ruling junta suspended the BBC for three months over its coverage of an extremist attack that allegedly killed dozens of Nigerien soldiers and
Continue ReadingRIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — An Argentine tourist has been shot in the head and chest in Rio de Janeiro after he mistakenly drove his car into a low-income community, police said. He was using a GPS device to make his way to the Christ the Redeemer statue, local media reported. Gastón Fernando, 51, was
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The company that owns the salvage rights to the Titanic says it hasn’t settled on any future plans to retrieve more artifacts from the shipwreck. Thursday’s announcement could cool down a legal battle with the U.S. government. RMS Titanic Inc. wrote in a court filing that it won’t visit
Continue ReadingNEW YORK (AP) — The man charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was not a client of the medical insurer and may have targeted it because of its size and influence, a senior police official said Thursday. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told NBC New York in an interview Thursday that investigators have
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Three men have sued Sean “Diddy” Combs, claiming the hip-hop mogul drugged and raped them. The lawsuits were filed anonymously Thursday in New York state court. They add to a wave of sexual assault litigation against the rapper, producer and record executive as he also faces federal sex trafficking
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A northern Wisconsin tribe and a coalition of groups are moving to block plans to reroute an aging pipeline around the tribe’s reservation. The Bad River Band of Lake Superior filed a lawsuit in Ashland County on Thursday challenging the validity of the environmental impact statement on rerouting Enbridge’s
Continue ReadingAssociated Press If you have an avid cook or food lover in your life, your holiday gifting opportunities are vast and deep. There are authentic ingredients and creative concoctions in brick-and-mortar shops and online. The global pantry beckons. And in many cases the packaging is gorgeous. Many small and affordable luxury foods can be tucked
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams has met with President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming “border czar.” Adams met Thursday with Tom Homan after the mayor has expressed an enthusiasm to work with the incoming administration to pursue criminals in the city while Trump promises mass deportations of people living in
Continue ReadingFRESNO, Calif. (AP) — A lawyer for former U.S. Rep. TJ Cox of California said the Democrat will plead guilty to two counts of fraud and pay $3.5 million in restitution after federal prosecutors alleged he perpetrated multiple schemes involving businesses he was involved in. Attorney Mark Coleman told the Fresno Bee on Wednesday that
Continue ReadingAssociated Press AQABA, Jordan (AP) — Top U.S. officials are in the Middle East pressing for stability in Syria and an end to Israel’s 14-month war in the Gaza Strip in a last-ditch diplomatic push by the outgoing Biden administration. President-elect Donald Trump takes office in a few weeks. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — China experts say Chinese leader Xi Jinping would likely see President-elect Donald Trump’s invitation to attend his inauguration as too risky to accept, and the gesture from Trump may have little bearing on the increasingly competitive ties between the two nations. The experts say they cannot see the Chinese leader
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer The Federal Trade Commission is suing the largest U.S. distributor of wine and spirits for allegedly discriminating against small and independent businesses. The FTC alleged in a filed in California on Thursday that Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits doesn’t give small and independent stores access to discounts and rebates that larger chains
Continue ReadingWASHINGTON (AP) — People who want to see the Supreme Court in action can skip the line and enter a new online lottery system the court announced Thursday. Starting with cases that will be argued in late February, seats will be distributed via lottery for arguments as well as sessions where the justices don’t hear
Continue ReadingLOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s largest city reached an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department on a consent decree that will guide efforts to reform Louisville’s police department, prompted by Breonna Taylor’s death in 2020. Here are some highlights of the development Thursday: WHY WERE THE FEDS INVESTIGATING LOUISVILLE POLICE? Breonna Taylor’s shooting by Louisville
Continue ReadingAP 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 showed a video that included an image of
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