AP-National

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands has declared a state of emergency after officials revealed last week that tap water in St. Croix contains lead and copper and warned people not to consume it. The declaration announced Wednesday frees up urgently needed resources, streamlines emergency response and allows

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Attorneys representing Tennessee transgender teens and their families asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to block a ban on gender-affirming care for minors that a lower court allowed to go into effect. Should the nation’s highest court agree to take the case, it would mark

By CLAIRE SAVAGE Associated Press/Report for America CHICAGO (AP) — A jury in Illinois has ordered Chicago-based Conagra Brands to pay $7.1 million to a Pennsylvania woman who was badly injured in 2017 when a can of commercial brand cooking spray ignited in a kitchen at her workplace and set her aflame. The verdict, issued

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS Associated Press NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus offered more detail Wednesday on its initiative to create a sea corridor for the steady flow of humanitarian assistance from Cyprus to Gaza, saying that aid-laden ships would sail directly to the enclave, where United Nations personnel would receive it for eventual distribution. Cyprus government

By HOLLY RAMER, LINDSAY WHITEHURST, KIMBERLEE KRUESI and BERNARD CONDON Associated Press LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — A history of mental illness. An array of weapons. Law enforcement knew about his potential for violence. But he was still able to own guns and commit the deadliest mass shooting in Maine’s history. One week later, many in

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and LOLITA BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican senators angrily challenged Sen. Tommy Tuberville on his blockade of almost 400 military officers Wednesday evening, taking over the Senate floor for more than four hours to call for individual confirmation votes after a monthslong stalemate. Tuberville, R-Ala., stood and objected to

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican government says it will pay half of interest rates on bank loans to rebuild the 377 hotels destroyed or heavily damaged by Hurricane Otis. But President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will not provide government loans to the hotels, the backbone of the local economy. López Obrador announced Wednesday a

By JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The state of Tennessee has agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a federal lawsuit by its former vaccine leader over her firing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Agreement details obtained in a public records request shows that it limits what Michelle Fiscus can say and what can

By COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The mayors of Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles and New York are pressing to meet with President Joe Biden about getting federal help in managing the surge of migrants they say are arriving in their cities with little to no coordination, support or resources from his administration.

By ALICIA RANCILIO Associated Press If Henry Winkler is not a morning person, it’s impossible to tell. He’s logged onto Zoom for an interview about his new memoir but occasionally is interrupted by a phone call — which he answers with a cheery “Good Morning.” His granddaughter walks through his home office, as do his

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer Delta Air Lines said Wednesday that the pilot accused of threatening to shoot the plane’s captain during a flight no longer works for the airline, and federal officials say his authority to carry a gun on board was revoked. Jonathan J. Dunn was indicted Oct. 18 and charged with

By MARC LEVY Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A court says Pennsylvania can’t enforce a regulation to make power plant owners pay for their planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. The ruling Wednesday by the Commonwealth Court is another setback for the centerpiece of former Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to fight global warming. The court temporarily

By TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer The time to shop for health insurance on the Affordable Care Act’s coverage marketplaces is back. Experts and insurance agents say people should think about more than price before picking next year’s coverage. Experts say you can prevent financial surprises or buyer’s remorse by knowing what a plan covers,

ROME (AP) — Italian politicians and Jewish leaders are condemning the antisemitic vandalizing of four memorial plaques. The tiny plaques are embedded in Rome’s sidewalks in front of apartment buildings where four Roman Jews had been living when they were deported from the Nazi-occupied city in 1944 and sent to their deaths in Auschwitz. The

By CLAIRE RUSH Associated Press/Report for America PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Teachers in Portland, Oregon, went on strike Wednesday, shuttering school for some 45,000 students in Oregon’s biggest city. The Portland Association of Teachers union said it was the first-ever teacher’s strike in the district. Large class sizes, salaries that haven’t kept up with inflation

NEW YORK (AP) — An 80-foot-tall (24-meter) Norway spruce from the Binghamton area has been selected as this year’s Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and will be cut down and trucked to New York City next week, Rockefeller Center officials announced Wednesday. The tree will be cut on Nov. 9 in Vestal, New York, and will

By EMMANUEL IGUNZA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya has announced a sharp increase in passenger fares on the Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway as the country struggles with repaying loans owed to Beijing and others along with higher fuel prices. That affects travel between the capital, Nairobi, and the port city of Mombasa. They

The Associated Press The Associated Press news website experienced an outage that appeared to be consistent with a denial-of-service attack, a federal criminal act that involves flooding a site with data in order to overwhelm it and knock it offline. Attempting to visit the apnews.com site at various points from Tuesday afternoon would load the

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — U.S. Rep. Kay Granger of Texas says she won’t seek reelection in 2024. The Republican chairwoman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee is the nation’s longest-serving GOP congresswoman. The 80-year-old congresswoman said Wednesday that “it’s time for the next generation to step up.” Her decision ends a barrier-breaking career that

By JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Danish prosecution dismissed two separate cases against former defense minister, Claus Hjort Frederiksen, and ex-head of the country’s foreign intelligence service, Lars Findsen, due to the inability to divulge classified information in court. Both were charged with leaking state secrets. In a statement, Denmark’s prosecution