AP-National

By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer Hurricane Otis unexpectedly turned from mild to monster in record time, and scientists are struggling to figure out what happened. Usually reliable computer models and the forecasters who use them didn’t see Otis’ explosive intensification coming as it approached Mexico’s Pacific coast. That created a nightmare scenario of an

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and JOHN HANNA Associated Press TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas officials are calling a massive computer outage that’s kept most of the state’s courts offline for two weeks a “security incident.” While authorities have provided no explanation, experts sat the incident bears all the hallmarks of a ransomware attack. The disruption has

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON and COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s administration is taking the extraordinary step of ordering state universities to ban a pro-Palestinian student organization from campuses, saying it illegally backs Hamas militants who attacked Israel earlier this month. As Israel’s attacks on Gaza have intensified, some

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — The Boston City Council has passed a resolution that calls for renaming Faneuil Hall, a popular tourist site that is named after a wealthy merchant who owned and traded slaves. In calling for the hearing, the author of the measure filed a resolution decrying the building’s namesake

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama judge has dismissed Birmingham-Southern College’s lawsuit against the state treasurer over a loan denial. Birmingham-Southern College filed a lawsuit last week against state Treasurer Young Boozer. The college said Boozer wrongly denied a $30 million loan from a program created by lawmakers to provide

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman was charged Wednesday with a misdemeanor for triggering a fire alarm as lawmakers scrambled to pass a funding bill before a government shutdown deadline in September. He is expected to plead guilty, formally apologize and pay a $1,000 fine. The false fire alarm

By SCOTT McFETRIDGE Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Livestock and poultry producers will need to comply with more specific standards if they want to label their products organic under final rules announced Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA’s new Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards are being implemented after years of

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — India says it is easing a visa ban imposed on Canadian nationals more than a month ago after Canada alleged that India was involved in the assassination of a Sikh separatist in Canada. India says it will resume services for entry, business, medical and conference visas

ATLANTA (AP) — Dwight Howard has denied accusations by a Georgia man who says he was sexually assaulted by the former NBA star and another person. Stephen Harper filed a state civil lawsuit against Howard in July, alleging assault and battery, false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress. No criminal charges have been filed

By JOHN CARUCCI Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The first thought that comes to mind when you enter the Balloon Museum for the “Let’s Fly” exhibit is the massive scale of the art. It’s easy to think of such an environment as having either professional-level balloon art or installations that rival the scale of

By GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press A new survey finds that the total number of abortions provided in the U.S. after bans started going into effect in some states last year increased slightly. The report found that the numbers fell to nearly zero in states with bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy. But it

NICE, France (AP) — The French soccer league has suspended Nice defender Youcef Atal for seven matches after he shared an antisemitic message on social media. Nice had already suspended Atal last week until further notice and said that he apologized for his actions. After the matter was reviewed by the French soccer federation’s ethics

By REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s chief prosecutor has announced a criminal investigation into organizers of a presidential primary election held over the weekend. Sunday’s contest was meant to allow voters to choose an opposition candidate to run against President Nicolás Maduro next year. Attorney General Tarek William Saab says

By SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is asking lawmakers for nearly $56 billion in emergency spending for disaster relief, child care funding and broadband. The largest portion of the supplemental funding request, sent to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, includes more than $23 billion for disaster relief. The package also

NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — Police in Norfolk, Nebraska, have identified a man whose body was found inside an apartment building chimney, but they’re still not sure about the circumstances that led to his death. The Norfolk Daily News reports that the victim was 29-year-old Zachariah Andrews. His body was found Oct. 19. Andrews was last

NEW YORK (AP) — Bud Light is set to return as the official beer of the UFC in the U.S. next year as the brand tries to recover from a conservative backlash to a promotion with a transgender influencer. The companies announced that under a new multiyear marketing deal between the promoter of mixed martial

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE and FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House turned down the pizazz for Wednesday’s state dinner, but more than 300 guests from politics, business, government and beyond turned out to celebrate close U.S. ties to ally Australia while striking a measured tone in a time of death and suffering

By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal prosecutors say the captain of a scuba dive boat should be held responsible for the deaths of 34 people killed in a fire aboard the vessel in 2019. But his defense attorneys said the boat’s owner is to blame in the deadliest maritime disaster in

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s top legal chief says the federal government is wrongly withholding millions of dollars in family planning funds after the state refused to comply with federal rules requiring clinics to provide abortion referrals due to its current ban on the procedure. Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed

By ASHRAF KHALIL Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — An estimated 17 million households reported problems finding enough food last year. That’s a sharp jump from 2021 when boosted government aid helped ease the pandemic-induced economic shutdown. A new Department of Agriculture report released Wednesday paints a sobering picture of post-pandemic hardship with “statistically significant” increases