AP-National

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and TARA COPP Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Gen. CQ Brown as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, putting him in place to succeed Gen. Mark Milley when he retires at the end of the month. Brown’s confirmation on a 83-11 vote, months

SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle City Council has adopted an ordinance that makes illegal drug use and possession a gross misdemeanor, after rejecting a similar measure earlier this summer. The council voted 6-3 to approve the measure on Tuesday. It aligns the city’s code with a new state law making possession and public use of

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania state government will prepare to use artificial intelligence in its operations, as states are increasingly trying to gauge the impact of AI and how to regulate it. Gov. Josh Shapiro said Wednesday that his administration is convening an AI governing board, publishing principles on the use of AI and developing

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge has ruled that Hunter Biden must appear in person for a hearing where he is expected to plead not guilty to federal firearms charges filed after the collapse of a plea deal in a long-running federal investigation. The president’s son had asked to appear via

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Gambling regulators have fined the online sports betting company PointsBet $25,000, citing violations of New Jersey sports betting laws. Regulators said Wednesday that the violations included taking pre-match bets on soccer games that had already begun. The state Division of Gaming Enforcement also says the

By SARAH RANKIN Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The family of a man who died while handcuffed and pinned to the floor for about 11 minutes as he was being admitted to a Virginia pscyhiatric hospital has reached an $8.5 million settlement with the state, county and the sheriff whose deputies were involved in

NEW YORK (AP) — Tenor Stephen Gould, who announced earlier this month that he had been diagnosed with incurable bile duct cancer, has died. He was 61. Gould’s agent Stephanie Ammann confirmed the singer died Tuesday in Virginia. No other details were immediately available. The singer withdrew this summer from the Bayreuth Festival in Germany,

By ASHRAF KHALIL and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Ray Epps, a onetime Donald Trump supporter who was the target of a right-wing conspiracy theory about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack that forced him into hiding, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge for his role in the U.S. Capitol riot.

By JOSHUA GOODMAN and JIM MUSTIAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington’s revolving door kept spinning this week as the Drug Enforcement Administration’s recently departed second-in-command returned for a new stint with the high-powered consulting firm where he previously advised Purdue Pharma and a drug distributor fighting sanctions over a deluge of suspicious painkiller shipments.

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press A 96-year-old U.S. federal appeals court judge was barred Wednesday from hearing cases for a year after a panel said she refused to undergo medical testing amid concerns that she is no longer mentally fit to serve on the bench. It’s the latest development in an unusually public and

By KEN RITTER Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — MGM Resorts brought to an end a 10-day computer shutdown prompted by efforts to shield from a cyberattack data including hotel reservations and credit card processing, the casino giant said Wednesday, as analysts and academics measured the effects of the event. “We are pleased that all

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — Kevin Costner and his wife of nearly 19 years, Christine Baumgartner, have reached a settlement in their divorce. “Kevin and Christine Costner have come to an amicable and mutually agreed upon resolution of all issues pertaining to their divorce proceedings,” the couple said in a joint statement released Tuesday by

By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it is providing $600 million in funding to produce new at-home COVID-19 tests and is restarting a website allowing Americans to again order up to four free tests per household — aiming to prevent possible shortages during a rise in coronavirus

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press Budweiser parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev announced Wednesday that its iconic Clydesdales will no longer have their tails shortened using a common, yet controversial, procedure that has drawn the ire of animal activists. The brewer said in a statement that the change was made earlier this year, stressing that the safety

By JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Redistricting Commission is getting back to business. The panel will meet Wednesday after two Republican legislative leaders who may be rivals for the House speakership next year settled a political dispute. Senate President Matt Huffman and House Speaker Jason Stephens’ lack of agreement

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed a bill setting the state’s presidential primary for April 2, potentially putting former President Donald Trump on the ballot as he stands trial in Manhattan for a hush-money criminal case. The new primary date was approved Wednesday by Hochul.

By BRIAN WITTE Associated Press ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A man wrongly convicted of two separate violent crimes will be compensated by the state of Maryland after spending years behind bars, including over a year after he had been proven innocent. A Maryland board approved more than $340,000 for a settlement on Wednesday in compensation

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press The influential abortion-rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America has changed its name to Reproductive Freedom for All. The group says the rebrand better reflects how people think about abortion access since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to the procedure last year. The group said Wednesday that Reproductive Freedom