AP-National

By SEUNG MIN KIM and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Gun safety groups are joining together to endorse President Joe Biden in 2024, as the president continues to push for stricter gun laws as a major part of his political platform that was all but unthinkable for Democrats even a few years ago.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Police in Alabama arrested two boaters on misdemeanor assault charges in connection with a riverside brawl that drew national attention. Major Saba Coleman of the Montgomery Police Department said the two men turned themselves in on Wednesday. The three men are charged in connection with an attack on a riverboat captain

BELEN, N.M. (AP) — President Joe Biden says he’s open to granting assistance for people sickened by exposure to radiation during nuclear weapons testing, including in New Mexico, where the world’s first atomic bomb was tested in 1945. Biden brought up the issue while speaking Wednesday in Belen at a factory that produces wind towers.

By DENISE LAVOIE and SARAH RANKIN Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Virginia Department of Corrections, under scrutiny over the death of an inmate that raised broader questions about conditions at a southwest Virginia prison, is refusing to release public records documenting inmate complaints about the facility. Allegations that multiple inmates were treated for

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — UN officials say nearly four months of brutal fighting is driving Sudan to collapse with millions of people trapped in a “humanitarian calamity” and the possibility of a new ethnic conflict spilling into the region. The dire briefings to the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer One of rock’s greatest songwriters and musicians, Robbie Robertson, has died at 80. His manager said he died surrounded by family. As the guitarist and lead writer for The Band, Robertson mined American music and history for such classics as “The Weight” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie

By JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Regulators say Norfolk Southern has made improvements since a fiery Ohio derailment but still falls well short of being the “gold standard for safety” it is striving to be. Instead, the railroad is too often only willing to meet minimum safety requirements. The Federal Railroad

STURGIS, S.D. (AP) — Authorities are investigating the shooting of a person by a South Dakota Highway Patrol trooper in Sturgis, where a big annual motorcycle rally is underway. The Black Hills Pioneer reports that Sturgis Police Chief Geody VanDewater confirmed that one person was shot by a trooper Wednesday morning, but said  all officers

BEIRUT Lebanese security officials and the militant Hezbollah group say a truck belonging to Hezbollah overturned on a mountain road near Beirut and was followed by a shooting that left two people dead. Lebanese troops cordoned off the truck filled with large boxes in the Christian town of Kahaleh on the highway that links Beirut

By BEN FINLEY Associated Press The U.S. government will settle a lawsuit with conservation groups and commit to releasing more endangered red wolves into North Carolina. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had mostly stopped releasing captive-bred wolves in 2015. Eastern North Carolina is the only place in the world where they roam wild. The

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer Robbie Robertson, The Band’s lead guitarist and songwriter who in such classics as “The Weight” and “Up on Cripple Creek” mined American music and folklore and helped reshape contemporary rock, died Wednesday at 80. Robertson died surrounded by family in Los Angeles “after a long illness,” publicist Ray Costa

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The landmark Broadway musical “Hamilton” has landed on Roblox, turning the innovative stage show into an immersive online environment for a new generation. In the Hamilton Simulator, players use their own avatars as they rub shoulders with the musical’s characters and negotiate through 10 levels

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A lawmaker in the Bahamas has been charged with sexual assault and issuing death threats in a case involving a 35-year-old woman. Kirk Cornish said in a statement that the allegations are “totally false” and that he would prove his innocence. He was arrested on Wednesday and released on

By JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee is facing a lawsuit over a congressional redistricting map that carved up Democratic-leaning Nashville to help Republicans flip a seat in last year’s elections. In a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday, a variety of civil rights groups and voters say the redistricting tactic has violated the

NEW YORK (AP) — News organizations are seeking regulations to govern the fast-moving artificial intelligence technology that threatens upheavals for their businesses. Several sent an open letter on Wednesday calling for standards to protect intellectual property rights and the guard against misinformation. As AI systems perfect their ability to create content, they need to make

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — An ex-police official has pleaded guilty to blocking an investigation into the misuse of city resources by former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio during the Democrat’s failed presidential campaign. Former NYPD inspector Howard Redmond pleaded guilty to two counts of tampering with physical evidence,

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed an executive order Wednesday to block and regulate high-tech U.S.-based investments going toward China — a move the administration said was targeted but it also reflected an intensifying competition between the world’s two biggest powers. The order covers advanced computer chips, micro electronics,