AP-National

PHOENIX (AP) — WNBA star Brittney Griner said she thought about killing herself during her first few weeks in a Russian jail after her 2022 arrest on drug-related charges. Griner spoke for the first time about her monthslong detention in Russia during an hourlong interview that aired Wednesday night on ABC. Her memoir, “Coming Home,”

By CARLOS MUREITHI Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — African climate-tech startups are increasingly raising money from private sources, but while those funds for climate solutions are growing, a huge gap remains in meeting the actual financial needs for climate action in Africa. Africa requires an estimated $277 billion annually to implement its climate goals.

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former Nickelodeon producer and writer Dan Schneider sued the makers of “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” on Wednesday, alleging the makers of the documentary series wrongly implied that he sexually abused the child actors he worked with. Schneider filed the defamation

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Solomon Islands lawmakers have elected former Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele as prime minister in a development that suggests the South Pacific island nation will maintain close ties with China. Manele used his first speech as leader to promise to govern with integrity and to put his

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court has rejected a bid to release from jail a former FBI informant who is charged with fabricating a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden’s family. Alexander Smirnov’s lawyers had urged the California-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — A federal appeals court panel on Wednesday rejected a long-running lawsuit brought by young Oregon-based climate activists who argued that the U.S. government’s role in climate change violated their constitutional rights. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals previously ordered the case dismissed in 2020, saying that

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press Student journalists on the Columbia University campus knew what was coming long before police with riots shields arrived to begin arresting the pro-Palestinian protesters who had occupied a building. They had watched the situation spiral as the protesters stood their ground, refusing to abandon Hamilton Hall. Several began sleeping on

By JACK DURA Associated Press Supporters of an abortion rights initiative in South Dakota have submitted far more signatures than required to make the ballot this fall. The signatures were turned in Wednesday, but the measure’s outcome is unclear. South Dakota is a conservative state, and Republican lawmakers have strongly opposed it. The effort also

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia has circulated a U.N. resolution calling on all countries to take urgent action to prevent putting weapons in outer space “for all time” a week after it vetoed a U.S.-Japan resolution to stop an arms race in space. The Russian draft resolution goes further

By KEVIN McGILL Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Voting rights advocates say they will go to the Supreme Court in hopes of preserving a new majority Black congressional district in Louisiana for the fall elections. Wednesday’s declaration was the latest step in a complicated legal fight that could determine the fate of political careers

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Before police officers poured into Columbia University on Tuesday night, arresting more than 100 people as they cleared an occupied school building and tent encampment, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he received a piece of intelligence that shifted his thinking about the campus demonstrations

By MATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — The judge presiding over the trial of a military contractor accused of contributing to detainees’ mistreatment at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq two decades ago is speculating that the jury may not be able to reach a verdict. Federal judge Leonie Brinkema spoke to lawyers

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer Consumer groups are pushing Congress to uphold automatic refunds for airline passengers whose flights are canceled or delayed for several hours. That would put lawmakers in line with the Biden administration. The Senate on Wednesday began considering a massive bill authorizing Federal Aviation Administration programs for the next five

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira, who pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges for leaking highly classified military documents about the war in Ukraine and other national security secrets, will face a military justice proceeding later this month. Air Force officials say he faces two charges in

By SUMMER BALLENTINE Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri voters have gotten a step closer to getting to decide whether to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour. The group behind the effort, Missouri Jobs with Justice, said Wednesday that it turned in nearly double the required number of signatures. Republican

By LEAH WILLINGHAM Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A three-judge panel has ordered that two county commissioners in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle be removed from office after they were arrested for purposefully jilting their duties by skipping public meetings. The judges wrote in a written decision Wednesday that Jefferson County Commissioners Jennifer Krouse and

By MARC LEVY Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives is advancing legislation long sought by counties seeking help to manage huge influxes of mail-in ballots during elections in the presidential battleground state. The bill passed on party lines Wednesday, 102-99, as Democrats backed it and Republicans opposed it, warning that it

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — A Pennsylvania man says his emotional support alligator named Wally has gone missing amid the coastal marshes of Georgia. Joie Henney’s alligator has attracted thousands of social media followers over the years, with videos and photos showing people petting and cuddling the 5 1/2-foot reptile. Wally’s popularity skyrocketed last year when

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Federal workplace safety officials say a home health care company failed to protect a visiting nurse who was killed during an appointment with a convicted rapist at a Connecticut halfway house. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration released the results of its investigation into Elara Caring

COLLEEN LONG ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is weighing measures to help Palestinians living in the United States who want to bring family from the war-torn region. “We are constantly evaluating policy proposals to further support Palestinians who are family members of American citizens and may want to come to the United