AP-National

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers advanced legislation that could see librarians prosecuted for providing “harmful” materials or programs to minors. The Alabama bill removes the existing exemption for public libraries in the state’s obscenity law. It also expands the definition of prohibited sexual conduct to include any “sexual or

By LOLITA C. BALDOR and TARA COPP Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. will provide Ukraine additional Patriot missiles for its air defense systems as part of a massive $6 billion additional aid package, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Friday. The missiles will be used to replenish previously supplied Patriot systems. The package also

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A transitional council tasked with bringing political stability to Haiti has been installed in the capital of Haiti, a nation marred by gang violence and soaring hunger and poverty. The freshly sworn-in council will appoint a new prime minister and Cabinet, and create a road map to eventually hold long-awaited general

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s GOP-controlled General Assembly has adjourned for the year, concluding months of tense political infighting that ultimately doomed Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s universal school voucher push. But the session also ended Thursday with outrage from Democrats and gun control advocates over the last minute approval of

By TARA COPP Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine has sidelined U.S.-provided Abrams M1A1 battle tanks for now in its fight against Russia, in part because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, two U.S. military officials told The Associated Press. The U.S. agreed

By JIM SALTER Associated Press A body found in a northwest Iowa field has been identified as that of a missing truck driver, discovered not far from where his abandoned rig was found on an isolated highway just before Thanksgiving. But details of his death remain a mystery. The Iowa Department of Public Safety said

By ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Republican attorneys general from 17 states filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging new federal rules entitling workers to time off and other accommodations for abortions, calling the rules an illegal interpretation of a 2022 federal law. The lawsuit led by Tennessee and Arkansas comes since finalized

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A former Arkansas mortuary worker has pleaded guilty to charges that she sold 24 boxes of stolen body parts from medical school cadavers to a Pennsylvania man. Candace Chapman Scott changed her plea on Thursday in federal court to guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and

By MARIA VERZA Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico City prosecutors are seeking to downplay the case of a suspected serial killer who kept women’s bones and a saw in his room. The city’s head prosecutor said the remains linked to only six women were found in the suspect’s rented room, “not 20 as

By COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump on Thursday claimed a 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia was “nothing” compared to the college campus protests that have sparked around the country over the Israel-Hamas war. Trump’s comments mark an attempt to downplay one of his biggest electoral vulnerabilities — his history

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A man questioned about his role earlier this month in the fatal carjacking of a woman in central Florida told investigators that he was paid to kidnap her and deliver her to someone. That is according to court documents filed Thursday. Jordanish Torres-Garcia says he was the masked man in a

By The Associated Press The Palestinian militant group Hamas has said for more than 15 years that it could accept a two-state compromise with Israel — at least, a temporary one. But Hamas has also refused to say that it would recognize Israel or renounce its armed fight against it. For Israel and many others,

By ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Attorney Jack Wagoner, who helped successfully challenged Arkansas’ ban on same-sex marriage, has died. He was 62. An attorney who worked with Wagoner said he died Tuesday in Little Rock and that a cause of death was not yet known. Wagoner represented couples who challenged

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s GOP-controlled Statehouse on Thursday gave their final approval to legislation penalizing adults who help minors receive gender-affirming care without parental consent, clearing the way for the first-in-the-nation proposal to be sent to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk for his signature. The bill mirrors almost the same

By AMY BETH HANSON Associated Press HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Montana law that appeared to require people to cancel previous voter registrations before signing up to vote, or risk facing felony charges. U.S. District Judge Brian Morris said Wednesday that he agreed with the plaintiffs that the law

By JESSICA DONATI Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Human Rights Watch says military forces in Burkina Faso killed 223 civilians, including babies and many children, in attacks on two villages accused of cooperating with militants. Human Rights Watch said in a report published Thursday that the mass killings took place Feb. 25 in the

By SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Kim Kardashian marshaled her celebrity in one administration to spotlight criminal justice reform — and she’s doing it again in the next. The reality TV star and entrepreneur joined Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday for a roundtable highlighting the administration’s efforts on criminal justice reform

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (AP) — A suburban Detroit businessman has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with an explosion at a building he owned in which a nitrous oxide cannister propelled through the air, killing another man. Thirty-one-year-old Noor Noel Kestou of Commerce Township was charged Thursday in connection with the March 4 explosion

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A judge says a plan by federal agencies to rebuild the sardine population in the Pacific was not properly implemented and failed to prevent overfishing. Monday’s decision was a victory for environmentalists who said officials did not ensure sardine stocks would bounce back within a legally required timeframe. The nonprofit

By ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — There was talk of drone strikes and presidential bribes, of a potential ruling “for the ages” and of the Founding Fathers, too. The presidential race went unmentioned but was not far from mind. The Supreme Court heard more than 2 1/2 hours worth