AP-National

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — M. Emmet Walsh, the character actor who brought his unmistakable face and unsettling presence to films including “Blood Simple” and “Blade Runner,” has died at age 88, his manager said Wednesday. Walsh died from cardiac arrest on Tuesday at a hospital in St. Albans, Vermont,

By MAYSOON KHAN Associated Press/Report for America ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York lawmakers have passed a bill that would expand the state’s existing fracking ban. It would block natural gas drilling companies from using an extraction method that involves injecting huge amounts of liquid carbon dioxide into the ground. Now, it’s up to Governor

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday signed legislation that would ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs at public schools, universities and state agencies and prohibit the teaching of “divisive concepts” including that someone should feel guilty because of their race or gender. The measure, which takes

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Reddit will enter a new era as a publicly traded company with a market value of $6.4 billion after the social media platform’s initial public offering was priced at $34 per share. The price announced late Wednesday came in at the top end of the

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The chief executive of the cryptocurrency company Sam Bankman-Fried founded attacked the onetime crypto power player in a letter to a federal judge, saying his claim that customers, lenders and investors were not harmed was callously false.  FTX Trading Limited CEO John J. Ray III told

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia senators are giving final approval to $6,500 vouchers funding for private school tuition and home schooling, sending the measure to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature. Senators voted 33-21 along party lines on Wednesday to approve changes that the House made last week to Senate Bill

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Teacher-led discussions on sexual orientation and gender identity would be banned in public schools and displaying Pride flags in classrooms would be prohibited under legislation lawmakers advanced in Alabama on Wednesday. The measure is part of a wave of laws across the country that critics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.” It

HOUSTON (AP) — Three boys, ages 11, 12 and 16, and dubbed the “Little Rascals,” have been arrested for robbing a bank in Houston, authorities confirmed Wednesday. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the youngsters are in custody and have been charged with robbery by threat. Gonzalez said that because of their ages, no additional

By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press A bill that would have held school librarians and teachers criminally responsible for providing “obscene material” to Nebraska students in grades K-12 failed to advance Wednesday in the Legislature. State Sen. Joni Albrecht, who introduced the bill, said it simply would close a “loophole” in the state’s existing obscenity

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Joe Biden’s top foreign policy adviser Jake Sullivan sought to reassure Ukrainians during an unannounced visit to Kyiv Wednesday that the U.S. will continue to support their efforts to fend off Russia’s two-year-old invasion. The national security adviser expressed optimism that lawmakers in Washington will break a monthlong logjam and

TULALIP, Wash. (AP) — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has signed a multimillion-dollar measure to send state money to tribes and Indigenous people in the state who die from opioid overdoses at disproportionately high rates in Washington. Inslee signed the bill, along with a half-dozen other fentanyl-related bills, Tuesday on the Tulalip Indian Reservation. The bill

PAWLET, Vt. (AP) — Vermont State Police say the owner of a former firearms training center in Vermont has been taken into custody after a struggle. Daniel Banyai has been in legal battles with the town and was ordered arrested for failing to completely remove unpermitted structures on his property.  State Police say the Pawlet

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Former Arizona Cardinals front-office executive Terry McDonough has been accused of choking a neighbor in Charlotte, North Carolina, and has an April 11 court date to answer simple assault charges. According to Mecklenburg County court documents, a neighbor reported that McDonough chest-bumped him and then put his hands around his neck

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The United Steelworkers Union has endorsed President Joe Biden, giving him support from another large labor union. The announcement Wednesday by the Pittsburgh-based union came less than a week after Biden voiced opposition to the planned sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel of Japan. The USW represents 850,000 workers in metals,

By SUDHIN THANAWALA and JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia lawmakers have made it harder for workers at companies getting state economic incentives to unionize, in what could be a violation of federal law. The state House voted 96 to 78 Wednesday for Senate Bill 362, which would bar companies that accept state

By JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York state lawyers are urging an appeals court not to buy former President Donald Trump’s claims that it’s impossible to post a bond fully covering a $454 million civil fraud judgment while he appeals. In papers sent to the court Wednesday, state Attorney General Letitia

By JIM SALTER Associated Press The Missouri Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to halt the execution of Brian Dorsey, who is scheduled to die next month for killing his cousin and her husband 18 years ago. Judge W. Brent Powell wrote in the unanimous decision that Dorsey “has not demonstrated he is actually innocent” of

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — New FBI statistics show violent crime in the U.S. dropping again last year, continuing a downward trend after a pandemic-era spike. Murders dropped 13% in the last quarter of 2023 compared with the same period the year before, according to FBI data released this week. Violent crime

By SUMAN NAISHADHAM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — An expected long legal battle has begun over a new rule that requires companies to disclose some emissions and climate-related information. The Securities and Exchange Commission had scarcely passed the rule in early March before the agency was being hauled to court. The legal challenges come from

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court has reversed the convictions of the alleged ringleader of a plot to kidnap and kill a real estate agent. The justices said Wednesday the trial judge gave the jury erroneous legal instructions on the liability of accomplices, and that the error