AP-National

BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — The Walt Disney Co. says it is paying $1.5 billion for a stake in “Fortnite” maker Epic Games. It said Wednesday it will work with the game developer to create a “games and entertainment universe” that will feature games, shows and characters from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar and more.

By REBECCA BOONE Associated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho man scheduled to be executed at the end of the month is asking a federal court to put his lethal injection on hold and order a new clemency hearing after the previous one resulted in a tie vote. Thomas Eugene Creech is Idaho’s longest-serving

By JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Not only is CPKC lagging the trend of major freight railroads agreeing to provide paid sick time to most of their workers. Now some of its dispatchers will lose the benefit later this year when they move to the merged railroad’s new U.S. headquarters in

By MARCOS ALEMÁN Associated Press SAN SALVADOR (AP) — As El Salvador’s electoral body begins a vote-by-vote count of the country’s elections last week, the political opposition warned they could ask to nullify results of the legislative elections due to irregularities. No one questions the victory of highly popular President Nayib Bukele, who won re-election

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating an outbreak on a luxury cruise ship where more than 150 people have reported gastrointestinal illness. The major symptoms are diarrhea and vomiting. The CDC says the cause is unknown. The Queen Victoria is operated by Cunard Cruise Line. It departed San

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Over 500 mudslides. Half of downtown Los Angeles’ yearly rainfall in just three days. A wind gust of 102 mph. Those are some of the big numbers from the slow-moving atmospheric river that was inching out of California on Wednesday.

By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Rosendale plans to run for U.S. Senate, upending a race in which many national GOP officials already coalesced around a different candidate as they seek to unseat three-term Democrat U.S. Sen. Jon Tester. Rosendale’s intentions were disclosed Wednesday by two people

By STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Maura Healey has nominated a former romantic partner to fill an open seat on the state’s highest court. Massachusetts Appeals Court Associate Justice Gabrielle R. Wolohojian would serve as an associate justice of the Supreme Judicial Court if the nomination is approved. Healey announced the nomination

By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden has zipped through a trio of tony fundraisers in Manhattan. The president was raising cash, confounding traffic and framing the 2024 election as “not about me” but rather stopping GOP front-runner Donald Trump. Blocks of interlocking bicycle racks cleared the roads for Biden’s

By KEN RITTER Associated Press Las Vegas (AP) — While police were pursuing and apprehending a man who climbed a Las Vegas Strip landmark, NFL, local and federal officials met the media to outline hardened security measures and declare the Super Bowl a “no drone zone.” FBI, Secret Service agents and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer PALMDALE, Calif. (AP) — Christian Bale has broken ground on a project he’s been pursuing for 16 years — the building of a dozen homes and a community center intended to keep siblings in foster care together. The Oscar-winning actor who played Batman in the “Dark Knight” trilogy shoveled

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee city must pay $500,000 as part of a settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups over an ordinance designed to ban drag performances from taking place on public property. Attorneys announced the agreement on Wednesday. Last year, a nonprofit that advocates

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Members of the Guardian Angels roughed up a man during a live interview on Fox News Tuesday night, then misidentified him as a “migrant” in a primetime segment meant to highlight disorder and crime caused by new arrivals to New York City. The bizarre altercation played

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department special counsel investigating President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents has completed his inquiry and a report is expected to be released soon to Congress and the public, Attorney General Merrick Garland told lawmakers in a letter Wednesday. Garland did not detail the conclusions

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI says a contract worker stole an agent’s car from the bureau headquarters in Washington and tried to get into a restricted facility before he was arrested. Court documents filed Wednesday say John C. Worrell III worked at FBI headquarters and drove the car out of

BOSTON (AP) — The lawyer for a former Massachusetts State Police trooper who was allegedly part of a scheme to take bribes for giving passing scores on commercial driving tests says his client has pleaded not guilty to the charges. A total of four troopers are accused of falsifying records and giving preferential treatment to

NILES, Ill. (AP) — Police in suburban Chicago have arrested 33 people after they blocked streets for more than six hours outside a company they claim has had a role in the deaths of thousands of civilians in Gaza. The Niles Police Department says seven men and 26 women were charged with misdemeanor unlawful assembly

By BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Disney has reported stronger-than-expected earnings in the final three months of 2023. The results for its fiscal quarter were boosted by cost cuts and growing revenue from its theme-parks business. The Walt Disney Co. earned $1.91 billion, or $1.04 per share, in the fiscal first

By EVENS SANON Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Police in Haiti have killed five armed environmental protection agents during the third consecutive day of demonstrations that have paralyzed the country amid growing demands that Prime Minister Ariel Henry resign. Wednesday’s deadly shooting between police and agents with Haiti’s Security Brigade for Protected Areas occurred

By SAMANTHA HENDRICKSON Associated Press/Report For America COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio police officer says he heard gunshots but did not witness a sheriff’s deputy shoot and kill a Black man, nor did he see the weapon the former deputy said Casey Goodson Jr. used to threaten him. Testifying Wednesday in the murder trial