EDISON, New Jersey (AP) — A New Jersey township council’s decision to bar people from using “props” — which officials say can include the U.S. flag and Constitution — when addressing the council has drawn protests and a warning from a free speech advocacy organization. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression posted a clip
Continue ReadingDOS PALOS, Calif. (AP) — A central California teacher died last month after she was bitten by a bat inside her classroom that presumably had rabies, officials and the woman’s friend said. In the wake of Leah Seneng’s death on Nov. 22, public health officials are warning the public about the dangers of bats, which
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has dialed in to what was described as a “love fest” with Senate Republicans. They are beginning to laying the groundwork for control of government in the new year, and a potential first-30-days agenda. Trump’s brief call was more celebratory than a prescriptive policy agenda, according to
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SAN DIEGO (AP) — A U.S. official says authorities made about 46,700 arrests for illegally crossing the border from Mexico in November, down about 17% from October to a new low for Joe Biden’s presidency. It marks a decline of more than 80% from an all-time high of nearly 250,000 in December and
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Debbie Nelson, the single mother of rapper Eminem whose rocky relationship with her son was known widely through his hit song lyrics, has died. She was 69. Eminem’s longtime representative Dennis Dennehy confirmed Nelson’s death in an email on Tuesday. He did not provide a cause of death, although Nelson had battled lung
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The founder and former CEO of the failed cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network has pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges, admitting that he misled customers about the business. Alexander Mashinsky entered the plea Tuesday in Manhattan federal court to commodities and securities fraud. He admitted illegally manipulating the price
Continue ReadingAssociated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Years of legal wrangling have come to an end for a woman who spent 43 years behind bars for a killing that her attorneys argue was committed by a discredited police officer. A judge ruled Tuesday that Sandra Hemme can’t be retried, the final step toward making her
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Chad Chronister, Donald Trump’s pick to run the Drug Enforcement Administration, said Tuesday he was withdrawing his name from consideration, becoming the second person selected by the president-elect to bow out quickly after being nominated for a position. Chronister, the top law enforcement officer in Hillsborough County, Florida, said
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is ramping up efforts to address a crisis of suicides and systemic failures in federal prisons and jails, announcing sweeping reforms aimed at overhauling how mental health care is provided behind bars. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco outlined the measures in a memo and report Tuesday, directing
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ATLANTA (AP) — A judge is weighing whether a Georgia state Senate committee has the right to subpoena testimony and documents from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as it looks into whether she has engaged in misconduct during her prosecution of President-elect Donald Trump. The Republican-led committee was formed earlier this year
Continue ReadingAssociated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A very close election for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat heads next to a hand recount. That comes after a machine recount of well over 5 million ballots resulted in no margin change between the candidates. Democratic Associate Justice Allison Riggs has a 734-vote lead over Republican challenger
Continue ReadingTRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey interim Sen. George Helmy, a Democrat appointed when Bob Menendez resigned after a federal corruption conviction, is stepping down this weekend. The move will allow Sen.-elect Andy Kim to be sworn in early. The step confirms what Helmy and Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy announced during his appointment this summer
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — When SmileDirectClub shut down a year ago, scores of existing customers of the teeth-straightening company were left in limbo. Now, tens of thousands are set to get some relief. New York Attorney General Letitia James has announced that her office recovered $4.8 million to distribute nationwide to more
Continue ReadingAssociated Press TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey’s top law enforcement official says authorities took down two human trafficking rings, including one that was forcing children as young as 13 to have sex with adults for money. Attorney General Matt Platkin said Tuesday that seven people have been charged as a result of the operations.
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers formally asked a judge Monday to throw out his hush money criminal conviction, arguing that continuing the case would present unconstitutional “disruptions to the institution of the Presidency.“ In a filing made public Tuesday, Trump’s lawyers told Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan that anything short
Continue ReadingAP White House Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has signed an agreement to allow the Justice Department to conduct background checks on his nominees and appointees after a weeks-long delay. The step lets Trump transition aides and future administration staffers obtain security clearances before Inauguration Day to access classified information about
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Closing arguments in the murder trial of a tech consultant charged in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee have concluded and the case will go to jurors. Prosecutors say Nima Momeni stabbed Lee in April 2023 after a dispute involving Momeni’s younger sister. But defense attorney
Continue ReadingAP Health Writer New research shows that nearly three out of 10 U.S. drugstores that were open during the previous decade had closed by 2021. A study published Tuesday in Health Affairs says Black and Latino neighborhoods were most vulnerable to the retail pharmacy closures, which can chip away at already-limited care options in those
Continue ReadingBRADENTON, Fla. (AP) — A former Florida ballerina has been sentenced to 20 years in prison following her manslaughter conviction for fatally shooting her estranged husband in 2020. Manatee County court records show Circuit Judge Matt Whyte imposed the sentence Tuesday on 32-year-old Ashley Benefield after rejecting her request for a new trial based on
Continue ReadingAssociated Press HOUSTON (AP) — An elaborate parody appears to be behind an effort to resurrect Enron, the Houston-based energy company that exemplified the worst in American corporate fraud and greed after it went bankrupt in 2001. If its return is comedic, some former employees who lost everything in Enron’s collapse aren’t laughing. “It’s a
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