AP National News

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A Brooklyn drug dealer pleaded guilty Wednesday to providing “The Wire” actor Michael K. Williams with fentanyl-laced heroin, causing his death. Irvin Cartagena’s plea to a charge of conspiring to distribute drugs was entered in Manhattan federal court. Sentencing was set by U.S. District Judge Ronnie

By CARLA BRIDI Associated Press BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has undergone questioning about diamond jewelry gifts when he was in power, as part of an investigation into whether he engaged in any irregularities in bringing the items into Brazil. After Bolsonaro left the Federal Police headquarters in Brazil’s capital Wednesday,

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, who is being sought for war crimes for deporting children from Ukraine, told a U.N. meeting Wednesday that the children were taken for their safety and Moscow is coordinating with international organizations to return them to their families. Ambassadors from

By MARK THIESSEN and BECKY BOHRER Associated Press JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A children’s book illustrator from Alaska known for drawing mother-baby animal pairs like sea otters and wolves was dropped by his publisher this week after authorities allege he posted transphobic notes threatening children. Mitchell Thomas Watley, 47, will have a preliminary hearing April

By ARLEIGH RODGERS Associated Press/Report for America INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Republican governors in Indiana and Idaho have signed into law bills banning gender-affirming care for minors, making those states the latest to restrict transgender health care as Republican-led legislatures continue to curb LGBTQ+ rights this year. Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed legislation Wednesday that will

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Twitter has labeled National Public Radio as “state-affiliated media” on the social media site, a move some worried Wednesday could undermine public confidence in the news organization. NPR said it was disturbed to see the description added to all of the tweets that it sends

By JIM SALTER and SCOTT McFETRIDGE Associated Press GLEN ALLEN, Mo. (AP) — A large tornado tore through southeastern Missouri before dawn on Wednesday, killing at least five people and causing widespread destruction as a broad swath of the Midwest and South kept a wary eye out for further storms that could spawn additional twisters

By DANICA KIRKA and BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British media says the husband of former Scottish first minister and Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon has been released without charges after being arrested in a party finance probe. Police in Scotland didn’t identify Peter Murrell as the 58-year old man arrested Wednesday

By SARA BURNETT, TODD RICHMOND and HARM VENHUIZEN Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The victory by Democratic-backed candidate Janet Protaswiecz in Wisconsin’s state Supreme Court election is a fresh example of the enduring political power of abortion rights in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s reversal. Protasiewicz defeated her conservative opponent, Dan Kelly, by

By ERIC TUCKER and FRANK BAJAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Law enforcement agencies in the United States and Europe say they’ve taken down a major online marketplace for stolen login credentials. Authorities say it had offered cybercriminals access to millions of compromised accounts since its 2018 launch. Officials have seized 11 domain names tied

By LAÍS MARTINS and DAVID BILLER Associated Press SAO PAULO (AP) — A man with a hatchet jumped over a wall and burst into a day care center Wednesday in Brazil, killing four children and wounding at least four others, authorities said. The assailant turned himself in at a police station and did not appear

By LEA SKENE, BRIAN WITTE and SARAH BRUMFIELD Associated Press BALTIMORE (AP) — More than 150 Catholic priests and others associated with the Archdiocese of Baltimore sexually abused over 600 children and often escaped accountability, according to a long-awaited state report released Wednesday that revealed the scope of abuse spanning 80 years and accused church

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — Two Native Hawaiian men sentenced to prison for a hate crime in the brutal beating of a white man have agreed to pay more than $25,000 in restitution. A judge sentenced Kaulana Alo-Kaonohi to six and a half years in prison and Levi Aki Jr. to

By JOHN HANNA AP Political Writer TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is banning transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports, from kindergarten through college. The Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature on Wednesday overrode Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s third veto in three years of a bill that applies a ban to school teams and the club sports sponsored

By JILL COLVIN and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A spokesman for Mike Pence said Wednesday that the former vice president will not appeal a judge’s order compelling him to testify in the Justice Department’s investigation into efforts by Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The

By MICHAEL BLOOD, LISA MASCARO and ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Risking China’s ire, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy welcomed Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen to a high-level meeting on U.S. soil as a “great friend of America” on Wednesday in a fraught show of U.S. support. More than a dozen Democratic and

By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — In 2022 Los Angeles police shot and killed 14 people — 60% of everyone struck by officers’ bullets. That’s according to the Los Angeles Police Department’s annual Use of Force report that was released Wednesday. LAPD officers opened fire 31 times last year, striking 23 people

By DÁNICA COTO Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A federal control board that oversees Puerto Rico’s finances says it will focus on growing the island’s economy as the U.S. territory emerges from a drawn-out bankruptcy process. The board’s new executive director, Robert Mujica, unveiled a new fiscal plan on Wednesday that will

By ARLEIGH RODGERS Associated Press/Report for America INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana’s governor signed a bill banning all gender-affirming care for minors Wednesday, joining at least 12 other states that have enacted laws restricting or banning such care. Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb signed the legislation after Republican majorities in the Legislature approved it. The law will

By LEA SKENE and BRIAN WITTE Associated Press BALTIMORE (AP) — The Maryland Attorney General’s Office has publicly released a redacted version of an investigative report detailing sex abuse allegations against more than 150 Catholic priests and others associated with the church and examining the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s response. The redacted findings were released Wednesday,