Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. organization assisting in investigating the most serious crimes in Syria said Monday the country’s new authorities were “very receptive” to its request for cooperation during a just-concluded visit to Damascus, and it is preparing to deploy. The visit led by Robert Petit, head of the International, Impartial
Continue ReadingAssociated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Gov.-elect Josh Stein have filed another lawsuit against a GOP-inspired law that strips away powers from several incoming Democratic state leaders. The newest suit filed Monday focuses on a key provision in the law that moves state election board appointment powers from the governor
Continue ReadingFORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — The office of Republican Rep. Kay Granger of Texas says she is having “unforeseen health challenges. A statement provided by her office Monday did not specify what health problems the 81-year-old has been having over the past year. Granger has not cast a vote in Washington since July. She announced
Continue ReadingFAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — A federal judge on Monday struck down key parts of an Arkansas law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” materials to minors. U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks found that elements of the law are unconstitutional. “I respect the court’s ruling and will appeal,” Arkansas
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A triptych of criminal charges paints a searing, sometimes disparate portrait of the man accused of ambushing and killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson. Filed separately in state courts in New York and Pennsylvania and a federal court in Manhattan and totaling 20 counts, the charges brand Luigi Mangione as
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers are facing their latest lobbyists — online influencers from TikTok. The platform is once again bringing influencers to Washington, this time to lobby members of Congress. The company wants lawmakers to reject a fast-moving bill that would force TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company to sell or face a ban
Continue ReadingWASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton was admitted Monday to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington after developing a fever. The 78-year-old was hospitalized in the “afternoon for testing and observation,” Angel Urena, Clinton’s deputy chief of staff, said in a statement. “He remains in good spirits and deeply appreciates the excellent care he
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Attorneys for Adnan Syed, whose legal case was chronicled in the hit podcast “Serial,” are seeking to have his prison sentence reduced. Their court filing on Friday cites a Maryland law that allows people imprisoned for at least 20 years for crimes they committed as minors to have their
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — A major storm pounded California’s central coast on Monday, bringing flooding and high surf that was blamed for fatally trapping a man beneath debris on a beach and later partially collapsing a pier, tossing three people into the Pacific Ocean. The storm was expected to bring hurricane-force winds
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey gambling regulators have handed out $40,000 in fines to two sportsbooks and a tech company for violations that included taking bets on unauthorized events, and on games that had already ended. Information made public Monday says the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement fined DraftKings $20,000.
Continue ReadingBOGOTÁ, Colombia (AP) — One of Colombia’s legendary drug lords and a key operator of the Medellin cartel has been deported back to the South American country, after serving 25 years of a 30-year prison sentence in the United States. Shortly after landing on Monday in Bogota, Fabio Ochoa was a free man. The former
Continue ReadingAP Film Writer The English actor Harris Dickinson has been making waves in Hollywood since his feature film debut seven years ago in the indie “Beach Rats.” But his latest role is getting him more attention than ever as the confident intern who begins a dangerous affair with a married CEO played by Nicole Kidman.
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Child advocacy centers, recovery housing and diversion programs in West Virginia will receive grants as part of the initial round of $10.4 million distributed by the nonprofit allocating opioid settlement funds. West Virginia is the U.S. state with the highest overdose rate. The West Virginia First Foundation has announced funding for 38 programs
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Burt, the huge crocodile that rose to fame with a cameo in the movie “Crocodile Dundee” and continued to impress visitors with his fiery temper and commanding presence, has died. Burt died over the weekend, the Crocosaurus Cove reptile aquarium in Darwin, Australia, said. He was at least 90 years old. “Known for
Continue ReadingAssociated Press PANAMA CITY (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is decrying rising shipping fees Panama has imposed to use the Panama Canal. He’s even threatened to have the U.S. take back control of the waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans once he becomes president next month, if things don’t change. The U.S. helped engineer
Continue ReadingAssociated Press TORONTO (AP) — A source says embattled Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is not expected to announce a decision on his future over the Christmas holidays. The person spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The Prime Minister will be traveling to British Columbia
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Family and friends are saying their final farewells to a substitute teacher killed in a school shooting in Wisconsin last week. Scores of people attended the funeral Monday of 42-year-old Erin Michelle West. She was killed Dec. 16 when 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow opened fire at Abundant Life Christian School
Continue ReadingGREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say a police officer has been fatally shot in a North Carolina supermarket and a suspect has been taken into custody. Police announced the officer’s death at a Monday afternoon news conference. They say the officer was responding to a call about an armed person when he was shot shortly
Continue ReadingAssociated Press President-elect Donald Trump says he wants to revert the name of Alaska’s Denali back to Mount McKinley. Trump’s comments at a Sunday rally in Phoenix wade into a decades-old conflict over the name of North America’s tallest peak. Various tribes of Alaska Natives known as Athabascans have long lived in the mountain’s shadow
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee’s long-awaited report on Matt Gaetz documents a trove of salacious allegations, including sex with an underage girl, that tanked the Florida Republican’s bid to lead the Justice Department. Citing text messages, travel receipts, online payments and testimony, the bipartisan committee paints a picture of a lifestyle
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