AP National News

By JOHN RABY Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A grassroots group is using the centennial of a deadly fight to organize West Virginia coal miners to urge Sen. Joe Manchin to support higher wages and better voting protections. Members of the Poor People’s Campaign invoked the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain after traveling by

By SIAN WATSON Associated Press LONDON (AP) — After a wildly successful career as a songwriter, the pandemic prompted Diane Warren to try a different approach to music. The result is her debut album, out Friday, that includes collaborations with friends old and new, including Celine Dion, John Legend, Ty Dolla Sign plus a bringing

MARINETTE, Wis. (AP) — A judge has sentenced an 84-year-old man to consecutive life sentences in connection with a 1976 double homicide. A jury convicted Raymand Vannieuwenhoven in July of killing David Schuldes and Ellen Matheys at a Marinette County park. WLUK-TV reported that Judge James Morrison handed down the sentence Thursday. He said life

By KEN RITTER Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — A panel planning a permanent memorial at the Las Vegas site of the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history is focusing on stories about the more than 58 people killed and thousands left wounded and emotionally scarred, as well as on lessons learned. The 1

By MALLIKA SEN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Time’s Up CEO Tina Tchen has resigned in the wake of revelations that leaders of the sexual harassment victims’ advocacy group advised former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration after he was accused of misconduct. In a statement posted to Twitter on Thursday, Tchen said she’s

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — A school official in northern Nigeria says gunmen have released some of the more than 100 children who had been abducted back in May. The kidnapping victims from the Salihu Tanko Islamic School in Niger state had included children as young as 5 years old. Other

CHICAGO (AP) — A judge has ruled that Jussie Smollett’s attorneys cannot call as a witness the Chicago prosecutor whose office dropped initial charges accusing the actor of staging a racist, anti-gay attack on himself in 2019. Cook County Judge James Linn also said Thursday that Smollett’s attorneys cannot mention various lawsuits linked to his

By JILL COLVIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans in the state of Virginia have filed a lawsuit asking the courts to remove Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe from the ballot because he failed to sign his official declaration of candidacy form. The suit argues he should be disqualified from running because of the omission

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A strengthening Tropical Storm Nora is rolling toward a possible hurricane brush with Mexico’s Pacific Coast over the weekend and later a strike on the Baja California Peninsula. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says the storm could bring dangerous flash floods and mudslides through the weekend. It’s likely to graze the

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Al Capone is infamous for having been a ruthless mob boss, but one of his granddaughters says Capone’s softer side will shine through when the family auctions some of his personal belongings in October. Items heading for the block include a diamond-encrusted pocket watch, family

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A former Florida postal clerk has pleaded guilty to stealing mail and passport applications as part of an identify theft scheme. Court records say 31-year-old Jasmine Wynne pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and six other charges in Tampa federal court. An indictment says Wynne conspired with others

By COREY WILLIAMS Associated Press Officials in Detroit are looking at making continued changes to city towing rules after several federal corruption probes. Mayor Mike Duggan told reporters Thursday that he’s asked the city’s police chief for a plan in two weeks to eliminate a decade-long practice of rotating towing duties to a list of

By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The leader of Tigray forces in Ethiopia has expressed the commitment to a “negotiated end” to the nine-month war that has killed thousands and left nearly half a million people facing famine. And the United Nations secretary-general warns that “there is no military solution.” In a

By DON THOMPSON Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s top court has rejected an attempt to make it harder to impose the death penalty. The Supreme Court ruled Thursday in favor of the current system where jurors need not unanimously agree on aggravating factors used to justify the punishment. Jurors already must unanimously agree

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The night before he was indicted this week, a Long Island dentist suspected of exchanging painkillers for sexual favors was sending text messages suggesting he’d give a woman a Percocet prescription if she wanted to “hang out” and “party a bit,” federal prosecutors said Thursday.

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN and EVENS SANON Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The United States has pledged another $32 million in aid to the victims of Haiti’s 7.2-magnitude earthquake, as the country’s interim prime minister defends his government’s response. U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power said Thursday the U.S. government had learned from

AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — Stephen Oates has died after a life that saw him become an award-winning Civil War historian who wrote biographies of Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Clara Barton, William Faulkner and others. The University of Massachusetts Amherst says Oates died Friday at his Amherst home at age 85. Oates received the

By TERRY SPENCER Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The attorney for parents suing to overturn the governor’s executive order banning strong student mask mandates says the order violates the authority of school districts to decide health issues. Attorney Craig Whisenhunt represents the parents. He argued in court Thursday that Gov. Ron DeSantis is

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s minimum age to be married is now higher after Gov. Roy Cooper signed a bill increasing it from 14 years old to 16. The increase takes effect immediately after the governor’s bill signing Thursday. It comes after the General Assembly gave unanimous support to the new threshold earlier this

By BEN FINLEY Associated Press NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A school board in Virginia has agreed to pay $1.3 million in legal costs to the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU spent six years representing a student who sued over the school board’s transgender bathroom ban. Gavin Grimm’s suit against the Gloucester County School Board