CANYON DE CHELLY NATIONAL MONUMENT, Ariz. (AP) — Commercial air tours will soon be prohibited over Canyon de Chelly National Monument in northeastern Arizona under a plan approved this week by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Park Service. The park service says the plan was signed Thursday and will take effect in 180
Continue ReadingSILVER CITY, N.M. (AP) — Western New Mexico University’s president has agreed to resign. Joseph Shepard’s resignation Friday comes after a state audit found evidence of wasteful spending by top WNMU officials and regents that didn’t comply with university rules. Shepard’s last day will be Jan. 15. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that Shepard’s
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — Two decades after a catastrophic tsunami destroyed her village, Tria Asnani still cries when she recalls how she lost her mother while trying to escape the giant waves. Asnani, now a school teacher, was only 17 at the time. Her father, who was a fisherman, never returned home
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate passed legislation early Saturday to boost Social Security payments for millions of people, pushing a longtime priority for former public employees through Congress in one of its last acts for the year. The bipartisan bill, which next heads to President Joe Biden, will eliminate longtime reductions to Social
Continue ReadingAssociated Press DENVER (AP) — Police say 11 people, including some members of a Venezuelan gang, are facing potential criminal charges in connection with the violent abduction and beating of a couple at an apartment complex in a Denver suburb. Police in Aurora said Friday that eight of the suspects are being held by the
Continue ReadingST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota House Republicans could start the 2025 legislative session in the majority after a judge ruled that a Democratic candidate didn’t meet the residency requirements for his suburban district. Ramsey County Judge Leonardo Castro ruled Friday that Curtis Johnson didn’t live in the Roseville-area district for the required six months
Continue ReadingWAYNESVILLE, N.C. (AP) — The reopening of a section of Interstate 40 in western North Carolina that collapsed during Hurricane Helene has been delayed after more asphalt from eastbound lanes fell this week. The primary road connection between North Carolina and eastern Tennessee was severed in late September during flooding in the Pigeon River gorge.
Continue ReadingWASHINGTON (AP) — ABC’s “This Week” — Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa.; Sen.-elect John Curtis, R-Utah. ___ NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Sens. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and James Lankford, R-Okla. ___ CNN’s “State of the Union” — Sens. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., and Chris Coons, D-Conn. __ CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas;
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Johnny Zuagar says he tried to hide his worries about a potential government shutdown from his three boys as he weighs how much to spend on Christmas presents. Like thousands of federal workers, the statistician at the U.S. Census Bureau was navigating the holidays with the spirit of the
Continue ReadingGUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemalan authorities have searched the compound of an extremist ultra-orthodox Jewish sect and taken at least 160 minors and 40 women into protective custody after reports of abuse. Interior Minister Francisco Jiménez said Friday the National Civil Police and members of military participated in the raid on the Lev Tahor group’s
Continue ReadingAssociated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A judge ruled Friday that Missouri’s near-total abortion ban is unenforceable under a new constitutional amendment, though Planned Parenthood said the decision is still not sufficient for it to resume providing abortions in the state. Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Jerri Zhang said the abortion ban “is directly
Continue ReadingPECOS, Texas (AP) — Federal officials investigating the deadly West Texas collision between at Union Pacific train and a tractor-trailer hauling heavy equipment are trying to determine why the tractor-trailer was stopped on the tracks. Two employees of Omaha, Nebraska-based Union Pacific were killed in the Wednesday crash at a railway crossing in Pecos. The
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer Amazon delivery drivers and Starbucks baristas are on strike in a handful of U.S. cities as they seek to exert pressure on the two major companies to recognize them as unionized employees or to meet demands for an inaugural labor contract. The strikes that started Thursday and Friday followed other recent standoffs
Continue ReadingAssociated Press HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A new report by a congressional subcommittee accused former top Coast Guard officials of hiding a yearslong investigation into sexual assault and harassment at the service’s academy in Connecticut from both Congress and the public. The Senate Permanent Committee on Investigations released the report Friday. It also accused Coast
Continue ReadingAssociated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The trailing Republican in a tight North Carolina Supreme Court race has suffered legal setbacks in his bid to overtake his Democratic rival. First a federal judge refused on Friday to block immediately the State Board of Elections from issuing a certificate that Democratic Associate Justice Allison Riggs won
Continue ReadingAssociated Press O’FALLON, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri judge has ruled that the state’s Republican governor and not a local Democratic official has the power to fill a vacancy in the prosecutor’s office for the state’s most populous county. A spokesperson said St. Louis County would appeal St. Louis Circuit Judge Brian May’s decision Friday.
Continue ReadingMEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. has won a trade dispute panel resolution on Mexico’s bid to ban genetically modified corn for human consumption. U.S. growers welcomed the decision announced on Friday, calling it “a major win.” Mexico’s Economy Department said it disagreed with the ruling by a panel of experts convened under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MIAMI (AP) — As the stars of Friday’s show in downtown Miami, baby pigs Glinda and Elphaba will never have to worry about gracing the dinner table at a Cuban American family’s home on Christmas Eve. Public pardons for the two piglets were granted by the mayor of Miami-Dade County, Daniella Levine Cava,
Continue ReadingNEW ORLEANS (AP) — Blaring trumpets and joyful voices resounded in a New Orleans neighborhood earlier this week as about 100 people marched in honor of John “Prince” Gilbert, a founding member of an innovative brass band, who died last weekend. Gilbert played the saxophone for the Rebirth Brass Band, which has been a favorite
Continue ReadingLINCOLN CITY, Ore. (AP) — A sheriff in rural, coastal Oregon says he’s concerned about letters asking residents to collect information on immigrants. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office says the letters have been circulating throughout the county. KPTV reports that the letter asks people to write down the license plate numbers of cars believed to
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