SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Protesters have rallied outside Bulgaria’s parliament to denounce a controversial legal amendment adopted the day before that bans talk of LGBTQ+ and so-called non-traditional sexual choices in schools. Thursday’s protest was organized by feminist, LGBTQ+ and other rights groups calling for a reversal of that amendment, banning what supporters call “LGBTQ+
Continue ReadingBOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s minister of defense says President Gustavo Petro was a target of a possible attack on July 20, when he took part in a military parade commemorating the country’s independence from Spain. Minister Iván Velásquez told reporters about the alleged attack, without providing evidence or elaborating further. Petro, a former rebel
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Police are investigating how a woman died in a baggage room at O’Hare International Airport. Chicago Fire Department spokesperson Larry Langford said emergency responders called to the airport around 7:45 a.m. Thursday found the woman entangled in a conveyer belt system in a baggage room. The room was not publicly accessible, and it’s
Continue ReadingASUNCIÓN, Paraguay (AP) — The government of Paraguay has effectively ordered the United States ambassador to leave the South American nation, escalating tensions between the allies in the wake of the Biden administration’s sanctions on a tobacco company linked to the country’s powerful former president. In a statement Thursday, the Paraguayan Foreign Ministry asked the
Continue ReadingAP Basketball Writer PARIS (AP) — Down by 11 in the fourth quarter, against what looked like overwhelming odds, the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team got a spark. Six points in two seconds. Kevin Durant and Devin Booker provided that wild sequence to start the comeback, Stephen Curry had a scoring night like almost none
Continue ReadingSAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — Noah Lyles said he tested positive for COVID two days before he finished third in the 200-meter final at the Paris Olympics on Thursday night. Lyles said he tested positive early Tuesday morning and quickly got into quarantine. He participated in the 200-meter semifinal on Wednesday, where he finished second. Lyles’
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Much of New Orleans was under a boil water advisory two days after a Mylar balloon struck power lines near the water plant, leading to a drop in water pressure. Utility companies nationwide have been warning for years about the hazards of Mylar balloons. The metallic, film-coated balloons have
Continue ReadingAssociated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Two West Virginia correctional officers accused of failing to intervene as their colleagues beat an incarcerated man to death in 2022 have pleaded guilty in federal court. Former Southern Regional Jail employees Jacob Boothe and Ashley Toney admitted to violating 37-year-old Quantez Burks’s civil rights by not protecting him
Continue ReadingAP Media Writer ABC News says Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have agreed to a Sept. 10 debate. The network’s announcement came as Trump was holding a news conference Thursday, where he said he is pushing for two other debates with Harris in September, to be hold on Fox News and
Continue ReadingDENVER (AP) — Denver police say three officers were fired last month after officials found they had joked about “going to newcomer shelters for target practice” in a group chat with fellow officers. Police say the messages were shared in March when Denver still operated shelters to house migrants from Venezuela and other countries who
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s government has kicked out Nicaragua’s ambassador to the nation in retaliation for a similar move by the Central American country’s President Daniel Ortega. The press office of Brazil’s foreign ministry confirmed Thursday to The Associated Press that it had decided to expel Nicaraguan ambassador Fulvia Patricia Castro Matu.
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Thirteen popular books have been banned from all public schools in Utah in the first wave of bans expected under a new law that prohibits books when at least three of the state’s 41 school district boards claim they contain pornographic or indecent material. Allowing just a few districts to make decisions for
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SAN DIEGO (AP) — California’s governor flew in for the young bears’ debut. Throngs of media gathered inside the zoo, while the city of San Diego warned of traffic jams ahead of the much-anticipated event Thursday. The San Diego Zoo rolled out the red carpet for the first public showing of its celebrity
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A U.S. jury has convicted former Mozambican Finance Minister Manuel Chang in a financial conspiracy case that welled up from from his country’s “tuna bond” scandal. A federal jury in New York delivered the verdict Thursday. Chang was accused of accepting bribes to put his African nation secretly on
Continue ReadingAP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA is wrestling over how and when to bring two astronauts back from the International Space Station, after repeatedly delaying their return aboard Boeing’s troubled capsule. Do they take a chance and send them home soon in Boeing’s Starliner? Or wait and bring them back next year
Continue ReadingERIE, Pa. (AP) — The search is on for a small alligator in Erie, Pennsylvania, after it was caught on video last weekend swimming just off the shore of Lake Erie. The first sighting was Sunday, according to the Erie Times-News, and since then animal rescue specialists have been scouring the area. There are reports
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Texas Rangers have visited the White House to celebrate their 2023 World Series victory with President Joe Biden. He noted during the Thursday visit that the team was making a triumphant return to the city where the franchise was born. “You’re back in the nation’s capital as world champions,”
Continue ReadingAssociated Press PARIS (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, took time out of his Olympic duties to rally a group of enthusiastic supporters in Paris. He told donors at a private fundraiser Thursday that his wife was “ready” and heaped praise on her newly minted running mate, Tim Walz. He also said
Continue ReadingNEWCASTLE, Maine (AP) — Maine wants to do more to honor America’s first female presidential Cabinet member. State leaders asked President Joe Biden on Thursday to transform the home of Frances Perkins, who was labor secretary to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, into a National Monument, operated and staffed by the National Park Service. Her homestead
Continue ReadingThe “Yellowstone” sequel has its lead. Paramount announced Thursday that Oscar nominee Michelle Pfeiffer would executive produce and star in “Madison.” The series was first promised when it was announced last year that ‘Yellowstone’ second half of its fifth season would air in November 2024, wrapping up the series. “Madison” follows a family of New
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