Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lankans have voted in a parliamentary election that’s key for their new, Marxist-leaning president to consolidate his party’s power and follow through on promises of economic recovery. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake won the September presidential election in a rejection of the traditional political parties that have governed
Continue Reading Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Former “Dances with Wolves” actor Nathan Chasing Horse is scheduled to stand trial on Jan. 13 in Las Vegas. It’s a major development in his sweeping sexual abuse case after more than a year of stalled court proceedings while he challenged it. Chasing Horse has pleaded not guilty to
Continue Reading Democrat Dave Min won election to a U.S. House seat representing California on Wednesday, holding a competitive district for House Democrats. Democratic Rep. Katie Porter left this Orange County seat open to run for U.S. Senate, backing Min to take her place. Min, a state senator, defeated Republican Scott Baugh, who came up short in
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A building just south of Interstate 70 in Columbia was set on fire by a homeless person in retaliation against the building’s owner, a report from the Columbia Fire Department claims. A building on Nebraska Avenue, just east of Providence Road, caught fire on Oct. 20. An investigation report says $125,000 in
Continue Reading AP Business Writer OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The flurry of contract agreements announced early this fall — including two more Wednesday — offer evidence that major railroads and their unions are working to avoid the standoffs that led them to a brink of a national strike two years ago. Both sides are also now keenly
Continue Reading LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal judge has denied an effort to temporarily block enforcement of a constitutional amendment Arkansas voters approved that revokes the state’s license for a planned casino. Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. on Tuesday denied Cherokee Nation Entertainment’s request to block the measure voters approved last week that blocks its
Continue Reading Associated Press/Report for America RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democratic lawmakers who wield control of the Virginia Legislature are hoping to make good on promises made on the campaign trail, including becoming the first Southern state to expand constitutional protections for abortion access. Members of the House Privileges and Elections Committee met on Wednesday to debate
Continue Reading Associated Press/Report for America House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul says he was briefly detained by police at an airport near Washington, D.C. earlier this month. The Republican congressman said he became “disorientated” after he took Ambien and drank alcohol before a flight to Texas. McCaul was reelected this month to an 11th term
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Ed Hassinger has been named the new director of the Missouri Department of Transportation, a Wednesday press release says. He replaces Patrick McKenna, who announced in August that he would be stepping down from the position in September after nine years. Hassiner holds a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering
Continue Reading TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a California teenager pleaded guilty Wednesday in a case involving the swatting of a Florida mosque, among other institutions and individuals. Swatting is the practice of making a prank call to emergency services in an attempt to bring about the dispatch of a large number of armed police
Continue Reading Associated Press SAO PAULO (AP) — A man who failed in an attempt to break into Brazil’s Supreme Court killed himself in explosions outside the building Wednesday that forced justices and staff to evacuate, authorities said. The two strong blasts were heard about 7:30 p.m. after the day’s session finished and all the justices and
Continue Reading Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Lawyers for the state of Louisiana are asking a federal appeals court in New Orleans to immediately block a judge’s ruling ordering education officials to tell all local districts that a law requiring schools to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms is unconstitutional. A judge found the law unconstitutional
Continue Reading Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said Wednesday that he will continue pushing lawmakers to phase out the state income tax, even with the possibility of federal spending cuts that could affect states after Donald Trump begins his second term as president. Mississippi is one of the poorest states in
Continue Reading Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal investigation into Chinese government efforts to hack into U.S. telecommunications networks has revealed a “broad and significant” cyberespionage campaign aimed at stealing information from Americans who work in government and politics, the FBI said Wednesday. Hackers affiliated with Beijing have compromised the networks of “multiple” telecommunications companies to
Continue Reading Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar lashed out Wednesday at Mexico’s failure to accept aid in the fight against drug cartels, claiming the country “closed the doors” on security cooperation. In a press conference, Salazar launched his harshest criticism yet of rampant violence, police corruption and the Mexican government’s mistaken attitude
Continue Reading By Julia Vargas Jones, Helen Regan and Mia Alberti, CNN (CNN) — A man killed himself while detonating explosives after trying to enter Brazil’s Supreme Court in Brasilia on Wednesday, an attempted attack that appeared to be politically motivated and came as the country’s top tribunal finds itself under pressure over disinformation and extremism cases.
Continue Reading Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, was once embroiled in a sex trafficking investigation by the Justice Department he’s been tapped to lead, and has been under scrutiny by the House Ethics Committee over allegations including sexual misconduct. That probe effectively ended Wednesday, though,
Continue Reading AP Sports Writer ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Bills quarterback Josh Allen shrugs off the hype being generated in advance of AFC East-leading Buffalo hosting Patrick Mahomes and the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. Allen referred to it as just one regular-season game of 17 on the schedule. He then shed light on his
Continue Reading Associated Press In picking Rep. Matt Gaetz as his nominee for attorney general, President-elect Donald Trump is looking to install a fierce loyalist — who has been seen as divisive even within his own party — over some of the more established attorneys whose names had been mentioned for the nation’s top federal prosecutor post.
Continue Reading Associated Press BRICK, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey’s governor declared a drought warning. Black Hawk helicopters scooped water from a lake to dump on a forest fire burning in New York state. And across the country, firefighters were making good progress Wednesday battling a major wildfire in a county northwest of Los Angeles. Meanwhile, New
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