NEW YORK (AP) — A parked vehicle containing gas cylinders and other flammable materials has exploded on a residential street in New York City, damaging homes, other vehicles and overhead power lines. Deputy Fire Chief George Healy says no injuries were reported, but five homes and five vehicles were destroyed in the Friday morning blast.
Continue Reading By Julia Vargas Jones, CNN (CNN) — A businessman was killed in an apparently targeted shooting at São Paulo’s international airport on Friday, CNN Brasil reports. Three others were also injured in the incident, which saw around five assailants exit a black vehicle and open fire on businessman Antônio Vinicius Gritzbach, CNN Brasil said citing
Continue Reading Associated Press SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A federal judge has overturned Illinois’ ban on semiautomatic weapons, leaning on recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings that strictly interpret the Second Amendment right to keep and bear firearms. U.S. District Judge Stephen P. McGlynn said his Friday decision applied universally, not just to the lawsuit’s plaintiffs. The Protect
Continue Reading Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A judge has ruled that New York City can’t use a two-century-old “anti-pauper” law to block the state of Texas from offering migrants free bus rides to the city. The court on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit from Mayor Eric Adams targeting charter bus companies paid by the southern border
Continue Reading Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The U.S. Army awarded a $435 million contract on Friday to build a TNT production plant in western Kentucky that will become the first domestic source for the explosive material in decades, officials said. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, a key player in securing the funding, said the new
Continue Reading SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has declared a state of emergency in 23 counties swamped by flooding rainstorms. Kemp’s order Friday covers a wide section of southern Georgia that was inundated Wednesday and Thursday by heavy rains. The National Weather Service says more than 12 inches of rainfall caused flooding in Valdosta
Continue Reading Associated Press INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) — A woman and a child are dead after an officer fired a weapon while responding to a domestic disturbance at an apartment in the Kansas City suburb of Independence, Missouri. “Heartbreaking” is how Police Chief Adam Dustman described it at a news conference. He says the woman was armed
Continue Reading Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Republican Don Bacon has been elected to a fifth House term representing Nebraska’s Omaha-based 2nd District, nearly three days after the polls closed. Bacon held a news conference Wednesday morning declaring victory. But his Democratic challenger, state Sen. Tony Vargas, declined to concede the tight race, with around 15,000
Continue Reading Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Arkansas Board of Corrections has approved an 815-acre site where it plans to build a new prison, despite objections from some residents. The board on Friday voted to accept the land the state had purchased for nearly $3 million to build a planned 3,000-inmate prison. Gov. Sarah
Continue Reading Associated Press The rhesus macaque monkeys that escaped a South Carolina medical lab this week are among the most studied animals on the planet. For more than a century, they’ve held a mirror to humanity through research on their behaviors, organ systems and genetic code. These bare-faced primates with expressive eyes have been launched into
Continue Reading Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Several federal and state agencies are investigating how racist mass texts were sent to Black people across the country in the wake of the presidential election this week. The text messages invoking slavery were sent to Black men, women and children, prompting inquiries by the FBI and other law enforcement
Continue Reading Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie says he will make streets safer, help small businesses and squash the open-air drug markets that have tarnished San Francisco’s image in recent years. Lurie spoke Friday at a park in Chinatown, making his first public remarks since San Francisco Mayor London Breed called
Continue Reading Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Police say they have arrested a man in a spate of random stabbings over two days in Seattle in which nine people were injured. Police say five people were stabbed on Friday and one person was taken into custody in Seattle. The Seattle Police Department says the stabbings happened in
Continue Reading Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Hunger experts are warning that there’s “a strong likelihood” famine is imminent in parts of northern Gaza where Israeli forces are conducting a major offensive. An alert issued Friday by the four experts called the humanitarian situation throughout the Gaza Strip “extremely grave and rapidly deteriorating” and worst in
Continue Reading Associated Press EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz has vowed make Minnesota a safe haven for the values that drove the Democratic presidential ticket he helped lead. Walz also promised to work harder to understand the concerns of President-elect Donald Trump’s voters. Walz addressed a crowd of supporters Friday inside a Minnesota high school
Continue Reading Associated Press LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Hundreds of Bolivian devotees have arrived at the municipal cemetery of La Paz carrying human skulls adorned with flowers for the Ñatitas festival. It is a custom rooted in the Andean region, but not recognized by the Catholic church. According to Bolivian belief, devotees ask Ñatitas for health,
Continue Reading Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to launch a mass deportation of millions of undocumented people is a top focus for Canada s the country plans to deal with a possible influx north. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau re-established a special Cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. relations this week to address his administration’s concerns
Continue Reading Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — A jury has awarded more than $12 million to a woman who lost her job at a Michigan insurance company after declining to get a COVID-19 vaccination. Much of the award is for punitive damages against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Lisa Domski worked at Blue Cross for more
Continue Reading MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. government has extended avocado import permissions to Guatemala, but don’t expect that to result in cheaper guacamole anytime soon. For nearly 30 years, Mexico has been practically the only source of imported avocados — along with small amounts from South America — because of concerns that plant diseases and
Continue Reading Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Senate discriminated against a Black attorney by paying her about half of what her white colleagues were paid for doing the same job, the U.S. Justice Department says in a lawsuit it filed Friday. “Discriminatory employment practices, like paying a Black employee less than their white colleagues
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