Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s Republican legislative leaders announced on Friday that they reached a spending deal to fund various programs. One of those programs is the state’s Opportunity Scholarship that provides scholarships to families enrolling their children in private schools. The program experienced an application surge last year when the General
Continue ReadingAssociated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas is suing to try to block a federal rule that shields the medical records of women from criminal investigations if they cross state lines to get an abortion where it is legal. The lawsuit was filed by Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday. It accused the
Continue ReadingWASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of a former U.S. Capitol police officer who tried to help a Virginia fisherman avoid criminal charges for joining a mob’s attack on the building that his law-enforcement colleagues defended on Jan. 6, 2021. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ROME (AP) — Rome city officials are considering a 2-euro fee to access Rome’s famed Trevi Fountain. The city’s top tourism official, Roberto Onorato, says the goal is to make the experience more enjoyable for tourists and the area less aggravating for residents. He also said it could help discourage tourists from feeding
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush money case has been postponed until after the November election, granting the former president a hard-won reprieve as he navigates the homestretch of his current campaign and the aftermath of his criminal conviction. In a decision Friday, Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan delayed
Continue ReadingBy Dalia Faheid, CNN (CNN) — The father of the 14-year-old Apalachee High School shooting suspect faces two counts of second-degree murder in connection with this week’s Georgia attack that left four dead – charges that push the legal limits of parental responsibility for a child’s alleged gun crime. The case against Colin Gray, 54,
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice presidential candidate Tim Walz said Thursday that those protesting American support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza are doing so for “all the right reasons,” as the Democratic ticket looks to balance its support for Israel with the humanitarian plight of civilians in the war-torn enclave. Walz’ comments
Continue ReadingSANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader have met behind closed doors to discuss human rights, economic prosperity and regional security. Blinken met with Abinader on Friday after landing in neighboring Haiti the previous day to support a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenya to
Continue ReadingAssociated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An appeals court has returned control of Ohio House Republicans’ campaign purse strings to Speaker Jason Stephens. But the Thursday ruling appeared to do virtually nothing to resolve the yearlong intraparty dispute that’s hindered lawmaking in the state. A three-judge panel of the 10th District Court of Appeals ruled
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Department officials are turning to the 3D-printing industry to help stop the proliferation of tiny pieces of plastic transforming semi-automatic weapons into illegal homemade machine guns on streets across America. U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said Friday that the rising threat of what are known as machine gun
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Historical document appraiser and collector Seth Kaller spreads a broad sheet of paper across a desk. It’s in good enough condition that he can handle it, carefully, with clean, bare hands. There are just a few creases and tiny discolorations, even though it’s just a few weeks shy of
Continue ReadingAssociated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. scored a pair of legal victories Friday in the battleground states of North Carolina and Michigan, and a setback in Wisconsin, in his quest to get his name off of the ballots in some states after he suspended his campaign and endorsed former President Donald
Continue ReadingAssociated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Sergio Mendes, the celebrated Brazilian musician whose 1966 hit “Mas Que Nada” made him a global superstar and helped launched a long, Grammy-winning career, has died after months battling the effects of long COVID. He was 83. The death Thursday of the Brazilian pianist, songwriter and arranger was
Continue ReadingAssociated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization have launched a continent-wide response plan to the outbreak of mpox. The plan was launched on Friday. It came three weeks after WHO declared mpox outbreaks in 12 African countries a global emergency. The estimated budget
Continue ReadingNORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Police in Oklahoma say two 2-year-old children were found dead inside a vehicle after accidentally being left there. A police spokesperson says the two were found Thursday afternoon by officers responding to a request for a welfare check on the vehicle that was stopped on a city street. Police did not
Continue ReadingAssociated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden’s strong foraging culture could help determine how much radioactive fallout remains in the Scandinavian country, 38 years after the Chernobyl nuclear explosion. The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority has asked mushroom-pickers to send samples of this season’s harvest for testing. The goal of the measurement project is to map
Continue ReadingMARENGO, Ill. (AP) — A bull that escaped from an Illinois farm spent hours on the run before men on horseback finally lassoed the beast in a scene straight out of the Old West. The bull was captured Thursday evening after the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office warned in a Facebook post that “there is a
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey gambling regulators have levied a $33,000 fine on sports betting company bet365 for taking bets on games in which the outcome was already known, and on games that were not approved for betting. In one case, the company took bets on a mixed martial arts match
Continue ReadingPARIS (AP) — The city of Paris wants to pay tribute to the late Ugandan Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei by naming a sports venue in her honor. The proposal was announced by city mayor Anne Hidalgo on Friday and will be discussed by elected city officials in October. Cheptegei died on Thursday at a Kenyan
Continue ReadingANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Officials say a Vistara airline flight en route to Germany from India has made a forced landing in Turkey following a bomb threat. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Flight VTI027 from Mumbai to Frankfurt landed at the airport in Erzurum, in eastern Turkey, with 247 passengers and crew. All passengers were
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