News

By ZEKE MILLER and CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden celebrated a “crisis averted” in his first speech to the nation from the Oval Office Friday evening, ready to sign a budget agreement that eliminates the potential for an unprecedented government default that he said would have been catastrophic for the

By ED WHITE Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — A man who spent nearly 21 years in prison for the deaths of two Michigan hunters filed a lawsuit Friday seeking $1.02 million for wrongful convictions, just a day after a prosecutor dropped murder charges and ruled out a second trial. “Jeff Titus is 71 years old.

By SUSAN HAIGH Associated Press Connecticut lawmakers voted Friday to take steps to protect people from the state’s growing bear population. But they stopped far short of a bear hunt and restrictions on people unintentionally feeding the hungry animals. The legislation, which cleared the House of Representatives on a 115-32 vote after being revamped by

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Two passenger trains derailed in India, killing more than 200 people and trapping hundreds of others inside more than a dozen damaged rail cars.  Fire Services Chief Sudhanshu Sarangi told the Press Trust of India that more than 800 people were hurt. He said the number

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Three women who claim Cuba Gooding Jr. sexually abused them — including one upset she never got her day in court when Gooding resolved criminal charges without trial or jail — can testify at a federal civil trial next week to support a woman’s claim that

By DAVID SHARP Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A frantic 911 call to report at least one person had been fatally shot led law enforcement to discover four bodies at a home in Maine and eventually to arrest a man who fired at vehicles on a nearby highway. That’s according to heavily redacted transcripts

By ZEKE MILLER and CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden planned to highlight a “crisis averted” in his inaugural speech to the nation from the Oval Office Friday evening, as he prepared to sign a budget agreement that eliminates the potential for a first-ever government default that would have sent shock

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama now has an official state cookie: the Yellowhammer Cookie. Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday signed legislation naming the confection created by a Montgomery fourth-grader as the official state cookie. Students at Montgomery’s Trinity Presbyterian School came up with the idea of a state cookie. WSFA-TV reports fourth-grader Mary Claire Cook

By MEG KINNARD and MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is wrapping up his first tour of early voting states as a presidential candidate, showcasing his personal side in South Carolina with a lighthearted sit-down with his wife and an emotional moment with a military spouse. DeSantis, whose

By ANITA SNOW Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Retired Phoenix Police Capt. Carroll Cooley, the arresting officer in the landmark case partially responsible for the Supreme Court’s Miranda rights ruling that requires suspects be read their rights, has died, the department confirmed Friday. He was 87. Phoenix police said in a brief statement that Cooley

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ and MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly four years after Jeffrey Epstein’s death, thousands of pages of records obtained by The Associated Press are shedding new light on the financier’s time behind bars and a frantic response by federal corrections officials to his death. The documents, including emails

By MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The Biden administration is withdrawing hundreds of square miles in New Mexico from oil and gas production for the next 20 years on the outskirts of Chaco Culture National Historical Park that tribal communities consider sacred. The action Friday by Secretary of the Interior Deb

By ED WHITE Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — A man who spent nearly 21 years in prison for the deaths of two Michigan hunters has filed a lawsuit seeking $1 million for wrongful convictions. Jeff Titus filed the suit Friday, just a day after a prosecutor dropped murder charges against him and ruled out a