AP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal FAFSA form used to apply for college financial aid opened to high school seniors across the nation on Thursday, a year after a disastrous rollout by the Biden administration delayed the application for months. After weeks of testing, the Education Department says there have been no major
Continue ReadingWINDER, Ga. (AP) — The father of a 14-year-old boy accused of carrying out a deadly mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. Colin Gray was not in court during the Thursday hearing, but his lawyers told the judge during a brief hearing that their
Continue ReadingAssociated Press TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Police in New Jersey’s capital have shown a pattern of misconduct, including excessive force and unlawful stops. A Justice Department report released Thursday documents arrests without legal basis, officers escalating situations with aggressive tactics and unnecessary use of pepper spray. The 45-page report comes after a roughly yearlong investigation
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Former Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell has died at age 78. Rell’s family say she died Wednesday at a Florida hospital following a brief illness. The Republican was lieutenant governor in 2004 when Gov. John G. Rowland resigned amid a corruption investigation. She took over the office and then won election in 2006.
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday overturned actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019 and lying to Chicago police, saying he should not have been charged a second time after reaching a deal with prosecutors. The ruling, which did
Continue ReadingNIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Thousands from across the junta-led countries in Africa’s Sahel region were gathering this week in the Nigerien capital of Niamey to condemn what they call the West’s imperialist agenda and to drive support for their military regimes. The three-day anti-imperialism conference featured music and cultural displays. Delegates from Niger, Burkina Faso
Continue ReadingAP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani keeps setting records, even after the season is over. The Los Angeles Dodgers star added his third Most Valuable Player award to his collection and first in the National League when he was chosen unanimously by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Thursday. Aaron Judge
Continue ReadingBy Kathy Rose OBrien, CNN (CNN) — A volcano near Iceland’s capital erupted on Wednesday night, becoming the seventh such event in the area since December. The length of the fissure on the volcano, located in Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula in the southwest of the country, is estimated to be approximately 3 kilometers (1.9 miles), according
Continue ReadingAP Sports Writer MALAGA, Spain (AP) — It was an emotional farewell from tennis for Nadal this week after Spain was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup in Malaga. It was also heart-wrenching for his fans across Spain, as they saw one of the country’s very best finally call it quits. Davis Cup
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia’s third largest bank, Gazprombank and its six foreign subsidiaries were hit with U.S. sanctions on Thursday. The action is intended to curtail Russia’s ability to evade the thousands of sanctions imposed on the nation since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ROME (AP) — Pope Francis, who has imposed a series of cost-cutting measures across the cash-strapped Vatican, warned Thursday that the city state’s troubled pension fund needs urgent reform to guarantee future obligations. Vatican employees responded by expressing concern that their compensation might be targeted in any further cost-cutting to shore up the
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By Annie Grayer and Haley Talbot, CNN (CNN) — House GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced that she will chair a new oversight subcommittee in the next Congress that will work with the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. House Oversight Chair James Comer “intends to establish a
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The leaders of the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security declined to testify publicly at a scheduled Senate hearing Thursday on global national security threats, a break from precedent following years of open testimony before the panel. “Their choice to not provide public testimony about their departments’ efforts to
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Mali’s ruling junta has appointed a new prime minister from the ranks of the military generals, a day after firing his predecessor for criticizing the military regime. The move effectively consolidates all power in the African country in the hands of military generals. Mali has been ruled by military
Continue ReadingAP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — For about 50 years, adding cavity-preventing fluoride to drinking water was a popular public health measure in Yorktown, a leafy town north of New York City. But in September, the town’s supervisor used his emergency powers to stop the practice. The reason? A recent federal judge’s decision that
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in October, the first annual gain in more than three years, with home shoppers encouraged by easing rates and a pickup in properties on the market. Existing home sales rose 3.4% last month, from September, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — Most buses have stopped running in North Macedonia’s capital because of the indebted operator’s problems procuring fuel, leaving thousands of commuters stranded and disrupting services and businesses. Buses began going out of service late Wednesday and only a few routes were operating early Thursday in Skopje, home to
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TODAY: Thursday is another blustery and cold day, this time with temperatures about 10 degrees colder through the day, meaning feels like temperatures in the 20s this morning, and 30s this afternoon. Thick clouds will be overhead this morning, but more sunshine returns this afternoon. Winds may again gust as high as 30 mph from
Continue ReadingBy Jack Guy, CNN (CNN) — The world’s tallest woman and the world’s shortest woman have met for afternoon tea in London to celebrate Guinness World Records Day. Rumeysa Gelgi, who stands 215.16 centimeters (7 feet 0.7 inches) tall, and Jyoti Amge, who measures just 62.8 centimeters (2 feet 0.7 inches), met at the Savoy
Continue ReadingAssociated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — When Ephrem Yalike-Ngonzo was first approached in 2019 by a Russian who suggested he help promote the activities of the Central African Republic’s army and Russian forces in the country, the journalist believed that he was doing the right thing. But he soon realized that he was recruited by
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