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Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — After a nearly yearlong vacuum, Iraq’s Parliament has elected a new speaker, selecting a prominent Sunni lawmaker who has a close relationship with Iran. Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, who served a previous stint as speaker from 2006 to 2009, was elected by a vote of 182 of the 269 legislators who attended

Associated Press A New York man who turned a rescued squirrel into a social media star called Peanut is pleading with state authorities to return his beloved pet after they seized it during a raid. Mark Longo says at least six officers from the state Department of Environmental Conservation seized the squirrel from his upstate

AP Medical Writer Some people who took a new schizophrenia drug for one year improved with only a few side effects, but many dropped out of the research. That’s according to company-sponsored studies reported Thursday. Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness that can cause people to hear voices, feel paranoid and withdraw from others. Bristol

UNIVERSITY PARK, Md. (AP) — A former mayor of University Park was charged with 28 counts related to child sexual abuse material after authorities searched his home Monday, according to local news reports. The Baltimore Sun reports that the investigation by state and federal authorities began while Joel Biermann was still serving as mayor of

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Voting has closed in contest to lead Britain’s Conservative Party after its crushing election defeat. The result is due to be announced on Saturday. Tens of thousands of members of the right-of-center party were eligible to vote in the runoff between lawmakers Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick. Jenrick is a

Associated Press SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s Federal Police have conducted raids in six states targeting a criminal group suspected of smuggling migrants to the United States. According to police, the group lured Asian migrants, primarily from Bangladesh and Nepal, to Sao Paulo International Airport. From there, the suspects led them on dangerous routes to

Associated Press Human-caused climate change made Spain’s rainfall about 12% heavier and doubled the likelihood of a storm as intense as this week’s deluge of Valencia, according to a rapid but partial analysis Thursday by World Weather Attribution, a group of international scientists who study global warming’s role in extreme weather. Monstrous flash floods in

Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — There is increased security at a downtown Detroit convention center ahead of next week’s presidential election. Elections officials say Thursday that metal detectors are located at the entrances to the hall where ballots will be counted. To enter, public observers, vote challengers and the media will have to show poll

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — According to a Pentagon audit, Boeing has overcharged the Air Force on spare parts for a major cargo plane, including marking up the price of simple lavatory soap dispensers by 8,000%. The Defense Department’s inspector general reported this week that Boeing’s overcharges totaled nearly $1 million for 12 items used

Associated Press ST. CHARLES, Mo. (AP) — A Republican committeeman has asked a judge to stop early voting in Missouri’s third-largest county until it allows “watchers” or challengers” to observe the polls. The county’s election director and Republican secretary of state say early voting will continue in St. Charles County until a judge issues a

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A former South Florida school district attorney accused of illegally sharing information from a statewide grand jury on the 2018 Parkland school shooting has pleaded no contest to a reduced charge. Former Broward County Public Schools general counsel Barbara Myrick pleaded no contest Thursday to a misdemeanor count of attempted

Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A student from the University of Michigan faces criminal charges after authorities say an illegal ballot was cast in a rare case of a non-U.S. citizen voting. The student faces charges of perjury and attempting to vote as an unauthorized elector. Noncitizen voting is extremely rare in the U.S.

MADRID (AP) — In a matter of minutes, flash floods caused by heavy downpours in eastern Spain swept away everything in their path. With no time to react, people were trapped in vehicles, homes and businesses for hours. Two days after the deluge started on Tuesday, authorities say they have recovered 158 bodies and continue

Associated Press SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (AP) — Trick-or-treaters in the Northeast who in past years would bundle up under their Bluey or Beetlejuice costumes comfortably roamed neighborhoods in unseasonably mild temperatures Thursday. New York City hit 81 degrees (27.2 Celsius) on Halloween, with Boston topping out at 78 degrees (25.5 C). Caribou, Maine, hit a high

Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A former Disney worker has been arrested based on a complaint that says he hacked into servers at Walt Disney World in order to manipulate computer menus. A criminal complaint filed by the FBI says that after the worker was fired last summer he began hacking the servers in

Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — At a recent naturalization ceremony, nine immigrants from countries spanning from Lebanon and Germany to Taiwan and Mexico took their oaths to become American citizens. The event in Los Angeles in October made them eligible to register to vote in time to cast ballots in the 2024 presidential election.