Month: March 2023

By DREW COSTLEY AP Science Writer Residents of a Louisiana parish located in the heart of a cluster of polluting petrochemical factories filed a lawsuit in federal court raising allegations of civil rights, environmental justice and religious liberty violations. In the lawsuit, filed against the St. James Parish, residents and environmental organizations claim that the

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press WETUMPKA, Ala. (AP) — A judge reduced the prison sentence from 55 to 30 years for an Alabama man convicted of murder when a police officer shot his friend. LaKeith Smith was 15 when a police officer shot and killed his friend when the teens were caught burglarizing homes in

BONIFAY, Fla. (AP) — Authorities say suspended Alabama freshman defensive back Tony Mitchell drove over 141 mph while trying to evade deputies before his arrest on drug charges in the Florida Panhandle last week. The Holmes County Sheriff’s Office says Mitchell and his passenger were arrested Wednesday and charged with possession of marijuana with the

By AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is putting out the word that planned stopovers in the United States by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in the coming weeks fall in line with recent precedent and should not be used as a pretext by China to step up aggressive activity in the

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden welcomed a high-wattage collection of singers, authors, artists and humanitarians to the White House on Tuesday to present them with medals — and then stole the show himself with a quip about seeking reelection. Bruce Springsteen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mindy Kaling and

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Conservationists want South Carolina to make the Venus fly trap the state’s official carnivorous plant. Supporters say honoring the Venus fly trap isn’t about one extra thing students see on an elementary school worksheet. Instead, it’s to protect and increase awareness of an interesting species found

By CHRISTOPHER WEBER Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Thousands of service workers backed by teachers began a three-day strike against the Los Angeles Unified School District on Tuesday, shutting down education for a half-million students in the nation’s second-largest school system. Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union, which represents about 30,000 teachers’