Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Republican Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming announced on Wednesday that he will be running for U.S. Senate, hoping to unseat GOP U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, who is up for reelection in two years. Fleming is eyeing a return to Capitol Hill, where he served in the U.S. House for
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BEIRUT (AP) — It was one of the darkest moments in the modern history of the Arab world. More than four decades ago, Hafez Assad, then president of Syria, launched what came to be known as the Hama Massacre. Between 10,000 to 40,000 people were killed or disappeared in the government attack on
Continue ReadingTALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Plans for hotels and pickleball courts at Florida state parks could be squashed before they get started — unlike earlier this year when Gov. Ron DeSantis faced bipartisan backlash over park development plans. Sen. Gayle Harrell filed a bill Wednesday that would focus recreation at state parks on trails rather than
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly 100 former senior U.S. diplomats and intelligence and national security officials have asked Senate leaders to schedule closed-door hearings to allow for a full review of the government’s files on former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. She is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick as national intelligence director. The former officials, who served
Continue ReadingAssociated Press DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A special tribunal in Bangladesh has banned the publication of any speeches by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is in exile in India after being ousted in August after mass protests. The decision came a day after Hasina made her first public speech in a virtual address to
Continue ReadingAssociated Presss WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy recently visited Israel and Qatar for high-level talks on landing a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza. Steve Witkoff met separately in recent weeks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. That’s according to
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ISTANBUL (AP) — A Hamas official said Thursday that international mediators have resumed negotiating with the militant group and Israel over a ceasefire in Gaza, and that he was hopeful a deal to end the 14-month war was within reach. Ceasefire negotiations were halted last month when Qatar suspended talks with mediators from
Continue ReadingSANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — California will appeal a judge’s decision to reject a state lawsuit over a measure allowing the city of Huntington Beach to require voter identification at the polls, officials said Thursday. State officials said they plan to continue to fight over the measure — passed by voters in March in the
Continue ReadingBUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania’s soccer federation leader has urged fans to keep the country on a pro-European path before a state presidential election between a far-right populist and a reformist opponent. Razvan Burleanu, a member of FIFA’s ruling council, spoke in a video message. Burleanu said “through European values, we are building not only
Continue ReadingMEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president will ask President-elect Donald Trump that, if he deports migrants, to deport non-Mexicans directly to their home countries, rather than dumping them at the Mexican border. President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday she hopes to reach an agreement with Trump so that “they send people who come from other countries
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A 7.0 magnitude earthquake shook a large area of Northern California on Thursday, knocking items off grocery store shelves, sending children scrambling under desks and prompting a brief tsunami warning for 5.3 million people along the U.S. West Coast. The quake struck at 10:44 a.m. west of Ferndale, a
Continue ReadingAP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA announced more delays Thursday in sending astronauts back to the moon more than 50 years after Apollo. Administrator Bill Nelson said the next mission in the Artemis program — flying four astronauts around the moon and back – is now targeted for April 2026. It had
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency says it concluded more than 1,800 civil cases this year, a 3% increase over 2023, and charged 120 criminal defendants, a 17.6% increase over the previous year. The “revitalized enforcement and compliance efforts” resulted in more than 225 million pounds of pollution reductions in overburdened communities,
Continue ReadingAssociated Press GREENVALE, N.Y. (AP) — Not yet even in office, Donald Trump said Thursday he’s already accomplished more than President Joe Biden did in his entire term, an outsized claim by the president-elect just a month out from the election. Trump, who has been largely ensconced at his Mar-a-Lago club in recent weeks as
Continue ReadingAssociated Press DALLAS (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday rejected a deal that would have let Boeing plead guilty to a felony conspiracy charge and pay a fine for misleading U.S. regulators about the 737 Max jetliner before two of the planes crashed, killing 346 people. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Texas said
Continue ReadingJERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli court has rejected a request from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to limit the number of days each week that he’ll have to testify when he finally takes the the stand in his years-long corruption trial. Netanyahu’s lawyers have made numerous requests to delay his testimony, which is now expected to
Continue ReadingASUNCIÓN, Paraguay (AP) — Paraguay has accused a Chinese diplomat of interfering in its domestic affairs and given him 24 hours to leave the country, escalating tensions over the South American nation’s long friendship with Taiwan. Paraguay’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a brief statement on Thursday that it had revoked the visa of
Continue ReadingAssociated Press HAVANA (AP) — After a nationwide blackout left millions without electricity for several hours in Cuba, the power grid has been restored, authorities said, adding that scheduled power outages will now resume. The latest blackout, the third one of this severity in less than two months, occurred in the early hours of Wednesday,
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Born from the ashes of the 2008 global financial crisis, bitcoin arrived after trust had withered in the financial system and in Washington’s ability to protect those who must participate in it. Now, it’s Washington’s very embrace of bitcoin that’s helping to send its price to records and
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The father of the victim in the fatal New York City subway chokehold case has sued defendant Daniel Penny as a Manhattan jury continues deliberating. Jordan Neely’s father, Andre Zachary, filed the suit Wednesday in New York Supreme Court. He accuses Penny of negligence, assault and battery, leading to
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