Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says it has tested exploding drones designed to hit targets and leader Kim Jong Un called for accelerating their mass production. The demonstration came as the United States, South Korea and Japan held combined military exercises in nearby waters. North Korea’s state media published photos Friday
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian government’s plan to ban children from social media to protect them from harm has won almost universal political support. But keeping them off social media looks far more difficult in practical terms. Experts in technology and child welfare called the 16-year age limit “too blunt” to work
Continue ReadingNEW YORK (AP) — Shel Talmy, a Chicago-born music producer and arranger who worked on such British punk classics as The Who’s “My Generation” and The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me,” helped oversee hits by Manfred Mann and the duo Chad & Jeremy and was an early backer of David Bowie, has died. He was
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ATLANTA (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has picked former Georgia congressman Doug Collins to lead the Veterans Affairs Department in his new administration. The 58-year-old Collins is a Baptist minister who later became a lawyer. He has served as a chaplain in both the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force Reserve. Collins
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump spent much of his first term feeling stung and betrayed by those he’d placed in power. This time, he’s not taking chances. As he works to fill his administration a second time, Trump has turned to a head-spinning mix of candidates. Many of those he’s chosen are personal
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A tech consultant charged with murder in Cash App founder Bob Lee’s stabbing death sparred with the lead prosecutor at trial Thursday, interrupting questions asked of him with his own questions as he was grilled on his testimony. Nima Momeni, 40, had to be told several times by the
Continue ReadingCHICAGO (AP) — University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Robert Jones plans to resign at the end of the academic year. The Chicago Tribune reports that university officials made the announcement on Wednesday. Jones has served as chancellor at the state’s flagship university since 2016. He is the school’s first Black chancellor and led the university
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine navy has transported food and other supplies to a territorial ship outpost in a shoal in the South China Sea without any confrontation with Chinese forces guarding the area. The Philippine delivery of supplies and military personnel to the Second Thomas Shoal was the third such trip
Continue ReadingAssociated Press HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas man charged with trying to provide material support to the Islamic State group and planning violent attacks in Houston has appeared in federal court. According to court records, Anas Said is accused of offering his home as a safe sanctuary for members of ISIS and talking about wanting
Continue ReadingAssociated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s governor says investigators will find out what caused a deadly explosion that ripped apart a Louisville factory. The blast at Givaudan Sense Colour on Tuesday killed two workers, injured 11 other employees and caused a partial collapse of the plant. It produces colorings for food and drinks. Neighbors
Continue ReadingAssociated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — The incoming district attorney for Los Angeles County, Nathan Hochman, said in an interview with The Associated Press that his first task upon taking office is to eliminate the “pro-criminal blanket policies” of one of California’s most high-profile progressive prosecutors, George Gascón. That means bringing back gang-related sentencing enhancements,
Continue ReadingAssociated Press HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A state judge in Montana has heard arguments over policies that block transgender people from changing the sex designation on their birth certificates and driver’s licenses. District Court Judge Mike Menahan did not immediately rule after Thursday’s hearing on a request for a preliminary injunction to block the rules
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — California has seen its share of bears breaking into cars. But bears caught on camera entering luxury cars tipped off insurers that something wasn’t quite right. In what it has dubbed “Operation Bear Claw,” the California Insurance Department said four Los Angeles residents were arrested Wednesday, accused of defrauding three insurance
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WAUKEGAN, Ill. (AP) — Defense attorney allege that the man accused of killing seven people at a 2022 Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago was denied his constitutional right to legal representation while being interrogated by police hours after the shooting. Authorities have said Robert Crimo III confessed to the shooting that also
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Todd Blanche, an attorney who led the legal team that defended the Republican at his hush money criminal trial, to serve as the second-highest ranking Justice Department official. Trump made the announcement Thursday. A former federal prosecutor, Blanche has been a key figure on Trump’s
Continue ReadingNEW YORK (AP) — Two attorneys representing Rudy Giuliani in a lawsuit related to a $148 million defamation judgment against him have asked a judge to remove them from the case over disagreements with the former New York City mayor. The request in federal court comes a week after a judge ordered Giuliani to quickly
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was building up a following with his anti-vaccine nonprofit group, Children’s Health Defense, and became one of the world’s most influential spreaders of fear and distrust around vaccines. Kennedy has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism. He has also pushed other
Continue ReadingAP Sports Writer PHOENIX (AP) — A former Phoenix Suns employee is suing the team, alleging racial discrimination and unlawful retaliation that led to her termination, according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Arizona. Andrea Trischan, the team’s former manager of diversity, equity and inclusion, said in the lawsuit filed Wednesday that
Continue ReadingAssociated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Masses of residents fled a running battle Thursday between gang members and police in one of the few neighborhoods of Haiti’s capital that hadn’t already been fully taken over by gangs, as violence flared amid political turmoil. Families frantically packed mattresses and furniture into cars and carried their belongings
Continue ReadingNEW YORK (AP) — Advance Auto Parts is closing more than 500 stores and shedding another 200 independent locations. The announcement came as the struggling car parts retailer posted disappointing quarterly results. North Carolina-based Advance Auto says its reducing its U.S. footprint as part of wider turnaround efforts. It’s shuttering a total of 523 of
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