Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York City police are searching for a man accused of stealing a gold-plated rose from a Manhattan church memorial honoring the victims of 9/11. The metal flower had served as the centerpiece of a memorial at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, whose long-time pastor was killed
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House passed legislation that would give the Treasury Department unilateral authority to strip the tax-exempt status of nonprofits it claims support terrorism. It is a proposal that has alarmed civil liberties groups about how a second Trump presidency could use it to punish political opponents. The bill passed
Continue ReadingAP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lil Wayne, GloRilla and Camila Cabello are gearing up to make their presence felt in a festive concert series leading up to college football’s national championship game. The College Football Playoff announced Thursday that the hitmakers will headline the AT&T Playoff Playlist Live! starting Jan. 18 at the
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Did stand-up comedians help reelect Donald Trump? Not a joke, as outgoing President Joe Biden might say. Trump has been the butt of countless late-night monologues and “Saturday Night Live” sketches for the better part of a decade, as much of Hollywood tracked the highs and lows of his political career with revulsion
Continue ReadingAP Airlines Writer The Biden administration is on its way out of power, but that’s not ending the arguments between the administration and airlines that think they are being over-regulated. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg snapped back on Thursday at criticism from airline CEOs. Buttigieg says the regulations his department has imposed, like automatic cash refunds
Continue ReadingAP 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 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 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 SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction on charges that he staged a racist and homophobic attack against himself in downtown Chicago in 2019 and lied to police was overturned Thursday over prosecutorial issues in an Illinois Supreme Court decision that did not address his claim of innocence. The state’s highest court
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 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
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 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 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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