Associated Press ALEPPO, Syria (AP) — After more than a decade as a refugee in Turkey, Ahmed al-Kassem decided to bring his family back home to Syria only days after the fall of Bashar Assad. He wanted back to his old life and to introduce his children — all but one of whom were born
Continue ReadingAssociated Press/Report for America UVALDE, Texas (AP) — A Texas judge on Thursday refused to throw out criminal charges accusing the former Uvalde schools police chief of putting children at risk during the slow response to the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting, while a lawyer for his co-defendant said they want to move the upcoming
Continue ReadingAssociated Press AVIGNON, France (AP) — Gisèle Pelicot spoke of her “very difficult ordeal” after 51 men were convicted Thursday in the drugging-and-rape trial that riveted France and turned her into an icon, expressing support for other victims whose cases don’t get such attention and “whose stories remain untold.” “I want you to know that
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s acting leader has vetoed a spate of contentious bills sponsored by the main opposition party, deepening political strife in the wake of parliament’s impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol. Four of the six bills vetoed by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo are meant to introduce greater state
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MACAO (AP) — When Portugal returned its colony Macao to China in 1999, coffee shop owner Daniel Chao was a first grader living in a different world. Since then his sleepy hometown has transformed into a bustling gaming hub lined with glittering casinos. Its once quiet streets are now jammed with tourist buses.
Continue ReadingAssociated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A series of intense Israeli airstrikes shook Yemen’s rebel-held capital and a port city early Thursday and killed at least nine people, officials said, shortly after a Houthi missile targeted central Israel. Thursday’s strikes risk further escalating conflict with the Iranian-backed Houthis, whose attacks on the Red
Continue ReadingAssociated Press The Justice Department has unsealed a civil complaint alleging CVS Pharmacy Inc. and various subsidiaries filled unlawful prescriptions in violation of the federal Controlled Substances Act. Wednesday’s complaint also alleges CVS sought reimbursement from federal health care programs for unlawful prescriptions in violation of the False Claims Act. CVS is the largest pharmacy
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin judge has temporarily put on hold his recent ruling that restored collective bargaining rights teachers and most other public workers lost under a controversial 2011 state law. The law sparked weeks of protests that year over union rights and effectively ended the ability of most public employees
Continue ReadingNEW YORK (AP) — As Donald Trump fights to overturn his hush money criminal conviction, the one New York Democrat with authority to grant him a pardon signaled that she would need to see some remorse from the president-elect first. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was asked Wednesday if she would consider pardoning Trump, after
Continue ReadingHINES, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota officials this month went to a purported rescue facility to remove more than 250 animals living in crates caked with excrement. They found a pile of ashes and animal bones. Only 70 animals escaped alive. The two owners have been charged with 10 counts of felony animal torture. The shelter
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s real has fallen to its weakest level against the dollar since the currency was introduced in 1994, undercut by investors’ frustration with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s efforts to rein in government spending. A bill backed by Lula that aims to slash $11 billion in government spending
Continue ReadingAssociated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A trailing candidate in a very close election last month for the North Carolina Supreme Court has asked that court to get involved legally in his race. Jefferson Griffin is a Republican member of the state Court of Appeals who trails Democratic Associate Justice Allison Riggs by about 730
Continue ReadingAssociated Press TORONTO (AP) — Alberta’s premier responded to President-elect Donald Trump’s trolling of Canada by saying the trade deficit with the country is due to billions of raw materials being sent south which creates trillions of wealth in America. Trump claims the United States “subsidizes” Canada and is threating a 25% tariff on all
Continue ReadingAssociated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — North Korea demonstrated this year that it could produce ballistic missiles and supply them to Russia for use against Ukraine in a matter of months. That’s according to the head of a research organization that traces weapons used in the war. Jonah Leff told the U.N. Security Council on
Continue ReadingHONOLULU (AP) — Authorities say a small cargo plane on a training flight crashed into a vacant building shortly after taking off from Honolulu’s airport and burst into flames, killing the two people on board. The Federal Aviation Administration says Kamaka Air Flight 689 crashed into the building near the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ATLANTA (AP) — For more than a decade, farmers in parts of southwest Georgia haven’t been able to drill new irrigation wells to the Floridian aquifer. That’s because Georgia put a halt to farmers drilling new wells or taking additional water from streams and lakes in 2012. Change is coming, though. Gov. Brian
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A New York federal judge has ordered Rudy Giuliani to appear in court in early January to face claims that he should be held in contempt for failing to turn over assets to two Georgia election poll workers who won a libel case against him. Judge Lewis J. Liman
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump delivered a likely death blow to bipartisan congressional budget negotiations on Wednesday, rejecting the measure as full of giveaways to Democrats after billionaire ally Elon Musk whipped up outrage toward the bill and cheered on Republican lawmakers who announced their opposition. Trump’s joint statement with Vice President-elect
Continue ReadingAssociated Press LONDON (AP) — Timothée Chalamet and Saoirse Ronan may be juggling multiple releases and busy schedules, but the bright young stars managed to reunite on Wednesday in London for a conversation at the British Film Institute. The former co-stars met on Greta Gerwig’s 2017 high school film “Lady Bird” and were paired up
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs is calling for legislators to repeal the state law that requires an annual abortion report, saying that it infringes on patients’ privacy, which echoes other Democratic officials’ push to reduce or eliminate such requirements. “The government has no place in surveilling Arizonans’ medical decision-making or tracking their health history,”
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