Associated Press A judge has struck down a state law that made it easier for New Yorkers to sue over electoral divisions and voting rules that weakened the political voice of minority groups, saying its special protections based on race and ethnicity are unconstitutional. Orange County state court Justice Maria Vazquez-Doles struck down New York’s
Continue ReadingAP Music Writer NEW YORK (AP) — It looks like the 2025 Grammy Awards may be a different kind of award show. Beyoncé leads the nods with 11, bringing her career total to a record-breaking 99 nominations. There’s an incredible diversity of genres represented across the major categories, and women continue to succeed. So… who
Continue ReadingDUNCANNON, Pa. (AP) — Three people were killed and two others wounded when a suspect opened fire in an apartment, then led police on a high-speed chase through two Pennsylvania counties before an exchange of gunfire with state troopers. Lt. Col. George Bivens of Pennsylvania State Police said Friday that troopers shot and killed 22-year-old
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration on Friday proposed tighter restrictions on oil, solar and wind energy development across more than 6,500 square miles (17,000 square kilometers) of federal land in the U.S. West to protect a declining bird species. However, it is doubtful the changes would survive under President-elect Donald
Continue ReadingMEXICO CITY (AP) — There have been many horrifying videos posted online amid Mexico’s drug cartel violence, but few have been as profoundly shocking as that of a 14-year-old boy kidnapped in late October along with about a dozen of his family members. In the video, the skinny, shoeless boy is seen sitting against a
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BOSTON (AP) — Who gets to keep an engagement ring if a romance turns sour and the wedding is called off? That’s what the highest court in Massachusetts was asked to decide with a $70,000 ring at the center of the dispute. The court ultimately ruled Friday that an engagement ring must be
Continue ReadingRyan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman starring in “Deadpool & Wolverine” and the return of Apple TV+’s dark comedy “Bad Sisters” are some of this week’s new streaming entertainment releases. James Patterson’s psychologist detective Alex Cross finally has his own thriller TV show, “Cross” coming to Prime Video starring Aldis Hodge, and the Hulu original docuseries
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Susie Wiles’ reward for steering Donald Trump’s successful presidential campaign will be the toughest job in Washington. Trump chose her as his White House chief of staff, making her the first woman in the role. Long considered a burnout job in any administration, it’s particularly difficult under Trump, whose chaotic
Continue ReadingAssociated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Forty-three monkeys bred for medical research that escaped a compound in South Carolina have been spotted in the woods near the site and workers are using food to try to recapture them, authorities said Friday. The Rhesus macaques made a break for it Wednesday after an employee at the
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — As Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House, he will be accompanied by a crew of longtime friends and aides and newfound, splashy allies. The Republican president-elect has barely begun naming key figures in his administration, but he has kept a rotation of associates with him on and
Continue ReadingAP Auto Racing Writer AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) — A federal judge on Friday denied a motion by two NASCAR teams — one of them owned by Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan — to be recognized as chartered teams as they proceed with their antitrust lawsuit against the stock car series and chairman Jim France.
Continue ReadingLONDON (AP) — A father and daughter disabled by a suicide bomber who killed 22 people after an Ariana Grande concert in England in 2017 have been awarded $58,000 against a former television producer who claimed the tragedy was a hoax. Martin Hibbert and his daughter Eve won their harassment suit in the High Court
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case canceled any remaining court deadlines Friday while prosecutors assess the “the appropriate course going forward” in light of the Republican’s presidential victory. Special Counsel Jack Smith charged Trump last year with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BOSTON (AP) — Teachers in two Massachusetts school districts have gone on strike over pay, paid parental leave and other issues. Teachers in Beverly and Gloucester voted Thursday to authorize a strike and schools were closed Friday as teachers in both district hit the picket line. Strikes by teachers are rare in Massachusetts,
Continue ReadingCLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Good news for sea turtles along one Florida Gulf Coast beach — there were more nests counted this year. The bad news: Many of them were washed away by hurricanes. The Clearwater Marine Aquarium said Friday that 271 nests were documented this year along a 21-mile stretch of beach patrolled by
Continue ReadingAssociated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The Indian Ocean-island nation of Mauritius will hold a national election this weekend, when Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth seeks to win a second term as leader of a nation often praised as one of Africa’s success stories. Mauritius is recognized as one of the continent’s most stable democracies. Jugnauth, 62,
Continue ReadingBERLIN (AP) — German Eonomy Minister Robert Habeck says he hopes to become his Green Party’s candidate for chancellor in the coming election. The announcement Friday by Habeck follows the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition earlier this week. The Greens are a small party that lost popularity in recent elections and currently have
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Friday disclosed an Iranian murder-for-hire plot to kill Donald Trump, charging a man who said he had been tasked by a government official before this week’s election with planning the assassination of the Republican president-elect. Investigators were told of the plan to kill Trump by Farhad
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A former aide to New York City Mayor Eric Adams is discussing a possible plea deal with federal prosecutors following his arrest last month on charges of witness tampering and destroying evidence. In court papers filed this week, prosecutors said they were discussing a possible resolution of the case
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump lavished Christopher Wray with praise when he named him FBI director in 2017, introducing him as an “impeccably qualified individual” and a “model of integrity.” So much has changed in the seven years since. With Trump poised to reclaim the White House, Wray’s days as director may be
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