Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A pair of conservative groups are challenging a new Maine law that limits donations to political action committees that spend independently in candidate elections. The federal complaint filed on Friday was expected. Supporters of the recently approved referendum fully expected a legal showdown over caps on individual contributions to
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Taylor Swift has made a surprise stop at a Kansas City children’s hospital, shocking parents and patients alike as she laughed with them, posed for photos and exchanged gifts. The visit to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City on Thursday came one day before her 35th birthday and fresh off her Eras Tour.
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers urged a judge again Friday to throw out his hush money conviction, balking at the prosecution’s suggestion of preserving the verdict by treating the case the way some courts do when a defendant dies. They called the idea “absurd.” The Manhattan district attorney’s office is
Continue ReadingAP Technology Writer A 7-year-old rivalry between tech leaders Elon Musk and Sam Altman over who should run OpenAI and prevent an artificial intelligence “dictatorship” is now heading to a federal judge as Musk seeks to halt the ChatGPT maker’s ongoing shift into a for-profit company. Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued
Continue ReadingCNN Editorial Research (CNN) — Here’s a selected list of White House intrusions and security breaches. Facts The White House grounds include 18 acres of land. That and the adjacent 52-acre Ellipse to the south belong to President’s Park, a national park. The Secret Service is in charge of White House security. According to the
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The commander of a Miramar-based helicopter squadron has been fired nine months after a San Diego County helicopter crash that killed all five Marines aboard the aircraft. Lt. Col. Nicholas J. Harvey, who headed Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, was relieved of command last month “due to a loss of trust and confidence in his ability
Continue ReadingBy Evan Perez and Holmes Lybrand, CNN (CNN) — When President Donald Trump was searching for a new FBI Director after firing James Comey in 2017, he wanted among other things someone who looked the part of America’s top law enforcement official. Christopher Wray, a 50-year-old Yale-trained lawyer, was at the top of the list
Continue ReadingAP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paula Abdul and former “American Idol” producer Nigel Lythgoe have agreed to settle a lawsuit in which she alleged he sexually assaulted her in the early 2000s when she was a judge on the show. Abdul filed a notice of settlement of the case in Los Angeles Superior
Continue ReadingAP Pro Football Writer SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said linebacker De’Vondre Campbell won’t be part of the 49ers moving forward after he refused to enter a game after losing his starting job. Shanahan said the team is still working through the options of how to deal with Campbell, who
Continue ReadingSANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Coach Kyle Shanahan says De’Vondre Campbell won’t be part of the 49ers moving forward after he refused to enter a game.
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By John Fritze and Ella Nilsen, CNN (CNN) — The Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide whether religious affiliated entities like Catholic Charities should be exempt from state unemployment taxes, taking up its first major religion case in more than a year. The Catholic Charities Bureau in Wisconsin told the high court that the state’s
Continue ReadingAP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paula Abdul and former “American Idol” producer Nigel Lythgoe have agreed to settle a lawsuit in which she alleged he sexually assaulted her in the early 2000s when she was a judge on the show. Abdul filed a notice of settlement of the case in Los Angeles Superior
Continue ReadingLOS ANGELES (AP) — Paula Abdul and ‘American Idol’ producer Nigel Lythgoe settle her lawsuit alleging he sexually assaulted her.
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has agreed to take up a new religious rights case over whether a Catholic charitable organization must pay Wisconsin’s employment tax. The justices on Friday said they will review a divided state Supreme Court ruling that refused to grant an exemption to the Catholic Charities Bureau, based
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Texas has sued a New York doctor for prescribing abortion pills to a woman near Dallas, launching one of the first challenges in the U.S. to shield laws that Democrat-controlled states passed to protect physicians after Roe v. Wade was overturned. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the lawsuit on Thursday in Collin
Continue ReadingBOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian authorities say they have arrested a suspected British drug trafficker they characterized as “invisible” due to the low-key lifestyle that they said allowed him to remain anonymous while working for a cartel. Authorities on Friday announced the arrest a day earlier of Christopher Neil, whom they accused of working for
Continue ReadingAP Entertainment Writer Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek are reuniting for a new four-episode run of “Malcolm in the Middle” for Disney+ — 25 years after the beloved sitcom first launched. The show ran for seven seasons starting in 2000 and was hailed for looking at ordinary life through the eyes of an
Continue ReadingAP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — How many roads must a man walk down to play Bob Dylan? Quite a few, at least, if you’re Timothée Chalamet. Off and on for some six years, Chalamet has been obsessively working toward his performance in “A Complete Unknown.” He has visited Dylan’s childhood home, learned how
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Three African leaders seeking to head the African Union have detailed their plans for regional security amid conflicts and political coups while strongly advocating for inter-Africa trade. The race for chairperson debate was held Friday in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. Kenya’s Raila Odinga, Djibouti’s Mahamoud Ali Youssouf and Madagascar’s
Continue ReadingAssociated Press TOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) — Gov. Phil Murphy has asked the Biden administration to put more resources into an investigation of mysterious drone sightings that have been reported in New Jersey and nearby states. Murphy, a Democrat, made the request in a letter Thursday, noting that state and local law enforcement remain “hamstrung”
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