Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s Interior Ministry says four Iraqi troops have been killed in an ambush by the extremist Islamic State group. Wednesday’s attack came days after the U.S. military announced that troops from its coalition against IS in Iraq and Syria will withdraw from Iraqi territory next year but maintain a presence
Continue ReadingShares of Humana have tumbled after the health insurer said a Medicare Advantage quality rating drop will hurt future bonus payments the company receives. The insurer said the share of its customers currently enrolled in plans rated four stars or higher for 2025 is down to 25% from 94% this year. Humana said the rating
Continue ReadingAssociated Press HONOLULU (AP) — The wildfire that killed at least 102 people on Maui last year erupted from an earlier brushfire, sparked by downed power lines, that firefighters believed they had extinguished, officials confirmed Wednesday as they presented their findings on the cause. The Aug. 8, 2023, blaze — the deadliest U.S. wildfire in
Continue ReadingAP Health Writer Hospitals and health care organizations in the Southeast largely stayed open and functioning during Hurricane Helene to provide essential care for their communities. But the massive system caused blackouts, wind damage, supply issues and flooding. Most hospitals used generators or backup systems to power their facilities. Providers, like their communities, are now
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Closing arguments are underway in the federal trial of three former Memphis police officers charged with violating Tyre Nichols’ civil rights in a fatal beating. Prosecutor Kathryn Gilbert told jurors Wednesday that officers wanted to punish him after he ran from a 2023 traffic stop and that they thought they could get
Continue ReadingCONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A Massachusetts couple have been indicted on suspicion of casting ballots in New Hampshire despite living outside the state. New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella announced last week that the two each face three felony counts of wrongful voting, The indictments accused them of voting multiple times in Concord despite living
Continue ReadingAP Film Writer Saoirse Ronan is having a big fall with two major films coming to theaters. First is “The Outrun,” an adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s memoir of alcoholism and recovery that she stars in and produced alongside her husband Jack Lowden. It opens in theaters Friday. Next is Steve McQueen’s highly anticipated “Blitz,” in
Continue ReadingAssociated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A federal court has rejected Alex Murdaugh’s request to throw out his 40-year sentence for stealing from clients and his law firm. The disgraced South Carolina lawyer said it was a decade longer than what prosecutors had recommended. The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal, saying
Continue ReadingCalMatters Tamara Evans found something fishy in the expenses filed by a San Diego contractor for the state’s police certification commission. Classes were reported as full to her employer, the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, even if they weren’t. Meeting room space was billed, but no rooms were actually rented. Sometimes, the number
Continue ReadingAP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The Jonathan Majors-starring bodybuilder drama “Magazine Dreams” has been acquired for theatrical release after it was dropped following Majors’ conviction for assaulting his ex-girlfriend. Briarcliff Entertainment has picked up distribution rights to the film, its chief executive, Tom Ortenberg confirmed Wednesday. Ortenberg said in an email that Briarcliff
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Some manufacturers and retailers are urging President Joe Biden to invoke a 1947 law as a way to suspend a strike by 45,000 dockworkers that has shut down 36 U.S. ports from Maine to Texas. At issue is Section 206 of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, better
Continue ReadingAssociated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Miller Moss is earning the respect of his Southern California teammates, one hit at a time. Moss has been sacked five times and taken plenty more big hits in two conference games for the No. 11 Trojans, something they would like to cut down on at Minnesota on Saturday.
Continue ReadingBALTIMORE (AP) — A man has pleaded guilty to strangling his cellmate to death in Baltimore’s jail two years ago. The plea entered Tuesday concludes the prosecution of a case that raised significant questions about operations in the detention center and the city’s backlogged court system. Thirty-five-year-old Gordon Staron was charged with first-degree murder in
Continue ReadingCalMatters Members of the coalition that’s been pushing to get the University of California to hire its undocumented students for campus jobs are now suing the university system, days after Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have made such employment a reality. The suit, filed Tuesday in the California Court of Appeals, argues
Continue ReadingAssociated Press HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Hurricane Helene dumped heavy rain on a mountainous region hundreds of miles away from the coast. Some residents who live in the Appalachian Mountains were surprised they faced such a severe threat from flooding — and climate change is making that threat worse. The landscape adds to the problem.
Continue ReadingAP Film Writer Javier Bardem was no longer comfortable being silent on Gaza. The Spanish actor spoke out about the Israeli-Hamas conflict upon accepting an award at the San Sebastian Film Festival last week. In his nuanced remarks, Bardem condemned the Oct. 7 attacks as well as the “massive punishment that the Palestinian population is
Continue ReadingAP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Reese Witherspoon’s latest literary news marks a new direction for the Oscar-winning actor, producer and founder of her own book club. Grand Central Publishing announced Wednesday that the “Legally Blonde” and “Big Little Lies” star is teaming with the bestselling thriller writer and Netflix producer-creator Harlan Coben on
Continue ReadingAP Sports Writer DALLAS (AP) — A giddy Eric Dickerson visited the SMU locker room after the Mustangs made their Atlantic Coast Conference debut with a thumping of defending league champion Florida State. Never mind that the Seminoles are in a shocking freefall since getting left out of the last four-team College Football Playoff with
Continue ReadingNEW YORK (AP) — Please disregard US–Theft-Diamond Ring Swap, published on Oct. 2, 2024, and datelined in NEW YORK. It is an older story that was retransmitted in error.
Continue ReadingROME (AP) — The Vatican bank has fired two employees on the grounds that their recent wedding violates a new ban on workplace marriages. The Institute for Religious Works said it took the “difficult decision” to fire the couple, who have three children, after neither one agreed to resign voluntarily to allow the other to
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