THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch beach volleyball player convicted and imprisoned eight years ago for raping an underage girl in Britain has qualified for the Paris Olympics. Steven van de Velde and partner Matthew Immers were one of two men’s teams from the Netherlands that qualified for the beach volleyball competition. Van de
Continue ReadingALTON, Ill. (AP) — A giant sinkhole has swallowed the center of a soccer complex that was built over an operating limestone mine in southern Illinois, taking down a large light pole and leaving a gaping chasm where squads of kids often play. But no injuries were reported after the sinkhole opened Wednesday morning. “No
Continue ReadingLANCASTER, Calif. (AP) — Two people were killed and five others injured during a gang-related shooting in Southern California’s high desert, authorities said. Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene in the city of Lancaster, about 42 miles (68 kilometers) north of downtown Los Angeles, shortly before 6 p.m. Wednesday for a
Continue ReadingLANCASTER, Calif. (AP) — Two people were killed and five others injured during a gang-related shooting in Southern California’s high desert, authorities said. Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene in the city of Lancaster, about 42 miles (68 kilometers) north of downtown Los Angeles, shortly before 6 p.m. Wednesday for a
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal judge presiding over the classified documents case of former President Donald Trump has granted his request for a hearing on whether prosecutors were permitted to improperly breach attorney-client privilege when they obtained crucial evidence from one of his ex-lawyers. The order from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ensures
Continue ReadingAssociated Press It could be another year or more before a man accused in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students goes to trial. A judge and attorneys discussed in court Thursday starting Bryan Kohberger’s trial in sometime in June 2025, nearly three years after the killings shocked the small university town. The
Continue ReadingBy Eric Levenson, CNN (CNN) — The closely watched murder trial of Karen Read is nearing its end as Massachusetts jurors deliberate her fate while her supporters rally in her defense outside court. So how did we get here? Read, 45, has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and
Continue ReadingCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio lawmakers are advancing a ban on transgender students using bathrooms that fit their gender identity. The late-night state House vote took place on Wednesday, just before legislators left Columbus for the summer. The Republican-backed proposal was sent to the state Senate for its consideration. The bill pertains to public K-12
Continue ReadingAssociated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko has reshuffled his top officials in what observers see as part of maneuvering ahead of the 2025 presidential election. Lukashenko, who has ruled the country of 9.5 million with an iron hand for three decades and declared his intention to seek a seventh term
Continue ReadingAssociated Press McALESTER, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma executed a man Thursday who was convicted of kidnapping, raping and killing his 7-year-old former stepdaughter in 1984. Richard Rojem, 66, received a three-drug lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester and was declared dead at 10:16 a.m., prison officials said. Rojem, who had been in
Continue ReadingAP Technology Writers LOS ANGELES (AP) — Another news organization is suing ChatGPT maker OpenAI and its business partner Microsoft for alleged copyright infringement. The Center for Investigative Reporting, which produces Mother Jones and Reveal, said it filed a lawsuit Thursday in a New York federal court where it joins copyright infringement cases brought by
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer A dozen social and racial justice groups said Thursday that the federal law requiring TikTok’s parent company to sell the platform, or face a ban, would disrupt a vehicle that many minority communities use to form connections online and advocate for causes. The legal brief was submitted to a federal court in
Continue ReadingAP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — When Alessandra Ferri, one of the world’s most celebrated dramatic ballerinas, takes the stage Friday at the Metropolitan Opera House to channel Virginia Woolf, logic dictates it will be her last dance appearance. It’s not merely that she’s 61 — albeit dancing exquisitely — and sharing a stage
Continue ReadingAssociated Press The Supreme Court has rejected a settlement for OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and members of the Sackler family who own the company. Some advocates blame the marketing efforts behind the powerful prescription painkiller for opening the doors to an opioid epidemic that has only deepened in recent years. Sackler family members have stopped
Continue ReadingCNN By John Fritze and Devan Cole, CNN Washington (CNN) — The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a controversial settlement that would have sent billions of dollars to treatment programs and victims of the nation’s opioid epidemic but also shielded the Sackler family from future lawsuits despite the fact that it made its fortune selling
Continue ReadingAssociated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan lawmakers have passed an $83 billion budget for the next fiscal year. Lawmakers disagreed on education funding, stalling the budget passage until the early hours Thursday. School groups had warned that an original proposal would lead to layoffs. The final budget will provide free community college for all
Continue ReadingLONDON (AP) — One person has died in the United Kingdom from an E. coli outbreak that sickened at least 275 people during the past month. The U.K. Health Security Agency said Thursday that the outbreak that led to 122 people being hospitalized was linked to lettuce in pre-packaged sandwiches. The agency says two E.
Continue ReadingCalMatters The largest affordable housing bond in California history is officially headed to the November ballot — just not for all Californians. On Wednesday, commissioners of the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority — a first-of-its-kind regional agency with the ability to borrow and spend taxpayer dollars — agreed to ask voters across the nine counties
Continue ReadingAP Basketball Writer Kawhi Leonard, Tyrese Haliburton and Joel Embiid are all good to go for the start of USA Basketball’s men’s national team training camp in Las Vegas next week, the first step toward what the Americans hope is a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal. Leonard missed 12 of the Los Angeles Clippers’ final
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — Alexandra Mistekevic’s apartment was so hot, despite having air conditioning, that her oldest son couldn’t even sleep or play in his bedroom. The Nashville, Tennessee family could only keep the living room and kitchen cool enough to get through multiple days of upper 90 degree days. But she found
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