By HAVEN DALEY and OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — More than 80 years ago, a beautiful butterfly called Xerces Blue that once fluttered among San Francisco’s coastal dunes went extinct as stately homes, museums and parks ate up its habitat, marking the first butterfly species in the United States to disappear
Continue ReadingBy HAVEN DALEY and OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — More than 80 years ago, a beautiful butterfly called Xerces Blue that once fluttered among San Francisco’s coastal dunes went extinct as stately homes, museums and parks ate up its habitat, marking the first butterfly species in the United States to disappear
Continue ReadingBUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The remains of a 12-year-old boy who went missing in Buffalo in 2020 have been found inside a house in the city. Police are investigating the death as a homicide. Jaylen Griffin was last seen on Aug. 4, 2020, when he left his East Buffalo home for a nearby convenience store
Continue ReadingBy FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — On this Tax Day, refunds are looking a bit bigger for taxpayers. According to the latest IRS statistics, the average income tax refund so far this season is $3,011, up $123 from last year. Two out of three taxpayers expect to receive a refund. The IRS is
Continue ReadingCNN By Andrew McNicol and Hassan Tayir, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — Chinese runner He Jie’s victory Sunday in the Beijing Half Marathon is facing a probe after his win was called into question by Chinese internet users because a trio of African runners appeared to deliberately slow down to let him win. A video
Continue ReadingBy Michael Williams, CNN Washington (CNN) — President Joe Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden earned $619,976 in 2023, according to their joint tax return released by the White House on Monday – the deadline date for Americans to file their taxes. The White House also released the return for Vice President Kamala Harris
Continue ReadingBy MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Patients suffering from pain have limited options when it comes to medication. For decades, the only two choices have been over-the-counter medicines like Tylenol or powerful prescription opioids. Prescriptions for opioids have plummeted over the last decade as doctors have become more aware of their risks.
Continue ReadingBy The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The first day of Donald Trump ‘s historic hush money trial ended Monday after hours of pretrial motions and an initial jury selection process that saw dozens of prospective jurors excused after they said they could not be fair or impartial. The court ultimately adjourned without any
Continue ReadingBy DARREN SANDS Associated Press A search committee previously sued for gender discrimination over its hiring process has announced its pick for the next senior pastor of a prominent New York City congregation considered by some to be the flagship of the Black church in America. Candidate Kevin R. Johnson, founding pastor of Dare to
Continue ReadingWASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is allowing Idaho to enforce its ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth while lawsuits over the law proceed, reversing lower courts. The justices’ order Monday allows the state to put in a place a 2023 law that subjects physicians to up to 10 years in prison if they
Continue ReadingBy John Fritze and Devan Cole, CNN (CNN) — The Supreme Court on Monday allowed Idaho officials to temporarily enforce a strict statewide ban on gender-affirming care for most minors, in one of the first such cases to reach the nation’s highest court. In an emergency request filed in February, Idaho asked the justices to
Continue ReadingBy DAVID SHARP Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine is going to become the latest to join a multistate effort to elect the president by popular vote with the governor’s announcement that she’ll let the proposal become law without her signature. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said she finds merits in arguments made for and
Continue ReadingBy SEAN MURPHY and HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Authorities have confirmed the deaths of two Kansas women who went missing on a trip to pick up children for a birthday party. Two bodies were recovered in rural Oklahoma, a day after four people were charged with murder and kidnapping. Authorities say
Continue ReadingMANSFIELD, Ohio (AP) — Jury selection has started in the retrial of a former corrections officer charged in the death of an inmate at a county jail in northern Ohio. Mark Cooper faces a reckless homicide charge and two counts of involuntary manslaughter. The charges stem from Cooper’s alleged role in the September 2019 death
Continue ReadingBy Jeremy Herb, Kara Scannell and Kaanita Iyer, CNN (CNN) — The first criminal trial of former President Donald Trump is here. The opening day of the first criminal trial of a former US president began Monday, hitting home the reality that the presumptive Republican nominee for president will be sitting in a Manhattan courtroom as
Continue ReadingBy DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer Chiefs coach Andy Reid says wide receiver Rashee Rice will participate in the team’s voluntary offseason program beginning this week. Rice is facing one count of aggravated assault, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury and six counts of collision involving injury as the result of a sports
Continue ReadingBy STEPHEN GROVES and LISA MASCARO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson is leaving uncertain his plan for advancing wartime aid for Ukraine. It put the future of the funding in doubt as lawmakers returned to Washington on Monday for a crucial week of foreign policy work. Iran’s missile and drone strike
Continue ReadingBy JENNIFER PELTZ, MICHAEL R. SISAK and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The historic hush-money trial of Donald Trump got underway Monday with the arduous process of selecting a jury to hear the case charging the former president with falsifying business records in order to stifle stories about his sex life. The
Continue ReadingBy HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Four members of a rural Iowa family have pleaded not guilty in the abduction and abuse of an 18-year-old relative who had allegedly showed up at a hospital so badly beaten that his brain was bleeding and so malnourished that he weighed just 70 pounds
Continue ReadingBy TRÂN NGUYỄN Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Paris Hilton joined California state lawmakers Monday to push for legislation aimed at cracking down on the industry that cares for troubled teens by requiring more transparency from youth treatment facilities. The bill supported by the Hilton Hotel heiress and media personality aims to pry open
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