By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un has joined his troops in training to operate newly developed battle tanks and called for bigger efforts to prepare for war. The North’s tank training was seen as a response to the annual 11-day South Korean-U.S. military drills
Continue ReadingIRVINE, Calif. (AP) — An explosion during an indoor training exercise Wednesday sent 16 members of Southern California’s Orange County Sheriff’s Department SWAT team to the hospital, with one person requiring surgery for a leg injury, the department said. Two others had superficial wounds while the remaining 13 had dizziness and ringing in their ears.
Continue ReadingBy RONALD BLUM Associated Press James Conlon will retire as music director of the Los Angeles Opera at the end of the 2025-26 season, ending a 20-year run that will have spanned half the company’s history. Conlon made the announcement Wednesday, five days before his 74th birthday. He will become conductor laureate in 2026-27 and
Continue ReadingBy RONALD BLUM Associated Press James Conlon will retire as music director of the Los Angeles Opera at the end of the 2025-26 season, ending a 20-year run that will have spanned half the company’s history. Conlon made the announcement Wednesday, five days before his 74th birthday. He will become conductor laureate in 2026-27 and
Continue ReadingLAS VEGAS (AP) — Dylan Andrews made seven 3-pointers and scored 31 points — both career-highs — to help No. 5 UCLA beat No. 12 Oregon State 67-57 on Wednesday in the first round of the Pac-12 Conference Tournament. UCLA (16-16) advances to play No. 4 seed Oregon in the quarterfinals on Thursday. The Bruins
Continue ReadingFLINT, Mich. (AP) — A federal judge has found the city of Flint, Michigan, in contempt for failing to comply with a court order that spelled out the steps it needed to take to finish replacing old lead pipes after Flint’s lead-contaminated water scandal. U.S. District Judge David Lawson wrote in Tuesday’s decision that he
Continue ReadingBy SCHUYLER DIXON AP Pro Football Writer DALLAS (AP) — A change of heart from Eric Kendricks has helped the Dallas Cowboys fill one of their biggest needs in free agency. The free agent linebacker has agreed to join the Cowboys after initially choosing the San Francisco 49ers, a person with knowledge of the deal
Continue ReadingBy JAMIE STENGLE Associated Press DALLAS (AP) — Confined to an iron lung after contracting polio as a child, Paul Alexander managed to train himself to breathe on his own for part of the day, earned a law degree, wrote a book about his life, built a big following on social media and inspired people
Continue ReadingBy MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The shakeup of Walt Disney World’s governing district more than a year after it was taken over by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees continued Wednesday with the departure of its board chairman who had been highly critical of Disney. Martin Garcia’s departure as chairman of the Central
Continue ReadingSAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Federal prosecutors charged a former rideshare driver in connection with an antisemitic attack on a passenger at San Francisco International Airport in 2023 that occurred weeks after the Hamas-led incursion into Israel on Oct. 7 that sparked the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. The 39-year-old man was arrested Wednesday and
Continue ReadingBy Cindy Von Quednow and Amy Simonson, CNN (CNN) — The death last month of a Oklahoma 10th grader the day after they told their family they were involved in a fight at school was determined to be a suicide, says an autopsy summary by the state medical examiner that was released Wednesday. Nex Benedict’s
Continue ReadingFLANDREAU, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota prosecutors will seek the death penalty for a Sioux Falls man charged in the death of a deputy who was struck while putting out spikes during a police chase. Joseph Gene Hoek pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and aggravated eluding Wednesday in the death of Moody County Chief
Continue ReadingHAMILTON, Mont. (AP) — A Utah man has died after being caught in an avalanche while backcountry skiing in western Montana. Ravalli County officials say 64-year-old David Macfarlane of Park City died Tuesday in the slide near Lost Trail Pass on the Montana-Idaho border. Sheriff-Coroner Steve Holton says Macfarlane was one of a group of
Continue ReadingSAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Federal prosecutors charged a former rideshare driver in connection with an antisemitic attack on a passenger at San Francisco International Airport in 2023 that occurred weeks after the Hamas-led incursion into Israel on Oct. 7 that sparked the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. The 39-year-old man was arrested Wednesday and
Continue ReadingBy FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe police say they have rescued dozens of children used as labor at a religious sect compound. Graves, including of infants whose deaths were not registered, were also found during a raid at the compound on the outskirts of the capital, Harare. Police arrested a “self-styled
Continue ReadingBy Nimi Princewill, CNN Abuja, Nigeria (CNN) — Gunmen who kidnapped at least 287 school children in Nigeria last Thursday have demanded a ransom of 1 billion naira ($621,848) and threatened to kill all of the students if their demands are not met, a member of the local community told CNN on Wednesday. “They called me
Continue ReadingBy Piper Hudspeth Blackburn and Dianne Gallagher, CNN (CNN) — Former US Rep. Mark Walker is ending his congressional comeback bid in North Carolina to join Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, warding off what could have been a competitive House primary runoff against an opponent backed by the former president. Former state health care lobbyist Addison
Continue ReadingSOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Patriarch Neophyte of Bulgaria, who was the first elected head of the Orthodox Church in the post-communist Balkan country, died at a hospital in Sofia. He was 78. The Orthodox Holy Synod said in a statement that the patriarch had been hospitalized for four months for lung ailments. The Holy Synod
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There is a heavy police scene after a burglary was reported at a residence in unincorporated Desert Hot Springs Wednesday afternoon. The burglary was first reported at around 1:22 p.m. at the Desert Valley Estates Mobile Home Park on the 17000 block of Mountain View Road, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to News Channel
Continue ReadingBy The Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Joel Scott had 18 points in Colorado State’s 72-62 victory against San Jose State on Wednesday night in the Mountain West Conference Tournament. Seventh-seeded Colorado State will play No. 2 seed Nevada on Thursday in the quarterfinals. Scott also added six rebounds for the Rams (23-9). Joe
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