By JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press MIAMI, Florida (AP) — A veteran prosecutor in Miami has quit after a judge found that state investigators manipulated witnesses by providing conjugal visits and other favors to jailhouse informants in exchange for their testimony in a high-profile death penalty case against a local gang leader. Michael Von Zamft has
Continue ReadingBy AUDREY McAVOY Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — Local officials in Hawaii plan to open an office that will speed up Maui County’s notoriously slow processing of building permits to help the town of Lahaina to recover from last year’s deadly wildfire. County officials told a community meeting in Lahaina that a County Expedited Permitting
Continue ReadingINDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Top-ranked Iga Swiatek moved on at the BNP Paribas Open with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over power-hitting Danielle Collins on Friday. Swiatek improved to 15-2 this season and earned her fifth straight win over the 30-year-old American, who previously announced that she intends to retire after the season. The two
Continue ReadingBy GRAHAM LEE BREWER Associated Press Hard-line Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia wore a T-shirt to Thursday night’s State of the Union address that carried a seemingly simple message: Say Her Name. She borrowed the phrase from Black racial justice activists who have been calling attention to the extrajudicial deaths of Black women
Continue ReadingBy FRANK BAJAK AP Technology Writer BOSTON (AP) — Microsoft says it is still trying to evict the elite Russian government hackers who broke into the email of senior company executives in November and have since been trying to breach customer networks with stolen access data. In a blog and a regulatory filing Friday, Microsoft
Continue ReadingBy Sean Lyngaas, CNN (CNN) — A federal agency in charge of cybersecurity discovered it was hacked last month and was forced to take two key computer systems offline, an agency spokesperson and US officials familiar with the incident told CNN. One of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s affected systems runs a program
Continue ReadingBy GREG BEACHAM AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles FC has signed prolific goal-scorer Denis Bouanga to a two-year contract extension through the 2027 season. The deal announced Friday, which includes a team option for 2028, allows LAFC to move forward with the centerpiece of its attack secured for at least four
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By Clare Foran, Ted Barrett, Morgan Rimmer and Kristin Wilson, CNN The Senate passed a package of six government funding bills Friday evening just hours ahead of a shutdown deadline after lawmakers raced the clock to get the measure across the finish line. The legislation now advances to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.
Continue ReadingBy Justin Gamble, CNN (CNN) — The Rainbow Youth Project USA, a national organization devoted to LGBTQ youth suicide prevention, saw a 238% increase in crisis calls from Oklahoma in the weeks since 16-year-old Nex Benedict died. Nex, who identified as nonbinary according to family, died on February 8, one day after they told their family that they and a transgender
Continue ReadingBRUCE SHIPKOWSKI TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey’s acting education commissioner has rejected an appeal from a high school that lost a state basketball tournament game when referees wrongly overturned a buzzer-beating basket, but the school is taking a final shot in court to have the decision changed. Manasquan school officials had asked Kevin Dehmer
Continue ReadingBy MATT O’BRIEN and HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writers OpenAI is reinstating CEO Sam Altman to its board of directors and said it has “full confidence” in his leadership after the conclusion of an outside investigation into the company’s turmoil. The ChatGPT maker tapped the law firm WilmerHale to look into what led the company
Continue ReadingBy KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Friday approved a $460 billion package of spending bills in time to meet a midnight deadline for avoiding a shutdown of many key federal agencies, a vote that gets lawmakers about halfway home in wrapping up their appropriations work for the 2024 budget year.
Continue ReadingBy NICK INGRAM and SUMMER BALLENTINE Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Celebrities, artists and tens of thousands of fans proud to call themselves nerds are converging in Kansas City for the Missouri city’s 25th annual Planet Comicon. Devotees ranging from Harry Potter lovers to furries can test niche trivia skills, compete in Pokémon
Continue ReadingBy GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — A federal judge on Friday rejected a challenge to a Washington state law that cleared the way for lawsuits against the gun industry in certain cases. The measure requires the industry to exercise reasonable controls in making, selling and marketing weapons, including steps to keep guns from
Continue ReadingGLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Mookie Betts is already switching spots in the infield for the Los Angeles Dodgers, moving to shortstop from second base. Los Angeles planned for the six-time Gold Glove and seven-time All-Star outfielder to be the regular second baseman but shifted him to shortstop for Friday night’s spring training game against Cincinnati.
Continue ReadingBy Priscilla Alvarez and Kaanita Iyer, CNN (CNN) — A federal judge in a surprising ruling has dismissed a Texas lawsuit against a Biden administration policy that allows migrants of certain nationalities to fly to the United States if they have US sponsors. The lawsuit focused on a parole program that permits migrants from Cuba,
Continue ReadingTHOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Former NFL defensive coordinator Sean Desai joined the Los Angeles Rams’ coaching staff as a senior assistant on Friday. The 40-year-old Desai was the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive coordinator last season, replacing Jonathan Gannon. Desai lost play-calling responsibilities to Matt Patricia last December during the Eagles’ late-season freefall, and he was
Continue ReadingBy Jessie Yeung and Yoonjung Seo, CNN Seoul, South Korea (CNN) — Chae-ran sets the plate of sliced oranges and dragon fruit on the floor, a few feet from the pile of bedding where she sleeps. At 35 years old she is starting over again, alone in a foreign country, without so much as a
Continue ReadingBy Jennifer Henderson, CNN (CNN) — Jackson Mahomes, the younger brother of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, was sentenced to six months of unsupervised probation on Thursday after pleading no contest to a simple battery charge, according to court records. “Jackson is thankful for the support of his family and friends during the last
Continue ReadingBy SEAN MURPHY Associated Press The former mayor of Uvalde, Texas, says he’s surprised a new investigative report cleared all city officers of wrongdoing in one of the deadliest classroom shootings in U.S. history. Former Mayor Don McLaughlin acknowledged Friday he hadn’t read the entire 180-page report. But he’s surprised the acting police chief on
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