By LISA MASCARO, FARNOUSH AMIRI and STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Having lost the first vote to become House speaker, Rep. Jim Jordan was losing ground Wednesday on a decisive second ballot that is testing whether the hard-edged ally of Donald Trump can win over detractors or if his bid for the gavel
Continue ReadingBy GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A veteran North Carolina trial lawyer has entered the Republican primary campaign for governor. Bill Graham of Salisbury competed unsuccessfully for governor in 2008 on the heels of an effort to lower the gasoline tax. Graham said Wednesday that he’s got the “resources, discipline and
Continue ReadingBy JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Dozens of activists who champion LGBTQ, indigenous peoples’ and reproductive rights or campaign against discrimination have turned their backs in a silent protest in Geneva. They’re protesting what they call insufficient U.S. government responses to their human rights concerns. The protesters led the demonstration as U.S. Ambassador
Continue ReadingMEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president says the leaders of Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti and Honduras will attend a summit on migration that Mexico will host Sunday. The four countries are among the biggest sources of migrants currently showing up at the U.S. border. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela,
Continue ReadingBy JOHN CARUCCI Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Connelly has sold more than 85 million books under nearly 40 titles, but there’s another distinction that makes him equally proud: His most famous protagonist, LAPD Det. Harry Bosch, has become the longest running character on streaming television. “I know the history of streaming is
Continue ReadingLAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Two men have pleaded guilty to charges related to a drive-by-shooting in central Florida that left 11 people wounded earlier this year. Federal authorities said Wednesday that Nicholas Hanson and Marcus Mobley have pleaded guilty to possessing ammunition and possessing a firearm and ammunition as convicted felons. They could be sentenced
Continue ReadingPARIS (AP) — Reporters Without Borders says a Taliban court in Afghanistan has released a French-Afghan journalist held for 284 days and cleared him of espionage and other charges. The press freedom group said it is now working to quickly reunite Mortaza Behboudi with his wife, Alexandra, in Paris. The group’s secretary general called the
Continue ReadingBy Oren Liebermann, CNN (CNN) — The US shot down three one-way attack drones targeting US forces in Iraq, according to the US military, as American embassies face protests in a number of Middle East countries because of the war in Gaza. In western Iraq, the US intercepted two drones, destroying one and damaging the
Continue ReadingBy SAMANTHA HENDRICKSON Associated Press/Report For America URBANA, Ohio (AP) — Rep. Jim Jordan, so far, has failed to get enough votes to become House Speaker but his fight for the coveted leadership role isn’t done — and the devotion of many constituents back in Ohio is unwavering. In Washington, Jordan has made a name for
Continue ReadingBy ABBY SEWELL, TARA COPP and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA BEIRUT (AP) — Two drones launched at a base hosting U.S. troops in western Iraq were intercepted Wednesday, a U.S. defense official said. Hours later, an Iraqi militia announced it had launched another drone attack on a second base. No injuries were reported in either incident. The
Continue ReadingBy JIM SALTER Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — A female Asian elephant at the St. Louis Zoo died shortly after her herd became agitated from a small dog running loose, zoo officials said. Rani (pronounced Rahn-ee) died Friday at age 27. The zoo announced her death on Tuesday. “We are absolutely devastated. We ask
Continue ReadingMILAN (AP) — Italy says it is suspending an open-border agreement with neighboring Slovenia, citing an increased threat of terrorism in Europe due to violence in the Middle East. Premier Giorgia Meloni’s far-right-led government says authorities in the northeastern border region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia identified 16,000 people who had entered Italy illegally across the Slovenian
Continue ReadingLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen is facing backlash after comments he made about the Chinese nationality of a reporter whose story cited environmental concerns at farms owned by the governor. Flatwater Free Press reporter Yanqi Xu wrote a story in September revealing that 16 of Pillen’s farms recorded nitrate levels at least
Continue ReadingBy Taylor Nicioli, CNN (CNN) — At first glance, the Herculaneum scrolls look unremarkable, like pieces of coal. After surviving the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, the nearly 2,000-year-old documents would crumble if anyone attempted to unroll them, and surviving pieces with writing were considered to be nearly illegible to the human eye —
Continue ReadingBy Caitlin Danaher, CNN London (CNN) — Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has been charged with a public order offense following her arrest for protesting outside this year’s Energy Intelligence Forum in London, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement Wednesday. The 20-year-old was charged with a failure to comply with a “condition imposed under
Continue ReadingBy Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Abu Dhabi, UAE (CNN) — Some of the United States’ closest Arab allies gave President Joe Biden the cold shoulder as he and his diplomats shuttled around the Middle East in an attempt to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from spiraling into a wider regional conflagration. Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority
Continue ReadingBy MICHELLE R. SMITH and ALI SWENSON Associated Press Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spent years using his famous name to disseminate false information about vaccines and other topics in a time when spreading conspiracy theories has become a powerful way to grow a constituency. An Associated Press examination of his work
Continue ReadingBy MICHELLE R. SMITH and ALI SWENSON Associated Press Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spent years using his famous name to disseminate false information about vaccines and other topics in a time when spreading conspiracy theories has become a powerful way to grow a constituency. An Associated Press examination of his work
Continue ReadingBy MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s nominee to be ambassador to Israel told senators Wednesday that he would “ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself” and would work with the U.S. ally to end the attacks by Hamas if he were confirmed. Jacob Lew, a treasury secretary
Continue ReadingBy KIM CHANDLER and SUDHIN THANAWALA Associated Press BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A U.S. judge says the chief suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway has admitted he killed her and disposed of her remains. The admission comes as part of a plea deal with prosecutors on extortion charges. Joran Van Der Sloot pleaded
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