Top General News
House on track to raise debt ceiling and avert default, with Biden and McCarthy confident of passage
WASHINGTON (AP) — To avert a dangerous U.S. default, the House was heading toward approval of a debt ceiling and budget cuts package late Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy assembled a bipartisan coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans against fierce conservative...
‘That ‘70s Show’ star Danny Masterson found guilty of 2 rape counts, is led from court in handcuffs
LOS ANGELES (AP) — “That '70s Show” star Danny Masterson was led out in handcuffs from a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday and could get 30 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty on two of three counts of rape at his second trial, in which the Church of Scientology played a...
Alex Murdaugh pleads not guilty — for now — to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Alex Murdaugh was arraigned Wednesday on federal money laundering and wire fraud charges for indictments saying he stole money from his clients, and although he pleaded not guilty for now, his lawyer said that might change soon. Murdaugh is already serving a...
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs says in lawsuit that spirits giant Diageo neglected his vodka and tequila brands
Rapper, producer and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs sued Diageo Wednesday, saying the spirits company didn’t make promised investments in his vodka and tequila brands and treated them as inferior “urban” products. The lawsuit, filed with the New York Supreme Court in...
Beloved New York swan babies rescued after mother was eaten by family, police say
The village of Manlius in upstate New York is mourning the loss of Faye, a swan who was stolen from the town's pond over the weekend along with her four cygnets. The cygnets, or baby swans, were recovered, but officials say the mama swan was eaten. “The mother swan was consumed,”...
Earth is 'really quite sick now' and in danger zone in nearly all ecological ways, study says
Earth has pushed past seven out of eight scientifically established safety limits and into “the danger zone,” not just for an overheating planet that's losing its natural areas, but for the well-being of people living on it, according to a new study. The study looks not just at...
Nikki Haley's husband to deploy with National Guard to Africa as she seeks 2024 GOP nomination
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Nikki Haley's husband will soon begin a yearlong deployment with the South Carolina Army National Guard to Africa, a mission that will encompass most of the remainder of his wife's campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. A formal deployment...
Iowa judge orders continued probation for teen sex trafficking victim who killed her alleged abuser
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A teenage sex trafficking victim who fatally stabbed the man she accused of abusing her was resentenced Wednesday to probation, telling an Iowa judge that she now has a support system to help keep her on track. Prosecutors agreed that Pieper Lewis should...
'Ted Lasso' finale proved its whole point — that those who are stuck can overcome (SPOILERS)
NEW YORK (AP) — Roy Kent cries. Nate Shelley apologizes. Rebecca Welton lets her anger go. Trent Crimm finishes his book. Keeley Jones embraces her strength. And the kind-to-a-fault but often lost Ted Lasso finally — after three seasons, but arguably after nearly a lifetime — figures out...
Police in Atlanta arrest 3 behind bail fund supporting protests against police training complex
ATLANTA (AP) — Police on Wednesday arrested three Atlanta organizers who have been aiding protesters against the city's proposed police and fire training center, striking at the structure that supports the fight against what opponents derisively call “Cop City.” The Georgia...
Latest General News
4 children die in Memphis apartment fire; father detained
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A fire in a South Memphis neighborhood killed four children Wednesday afternoon, and police detained their father, authorities said. The blaze erupted shortly before 3 p.m. at a two-story apartment building in the Washington Heights area. It took around 50...
Adult filmmakers ask judge to delay Utah law requiring porn sites verify user ages
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Attorneys representing adult entertainers, erotica authors and sex educators on Wednesday asked a judge to put on hold a Utah law requiring porn and other adult websites verify user ages. The Free Speech Coalition and its co-plaintiffs argued the new state law...
House on track to raise debt ceiling and avert default, with Biden and McCarthy confident of passage
WASHINGTON (AP) — To avert a dangerous U.S. default, the House was heading toward approval of a debt ceiling and budget cuts package late Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy assembled a bipartisan coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans against fierce conservative...
North Korean leader's sister slams US for criticizing failed satellite launch
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday accused the United States of “gangster-like” hypocrisy for criticizing her country’s failed launch of a military spy satellite and insisted that the North will follow with a successful launch soon....
Limits on politics, race discussion in N. Carolina gov't worker hiring, training advance
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina government personnel laws would prohibit job applicants from being forced to opine about politics and culture to get hired and forbid employee trainers from promoting certain concepts in Republican legislation getting close to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's desk....
Bolivian government: Bankrupt bank trustee died by suicide, no foul play detected
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — The trustee of a bankrupt bank in Bolivia who died after falling from the 15th floor of an office building killed himself, a forensic investigation concluded Wednesday, casting new doubts on a case that has gripped Bolivia amid accusations of a cover up and as the country...
Nikki Haley's husband to deploy with National Guard to Africa as she seeks 2024 GOP nomination
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Nikki Haley's husband will soon begin a yearlong deployment with the South Carolina Army National Guard to Africa, a mission that will encompass most of the remainder of his wife's campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. A formal deployment...
Former 'Family Feud' contestant Timothy Bliefnick guilty in wife's slaying
QUINCY, Ill. (AP) — A jury Wednesday convicted a former contestant on the television game show “Family Feud” of first-degree murder and home invasion in the slaying of his estranged wife in western Illinois. Timothy Bliefnick, 40, was found guilty in the Feb. 23 shooting death...
California advances fentanyl bills focused on prevention, increased penalties
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers have advanced more than a dozen bills aiming to address the fentanyl crisis, including some that would impose harsher prison sentences for dealers, ahead of a critical deadline this week. Legislators in the Assembly and Senate debated...
Portland mulls ban on daytime camping amid sharp rise in homelessness
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — City Council members in Portland were considering on Wednesday whether to ban homeless camping during daytime hours in most public places, a move that aims to bring the city into compliance with a new state law and appease the growing number of residents frustrated by a...
