Top General News
Antivirus pioneer John McAfee found dead in Spanish prison
MADRID (AP) — John McAfee, the creator of McAfee antivirus software, was found dead in his jail cell near Barcelona in an apparent suicide Wednesday, hours after a Spanish court approved his extradition to the United States to face tax charges punishable by decades in prison, authorities...
Biden targets law-breaking gun dealers in anti-crime plan
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden announced new efforts Wednesday to stem a rising national tide of violent crime, declaring the federal government is “taking on the bad actors doing bad things to our communities.” But questions persist about how effective the efforts can be in what...
No jail time in 1st riot sentence; Oath Keeper pleads guilty
An Indiana woman on Wednesday became the first defendant to be sentenced in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and avoided time behind bars, while a member of the Oath Keepers extremist group pleaded guilty in a conspiracy case and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in a major step...
Justices rule for student in 'cursing cheerleader' case
WASHINGTON (AP) — In the case of the cursing cheerleader, the Supreme Court notched a victory for the free speech rights of students Wednesday, siding with a high school student whose vulgar social media post got her kicked off the junior varsity squad. The court voted...
Border Patrol chief, who supported wall, is leaving job
CALEXICO, Calif. (AP) — The chief of the Border Patrol said Wednesday he was leaving his job after less than two years in a position that lies in the crosshairs of polarizing political debate. Rodney Scott wrote to agents that he will be reassigned. ...
Witnesses: Airstrike in Ethiopia's Tigray kills more than 50
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — An airstrike hit a busy market in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray village of Togoga on Tuesday and killed at least 51 people, according to health workers who said soldiers blocked medical teams from traveling to the scene. An official with Tigray's...
High court limits when police can enter home without warrant
WASHINGTON (AP) — Adding to the country's ongoing discussion of the extent of police powers, the Supreme Court on Wednesday put limits on when police officers pursuing a fleeing suspect can enter a home without a warrant. The high court ruled that when officers are...
Britney Spears asks judge to free her from conservatorship
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Britney Spears asked a judge Wednesday to end the court conservatorship that has controlled her life and money since 2008. The dramatic request at a Los Angeles hearing came with her first words in open court in the conservatorship during its 13-year...
Unvaccinated Missourians fuel COVID: 'We will be the canary'
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — As the U.S. emerges from the COVID-19 crisis, Missouri is becoming a cautionary tale for the rest of the country: It is seeing an alarming rise in cases because of a combination of the fast-spreading delta variant and stubborn resistance among many people to getting...
Brazil's environment minister resigns amid criticism, probes
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian Environment Minister Ricardo Salles announced his resignation Wednesday, giving up his post amid sharp criticism of his tenure and two investigations into his actions involving allegedly illegal timber operations. The move comes as talks...
Latest General News
Indigenous protest Brazil bill that could weaken land claims
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Hundreds of Indigenous people gathered outside Brazil's Congress on Wednesday to push for rejection of a bill that could loosen protections for their lands — a proposal that has already prompted clashes with police. Indigenous groups have been...
Heller appears at GOP events while weighing run for governor
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, a Republican who lost his reelection in 2018, is testing out a potential run for Nevada governor next year, speaking to rural Republicans at two events this month alongside announced candidates. Heller, who had a...
Army Corps plans extensive review of Great Lakes tunnel plan
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Wednesday it would conduct an extensive review of Enbridge Energy's plan to build an oil pipeline tunnel beneath a Great Lakes channel in Michigan, which could significantly delay the project. The tunnel...
Woman, 20, accused of soliciting teens to kill ex's new man
COVINGTON, La. (AP) — A 20-year-old Louisiana woman is accused of trying to get four teenagers to kill her former girlfriend’s boyfriend, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office said Wednesday. A charge of soliciting murder was added on Monday to lesser charges...
N. Carolina bill ending extra $300 benefits heads to Cooper
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina would end offering supplemental benefits from the federal government to the state's unemployed in roughly a month under legislation finalized Wednesday by Republicans in charge of the General Assembly. But House and Senate Democrats...
30 years for man who used child to make sexual abuse videos
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — A Coos Bay man has been sentenced to three decades in federal prison after he admitted to using a 3-year-old child to make videos of sexual abuse and disseminated them online. Keith James Atherton, 33, pleaded guilty to using a minor to produce a...
Man gets year in prison for buying endangered animal parts
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for buying parts of dead endangered animals. Steven Phillip Griffin II, 36, was sentenced last week in Tampa federal court, according to court records. He pleaded guilty in...
DA: Probe into deadly drug raid ends with 2 more indictments
HOUSTON (AP) — A long-running corruption probe sparked by a 2019 Houston police drug raid in which a couple was killed has ended with new indictments against two officers already charged in the case, authorities announced Wednesday. Former Officer Gerald Goines and...
Ants that kill seabirds eradicated from Pacific atoll
HONOLULU (AP) — An invasive species known as the yellow crazy ant has been eradicated from a remote U.S. atoll in the Pacific. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday that the ants have been successfully removed from Johnston Atoll National Wildlife...
Experts: Benefits of COVID vaccine outweigh small heart risk
NEW YORK (AP) — Federal officials said Wednesday they plan to strengthen cautions about a rare side effect of some COVID-19 vaccines — chest pain and heart inflammation, mostly among teenagers and young adults. But in an unusual joint statement, top U.S. government...
