Stories by Associated Press

Court Halts South Carolina Plan for Firing Squad Execution

Attorneys for the 57-year-old inmate had sought a stay, citing pending litigation in another court challenging the constitutionality of South Carolina’s execution methods, which also include the electric chair. 

Biden Launches $6B Effort to Save Distressed Nuclear Plants

A certification and bidding process opened Tuesday for a civil nuclear credit program that is intended to bail out financially distressed owners or operators of nuclear power reactors, the U.S. Department of Energy told The Associated Press exclusively, shortly before the official announcement. 

Biden Finalizes Rule Restoring Broad Environmental Review of Big Infrastructure Projects

A rule finalized Tuesday will restore key provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, a bedrock environmental law designed to ensure community safeguards during environmental reviews for a wide range of federal projects and decisions, the White House said.

Chicago Doctor Suggests New Names for Low-Grade Prostate Cancer

Cancer cells develop in nearly all prostates as men age, and most prostate cancers are harmless. About 34,000 Americans die from prostate cancer annually, but treating the disease can lead to sexual dysfunction and incontinence.

Florida Judge Voids US Mask Mandate for Planes, Other Travel

A federal judge in Florida struck down the national mask mandate covering airlines and other public transportation Monday, and the Biden administration said the rule would not be enforced while federal agencies decide how to respond to the judge’s order.

Zelenskyy: Russian Offensive in Eastern Ukraine Has Begun

Russia bombarded the western city of Lviv and numerous other targets across Ukraine on Monday in what appeared to be an intensified bid to grind down the country’s defenses while building up its own forces for a major ground offensive in the east.

Alex Jones’ Infowars Files for Bankruptcy Protection Amid Sandy Hook Defamation Lawsuits

The bankruptcy filing Sunday in Texas puts civil litigation on hold while the business reorganizes its finances. The filing came a week before a jury in Texas was set to begin considering how much money Jones, who has already lost the defamation lawsuits, should pay the families of Sandy Hook victims.

Rain Dampens the 1st White House Easter Egg Roll Since 2019

Undaunted by soggy skies, President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, kicked off the first White House Easter Egg Roll since before the coronavirus pandemic on Monday, welcoming some 30,000 kids and adults for the all-day event.

Clashes Erupt Again Near Flashpoint Jerusalem Holy Site

Israeli police on Sunday entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City to secure the way for Jewish visitors to the flashpoint holy site, fueling clashes that left 17 Palestinians wounded, according to Palestinian medical workers.

FDA Authorizes 1st Breath Test for COVID-19 Infection

The InspectIR COVID-19 Breathalyzer is about the size of a piece of carry-on luggage, the FDA said, and can be used in doctor’s offices, hospitals and mobile testing sites. 

Elon Musk Wants to Buy Twitter, Make it ‘Maximally Trusted’

Twitter Inc. said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that Elon Musk, currently the company’s biggest individual shareholder, has proposed buying the remaining shares of Twitter that he doesn’t already own at $54.20 per share, an offer worth more than $43 billion.

Ohio Man Blaming Trump’s ‘Orders’ for Riot Actions Found Guilty

Taking less then three hours, a federal jury also found Dustin Byron Thompson, 38, guilty of five other offenses including stealing a coat rack from an office inside the Capitol during the riot on Jan. 6 of last year. The maximum sentence for the obstruction count, the lone felony, is 20 years imprisonment.

Thinking Small: Biden Scrounges for Ways to Break Through

Six months out from the midterm elections, President Joe Biden’s team is betting that smaller, discrete announcements can break through to voters better than talk of transformational plans that are so far only aspirational.

Biden Waiving Ethanol Rule in Bid to Lower Gasoline Prices

Most gasoline sold in the U.S. is blended with 10% ethanol. The Environmental Protection Agency will issue an emergency waiver to allow widespread sale of 15% ethanol blend that is usually prohibited between June 1 and Sept. 15 because of concerns that it adds to smog in high temperatures.

CDC Extends Travel Mask Requirement to May 3 as COVID Rises

The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it is extending the nationwide mask requirement for public transit for 15 days as it monitors an uptick in COVID-19 cases.

EXPLAINER: Why US Inflation Is so High, and When It May Ease

Back in December 2020, the Fed’s policymakers had forecast that consumer inflation would stay below their 2% annual target and end 2021 at around 1.8%.Yet after having been merely an afterthought for decades, high inflation reasserted itself last year with brutal speed.

What Do We Know About BA.2, the ‘Stealth Omicron?’

Since it was first identified in November, BA.2 has been spreading around the globe, driving new surges in parts of Asia and Europe. It’s now the dominant coronavirus version in the U.S. and more than five dozen other countries.

With Aid to Spend, Schools Look for Students Who Need Help

Many schools saw large numbers of students fall under the radar when learning went online for the pandemic. Many skipped class, tests and homework. Record numbers of families opted out of annual standardized tests, leaving some districts with little evidence of how students were doing in reading and math.

Biden Expected to Release Rule on Ghost Guns in Days

The Biden administration will come out with its long-awaited ghost gun rule — aimed at reining in privately made firearms without serial numbers that are increasingly cropping up at crime scenes — as soon as Monday, three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

Puerto Rico Struggles to Emerge From Outage as Anger Builds

Crews have restored power to some 650,000 customers out of nearly 1.5 million, but people in several neighborhoods have complained that the electricity went out once again as the island struggles to emerge from the blackout that also left more than 160,000 clients without water.

Strike Kills 50 at Ukraine Rail Station Crowded With People

A missile hit a train station where thousands of people had flocked to flee in eastern Ukraine, killing 50 people Friday, Ukrainian authorities said, while warning they expect to find more evidence of war crimes in areas abandoned by Russian troops.

Jackson Will Join More Diverse and Conservative High Court

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will join a Supreme Court that is both more diverse than ever and more conservative than it’s been since the 1930s.

NOAA: Potent Heat-Trapping Methane Increases at Record Pace

Methane is a big contributor to climate change, leading to about a 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit (0.5 degrees Celsius) increase in temperature since the 19th century, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Carbon dioxide has caused about 50% more warming than methane.

Ketanji Brown Jackson Confirmed as First Black Female Supreme Court Justice

The Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court on Thursday, shattering a historic barrier by securing her place as the first Black female justice and giving President Joe Biden a bipartisan endorsement for his effort to diversify the court.

Pelosi Positive for COVID-19, Was at White House With Biden

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi received a positive test result for COVID-19 and is currently asymptomatic, her spokesman Drew Hammill said Thursday in a tweet. He said she had tested negative earlier in the week.

Wind Energy Company Kills 150 Eagles in US, Pleads Guilty

NextEra Energy subsidiary ESI Energy pleaded guilty to three counts of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act during a Tuesday court appearance in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It was charged in the deaths of eagles at three of its wind farms in Wyoming and New Mexico.
 

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