Tag Archives: associated press

Connecticut’s Supreme Court on Monday ruled that state elections officials violated the constitutional free speech rights of two Republicans running for the state legislature when it fined them thousands of dollars for criticizing the Democratic governor in ads paid for by their publicly funded campaigns in 2014. In a 5-0 decision, the justices overturned the $5,000 civil fine against now-Sen. …

The Israeli military said Friday its troops in Gaza found the bodies of three Israeli hostages killed by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack, including German-Israeli Shani Louk. A photo of 22-year-old Louk’s twisted body in the back of a pickup truck ricocheted around the world and brought to light the scale of the militants’ attack on communities in southern …

Senegal’s new prime minister, who was freed from jail weeks before the presidential election earlier this year and propelled his party to victory, has criticized the French military presence in the West African country. Ousmane Sonko also criticized efforts by France and the West to promote values that he said didn’t fit with those held by Senegal and other African …

Several gunmen opened fire in central Afghanistan late on Friday, killing at least four people, including three foreign nationals, a Taliban spokesman said. Four suspects were arrested at the scene in Bamyan province, a major tourist area, and an investigation was underway, the official said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the late-evening attack. TALIBAN PUBLICLY EXECUTE THREE PEOPLE IN …

Hundreds of Air Force members in dress blues joined Roger Fortson’s family, friends and others at a suburban Atlanta megachurch on Friday to pay their final respects to the Black senior airman, who was shot and killed in his Florida home earlier this month by a sheriff’s deputy. People lined up well before the start of the service at the …

A massive Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea early Friday caused power cutoffs in the city of Sevastopol and set a refinery ablaze in southern Russia, Russian authorities said. The drone raids marked Kyiv’s attempt to strike back during Moscow’s offensive in northeastern Ukraine, which has added to the pressure on outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces who are waiting for delayed …

Much attention has been paid to the $120 million of his own fortune that Francis Ford Coppola put up to make the futuristic epic “Megalopolis,” but the director himself isn’t much concerned. “I don’t care. I never cared,” Coppola said of money, speaking to reporters at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday. “The money doesn’t matter. What is important are …

An exhaustive rescue operation to find missing construction workers trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building in South Africa will end on Friday after nearly two weeks and with 19 people still unaccounted for, authorities said. At least 33 people have been confirmed dead after the collapse of the unfinished five-story apartment complex in the city of George on …

Exceptional windstorms that could leave some Houston residents without power for weeks were a once-in-a-generation event and the damage left in their wake is comparable to that caused by a hurricane, meteorologists said Friday. “We believe this windstorm is the most significant windstorm likely for the Houston area since Hurricane Alicia back in 1983,” said Janice Maldonado, a meteorologist at …

A Vermont university has bestowed the honorary degree of “doctor of litter-ature” on Max the cat, a beloved member of its community, ahead of students’ graduation on Saturday. Vermont State University’s Castleton campus is honoring the feline not for his mousing or napping, but for his friendliness. CATS AT COLLEGE? ‘HIGHLY EMOTIONAL’ STUDENTS MAY BENEFIT FROM FELINES ON CAMPUS: STUDY …