LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The nation’s first African American winner has breezed to victory at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Fourteen-year-old Zaila Avant-garde of Harvey, Louisiana, didn’t show much stress on stage and only struggled with one word in Thursday’s finals. She is only the second Black champion in the bee’s 96-year history…
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A 30-year-old St. Louis area man is running as a Democrat for the Missouri 2nd Congressional seat currently held by Republican Rep. Ann Wagner. Ben Samuels, of Creve Coeur, is the first Democrat to challenge for the seat in suburban St. Louis. Samuels most recently worked as director of special projects…
ROME (AP) — The Vatican says Pope Francis temporarily ran a temperature three days after intestinal surgery, but routine tests proved negative. The Vatican’s daily update on Thursday said Francis was continuing to eat and move around unassisted, and had even sent his greetings to young cancer patients at Rome’s Gemelli hospital. But spokesman Matteo…
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri restaurants will be able to sell to-go cocktails permanently under a new law. Republican Gov. Mike Parson on Wednesday signed the legislation into law. Missouri had eased restrictions on to-go mixed drinks during the coronavirus pandemic as a way to help struggling restaurants maintain business. The new law makes…
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Quieting the din inside Amalie Arena for just a moment, Gary Bettman looked over to the Tampa Bay Lightning and reached back into the dark days of the pandemic perhaps one last time. The NHL commissioner beckoned not just captain Steven Stamkos but the entire team over to touch, kiss and…
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Hatii (AP) — An official says Haitian President Jovenel Moïse has been assassinated after a group of unidentified people attacked his private residence. Interim Premier Claude Joseph says First Lady Martine Moïse is hospitalized. Joseph condemned what he called a “hateful, inhumane and barbaric act.” He said Haiti’s National Police and other authorities had…
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A federal appeals court says a St. Louis traffic ordinance cited in the arrest of a woman during a 2017 march is not unconstitutional. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on Tuesday reversed a lower court ruling in a case arising from the Women’s March in January 2017. Jessica…
SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) — A ramped-up rescue effort at the collapsed South Florida condo building is facing new threats from the weather as a tropical storm approaches the state. Officials say lightning forced crews to pause the search Monday for victims of the June 24 collapse in Surfside, and a garage area in the rubble…
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Matt Carpenter listed off so many positives from St. Louis on Monday: a gem from Kwang Hyun Kim, the patience finally getting to Giants All-Star Kevin Gausman, to holding off a potential comeback at the end. The Cardinals star tried not to add any extra significance to his at-bat that changed…
ROME (AP) — The Vatican says Pope Francis is in good condition, alert and breathing on his own after the pontiff underwent a three-hour operation that involved removing half of his colon. Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Monday that the 84-year-old pope is expected to stay in Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic for about seven days, assuming…