KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is doubling down on his faltering invasion by declaring martial law in four illegally annexed Ukrainian regions. In addition, he set the stage Wednesday for draconian new restrictions and crackdowns throughout Russia. The drastic escalation appeared to be prompted by the threat of more stinging battlefield defeats,…
NEW YORK (AP) — A judge has dismissed one of two legal claims Kevin Spacey faces from actor Anthony Rapp. Rapp says Spacey made a sexual advance on him in his apartment in the 1980s when he was 14 years old. A federal judge threw out the claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress Monday…
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Police say a 15-year-old boy fatally shot two people in the streets of a neighborhood in North Carolina’s capital city, then fled toward a walking trail, where he killed three more people and wounded two others. Raleigh police Chief Estella Patterson said Friday that the suspect is hospitalized in critical condition…
The U.S. is about to offer updated COVID-19 booster shots to kids as young as 5. The tweaked boosters rolled out last month for Americans 12 and older — shots designed to target the currently spreading omicron variants. On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration authorized kid-size versions for 5- to 11-year-olds. There’s one more…
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Ancient Mars may have had an environment capable of harboring an underground world teeming with microscopic organisms. That’s according to French scientists who published their findings Monday. They’re quick to note, however, that if these simple life forms did exist, they would have altered the Martian atmosphere so profoundly that…
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The mother of an Iranian teenager is disputing official claims that her daughter fell to her death from a high building. Nasreen Shakarami says her teenage daughter was killed by repeated blows to the head as part of Iran’s crackdown on anti-hijab protests roiling the country. Shakarami also said…
The unusually low water level in the lower Mississippi River is causing barges to get stuck in the mud and sand. That’s resulting in delays for shippers, recreational boaters and even passengers on a cruise line. Lack of rainfall in recent weeks has left the Mississippi River approaching record low levels in some areas from…
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The OPEC+ alliance of oil-exporting countries has decided to sharply cut production to support sagging oil prices. The move Wednesday could deal the struggling global economy another blow and raise politically sensitive pump prices for U.S. drivers just ahead of key national elections. Energy ministers meeting at the Vienna headquarters of…
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials say Russia is working to amplify doubts about the integrity of American elections while China is interested in influencing policy perspectives in favor of Beijing. That concern aligns with unclassified intelligence advisory obtained by The Associated Press that says China is probably seeking to influence select races to “hinder candidates…
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., (AP) — The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Ian’s most damaging winds have begun hitting Florida’s southwest coast as the storm approaches landfall. The hurricane’s center neared Florida on Wednesday after rapidly intensifying overnight, gaining top winds of 155 mph. That puts Ian just shy of devastating Category 5 hurricane status. Ian…