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NEW ORLEANS — NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A down-ballot race for New Orleans clerk of criminal court has turned personal and contentious, as candidate Calvin Duncan, who spent three decades in prison before his conviction was vacated, faces attacks from Louisiana’s attorney general and the incumbent clerk over whether he was truly exonerated. Duncan, 62, … Read more
UTICA, N.Y. — UTICA, N.Y. (AP) — A prosecutor told a jury Tuesday that three former upstate New York prison guards on trial in the fatal beating of a Black handcuffed inmate took part in an act of “sheer, unimaginable brutality.” Mathew Galliher, Nicholas Kieffer and David Kingsley are charged with murder and first-degree manslaughter … Read more
LOS ANGELES — LOS ANGELES (AP) — California has become the third U.S. state to designate Diwali — the Hindu “Festival of Lights” — as an official statewide holiday. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law Tuesday to go into effect on Jan. 1. It would authorize public schools and community colleges to close … Read more
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Tuesday aimed at combating antisemitism in schools. The California Legislative Jewish Caucus said the law will help respond to alarming harassment against Jewish students. But critics, including educators and pro-Palestinian advocates, said it could inadvertently obstruct instruction on complex issues in … Read more
The family of a 32-year-old man who died of blunt force injuries on a theme park roller coaster is accusing Universal Orlando Resort of endangering lives by reopening the ride this weekend. Attorneys for the family said the Epic Universe park reopened the Stardust Racers ride even though they were in “active communication” with the … Read more
COLUMBIA, S.C. — COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — State agents have so far found no evidence that a fire that destroyed a judge’s home on a South Carolina island was intentionally set, the state’s top law enforcement official said Monday. The Saturday blaze nearly burned to the ground the house listed in property records as owned … Read more
AUGUSTA, Maine — AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Authorities in Maine are investigating an allegation that dozens of unmarked ballots that were to be used in this November’s election arrived inside a woman’s Amazon order. The town of Ellsworth reported to the state last week that it was missing a shipment of 250 absentee ballots, Secretary … Read more
A deadly tornado that tore across southeastern North Dakota this summer has been upgraded to an EF5 with winds topping 200 mph (322 kph), the strongest classification of tornado and the first confirmed on American soil in a dozen years, meteorologists said Monday. The June 20 twister near the town of Enderlin killed three people … Read more
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to protect Google from a year-old order requiring a major makeover of its Android app store that’s designed to unleash more competition against a system that a jury declared an illegal monopoly. The rebuff delivered in a one-sentence decision by the Supreme Court means Google will soon have … Read more
WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Pam Bondi will face lawmakers at a congressional hearing Tuesday amid growing questions about political influence over a Justice Department that has already criminally charged one of President Donald Trump’s longtime foes and is facing intense White House pressure to prosecute others. The testimony before the Senate Judiciary … Read more