All posts tagged: Associated Press

White House Barred Associated Press From Oval Office Event

White House Barred Associated Press From Oval Office Event

Published by skeptic

Despite a court order, a reporter and photographer from The Associated Press were barred from an Oval Office news conference on Monday with President Donald Trump and his counterpart from El Salvador, Nayib Bukele. Last week’s federal court decision forbidding the Trump administration from punishing the AP for refusing to rename the Gulf of Mexico was to take effect Monday. The administration is appealing the decision and arguing with the news outlet over whether it needs to change anything until those appeals are exhausted. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. circuit set a Thursday hearing on Trump’s request that any changes be delayed while case is reviewed. The AP is fighting for more access as soon as possible. Later Monday, two AP photographers were admitted to an event honoring Ohio State’s championship football team on the more spacious South Lawn. A text reporter was turned away. Since mid-February, AP reporters and photographers have been blocked from attending events in the Oval Office, where President Donald Trump frequently addresses journalists, and on Air Force …

British Economy Rebounds Strongly in First Quarter of the Year, Ending ‘Technical Recession’

British Economy Rebounds Strongly in First Quarter of the Year, Ending ‘Technical Recession’

Published by skeptic

LONDON (AP) — The British economy bounced back strongly in the first three months of the year, bringing to an end to what economists termed a “technical recession”, official figures showed Friday. The Office for National Statistics said the economy grew by 0.6% in the first quarter from the previous three-month period, with broad-based strength across the crucial services sector in particular. The increase was higher than the 0.4% predicted by economists and the strongest since the fourth quarter of 2021 when the economy was rebounding following the sharp contraction during the coronavirus pandemic. It comes after two quarters of modest declines, which in the U.K. is defined as a recession. Despite the quarterly increase, the British economy has barely grown over the past year. It has been hobbled by interest rates at 16-year highs of 5.25%. There was hope Thursday that they may be on the way down soon. Bank of England Gov. Andrew Bailey indicated that a rate cut may be on the cards in June if inflation continues to trend downwards. The …

Georgia Supreme Court Declines to Rule on Whether Counties Can Draw Their Own Electoral Maps

Georgia Supreme Court Declines to Rule on Whether Counties Can Draw Their Own Electoral Maps

Published by skeptic

ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia Supreme Court agrees that someone needs to issue a legally final ruling on whether county commissioners can override state legislators and draw their own electoral districts. But the nine justices on Thursday also agreed it would be improper to rule on that question in a lawsuit brought by two Cobb County residents, reversing a lower court judgment that had thrown out the county commissioners’ own map. The ruling that Catherine and David Floam weren’t qualified to get a declaratory judgment means that, for now, residents in Georgia’s third-largest county will elect two county commissioners in districts mapped by the Democratic-majority Cobb County Commission, and not under the earlier map drawn by the Republican-majority legislature. Voting is underway in advance of May 21 primaries. “To be clear, the fact that there are two competing maps does create significant uncertainty for many,” Justice Nels Peterson wrote for a unanimous court in explaining why the couple didn’t qualify for declaratory judgment. “But the Floams have not shown that this uncertainty affects their future …

New Rule Aims to Speed up Removal of Limited Group of Migrants Who Don’t Qualify for Asylum

New Rule Aims to Speed up Removal of Limited Group of Migrants Who Don’t Qualify for Asylum

Published by skeptic

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new Biden administration rule announced Thursday aims to speed up asylum processing at the southern border for a a limited group of people believed to have committed serious crimes or who have terrorist links and ultimately more quickly eject them from the country. The change comes as the administration has been struggling to demonstrate to voters during an election where immigration is a key issue that it has a handle on the southern border. Republicans have consistently slammed the Biden administration over policies that they say have worsened problems at the southern border. In a statement announcing the changes, the Department of Homeland Security said migrants who are deemed to pose a public threat are taken into custody but a determination on whether they’re eligible for asylum isn’t made until later in the asylum process. Under the proposed rule, asylum officers hearing cases at an initial screening stage called credible fear screening — that’s intended to happen just days after a person arrives in the country will now be able to …

Fight Over Foreign Money in Politics Stymies Deal to Assure President Joe Biden Is on Ohio’s Ballot

Fight Over Foreign Money in Politics Stymies Deal to Assure President Joe Biden Is on Ohio’s Ballot

Published by skeptic

On Wednesday, against the backdrop of a festering Republican leadership fight that’s roiled lawmaking since last year, Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s proposal to ban foreign money from initiative campaigns became the poison pill that prevented a final solution for adjusting an Aug. 7 ballot deadline that precedes the Democratic National Convention. Thursday marked the last day legislators could pass the fix with a simple majority, and no sessions were held. All four Republican and Democratic leaders at the Statehouse still say they’re confident the president will appear on Ohio’s ballot. It’s the how and when that remain a mystery. Senate Republicans wanted to use Biden’s predicament as leverage to pass a ban on foreign nationals contributing to ballot campaigns. The legislation stemmed from the involvement in a pair of heated ballot campaigns last year of Hansjörg Wyss, a Swiss billionaire who has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years into 501(c) nonprofit organizations backing liberal U.S. political causes. A January report issued by LaRose found that over $207 million flowing from …

A Teen Said a Deputy Threatened Him as He Filmed His Mom’s Arrest. A Jury Awarded Him 5,000.

A Teen Said a Deputy Threatened Him as He Filmed His Mom’s Arrest. A Jury Awarded Him $185,000.

Published by skeptic

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A teenager who video-recorded his mother’s forceful arrest by Louisiana sheriff’s deputies in 2020 has been awarded $185,000 by a federal jury in a lawsuit filed over one deputy’s attempt to interfere with the recording. De’Shaun Johnson was 14 when deputies arrived at his family’s home in St. Tammany Parish to question his mother, Teliah Perkins, about allegations she had ridden a motorcycle without a helmet — a charge her attorneys said was baseless and that was never prosecuted. The confrontation turned physical, and video showed the woman being forced to the ground. A lawsuit against the deputies was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the law firm of Reid Collins & Tsai as part of the ACLU’s Justice Lab project, aimed at addressing allegations of police abuses. A federal appeals court largely sided with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office on many of the allegations, squelching much of the lawsuit over the deputies’ use of force. But it allowed the litigation to continue over allegations that one deputy …

House Speaker Mike Johnson Survived a Motion to Vacate. Here’s Why His Job Is Far From Safe

House Speaker Mike Johnson Survived a Motion to Vacate. Here’s Why His Job Is Far From Safe

Published by skeptic

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mike Johnson’s job isn’t safe yet. In a stunning show of unity in the often divided House, Democrats joined a majority of Republicans on Wednesday to save the GOP speaker from an attempt by fellow Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to remove him from his post. But while Democrats in the minority threw the Louisiana congressman a life raft by voting on his side, they made clear they might not do so again. That means the threat for Johnson still lingers as Greene and other lawmakers can at any time call up another motion to oust him. The episode highlights the increasingly precarious situation for Johnson, who faces the same conservative forces that took down his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, but with an even smaller majority that has forced him to continuously rely on Democratic support to carry out the most basic functions of legislating. Republicans control the House by the barest of margins, 217-213. Here’s what to know about how the House can remove a speaker and what’s ahead for Johnson: WHAT …

Homeless Woman Was Living Inside Michigan Rooftop Store Sign With Computer and Coffee Maker

Homeless Woman Was Living Inside Michigan Rooftop Store Sign With Computer and Coffee Maker

Published by skeptic

Contractors curious about an extension cord on the roof of a Michigan grocery store made a startling discovery: A 34-year-old woman was living inside the business sign, with enough space for a computer, printer and coffee maker, police said. “She was homeless,” Officer Brennon Warren of the Midland Police Department said Thursday. “It’s a story that makes you scratch your head, just somebody living up in a sign.” The woman, whose name was not released, told police she had a job elsewhere but had been living inside the Family Fare sign for roughly a year, Warren said. She was found April 23. Midland, best known as the global home of Dow Inc., is 130 miles (209 kilometers) north of Detroit. The Family Fare store is in a retail strip with a triangle-shaped sign at the top of the building. The sign structure, probably 5 feet (1.5 meter) wide and 8 feet (2.4 meters) high, has a door and is accessible from the roof, Warren said. “There was some flooring that was laid down. A mini …

The Philadelphia Phillies Are Hot, Loose and Loving Life as One of the Best Teams in Baseball

The Philadelphia Phillies Are Hot, Loose and Loving Life as One of the Best Teams in Baseball

Published by skeptic

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Phillies are hot, that much is certain, with Bryce Harper and Zack Wheeler powering and pitching the team to the best record in baseball and a recent home winning streak that nearly matched the franchise record. Well, no team has been quite as alluring to the packed crowds at Citizens Bank Park as the Phillies. Just ask them. Brandon Marsh, the outfielder with the Rip Van Winkle whiskers, was mic’d up for an ESPN Sunday night game when he was relayed a fan question from social media by the broadcast booth: If you had to start a rock band, who would you take from the team and what’s the band name? Marsh rattled off catcher Garrett Stubbs, slugger Kyle Schwarber and outfielder Cristian Pache as his fellow band members, then as he hustled off the field after making a catch, blurted out the name that has since launched a blossoming business of the catchphrase T-shirts. Marsh said he has his own band shirt — which he has yet to reveal — …

Asteroids, Myst, Resident Evil, SimCity and Ultima Inducted Into World Video Game Hall of Fame

Asteroids, Myst, Resident Evil, SimCity and Ultima Inducted Into World Video Game Hall of Fame

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — The World Video Game Hall of Fame inducted its 10th class of honorees Thursday, recognizing Asteroids, Myst, Resident Evil, SimCity and Ultima for their impacts on the video game industry and popular culture. The inductees debuted across decades, advancing technologies along the way and expanding not only the number of players, but the ages and interests of those at the controls, Hall of Fame authorities said in revealing the winners. The Hall of Fame recognizes electronic games of all types — arcade, console, computer, handheld, and mobile. The Class of 2024 was selected by experts from among a field of 12 finalists that also included Elite, Guitar Hero, Metroid, Neopets, Tokimeki Memorial, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and You Don’t Know Jack. The honor for Atari’s Asteroids comes 45 years after its 1979 debut in arcades, where it was Atari’s bestselling coin-operated game. The game’s glowing space-themed graphics and sound effects made their way from more than 70,000 arcade units into millions of living rooms when a home version of Asteroids was …