SYDNEY (AP) — A team from rugby league hotspot Papua New Guinea will enter the National Rugby League from 2028 after officially being granted a license. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Papua New Guinean counterpart James Marape met in Sydney on Thursday to shake hands over the deal, the culmination of two years
Continue ReadingAssociated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Jim Leach has died at age 82. He served 30 years as a politician from eastern Iowa. He later headed the National Endowment for the Humanities. His death Wednesday was confirmed by an Iowa City funeral home. He represented Iowa as a moderate Republican until
Continue ReadingWASHINGTON (AP) — A person accused of accosting U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace in a Capitol Office building pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to a misdemeanor assault charge. Witnesses told police that James McIntyre, 33, of Chicago, shook Mace’s hand in an “exaggerated, aggressive” manner after approaching the South Carolina Republican in the Rayburn House Office
Continue ReadingAssociated Press/Report for America NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A southeast Louisiana official allegedly committed perjury by failing to disclose information related to a controversial grain terminal, according to a motion filed as part of a federal lawsuit brought by a prominent local climate activist. The dispute is part of a broader clash pitting officials eager
Continue ReadingAssociated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina House Republicans have enacted legislation that erodes some powers of several statewide offices newly-elected Democrats are slated to hold next month. Lawmakers overrode Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto. One of the most significant changes shifts the power to appoint state elections board members from the governor to
Continue ReadingAP Baseball Writer DALLAS (AP) — Juan Soto gets free use of a luxury suite and up to four premium tickets behind home plate for regular-season and postseason New York Mets home games as part of his record $765 million, 15-year contract that was finalized Wednesday. The Mets also agreed to provide personal team security
Continue ReadingDANBURY, Conn. (AP) — A woman serving time at a federal prison in Connecticut managed to escape for about 45 minutes before being captured. Federal prison officials said Wednesday that the FBI is investigating the episode. The 30-year-old woman is a Chinese national who was serving time for a gun charge and setting fire to
Continue ReadingVICTORIA, Texas (AP) — Authorities say a twin-engine propeller plane has crashed onto a Texas highway and split in two, damaging cars and sending four people to hospitals. The Federal Aviation Administration says the only person aboard the small Piper plane Wednesday afternoon was the pilot. Victoria Police Deputy Chief Eline Moya says three people
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The leaders of Ethiopia and Somalia have agreed to hold “technical talks” to resolve a dispute sparked by Ethiopia’s deal with Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland. A joint declaration by the two was released in Turkey on Wednesday after the leaders had separate meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Continue ReadingAssociated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved resolutions demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and backing the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees that Israel has moved to ban. The votes Wednesday culminated two days of speeches overwhelmingly calling for an end to the 14-month war between Israel and the militant Hamas group
Continue ReadingATLANTA (AP) — The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office has promised to pay a private security company $1.4 million after some of its employees walked out of the jail in August. The office announced Wednesday it will send the payments electronically by the end of the week. Strategic Security Corporation ended its contract with the county
Continue ReadingAssociated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s elections board has dismissed protests filed by several Republican candidates trailing narrowly in their races last month who have questioned well over 60,000 ballots cast this fall. The Democratic-majority board agreed Wednesday to throw out the protests of GOP Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin and three legislative
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats failed in their bid to confirm a Democratic member of the National Labor Relations Board after the Senate rejected a razor-thin vote that hinged on the pivotal rejections of independent Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. If the nomination had been successful, the
Continue ReadingAP Sports Writer ZURICH (AP) — Saudi Arabia scored a major win in its campaign to attract major sports events to the kingdom when it was formally appointed as the 2034 World Cup host on Wednesday. Still, many questions remain about the tournament as well as the 2030 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by
Continue ReadingBRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s parliament has approved legislation drafted by the government of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico that could effectively ban doctors from protesting against low pay. The law was adopted as the government’s response to a move by more than 3,000 doctors in the country’s hospitals, a majority, to quit their job
Continue ReadingAssociated Press/Report for America PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes says she is suing a Saudi Arabian agribusiness over what she calls “excessive pumping” of groundwater. She alleges that the Fondomonte alfalfa farm in western Arizona is violating a public nuisance law even though the area has no groundwater pumping regulations. Mayes said
Continue ReadingAP Film Writer The new film “September 5″ is a fictionalized account of ABC’s live coverage of the hostage crisis during the 1972 Munich Olympics. The film, rated R and opening in theaters this week, stays in the newsroom where the sports broadcasters attempt to follow the quickly escalating story. Associated Press Film Writer Lindsey
Continue ReadingAssociated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The suspect in the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO plans to fight extradition to New York to face murder charges, but officials hope to get him back with what’s called a governor’s warrant. The process could happen quickly or take more than a month. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office
Continue ReadingAssociated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hannah Kobayashi, the missing Hawaii woman whose disappearance prompted a massive search and a missing persons investigation in Los Angeles, has been found safe, police said Wednesday. Kobayashi vanished last month in Los Angeles. She missed her connecting flight and planned to explore the city the next day, but
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Defense Department said he had a “wonderful conversation” with Maine Sen. Susan Collins on Wednesday as he still pushing to win enough votes for confirmation and said he will not back down after allegations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct. Collins said after
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