CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A private U.S. lunar lander reached the moon and eased into a low orbit Wednesday, a day before it will attempt an even greater feat — landing on the gray, dusty surface. A smooth touchdown…
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A large Alabama hospital has paused in vitro fertilization treatments as health care providers weigh the impact of a state court ruling that frozen embryos are the legal equivalent of children. The University of Alabama at Birmingham said…
RIDGELAND, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi grand jury has decided not to indict former NFL player Jerrell Powe months after he was arrested on a kidnapping charge in 2023, his attorney said. Tom Fortner told The Associated Press on Monday…
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Another private U.S. company took a shot at the moon Thursday, launching a month after a rival’s lunar lander missed its mark and came crashing back. NASA, the main sponsor with experiments on board, is hoping for a successful…
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s hush-money trial will go ahead as scheduled with jury selection starting on March 25, a New York judge ruled Thursday, turning aside demands for a delay from the former president’s defense lawyers. The decision means that the…
BY EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Former Rep. Alyce Clarke was the first Black woman elected to the Mississippi Legislature, and now she is the first Black person — and first woman — to have a portrait on display in the…
BY KRISTIN M. HALL Toby Keith, a sometimes polarizing figure in country music who crafted an identity around his macho, pro-American swagger, has died. He was 62. The “Beer For My Horses” singer-songwriter, who was battling stomach cancer, died peacefully Monday surrounded…
BY MARK KENNEDY NEW YORK (AP) — Carl Weathers, a former NFL linebacker who became a Hollywood action movie and comedy star, playing nemesis-turned-ally Apollo Creed in the “Rocky” movies, facing off against Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Predator” and teaching golf in “Happy Gilmore,”…
BY EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves is renewing his call for legislators to phase out the state’s personal income tax over several years, and he is asking them to spend more money on economic development,…
NEW YORK (AP) — Chita Rivera, the dynamic dancer, singer and actress who garnered 10 Tony nominations, winning twice, in a long Broadway career that forged a path for Latina artists and shrugged off a near-fatal car accident, died Tuesday.…
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — With their purple, gold and green colors and toy babies hidden inside, king cakes are staples of Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, but apparently they’re also valuable enough to steal — at least this time…
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Harry Connick Sr., who was New Orleans’ district attorney for three decades and later faced allegations that his staff sometimes held back evidence that could have helped defendants, died Thursday at age 97. Connick died peacefully…
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The manslaughter retrial for the man who fatally shot New Orleans Saints star Will Smith almost eight years ago was delayed Tuesday after an alternate juror dropped out. Twelve jurors and two alternates were chosen Monday for the…
BY KEVIN MCGILL NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Nineteen federal appellate judges are scheduled to hear arguments Tuesday on whether Mississippi can continue to permanently strip voting rights from people convicted of certain felonies, including nonviolent crimes for which they have served a complete…
BY KYLE HIGHTOWER FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Six-time NFL champion Bill Belichick agreed to part ways as the coach of the New England Patriots on Thursday, bringing an end to his 24-year tenure as the architect of the most decorated dynasty…
NEW YORK (AP) — Glynis Johns, a Tony Award-winning stage and screen star who played the mother opposite Julie Andrews in the classic movie “Mary Poppins” and introduced the world to the bittersweet standard-to-be “Send in the Clowns” by Stephen Sondheim, has died. She…
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s Democratic secretary of state on Thursday removed former President Donald Trump from the state’s presidential primary ballot under the Constitution’s insurrection clause, becoming the first election official to take action unilaterally as the U.S. Supreme Court is poised…
Tom Smothers, half of the Smothers Brothers and the co-host of one of the most socially conscious and groundbreaking television shows in the history of the medium, has died at 86. The National Comedy Center, on behalf of his family, said…
MERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — A corrections officer was shot and killed by a colleague Tuesday after the two workers got into a fight in the parking lot of a Mississippi correctional facility, prison officials said. Authorities were notified of a…
Toyota Motor Co. said Wednesday it is recalling 1 million vehicles over a defect that could cause airbags not to deploy, increasing the risk of injury. The recall covers a range of Toyota and Lexus vehicles with model years from 2020 to…
BY MICHAEL GOLDBERG JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The mother of a 10-year-old child who was sentenced by a Mississippi judge to three months of probation and a book report for urinating in public has refused to sign his probation agreement and…
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An orange tabby cat named Taters stars in the first video transmitted by laser from deep space, stealing the show as he chases a red laser light. The 15-second video was beamed to Earth from NASA’s…
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — One Kentucky family got a little something extra when they picked out their Christmas tree this year: an owl. Lexington resident Michele White said that it’s a tradition for the family to pick out a Christmas tree…
BY MICHAEL GOLDBERG JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi grand jury has declined to indict a police officer who responded to a call, and shot and wounded an unarmed 11-year-old boy inside the home. The grand jury found that Indianola Police…
BY MICHAEL GOLDBERG JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The federal government has approved the first part of Mississippi’s plan to help some of the state’s financially strapped hospitals receive more Medicaid money, Gov. Tate Reeves said Wednesday. The Centers for Medicare and…
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Andre Braugher, the Emmy-winning actor who would master gritty drama for seven seasons on “Homicide: Life on The Street” and modern comedy for eight on “Brooklyn 99,” died Monday at 61. Braugher died after a brief illness,…
LOS ANGELES (AP) — One of the highest-profile video game conventions is being shut down permanently, its organizers said Tuesday. The Electronic Entertainment Expo, known as E3, had been held annually in Los Angeles since 1995 and was a popular spot…
BY MICHAEL GOLDBERG JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A third man in Mississippi has been discovered buried in a pauper’s cemetery without his relatives’ knowledge — and despite authorities knowing the identities of the deceased. It is the latest case in which…
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s a challenge for all new parents: Getting enough sleep while keeping a close eye on their newborns. For some penguins, it means thousands of mini-catnaps a day, researchers discovered. Chinstrap penguins in Antarctica need to guard…
BY LYNN ELBER LOS ANGELES (AP) — Norman Lear, the writer, director and producer who revolutionized prime time television with “All in the Family” and “Maude,” propelling political and social turmoil into the once-insulated world of sitcoms, has died. He was…
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, the diplomat with the thick glasses and gravelly voice who dominated foreign policy as the United States extricated itself from Vietnam and broke down barriers with China, died Wednesday, his consulting firm said. He…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (AP) — A 6-year-old Mississippi girl is being honored for helping emergency responders find her family’s car after her mother had a stroke while driving in a rural area. Bryanna Cook is a first grader at Fairview Elementary…
BY BILL BARROW AND MICHAEL WARREN ATLANTA (AP) — Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, the closest adviser to Jimmy Carter during his one term as U.S. president and their four decades thereafter as global humanitarians, has died at the age of 96. The Carter Center said she…
BY MICHAEL GOLDBERG JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves refused to approve top lawmakers’ proposed revenue estimate Wednesday, fearing a lower projection than he wanted would prevent him from justifying future income tax cuts. The rare move comes as…
BY MICHAEL GOLDBERG JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The owner of a Mississippi medical marijuana dispensary filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging state regulations that he says censor business owners by preventing them from advertising. After Mississippi legalized medical marijuana for people with debilitating…
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch has asked the state Supreme Court to set execution dates for two men on death row. Fitch’s office filed motions Thursday that asked the court to schedule executions for Willie Jerome…
A judge in Mississippi’s largest county has extended voting times to 9 p.m. at four voting precincts after they experienced ballot shortages and long lines. The order from a special judge in Hinds County came after a nonpartisan group, Mississippi…
BY MARY CLARE JALONICK, TARA COPP AND LOLITA BALDOR WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate circumvented a hold by Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville on Thursday and confirmed Adm. Lisa Franchetti to lead the Navy, making her the first woman to be a Pentagon service…
BY EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves and Democratic challenger Brandon Presley insulted and spoke over each other several times Wednesday night in their only debate of a rough-and-tumble campaign season, presenting sharply contrasting plans for…
Drugstore workers around the country started calling in sick Monday to highlight a lack of support from their employers, protest organizers said. The extent and impact of the demonstration, which is planned until Wednesday, were not clear as of Monday…
BY EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal judge on Monday dismissed Brett Favre’s defamation lawsuit against fellow retired NFL player Shannon Sharpe, ruling that Sharpe used constitutionally protected speech on a sports broadcast when he criticized Favre’s connection to a welfare…
NEW YORK (AP) — Cruel joke for trick-or-treaters or coveted seasonal delight? The great Halloween debate over candy corn is on. In the pantheon of high-emotion candy, the classic shiny tricolor kernels in autumn’s white, orange and yellow are way…
BY EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said Thursday that he is working to ease financial problems for struggling hospitals — but the Democratic nominee for governor, Brandon Presley, said Reeves is hurting the state by…
BY DAVID SHARP LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — A man shot and killed at least 16 people at a restaurant and a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine, and then fled into the night, sparking a massive search by hundreds of officers while…
By LISA MASCARO, STEPHEN GROVES, FARNOUSH AMIRI and KEVIN FREKING WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans eagerly elected Rep. Mike Johnson as House speaker Wednesday, elevating a deeply conservative but lesser-known leader to the seat of U.S. power and ending for now…
BY JONATHAN LANDRUM JR. LOS ANGELES (AP) — Richard Roundtree, the trailblazing actor who starred as the ultra-smooth private detective in several “Shaft” films beginning in the early 1970s, has died. He was 81. Roundtree’s longtime manager, Patrick McMinn, said the…
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Federal authorities have released more details and unsealed charges in the theft of more than 2 million dimes earlier this year from a tractor-trailer that had picked up the coins from the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. The…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Steve Scalise ended his bid to become House speaker late Thursday after hardline holdouts refused to back the party’s nominee, throwing the GOP majority into deeper chaos with the chamber unable to function. Scalise told GOP…
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — When it comes to packing on the pounds to survive an Alaska winter, this year’s undisputed champ is Grazer. Grazer, also known as Bear 128 to the fans of Fat Bear Week at Alaska’s Katmai National…
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two giant rocket motors required to display the retired NASA space shuttle Endeavour as if it’s about to blast off arrived Wednesday at a Los Angeles museum, completing their long journey from the Mojave Desert. The 116-foot-long (35.3-meter)…
