- NEW YORK (AP) — Environmentalist Christine Holland closely follows journalist Tiffany Higgins’ stories from the Amazon River region, frequently sending her comments and questions. This week, Higgins responded to one message about her piece on the Brazilian arts community by sending Holland a lengthy personal video. They’ve turned the usual one-way conversation between a journalist […]
- WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are struggling to come up for air after outside groups flooded their first round of midterm primaries with campaign cash. As the Democratic Party fights to regain control of Congress, organizations affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence have dominated the airwaves, sometimes leaving candidates on […]
- NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration this week acknowledged it made a significant error in figures it used to help justify a fraud probe into New York’s Medicaid program, a glaring mistake that undercuts a federal campaign to tackle waste, mostly in Democratic-led states. The error, one of at least a few misrepresentations […]
- LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sam Mintesnot had checked off everything she possibly could have from a long list of to-dos in preparation for the Coachella music festival. She crafted the best outfits, got her hair and nails done, booked a one-way ticket to Los Angeles and flew out on Tuesday with a spreadsheet full of […]
- WASHINGTON (AP) — Since the ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. was announced, leaders in President Donald Trump’s administration have been quick to say Iranian military and arms capacity have been all but wiped out during weeks of fighting. But there is also an acknowledgment that Tehran retains some capabilities, whether to strike back or […]
- Judge bars Arizona from regulating prediction market operators and pauses prosecution of Kalshi
on April 10, 2026 at 11:18 pmPHOENIX (AP) — A federal judge on Friday temporarily barred Arizona from enforcing its gambling laws against predictive market operators in a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration after state prosecutors filed criminal charges that alleged Kalshi is running an illegal gambling operation there. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Michael Liburdi also halts Arizona’s criminal case against Kalshi, which was scheduled for an arraignment hearing Monday. After the ruling, a prosecutor said the hearing won’t be held on Monday. Liburdi said he would explain his reason for the ruling in an order, which was expected to be released Friday evening. The federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission had sued Arizona in response to cease-and-desist letters sent to Kalshi from state gambling regulators and the criminal charges filed against the prediction market operator. The commission argued Arizona is intruding on its exclusive federal power to regulate national swaps markets. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- Developer of Massachusetts offshore wind farm sues to stop turbine manufacturer from walking away
on April 10, 2026 at 11:18 pmThe developer of a major Massachusetts offshore wind farm is suing its turbine manufacturer seeking to force it to stay with the project. Vineyard Wind filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Massachusetts against GE Renewables. That comes after the parent company for GE Renewables said it would be terminating its contracts for turbine services and maintenance at the end of April. GE Vernova says Vineyard Wind owes it $300 million for work it performed. But Vineyard Wind counters that the manufacturer remains on the hook for about $545 million to make up for a catastrophic turbine blade collapse in July 2024 and the delays that caused. Fiberglass fragments of a blade broke apart and began washing onto Nantucket beaches in July 2024 during the peak of tourist season. GE Vernova agreed to pay $10.5 million in a settlement to compensate island businesses that suffered losses. The lawsuit states that the project already has been significantly damaged by GE Renewable’s “inexcusably poor performance,” and allowing the contractor to back out now would case irreparable harm. Craig Gilvarg, spokesman for Vineyard Wind, said Friday that the lawsuit is meant to ensure that GE Renewables fulfills its obligations to the project “and to the people of Massachusetts and New England who are relying on the significant and economic benefits this project is already providing.” GE Vernova said the company is exercising its right to terminate agreements for nonpayment for work performed. “The company remains committed to the safety of the wind farm and stands by our performance and our contractual obligations,” the company said in a statement. “We will vigorously defend our position through the appropriate legal process.” Construction finished on Vineyard Wind in March, making it the first project to reach this stage during President Donald Trump’s time in office. It had already been providing power to the grid for over a year as more turbines were finished. It is expected to reach full operations in the coming months. According to the lawsuit, GE Renewables is the only company able to perform the remaining work, and it would be virtually impossible to find another turbine supplier willing to take its place. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday. GE Vernova has said that insufficient bonding at one of its factories in Canada was responsible for the blade coming apart and that there was no indication of a design flaw. Sixty-eight out of the 72 blades that had been installed at Vineyard Wind at the time were removed and replaced. Vineyard Wind said that set the project behind nearly two years. The Trump administration has been particularly critical of the project because of the blade failure. It was one of five major East Coast offshore wind projects the Trump administration halted construction on days before Christmas, citing national security concerns. Developers and states sued, and federal judges allowed all five to resume construction, essentially concluding that the government did not show that the national security risk was so imminent that construction must halt. Vineyard Wind is a joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, located 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, Massachusetts. It has 62 turbines that will generate a total of 800 megawatts. That is enough clean electricity to power about 400,000 homes. ___ The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- Former US Rep. Eliot Engel, who worked on foreign affairs for decades, dies at 79
on April 10, 2026 at 11:18 pmFormer U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, a New York Democrat who chaired the Foreign Affairs Committee and played an influential role in matters from the Balkans to the Beltway, including President Donald Trump’s first impeachment, has died. He was 79. Engel died Friday at a Bronx hospital of complications of Parkinson’s disease, according to his family. “During his over 44 years in public service, Eliot Engel fought tirelessly for his constituents at home and for peace and security around the world,” the family said in a statement. Engel won his first congressional election in 1988, defeating a 10-term incumbent on an insurgent, reformist platform. More than 30 years later, he left office in similar fashion after losing a 2020 primary to now-former Rep. Jamaal Bowman in a race seen as a progressive upset over the party’s pragmatic wing. A former teacher and state Assembly member, Engel rose through the ranks of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, eventually becoming its chair in 2019. He was a strong supporter of Israel and one of the first lawmakers to call for military intervention on behalf of Kosovo, then a province where ethnic Albanians were seeking independence from Serbia, in their war in the 1990s. A U.S.-and-U.K.-led NATO bombing campaign opened the way for Kosovo’s eventual independence nine years later. Engel was “a fierce advocate for Kosovo and the Albanian community at a time when few others were paying attention,” U.S. Rep. Richie Torres, a fellow Bronx Democrat, said in a statement Friday. Engel also helped negotiate the Harkin–Engel Protocol, an international agreement that aimed to eliminate the “worst forms of child labor” on cocoa farms in West Africa. And he headed the Foreign Relations Committee as it worked on the 2019-2020 impeachment inquiry into Trump over the Republican’s efforts to prompt Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to scour for dirt on Trump’s then-rival Joe Biden. After Trump was impeached and then acquitted in February 2020, Engel vowed not to abandon the issue, saying there were “a lot of unanswered questions that the American public deserves to know” answers to. Soon after, the COVID-19 pandemic set in — and with it, questions, spurred by an article in The Atlantic, about Engel’s absence from his district. That scrutiny grew following a hot mic incident in which Engel was heard trying to convince another Bronx official to let him speak at a news conference, saying: “If I didn’t have a primary, I wouldn’t care.” During his years in office, Engel became known for waiting for hours to get an aisle seat in the House chamber for the State of Union address, so he could greet the president — in full view of TV cameras — as the chief executive entered. But Rep. George Latimer, a Democrat who now holds what was Engel’s seat, said “his legacy consists of hard work on issues and kindness to all.” Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- An Iowa woman pleads not guilty in the 2011 killing of real estate agent
on April 10, 2026 at 10:18 pmADEL, Iowa (AP) — A woman charged in the killing of a young real estate agent in Iowa pleaded not guilty Friday, almost 15 years to the day that the death rattled the industry and led to heightened safety practices for agents nationwide. Iowa Realty agent Ashley Okland, 27, was found dead at a model townhome in West Des Moines, where she was hosting an open house April 8, 2011. Her family and friends filled the courtroom for a Friday hearing for Kristin Ramsey, 53, who was arrested last month after an indictment charged her with first-degree murder. “That Friday afternoon when Ashley was taken from us seems so long ago,” Brittany Bruce, Okland’s sister told reporters in March. “We had lost our hope in finding answers and having any justice for Ashley.” Prosecutors have said little about Ramsey following her March 17 indictment by a grand jury and arrest, withholding information on what they consider to be a potential motive or whether there is new evidence in the case. Court documents filed this week ahead of the arraignment and bond review hearing Friday give limited insight into the grand jury proceedings. Prosecutors said a neighbor who called 911 reportedly saw Ramsey, who worked with Okland, outside the front door of the model home and pacing by her car while talking on her cellphone before she drove off. State Assistant Attorney General Scott Brown said during the hearing Friday that Ramsey returned 15 minutes later. Ramsey’s attorneys said there are gaps in the case prosecutors presented to the grand jury, including by misrepresenting what the witness reported in the 911 call, and attorney Alfredo Parrish said the grand jury even pushed back. “You don’t wait 15 years and then say: ‘OK, let’s make a go of it,’” Parrish said. Grand jury proceedings, a rare occurrence for criminal cases in Iowa, are generally kept confidential. The prosecution released the details in resisting a motion from Ramsey’s attorneys to lower her bail amount, currently set at $2 million. Okland’s death rippled throughout Des Moines’ small, tight-knit real estate community, said her coworker Scott Steelman, president of the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors and an agent at Iowa Realty. He described the killing as “so out of character for our business, our industry, our profession.” After Okland’s death, the realtors’ association pushed to create safety standards and guidance. “Nationwide, it’s caused the real estate community to take greater caution when interacting with the public,” Steelman said. “We will not show any property to someone who we don’t know, aren’t familiar or at least have not vetted.” That safety pledge crafted in Iowa is promoted by the National Association of Realtors and is being used by hundreds of state and local associations across the U.S. Since Ramsey also is a member of the real estate community, Steelman said her arrest also has spurred confusion and more questions than answers. At the time, Ramsey had worked for Rottlund Homes of Iowa, which used independent real estate agents for sales. Rottlund Homes owned the model home where Okland was killed. Ramsey appeared in court Friday wearing a pantsuit, with one arm and both feet shackled. She wiped tears from her eyes at times as witnesses described her character as part of the defense’s effort to reduce her bail amount. Her husband and son, parents and grandfather sat in the first row behind her. Ramsey was initially appointed a public defender but is now represented by prominent defense attorneys, who said she has strong family ties and has lived in small, rural town of Woodward, Iowa, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Des Moines, since she was a child. Prosecutors said a witness was next door in a townhome that shared a wall with the model home when they heard two loud noises “described as thuds that were 3-4 seconds apart,” according to the filing. Prosecutors said the witness looked out after hearing the sounds and saw Ramsey by the front door. The witness then saw her pacing by her car on her cellphone before driving off, returning later. “Concerned that something was wrong, the witness entered the model home and discovered Ms. Okland unresponsive on the ground,” the filing reads. The witness called 911, prosecutors said. In their response, Ramsey’s attorneys said prosecutors are offering “cherry-picked” evidence, arguing that they did not present the grand jury with a weapon, ballistics evidence or DNA evidence. “So while the State is right the grand jury’s job was to consider the evidence presented to it, it fails to disclose that the State chose not to present all the evidence it has collected in the last 15 years,” Ramsey’s attorneys wrote. “The grand jurors here were shown only a few pieces of the puzzle over two days—not the whole picture.” Trial is set to begin next January. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- Family sues US over 8-year-old’s death in custody after crossing the border
on April 10, 2026 at 10:18 pmMcALLEN, Texas (AP) — The Honduran family of an 8-year-old girl with a heart condition who died in U.S. custody after crossing the border in 2023 sued the federal government on Friday. Anadith Danay Reyes Alvarez, who had chronic heart problems and sickle cell anemia, got sick with flu-like symptoms and died after being detained for eight days in a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility in Donna, then later Harlingen, Texas. An internal CPB investigation found found failures in providing proper medical care and that medical personnel did not review documents the mother offered which described the girl’s sensitive condition. In custody, Anadith had a high fever of 104.9 F (40.5 C) as well as nausea, breathing difficulties and pain. Despite pleas from her mom, the child was not taken to a hospital until her body went limp in her mother’s arms. Mabel Alvarez Benedicks described her daughter’s death in an emotional interview with The Associated Press later that week. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit. Friday’s wrongful death lawsuit follows a tort claim made against the government last year which was denied in October. The lawsuit is seeking to cover damages suffered by the family but does not request a specific monetary amount. The child’s mother said she visits a psychiatrist regularly and takes medication to help her sleep. Her father, Rossel Reyes Martinez, said their daughter’s death was the realization of a parent’s worst nightmare. “That is why we are filing this lawsuit today in her memory, to ensure that no family has to endure the same pain we have endured,” her father said Thursday. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
Recent Comments