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Wisconsin Assembly passes sweeping bill to overhaul liquor law

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:12 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The laws governing Wisconsin’s multibillion-dollar liquor industry would be streamlined and updated under a sweeping measure passed by the state Assembly on Wednesday that’s supported by groups from the smallest craft brewers to the largest national brewers, bar owners and alcohol distributors.The massive overhaul to the laws affecting the production, distribution and sale of alcohol passed with broad bipartisan support. The measure now heads to the Senate for final approval. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who was involved with discussions of the measure, is expected to sign it into law.The proposal would create a new division within the state Department of Revenue, which would be in charge of overseeing and enforcing the state’s alcohol laws. The absence of such a unit now has led to inconsistent enforcement of the law — and questions over how they affect new businesses that weren’t envisioned when the laws were enacted, supporters of the b...

After GOP walkout, Oregon passes amended bills on abortion, trans care and guns

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:12 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon lawmakers on Wednesday officially passed amended versions of the two bills — relating to guns, and abortion and gender-affirming care, respectively — that were at the center of a six-week Republican walkout.Their final passage — coming the week after Republicans stopped their boycott and just days before the end of the legislative session on June 25 — highlighted the partisan hurdles that were overcome to bring the GOP walkout to an end.But while the negotiated bipartisan agreements allowed the bills to progress and ultimately receive their final floor vote in the state House on Wednesday, they did not pass with support from both sides of the aisle. Multiple GOP lawmakers spoke on the House floor to voice their opposition to the bills before the votes. Republican state Rep. Emily McIntire said that while she was grateful for the changes to the bill on abortion and gender-affirming care, she still could not support it.“It is not with joy, but with a lot o...

Plant-based courses of millet, stuffed mushrooms on White House state dinner menu for India

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:12 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Plant-based courses of millet and stuffed mushrooms are on the menu for some 400 guests invited to Thursday’s fancy White House state dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi is a vegetarian and first lady Jill Biden enlisted California-based chef Nancy Curtis, whose specializes in plant-based cooking, to help in the kitchen. Biden previewed the menu and decor for the news media on Wednesday after she returned from an outing with the prime minister.Guests will dine on a salad of marinated millet, corn and compressed watermelon, stuffed Portobello mushrooms and risotto, and a strawberry shortcake infused with rose and cardamom. A fish course will be available for guests who prefer that option. Earlier Wednesday, the first lady and the Indian leader visited the National Science Foundation in Alexandria, Virginia, for an event highlighting workforce training programs. He flew in from New York, where earlier in the day he performed backbends and ...

Who will have the 2023 song of the summer? We offer some predictions

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:12 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The sun is shining, the beach is calling, and school is out: It’s time to prepare the song of the summer.Often, there’s a clear champion: In 2017, Lusi Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, and Justin Bieber’s “Despacito” was unavoidable. In 2019, Lil Nas X’s ubiquitous “Old Town Road” foretold future superstardom. Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” did the same in 2021. But that’s not always the case.Was Harry Styles’ “As It Was” the go-to jam of the 2022 season? Who claimed the title during the summer-that-barely-was in 2020? When all the world’s music is available on streaming platforms, can genre-loyal listeners agree on a single song of the summer? What if they didn’t have to? Well, here are AP’s 2023 song(s) of the summer predictions — and holders of each crown from past years:Club song of the summer: “Put It On Da Floor Again” by Latto ft. Cardi BRapper Latto’s combative, no-nonsense flow atop a hot, minimalist beat on “Put It On Da Floor” makes it a club-ready contender fo...

Ex-Goldman Sachs investment banker convicted of insider trading charges

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:12 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A former Goldman Sachs investment banker was convicted of insider trading charges Wednesday after a weeklong trial.Brijesh Goel, 38, of Manhattan, was convicted in Manhattan federal court of securities fraud, conspiracy and obstruction of justice by a jury that deliberated less than a day before concluding he had shared secrets about likely merger-and-acquisition transactions that Goldman Sachs was considering financing.Sentencing was set for Oct. 19.Prosecutors said Goel worked in Manhattan at the investment bank when he shared information about potential merger and acquisition deals with a friend who worked at another investment bank in Manhattan.Goel and the friend agreed to split profits from their illegal trading, which amounted to about $280,000, prosecutors said.Prosecutors said Goel obstructed justice by deleting electronic communications regarding the insider trading scheme as a grand jury and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigated.Adam For...

Iowa governor settles open records lawsuit filed by media groups

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:12 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by journalists and open government advocates who sought to require her office to respond to public record requests, and a state panel agreed Wednesday to pay more than $100,000 in attorney fees.Reynolds settled the lawsuit about two months after the Iowa Supreme Court refused to dismiss the case filed by two media organizations and a nonprofit advocacy group. The court unanimously rejected the governor’s argument that her office wasn’t required to respond in a timely manner to record requests and that she could bypass the state’s open records law by simply ignoring the requests.The organizations filed the lawsuit in 2021, claiming the governor had violated Iowa’s open records law by ignoring government record requests. The reporters had emailed the governor’s office with eight different open-record requests between April 2020 and April 2021 and renewed each request at least once. In...

Algoma Steel Group down $20.4 million in Q4 amid lower steel prices, higher costs

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:12 GMT

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. — Algoma Steel Group Inc. says its net loss for the fourth quarter was $20.4 million, compared with earnings of $242.9 million a year earlier. Net loss per diluted share was 19 cents, down from earnings of $1.45 the same quarter last year. The Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.-based steel producer says revenue for the quarter ended March 31 was $677.4 million, down from $941.8 million. Earnings for the full fiscal year were $298.5 million, down from $857.7 million the previous year. The company says the net loss for the fourth quarter was primarily due to lower selling steel prices as well as higher costs. CEO Michael Garcia says the results were in line with the company’s previous outlook, and that the quarter saw plate and strip operations return to normal production levels.“We expect to continue this momentum into fiscal 2024, with expected strong first quarter shipments and operating cash flow.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published ...

Ousted incumbents, key matchups set: Takeaways from Virginia’s primary election

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:12 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A historic number of state lawmakers were ousted in this week’s Virginia primary, which featured about four dozen legislative races that set the parties’ slate of candidates for what will be a hard-fought general election. Every seat in both the House of Delegates and state Senate will be on the ballot in November in an election cycle that will help determine how much of his legislative agenda Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin can achieve in his final two years in office. Virginia is currently politically divided, and its unusual off-year legislative elections typically draw outsized national attention as a possible barometer of voter sentiment heading into the next year’s midterm or presidential cycle. Here is a look at some of the key takeaways from Tuesday’s results and what’s ahead:HISTORIC TURNOVERIt was clear well before Tuesday night that the General Assembly was headed for massive turnover, driven by a bipartisan redistricting ...

UN warns Taliban that restrictions on Afghan women and girls make recognition `nearly impossible’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:12 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. envoy for Afghanistan warned the country’s Taliban rulers Wednesday that international recognition as the country’s legitimate government will remain “nearly impossible” unless they lift severe restrictions on women and girls’ education and employment.Roza Otunbayeva told the U.N. Security Council that the Taliban have asked to be recognized by the United Nations and its 192 other member nations, “but at the same time they act against the key values expressed in the United Nations Charter.”In her regular discussions with the Taliban, she said, “I am blunt about the obstacles they have created for themselves by the decrees and restrictions they have enacted, in particular against women and girls.”The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops were in the final weeks of withdrawing from the country after two decades of war. The group’s decrees limiting the participation of girls and women have impacted fo...

Trump adviser Eastman faces California disciplinary charges

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:12 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Conservative attorney John Eastman, a lead architect of some of former President Donald Trump’s efforts to remain in power after the 2020 election, was slapped Thursday with a series of disciplinary charges in California that could lead to his disbarment.The State Bar of California’s chief trial counsel, George Cardona, said in a statement that the 11 charges stem from allegations that Eastman assisted Trump with a strategy — not supported by facts — to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 election by obstructing the count of electoral votes of certain states. The office intends to seek Eastman’s disbarment.Eastman, the former dean of Chapman University law school in Southern California, was one of Trump’s lawyers during the election. He wrote a memo that argued former Vice President Mike Pence could keep Trump in power by overturning the results of the election during a joint session of Congress convened to count electoral votes. Critics have likened that ...