U.S. News

BOSTON (AP) — A former Massachusetts State Police trooper who was allegedly part of a scheme to take bribes for giving passing scores on commercial driving tests pleaded not guilty in federal court Wednesday to a range of charges, his lawyer said. Two current and two former troopers are accused of falsifying records and giving preferential treatment to at least …

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A federal judge has approved an agreement between two tribes and an eastern Nebraska county that gives Native American voters a majority in five of the county’s seven board districts. Chief U.S. District Judge Robert Rossiter Jr. called the agreement a “fair, reasonable and adequate” settlement of a lawsuit in which the Winnebago and Omaha tribes …

LOS ANGELES (AP) — When rainstorms like this week’s powerful atmospheric river hit California, the earth begins to move. Water rushing down mountains and hills picks up soil and vegetation, as well as boulders, trees and cars that can become battering rams. In the blink of an eye, property is damaged or destroyed and lives are put at risk. A …

ATLANTA (AP) — A majority of Georgia’s senators want to let people buy guns, ammunition and gun safes without paying sales tax for five days each fall, while some House members are considering a narrower tax break for only gun safety devices. Republicans favor both approaches, partly in an election-year nod to gun owners, but Democrats favor only tax breaks …

ATLANTA (AP) — Amendments to Georgia’s current state budget moved ahead Tuesday, including $315 million to cover bonuses that were already paid to state employees and public school teachers and $1.5 billion in extra money for road building and maintenance. The House Appropriations Committee voted to advance House Bill 915, which would boost spending in the current budget running through …

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ante un torrente de críticas de los conservadores, los senadores republicanos se distanciaron el lunes de una propuesta bipartidista cuyo objetivo es reducir el número de cruces fronterizos ilegales, en un indicio de que probablemente sufrirá un revés en el Congreso que dejaría a los dirigentes de ambos partidos sin una vía clara para aprobar la asistencia …

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Dozens of open judgeships throughout the South Carolina courts will go unfilled amid an unresolved debate over the state’s system of judicial selection. The South Carolina Senate ended Tuesday without approving a House resolution to set Feb. 7 as the date when both chambers vote to fill upcoming vacancies in the judiciary. That means it will …

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Nearly 68 million American adults — about 1 in 4 — plan to bet on this year’s Super Bowl, setting a record by a wide margin, according to the gambling industry’s national trade association. Figures released Tuesday by the American Gaming Association include bets placed with legal outlets, as well as with illegal bookies and …

DONALDSONVILLE, La. (AP) — A Louisiana sheriff’s deputy was arrested Monday and fired on accusations of sneaking contraband into a jail. Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre said Andrew Wheeler faces one count of introduction of contraband into a penal facility and malfeasance in office, news outlets reported. Information on whether Wheeler had an attorney to speak on his behalf did …

Arguments over eliminating South Dakota’s food tax resumed this month — a top issue in recent years that quickly ended Monday with the Senate’s defeat of a ballot proposal for voters. Democratic Senate Minority Leader Reynold Nesiba proposed a November 2024 ballot measure for voters to lower the food tax to zero and to repeal a four-year sales tax cut …