Marijuana coming to select Circle K gas stations in U.S. next year
Circle K, the global convenience-store chain, signed a deal with Green Thumb Industries Inc., one of the largest U.S. cannabis producers, to sell licensed marijuana at its Florida gasoline retailers. The partnership will begin next year with 10 of the company’s 600 locations in the state, Green Thumb said. The...
IRS ups standard deductions, tax brackets due to inflation
WASHINGTON — Taxpayers will get fatter standard deductions for 2023 and all seven federal income tax bracket levels will be revised upward as the government allows people to shield more of their money from taxation because of persistently high inflation. For couples who file jointly for tax year 2023, the...
Here’s how to apply for student loan forgiveness
NEW YORK — President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program. announced in August, will cancel up to $20,000 in debt per borrower. The application process is now open, and the administration says the forms should take five minutes to complete. Borrowers who apply before mid-November should see forgiveness before Jan....
Abortion access looms over medical residency applications
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Students in obstetrics-gynecology and family medicine — two of the most popular medical residencies — face tough choices about where to advance their training in a landscape where legal access to abortion varies from state to state. Abortions are typically performed by OB-GYNs or family doctors, and...
Putin declares martial law in annexed regions of Ukraine
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin declared martial law Wednesday in the four regions of Ukraine that Moscow illegally annexed and given additional emergency powers to the heads of all regions of Russia. Putin didn’t immediately spell out the steps that would be taken under martial law, but said his...
UK inflation accelerates to 40-year high as food prices rise
LONDON — British food prices rose at the fastest pace since 1980 last month, driving inflation back to a 40-year high and heaping pressure on the embattled government to balance the books without gutting help for the nation’s poorest residents. Food prices jumped 14.6% in the year through September, led...
Georgia college student killed by plane propeller at airport
STATESBORO, Ga. — A college student died as a result of being struck by the propeller of a small plane as he disembarked at an airport in southeast Georgia, authorities said. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Board are investigating the death Sunday night at Statesboro-Bulloch County Airport,...
Biden to release 15M barrels from oil reserve, more possible
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will announce the release of 15 million barrels of oil from the U.S. strategic reserve Wednesday as part of a response to recent production cuts announced by OPEC+ nations, and he will say more oil sales are possible this winter, as his administration rushes to...
Philly has spent $205 million on salaries for injured police since 2017. An audit found little is done to prevent fraud
For nearly two decades, top city officials have argued that a generous but loosely-controlled state disability benefit meant for injured Philadelphia police officers has been an easy target for abuse. But an audit of police spending, released Tuesday by City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart, has found that the cost to taxpayers...
Woman who faked her kidnapping and went to Disney now faces fraud charges
PHILADELPHIA — A former Pennsylvania woman who made national headlines more than a decade ago by falsely claiming she had been kidnapped when she had actually gone to Walt Disney World is facing new charges in an alleged attempt to steal from an employer. Federal authorities have charged 51-year-old Bonnie...
Man convicted of killing missing California college student Kristin SmartVideo
LOS ANGELES — The last man seen with Kristin Smart was convicted Tuesday of killing the college freshman, who vanished from a California campus 25 years ago. Jurors unanimously found Paul Flores guilty of first-degree murder, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reported. A jury in a separate trial found his...
Russian expat acquitted at trial over discredited Trump dossierVideo
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A jury on Tuesday acquitted a think tank analyst accused of lying to the FBI about his role in the creation of a discredited dossier about former President Donald Trump. The case against Igor Danchenko was the third and possibly final case brought by Special Counsel John...
Man wanted for questioning in 4 Oklahoma deaths is arrestedVideo
OKMULGEE, Okla. — A man wanted for questioning about the deaths and dismemberment of four men in eastern Oklahoma has been arrested in Florida, police said Tuesday. Joe Kennedy, 67, was arrested Monday in Daytona Beach Shores while driving a stolen vehicle, according to a statement by Okmulgee Police Chief...
Police cameras show confusion, anger over DeSantis’ voter fraud arrestsVideo
TALLAHASSEE — When police went to arrest Tony Patterson outside his Tampa home in August, he couldn’t believe the reason. “What is wrong with this state, man?” Patterson protested as he was being escorted to a police car in handcuffs. “Voter fraud? Y’all said anybody with a felony could vote,...
2 killed when small plane crashes into eastern Ohio car dealershipVideo
MARIETTA, Ohio — A small plane crashed into a car dealership parking lot early Tuesday near the border of Ohio and West Virginia, killing two people on board and sparking a large fire. The crash of the 1974 Beechcraft Air King E90 in Marietta, Ohio, was reported about 7:15 a.m.,...
11 more crash deaths are linked to automated-tech vehicles
DETROIT — Eleven additional people were killed in U.S. crashes involving vehicles that were using automated driving systems during a four-month period earlier this year, according to newly released government data, part of an alarming pattern of incidents linked to the technology. Ten of the deaths involved vehicles made by...
Are you a mosquito magnet? It could be your smell
NEW YORK — A new study finds that some people really are “mosquito magnets” and it probably has to do with the way they smell. The researchers found that people who are most attractive to mosquitoes produce a lot of certain chemicals on their skin that are tied to smell....
Ukraine’s power, water supplies under Russian attack again
KYIV, Ukraine — Airstrikes cut power and water supplies to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians on Tuesday, part of what the country’s president called an expanding Russian campaign to drive the nation into the cold and dark and make peace talks impossible. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said nearly one-third of Ukraine’s...
K.C. man charged in deadly sword attack on brother after fight over oven being shut off
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A 38-year-old man has been charged in the fatal stabbing of his younger brother who was found on the front porch of the family’s Kansas City home with a sword in his chest, according to a news release from the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecutors have...
Winning $494M lottery ticket sold in city battered by Ian
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A winning lottery ticket worth a share of a $494 million Mega Millions jackpot was purchased in a southwest Florida city hammered by Hurricane Ian late last month. Florida lottery officials on Monday said one of the two winning tickets was purchased at a 7-Eleven in Fort...
Bulldozer crushes 81-year-old man to death in Lancaster County
An 81-year-old tree worker was pronounced dead after a bulldozer ran him over Monday in Lancaster County, authorities said. Walter Shirk of Ephrata was working in a wooded area of a West Cocalico Township farm when he was killed around 3:15 p.m., according to the Lancaster County Coroner’s Office. Ephrata...
Biden vows abortion legislation as top priority next year
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will promise Tuesday that the first bill he sends to Capitol Hill next year will be one that codifies Roe v. Wade — if Democrats control enough seats in Congress for Biden to sign abortion protections into law. It’s the first time Biden has prioritized...
At $85 million, MacKenzie Scott gives Girl Scouts its largest-ever individual donation
NEW YORK — Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott donated $84.5 million to Girl Scouts of the USA and 29 of its local branches, the 110-year-old organization said Tuesday, calling it a vote of confidence. “Her support of our organization means honestly just as much as the donation,” Sofia Chang, CEO of GSUSA,...
Comcast will boost internet speeds in Northeast states
For the second time this year, Comcast will boost internet speeds on its most popular Xfinity customer plans, the cable giant announced Monday. Comcast is facing continued competitive pressure from rivals, such as AT&T, Verizon, and Google Fiber, to increase speeds. This summer, Comcast announced that it had lost residential...
Liz Truss’ waning power brings political plots, and jokes
LONDON — Powerless, humiliated, labeled a “ghost” prime minister and compared unfavorably to a head of lettuce — this is not a good week for Liz Truss. Britain’s prime minister was scrambling to recover her grasp on power Tuesday after her economic plans were ripped up and repudiated by a...
