‘The Braxtons’ return to We TV in part to honor Traci, who died in 2022 (2024)

AP Global Top 20 Pollstar Week of 08/19/24

Authorities say a man who got out of his car in the drive-thru lane of a fast-food restaurant in Ohio and fatally shot a woman in another vehicle before turning the gun on himself did not know the woman. Stow police Chief Jeff Film says a motive for the shooting may never be known. The shooting occurred about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Witnesses said 53-year-old Jason Williams struck the rear of a car driven by 25-year-old Megan Keleman after she pulled in front of him to get in the drive-thru line. Williams got out of his car and shot Keleman, then shot himself moments later.

A Florida jury has begun deliberations in the manslaughter trial of a white woman accused of manslaughter in the shooting death of a Black neighbor amid an ongoing feud over the neighbor’s children. Susan Lorincz, 60, faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted in the June 2023 killing of 35-year-old Ajike “A.J.” Owens, a mother of four, in Ocala, Florida. Lorincz claimed she fired her .380-caliber handgun through her front door in self-defense because Owens was pounding on the door and yelling at her. Jurors got the case Friday after closing arguments from attorneys.

The World Health Organization has declared the ongoing outbreaks of mpox in Congo and elsewhere in Africa to be a global emergency, requiring urgent action to curb the virus’ transmission. Sweden has since announced it had found the first case of a new form of mpox previously only seen in Africa, while other European health authorities warned more imported cases were likely. Mpox, also known as monkeypox, is spread primarily through close skin-to-skin contact with infected people or their soiled clothes or bedsheets.

LOS ANGELES— Authorities have unveiled a troubling narrative of the weeks leading up to the death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry.

Authorities say they won't charge a woman who left her newborn in a box on the side of a Minnesota road 35 years ago. On Thursday, the Sherburne County Sheriff's Office announced the decision by County Attorney Kathleen Heaney, who said the statute of limitations had run out. The case was unsolved for decades until investigators took another look last year with help from state and federal authorities. They identified the mother, now 56, through a DNA match. She said she had kept her pregnancy and the birth from her family, and that the child was not born alive.

MIAMI — You officially have four months to get ready for a raucous party.

Ketamine is the drug involved in the death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry and a powerful anesthetic approved by U.S. health regulators for use during surgery. It can be given as an intramuscular injection or by IV. The drug is a chemical cousin of the recreational drug PCP. Ketamine itself has been used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It can cause hallucinations and can impact breathing and the heart.

A nonprofit art studio and service provider for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Nebraska remains open thanks to two staff members who fought to save it. Live Yes Studios in Lincoln survived a pandemic, several moves and policy changes. Then its parent company moved to close it, but staff members Natasha Scholz and Micah Snyder decided they couldn't let that happen. They worked hard and fast to become a standalone nonprofit. They also had to find another location to operate, keep staff aboard, get approval through Medicaid and raise money to bridge the inevitable funding gap. Snyder said somehow everything lined up and they moved into a new space in July.

The U.S. has called on Sudan’s military to join talks aimed at calming the country’s grinding conflict as the country faces a worsening humanitarian crisis. The military has boycotted negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, now in their third day, despite international pleas that they participate. Sudan’s military is battling the powerful paramilitary known as The Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Sudan’s governing council, which is led by top military generals, has said that the key border crossing of Adre from neighboring Chad, into Darfur, where some are facing famine, will re-open.

LOS ANGELES — Last fall, the death of "Friends" star Matthew Perry was met with a collective howl of grief.

A Colorado man is charged with strangulation and child abuse after he allegedly grabbed a teen by the neck and threw him on the floor of an In-N-Out Burger as the teen was apologizing for splashing water. Loveland Police say the 55-year-old man surrendered on Tuesday, the day a warrant was issued for his arrest. His bail was set at $75,000 and his next court appearance is Aug. 23. Officers were called to the restaurant at about 1 a.m. on Aug. 4. A 15-year-old boy said he and two friends were splashing water on one another when a woman was accidentally splashed. Officers reviewed video of the incident and witnesses identified the suspect.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is out with a string of new proposals on food prices, taxes, housing and medical costs that she says will empower the middle class. The plans constitute the first major policy proposals Harris has released in the nearly four weeks since President Joe Biden bowed out of the race and endorsed the vice president. Among other proposals, Harris wants to increase homebuilding and affordable housing stock around the country, provide more tax incentives for first-time homebuyers, impose limits on profits from food production in order to cut grocery store prices and cancel accumulated medical debt for millions of Americans.

A Missouri woman has been arrested on charges alleging she orchestrated a scheme to fraudulently sell Elvis Presley’s Graceland property in Memphis. The Justice Department said Lisa Jeanine Findley of Kimberling City, Missouri is accused of scheming to steal to the Presley family’s ownership interest in Graceland, falsely claiming that Presley’s daughter pledged the property as collateral for a loan she failed to pay before her death. An attorney for Findley, who used multiple aliases, was not listed in court documents and a telephone number was not immediately available in public records.

Missouri woman charged with trying to defraud Elvis Presley's family in illegal scheme to try to sell Graceland.

LANSING, Mich. — A Lansing man will spend the rest of his life in prison after kidnapping and killing a 2-year-old girl, dumping her body in Detroit, but not before the toddler's grandfather questioned why his granddaughter was killed and "used as collateral."

Hettie Jones, an award-winning poet, publisher and children's book author who was the first wife and early muse of the author-activist Amiri Baraka, has died at age 90. A statement released by her family says she died Tuesday. Jones was married to Baraka when he was LeRoi Jones and he would dedicate his first poetry collection to her. After they divorced, she wrote poetry, children’s books and the memoir “How I Became Hettie Jones.” She taught at the New School and the 92nd Street Y Poetry Center, served on PEN America’s prison writing committee and ran a writing workshop at the New York State Correctional Facility for Women.

CHICAGO — A few weeks ago, Georgia Democrats nervously declared themselves united behind President Joe Biden ahead of the party’s nominating convention, with some saying they would even back an inanimate object if that’s what it took to defeat Donald Trump.

Germany's Defense Ministry says an investigation found no evidence that the water supply at a major air force barracks in western Germany was tampered with, two days after the facility was sealed off for hours over fears of possible sabotage. The probe was launched on Wednesday after a hole was found in a fence near the waterworks of the Wahn barracks outside Cologne and what the military called “abnormal water values” were reported. The Defense Ministry said Friday that “a manipulation of the drinking water facility could not be confirmed after extensive investigations” and that the quality requirements for drinking water were fulfilled. It added that “further investigations are ongoing,” without giving details.

Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison caught up with the hosts of “Politically Georgia” ahead of next week’s convention.

LOS ANGELES — Adam Epstein, a Tony Award-winning producer who helped bring "Hairspray" to Broadway, has died.

Australian actor Simon Baker, best known for his leading role in CBS' hit series "The Mentalist," is facing drunk-driving charges in Australia.

The Biden administration is hiking pay for educators in the early childhood program Head Start as part of an effort to retain current employees and attract new ones in the midst of a workforce shortage. The administration’s new rules, published Friday, will require large operators to put their employees on a path to earn what their counterparts in local school districts make by 2031. Large operators also will have to provide healthcare for their employees. Smaller operators — those that serve fewer than 200 families — are not bound by the same requirements.

ATLANTA — Last summer, as Georgia writers and actors were on strike, Kathleen Bertrand kept her focus.

‘Homicide: Life on the Street’

LOS ANGELES — Four years ago, Eugene and Dan Levy became the first father-son duo to win Emmys in the same year. This year, they're embarking on another first: hosting the Emmys.

Politicians often recalibrate in the face of shifting public opinions and circ*mstances. Across two decades in elected offices, Vice President Kamala Harris is no exception. She has staked out expedient and — at times — contradictory positions as she climbed the political ladder. Now, as a presidential candidate, Harris’ litany of policy reversals is opening her to attacks by Republicans and testing the strength of her pitch to voters as a truth-teller who is far more credible than former President Donald Trump.

Inmates have reportedly broken out of a prison in the coastal town of Saint-Marc in central Haiti as authorities in the country struggle to quell ongoing gang violence. Le Nouvelliste newspaper said officials at the prison went on strike to demand better treatment, and it quoted government commissioner Vension François as saying he feared a “mutiny.” That suggested guards may have been complicit in Friday’s prison break. But the report did not elaborate. Local officials could not be immediately reached. Gunfire was heard near the prison, and videos posted on social media show smoke and fire billowing from it. It wasn’t immediately clear how many prisoners escaped or how many inmates the prison held at the time.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As a result of state budget cuts, Sacramento State is looking to charge students up to $1,000 in mandatory fees. In defense of the increase, President Luke Wood said these fees will be used to support and fund existing programs.

BALTIMORE — The massive ships that regularly sail into Maryland carry cars, cargo, commerce — and a degree of potential calamity.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Placer Superior Court judge is expected to announce next week whether a father accused of murder and torture of his 9-year-old adopted son should face any criminal charges in the child’s death.

NEW YORK — At 91 years old, Willie Nelson is proving he’s still going strong as the country music veteran announced Thursday the upcoming release of his 153rd album.

Germany’s quarrelsome governing coalition has reached an agreement on details of the country’s 2025 budget. Friday's accord comes weeks after Chancellor Olaf Scholz and top officials clinched an initial deal that then got bogged down in a new dispute, further damaging the unpopular government’s image. Scholz has run a three-party coalition of his center-left Social Democrats with the environmentalist Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats since December 2021. The alliance, which brings together parties that weren’t traditionally allies, has become notorious for frequent infighting and on several occasions reopened hard-fought policy agreements.

DENVER — Five Colorado cities hit a benchmark for reducing carbon monoxide in the air and now Colorado will ask the Environmental Protection Agency to release it from federal oversight for monitoring those emissions.

LOS ANGELES — New video shows a dramatic fight between a Riverside County sheriff's deputy and a man and woman before the deputy fatally shoots the woman.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A bill that would have required all California families to enroll their children in kindergarten was rejected by the state Legislature on Thursday, the latest of several failed attempts over the years to make the grade compulsory.

A Texas couple has been charged following the death of a 12-year-old girl who authorities say lay unconscious for four days before medical treatment was sought. Atascosa County Sheriff David Soward says 36-year-old Denise Balbaneda and 40-year-old Gerald Gonzales each face a felony charge of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury by omission because they failed to seek medical attention for Miranda Sipps. Soward said the girl was injured Aug. 8 and medical help was not sought until Monday shortly before she died at a hospital. He says the mother and stepfather tried to feed her smoothies.

The top United Nations court says that public hearings will open Dec. 2 in a landmark case seeking a non-binding advisory opinion on “the obligations of States in respect of climate change.” The U.N. General Assembly sent the case to the International Court of Justice last year, with Secretary-General António Guterres saying at the time that he hoped the opinion would encourage nations “to take the bolder and stronger climate action that our world so desperately needs.” The court said Friday that it had received written comments from 62 nations and organizations related to 91 written statements on the issue it had earlier received.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A majority of likely California voters support stiffer penalties for crimes involving theft and fentanyl, according to a new UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll co-sponsored by The Times.

Mideast mediators say cease-fire talks have wrapped up and they aim to reconvene in Cairo next week to seal a deal.