WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden informed Congress on Monday that he will end the twin national emergencies for addressing COVID-19 on May 11, as most of the world has returned closer to normalcy nearly three years after they were first declared. The move to end the national emergency and public health emergency declarations would formally restructure the federal coronavirus response to treat the virus as an endemic threat to public health that can be managed through agencies' normal authorities. It comes as lawmakers have already ended elements of the emergencies that kept millions of Americans insured during the pandemic. Combined with the drawdown of most federal COVID-19 relief money, it would also shift the development of vaccines and treatments away from the direct management of the federal government.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Memphis Police Department has disciplined two more officers involved in the arrest, beating and death of Tyre Nichols, the department said Monday, widening the circle of punishment for a killing that has already led to the murder indictment of five officers and outraged the nation with another display of police brutality. Officer Preston Hemphill, who is white, was relieved of duty shortly after Nichols’ Jan. 7 arrest, the department said. Five Black officers were fired and charged last week with second-degree murder and other offenses in Nichols’ beating and Jan. 10 death. Late Monday, the police department said another officer had been relieved of duty.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cindy Williams, who was among the most recognizable stars in America in the 1970s and 80s for her role as Shirley opposite Penny Marshall's Laverne on the beloved sitcom "Laverne & Shirley," has died, her family said Monday. Williams died in Los Angeles at age 75 on Wednesday after a brief illness, her children, Zak and Emily Hudson, said in a statement released through family spokeswoman Liza Cranis. "The passing of our kind, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed," the statement said. “Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege.
NEW YORK (AP) — Manhattan prosecutors investigating Donald Trump have convened a new grand jury to hear evidence in a years-old probe into payments made to keep the porn star Stormy Daniels quiet about an alleged sexual encounter with the former president, according to multiple news reports. The news outlets, citing unnamed sources, reported that witnesses started testifying before the grand jury on Monday, signaling an escalation in what Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has alluded to as “the next chapter” in his office’s Trump investigation. A spokesperson for Bragg’s office declined comment. In a post to his Truth Social platform, Trump blasted Bragg as the “Radical Left Manhattan D.A.” and said the new grand jury was “a continuation of the Greatest Witch Hunt of all time.” Grand juries have been convened before in New York to explore the possibility of criminal charges against Trump, but to date none have issued an indictment.
“I did him so bad.” That's what a South Carolina investigator on Monday testified that Alex Murdaugh had uttered between sobs during a recorded interview three days after Murdaugh's wife and son were killed. But to others inside and outside the courtroom, it sounded like Murdaugh said, “They did him so bad,” on the audio from a police interview that was played at the disgraced attorney’s double murder trial after he was asked about a picture of his son’s body. Court ended Monday before the defense could cross-examine the agent. Earlier in the day, defense attorneys continued to question the way state authorities collected and analyzed evidence in the shooting deaths of Murdaugh's wife and son.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has filed a request for a six-month visitor visa to stay in the U.S., indicating he may have no immediate intention of returning home, where legal issues await. The application was first reported by The Financial Times, citing Bolsonaro's immigration lawyer, Felipe Alexandre. Contacted by The Associated Press, the lawyer's firm, AG Immigration, confirmed the report. Bolsonaro left Brazil for Florida on Dec. 30, two days before the inauguration of his leftist rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The ceremony proceeded without incident, but a week later thousands of Bolsonaro's die-hard supporters stormed the capital and trashed the top government buildings demanding that Lula's election be overturned.
VISALIA, Calif. (AP) — Two weeks after shooters brazenly killed a teen mother, her 10-month-old baby and four other members of her household, the suspects remain at large. Authorities on Monday provided no motive for the attack in a central California farming community. Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux has yet to describe the shooters publicly or provide any information about what he previously called the “assassination-style” killings, other than to say investigators believe they are gang-related. Boudreaux did not take questions from reporters during a news conference Monday, his first public remarks since the day after the Jan. 16 shooting in rural Goshen.
CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago prosecutor said Monday that she's dropping sex-abuse charges against singer R. Kelly following federal convictions in two courts that should guarantee the disgraced R&B star will be locked up for decades. Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx announced the decision a day ahead of a hearing related to state charges accusing him of sexually abusing four people, three of whom were minors. She said she would ask a judge to dismiss the indictments Tuesday. Foxx, who in 2019 had pleaded with women and girls to come forward so she could pursue charges against Kelly, acknowledged that the decision “may be disappointing” to his accusers.
NEW YORK (AP) — Nothing — not Tom Cruise's snub nor Austin Butler's lingering Elvis Presley inflections — has caused quite as much a stir around this year's Oscars as the best-actress nomination for British actress Andrea Riseborough. Riseborough was unexpectedly nominated for her performance as an alcoholic Texas single mother in the scantly seen indie drama “To Leslie," a pick that shocked Oscar pundits and has since brought scrutiny from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. For a movie that has grossed $27,322 at the box office, “To Leslie” and Riseborough have made a lot of noise.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — COVID-19 precautions wiped out most New Orleans' Mardi Gras festivities in 2021, and a shortage of police officers forced the city to shorten routes for some of its lavish seasonal parades in 2022. Now, city officials, and business owners are celebrating plans to let the good times roll on longer routes -- and in front of businesses that welcome the crowds -- with security bolstered by neighboring police agencies. Mayor LaToya Cantrell's official announcement Monday that parade routes were being lengthened was welcome news to Staci Rosenberg, a founder of the Krewe of Muses. It means the all-female organization and its signature floats — including a giant stilletto-heeled pump swathed in color-changing lights — will be able to roll again on Magazine Street.