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Biden administration announces $1.4 billion to improve rail safety and boost capacity in 35 states

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Biden administration announced Monday that it has awarded more than $1.4 billion to projects that improve railway safety and boost capacity, with much of the money coming from the 2021 infrastructure law. "These projects will make American rail safer, more reliable, and more resilient, delivering tangible benefits to dozens of communities where railroads are located, and strengthening supply chains for the entire country," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg

A small venture capital player becomes a symbol in the fight over corporate diversity policies

NEW YORK (AP) - A venture capital firm that has backed buzzy new companies like restaurant chain Slutty Vegan and beauty brand Live Tinted has become symbolic of the fight over corporate diversity policies since becoming a target of a lawsuit over a grant program for Black women. But the Fearless Fund is a tiny player in the approximately $200 billion global venture capital market. The Atlanta-based firm has invested

Gates Foundation commits $200 million to pay for medical supplies and contraception

NEW YORK (AP) - The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledged $200 million to help save the lives of mothers and children during child birth, as the largest American philanthropic donor throws its weight behind the issue during the nonprofit's annual Goalkeepers conference on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Melinda French Gates, who says the issue is personal to her, smiled broadly as she introduced herself not just

Acting Temple University president JoAnne A. Epps dies after falling ill on stage

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Temple University acting president JoAnne A. Epps died Tuesday shortly after becoming ill on stage during a memorial service, officials said, describing her loss as a gut punch and struggling through emotion as they recalled her nearly four decades of service. Epps was attending a memorial service at the university for Charles L. Blockson, a curator of a collection of African American artifacts, when she suffered what

Maryland apologizes to man wrongly convicted of murder, agrees to $340K payment for years in prison

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - A man wrongly convicted of two separate violent crimes will be compensated by the state of Maryland after spending years behind bars, including over a year after he had been proven innocent. A Maryland board approved more than $340,000 for a settlement on Wednesday in compensation for Demetrius Smith who was wrongly convicted of murder and first-degree assault and spent more than five years in prison.

Retrial date set for man who claims self-defense in shooting death of former NFL star Will Smith

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A Feb. 5 retrial date was set Wednesday for the man whose 2016 manslaughter conviction in the shooting death of former NFL star Will Smith was overturned because the jury's verdict was not unanimous. Cardell Hayes, 36, has long insisted he shot Smith in self-defense during an April 2016 confrontation after a car crash. At his December 2016 trial, he said he fired at Smith, hitting

Alabama school band director says he was ‘just doing my job’ before police arrested him

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - An Alabama high school band director said Wednesday that he was just "doing my job" when police officers arrested him and shocked him with a stun gun after he refused to immediately stop the band as it played in the bleachers following a football game. Johnny Mims, the band director at Minor High School, told The Associated Press he was confused when officers pulled him from

Republican legislatures flex muscles to keep power in closely divided North Carolina and Wisconsin

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - In 2020, North Carolina seemed the model of an evenly-divided swing state. Then-President Donald Trump barely won, beating Democrat Joe Biden by just over a percentage point. Meanwhile, the state's Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, won reelection by a relatively comfortable 5 points. Even last year, as Republicans won two seats on the state Supreme Court, North Carolina's congressional delegation split evenly between Democrats and the GOP.