MIAMI (AP) — It was a plan the United States knew from the start would arguably violate international law. The Associated Press obtained a secret 2018 memo detailing a covert operation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that sent undercover operatives into Venezuela to surreptitiously record and build drug-trafficking cases against the country’s leadership. The sting was part of a …

The AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here. Drexel Dragons (15-7, 8-1 CAA) at Monmouth Hawks (11-10, 4-4 CAA) West Long Branch, New Jersey; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Dragons -4.5; over/under is 139 …

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Dueling legislative proposals in Virginia backed by different gambling companies would open the door for an expansion of slot-like betting machines in businesses such as truck stops, restaurants and convenience stores. At the center of the debate are “gray machines,” arcade-style games that look similar to slot machines but involve an element of skill, manufacturers say. …

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Duke Energy Corp. subsidiaries for North Carolina and South Carolina have offered to regulators an adjusted electricity production proposal that the utilities say responds to surging demand projections while still reaching for future greenhouse gas reduction targets. Duke Energy said the update to a recent Carolinas Resource Plan, filed on Wednesday with both states, incorporates new …

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Damian Lillard’s former team took a bit of the shine off his gala homecoming. Anfernee Simons scored 24 points, including a key floater with 17.1 seconds left, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks 119-116 on Wednesday night. Lillard finished with 25 points for the Bucks in their second straight loss under …

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s top security minister has resigned from the Cabinet of President Joko Widodo to focus on running for vice president in this month’s election. Mohammad Mahfud M.D. said he was resigning to concentrate on the Feb. 14 election in which he is the running mate of former Central Java Gov. Ganjar Pranowo — who has been …

LONDRES (AP) — La activista climática Greta Thunberg fue a juicio el jueves por negarse a abandonar una protesta que bloqueó la entrada a una importante conferencia de la industria petrolera y gasera en Londres el año pasado. Thunberg, de 21 años, fue una de más de dos docenas de manifestantes arrestados el 17 de octubre tras impedir el acceso …

HARTFORD, Connecticut, EE.UU. (AP) — Un veterano militar que intervino cuando la primera legisladora estatal musulmana de Connecticut era atacada después de una reunión de oración y sometió al sospechoso busca que se elimine un cargo en su contra por el delito menor de agresión. Jason Spencer, de 43 años, solicitó el miércoles el programa de rehabilitación acelerada del estado, …

The AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here. Robert Morris Colonials (8-13, 4-6 Horizon League) at Oakland Golden Grizzlies (13-9, 8-3 Horizon League) Auburn Hills, Michigan; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Golden Grizzlies -9.5; …

When two Native American boys from Nebraska died after being taken to a notorious boarding school hundreds of miles away in Pennsylvania, they were buried there without notice. Nearly 130 years later, the tribe wants the boys’ remains back home. So far, the Army has refused to return to the Winnebago Tribe the remains of Samuel Gilbert and Edward Hensley. …

NEW YORK (AP) — A former CIA software engineer was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Thursday after his convictions for what the government described as the biggest theft of classified information in CIA history and for possession of child sexual abuse images and videos. The bulk of the sentence imposed on Joshua Schulte, 35, in Manhattan federal court …

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Louisiana Legislature’s redrawn congressional map giving the state a second mostly Black district is being challenged by 12 self-described “non-African American” voters in a new lawsuit. The challenge filed Wednesday and assigned to a judge in Lafayette says the map, which Republican lawmakers agreed to as a result of a 2022 federal lawsuit filed in …

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Ryan Hunter-Reay and Conor Daly will be competing in this year’s Indianapolis 500 for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, the team announced Thursday. Hunter-Reay will drive the No. 23 Chevrolet as he attempts to qualify for his 16th start in the race. The 2014 Indy winner and 2012 series champion finished 11th on the Brickyard’s 2.5-mile oval after …

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York has always appreciated coach Kyle Shanahan’s honesty starting from the time of his first interview when he called the team’s roster the worst in the NFL. So York didn’t know what he would hear when Shanahan told him he needed to talk about a week into 2022 training camp. …

NEW YORK (AP) — As DJ Mannie Fresh’s trademark “ladies and gentlemen” catchphrase ricocheted throughout the office, a giddy Juvenile, draped in white with his signature bandana, playfully swayed back and forth to the beat of his musicians. It wasn’t surprising that the native of New Orleans — a city known for brass bands and live music — felt at …