Associated Press

Associated Press

Senate expected to confirm Jay Clayton as next intelligence director

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is expected to confirm Jay Clayton on Tuesday to become head of the nation’s intelligence agencies, ensuring that a permanent director is in place as the midterm elections approach. Clayton is expected to be confirmed along party lines after a contentious hearing two weeks ago in which he repeatedly refused […]
3 months ago

South Carolina Republicans line up to run in special primary to replace late Sen. Lindsey Graham

WASHINGTON (AP) — The field of Republican candidates vying to replace the late Sen. Lindsey Graham on November ballots is nearly set, with at least 10 hopefuls filing their paperwork and launching into a two-week sprint toward the Aug. 11 special GOP primary. It’s been a jumbled and frenetic period during what would have otherwise […]
3 months ago

Lindsey Graham’s funeral to draw Trump remarks and world leaders in Washington

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Lindsey Graham, the son of pool hall owners who rose to become one of his generation’s more influential U.S. politicians at home and abroad, will be eulogized Tuesday during memorial services across Washington. Graham’s remains will arrive at the U.S. Capitol, where the Republican served for more than 30 years as […]
3 months ago

2nd octogenarian in modern US history faces lethal injection as Florida plans 2 executions Tuesday

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Florida is set to become the first state in nearly a decade to carry out two executions in a single day, planning lethal injections Tuesday for an ex-police officer convicted of a young girl’s murder and an octogenarian who would be the second-oldest inmate put to death in modern U.S. […]
3 months ago

Zelenskyy will visit Trump at the White House before Sen. Graham’s funeral

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet Tuesday ahead of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s funeral, their second sit-down this month and after a far-right activist with the U.S. president’s ear had a widely publicized change of heart on Russia’s war against Ukraine. Trump is set to welcome Zelenskyy to the […]
3 months ago

US looks to boost anti-China spending worldwide by hundreds of millions, documents say

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is preparing to ramp up funding by hundreds of millions of dollars for programs designed to counter China’s growing influence around the world, after it had put a halt to many of those initiatives last year during a flurry of budget and personnel cuts. The administration notified Congress late […]
3 months ago

Ex-Olympian charged with damaging Reflecting Pool sees ‘irregularities’ in grand jury proceedings

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former Olympian charged with deliberately damaging the the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is seeking access to all of the closed-door testimony that led to his indictment, pointing to “irregularities” in those grand jury proceedings. In a court filing Monday, David Hearn’s attorneys requested an order for the government to turn over […]
3 months ago

Artist Betye Saar, whose work reflected Black identity, has died at 99

Artist Betye Saar, whose work reflected Black identity, culture and spirituality, died Sunday morning in Los Angeles at 99. Saar’s death was confirmed Monday by relatives. She would have turned 100 this week. A central figure of the 1960’s Black Art Movement, Saar pioneered assemblage, or sculptures made of found objects, and reclaimed Jim Crow-era […]
3 months ago

Weill Cornell Medicine deal to boost sexual abuse prevention ends criminal investigation

NEW YORK (AP) — In a deal that ends a criminal investigation, a prestigious New York City medical institution agreed to boost its sexual abuse prevention program after one of its star doctors was convicted of abusing patients during a decade-long span and was sentenced to life behind bars, authorities said Monday. Weill Cornell Medicine, […]
3 months ago

Federal survey shows promising trends for youth mental health and drug use

A key U.S. government report on mental health, substance use and addiction showed continued improvements in several metrics, especially among young people. There was some uncertainty about the future of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health last year, when the entire 17-member team responsible for it was laid off by the Trump administration. […]
3 months ago

Savannah Guthrie makes an emotional plea to her mother’s kidnappers

“Today” show host Savannah Guthrie says in a new video that her family is living an unending nightmare nearly six months after her mother’s disappearance and pleads with her kidnappers: “Tell us where to look for her.” The video released Monday is the latest public plea from the journalist about 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie since her […]
3 months ago

Georgia teen pleads guilty to gun charge for running onto Capitol grounds with loaded shotgun

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Georgia teenager who charged at the U.S. Capitol armed with a loaded shotgun and wearing body armor and camouflage clothing pleaded guilty on Monday to illegally carrying a firearm, court records show. Carter Camacho, 18, of Smyrna, Georgia, told police officers who apprehended him outside the Capitol on Feb. 17 that […]
3 months ago

Major Oregon interstate closed for 70 miles due to wildfire

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Part of a major interstate highway in Oregon was closed Monday due to a wildfire that forced a small town to evacuate, one of dozens of blazes burning across the state. The Fox Fire forced the closure of Interstate 84 for some 70 miles (113 kilometers) between Baker City and Ontario […]
3 months ago

This week in court: 6 high-profile cases from the Tate brothers to D4vd

There’s a series of high-profile criminal cases with hearings this week that could prove pivotal. Four of the six have celebrity defendants or victims. On Monday, there’s a preliminary hearing for singer D4vd in Los Angeles; Andrew and Tristan Tate are fighting extradition in Miami; a woman who killed her three kids is on trial […]
3 months ago

Trump administration urges Supreme Court to allow order targeting mail-in voting before midterms

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to clear the way for an executive order from President Donald Trump that could dramatically change mail-in voting. The emergency appeal comes after an appeals court upheld a ruling blocking the president’s order in nearly half the country ahead of November’s midterm elections. […]
3 months ago

Secret Service agent charged with felonies in beatings police say were fraternity hazing

A U.S. Secret Service agent and two other men have been arrested and charged with violent felonies in the Miami area, where authorities say they committed brutal beatings as part of a fraternity hazing ritual in April that left two people hospitalized with severe injuries. One of the men charged, 29-year-old Marquez Christopher Pinder, works […]
3 months ago

Wisconsin tornado causes extensive damage and cuts power to thousands of homes

APPLETON, Wis. (AP) — A tornado swept through Wisconsin on Monday, damaging homes, downing trees and knocking out power to thousands of people. The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado in Winnebago County, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee. The twister was moving over Lake Winnebago and moving southward toward Fond du Lac […]
3 months ago

ICE extends no-bid contract for major detention center in Texas, rejecting calls for closure

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to keep one of its largest and most expensive detention facilities open for at least another year despite calls to close it over reported human rights abuses, according to a notice published last week. ICE plans to extend the no-bid contract of the firm that runs Camp East Montana […]
3 months ago

UN human rights chief says Israel must end occupation and house demolitions in Lebanon

BEIRUT (AP) — The United Nations’ human rights chief said Monday that Israel must end its occupation of large areas of southern Lebanon and halt the demolition of homes, days before Lebanese and Israeli officials are set to hold another round of direct talks. Volker Türk spoke to The Associated Press as he wrapped up […]
3 months ago

Republicans decry a new Democratic Socialists of America platform as Dem primaries split the party

NEW YORK (AP) — A new platform from a progressive group that’s notched several recent primary victories is becoming fodder for Republican attacks, as the GOP looks to frame Democrats as extremists and communists ahead of November’s midterm elections. Although the Democratic Socialists of America’s Workers Deserve More platform doesn’t necessarily line up exactly with […]
3 months ago

McConnell remains in rehab and says he’ll miss key Kentucky political event

WASHINGTON (AP) — The office of Senator Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., released an update on his health Monday, this time with a statement from the congressional Office of Attending Physician stating the senator has not yet been medically cleared to leave a rehabilitation facility where he is undergoing physical therapy. The update comes shortly before his […]
3 months ago

Trump demands Senate cancel August break until it passes voting bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday demanded that Senate Majority Leader John Thune cancel the chamber’s upcoming August break until senators pass a strict proof-of-citizenship voting bill, even as Republicans lack the votes to advance it. Trump has repeatedly urged Thune to scrap the legislative filibuster, which effectively sets a 60-vote threshold for […]
3 months ago

Prosecutors move to drop charge against California labor leader arrested during immigration protest

Federal prosecutors have moved to dismiss a charge against a labor union leader who was arrested while protesting the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in California. The U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles filed a motion Monday to dismiss its case against David Huerta, president of Service Employees International Union California, which has more than 750,000 […]
3 months ago

Comey says seashells post was political speech – not a threat – as he presses to dismiss charges

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former FBI Director James Comey urged a judge on Monday to throw out federal charges against him, arguing that a photo of seashells arranged on a beach he posted on social media was not a call to violence against President Donald Trump but protected political speech. Comey’s lawyers argue the government cannot […]
3 months ago