Associated Press

Associated Press

Waymo pauses driverless car service in Atlanta and Texas ahead of potentially dangerous storms

ATLANTA (AP) — Waymo has suspended driverless car services in Atlanta and Texas after one of its vehicles was stranded by flooding during heavy rains that will likely also hinder travel in a large swath of the U.S over the holiday weekend. Severe thunderstorms with large hail and gusty winds were possible Friday in Texas […]
3 months ago

Blanche thrust into Republican firestorm over $1.8B fund as he seeks to prove his loyalty to Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed off on a nearly $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate President Donald Trump’s allies for alleged political prosecution, he may have pleased his boss. But the eyebrow-raising move — the latest in his push to prove his loyalty to Trump — has agitated the same […]
3 months ago

Chinese fast-fashion juggernaut Shein to buy eco-friendly Everlane in an unlikely fit

NEW YORK (AP) — Everlane, the retailer that bucked the fast-fashion industry by promising affordable ethically sourced and sustainable clothing, is being acquired by the king of fast-fashion, China’s Shein. A letter to Everlane employees from CEO Alfred Chang confirming the deal was obtained by The Associated Press on Friday. Everlane didn’t disclose a purchase […]
3 months ago

The Latest: Trump heads to a competitive New York district as voters sour on the economy

President Donald Trump is testing his midterm message on the economy in a toss-up congressional district in New York, even as voters largely disapprove of his stewardship. The event’s promoted focus is the tax law Trump signed last year, which quadrupled the federal deduction for state and local taxes, a critical change for high-tax states […]
3 months ago

Advocacy group sues Trump administration over access to abortion for veterans

An advocacy group has filed suit against the Trump administration over its decision to reinstate a near-ban on abortions for veterans and their family members who depend on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for healthcare. The federal lawsuit filed Thursday says the rule finalized by the VA on Dec. 31 takes away limited abortion […]
3 months ago

Greek far-left terror group leader is released at age 82. But the decision could be reversed

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The head of a far-left Greek militant group that killed 23 people — among them industrialists, diplomats and a CIA station chief — has been released from a maximum-security prison, officials said Friday. The decision is now being reexamined by a senior prosecutor. Alexandros Giotopoulos, the 82-year-old convicted leader of the […]
3 months ago

Pushed to the limit, Republicans show rare defiance to Trump’s demands

WASHINGTON (AP) — The day arrived when the Senate just said, No. President Donald Trump’s political revenge tour met its potential match this week as angry, upset Republican senators, pushed to a breaking point by his seemingly insatiable and outlandish demands — particularly a $1.776 billion fund for Jan. 6 rioters and others he believes […]
3 months ago

Paxton makes his final pitch in Texas US Senate race against Cornyn, buoyed by Trump’s endorsement

DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is riding high as he heads into the final days of his Republican primary runoff against Sen. John Cornyn, now with the weight of the president’s backing behind him. “I don’t know if y’all noticed this, but Donald Trump endorsed me,” Paxton told a small […]
3 months ago

US says ‘slight progress’ in Iran talks amid uncertainty on whether war will resume

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday there was “slight progress” during talks with Iran amid uncertainty as to whether a deal will be reached or war will resume. He spoke days after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was holding off on a military strike on Iran because […]
3 months ago

Taiwan’s government says US hasn’t notified it of any pause in a planned $14 billion arms sale

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan hasn’t been notified of any pause in a planned $14 billion U.S. arms sale to the self-governing island, a government official said Friday, after the acting U.S. Navy secretary told a Senate committee in Washington that some foreign military sales were being delayed to ensure the American military has enough […]
3 months ago

Shoot-and-scoot: Mobile missile launchers play key role in US Pacific deterrence strategy

GOTEMBA, Japan (AP) — With a burst of flame, followed by a thunderclap boom that broke the bucolic serenity of the training area in the foothills of Japan’s Mount Fuji, the first rocket fired by the U.S. Marines from their mobile launcher screamed toward its target, the orange burn of its engine painting a streak […]
3 months ago

Trump immunity from IRS audit shocks experts, who warn it could undermine trust in tax system

NEW YORK (AP) — Remember Donald Trump’s response in the 2016 presidential debate, when Hillary Clinton blasted him for paying virtually no federal taxes? “That makes me smart,” Trump said. By that logic, Trump is looking smarter than ever now. On Tuesday, the Internal Revenue Service agreed to drop all pending probes of Trump over […]
3 months ago

Trump won over more Latino voters in 2024. Can he keep them?

PHOENIX (AP) — As Sandra Ramirez watched footage of immigration officers cracking down on migrants over the past year, she knew her 2024 vote for Donald Trump was a mistake. “There are a lot of people who are being harassed for the color of their skin, and that’s not right,” said Ramirez, who broke from […]
3 months ago

NATO allies bewildered by Trump’s about face on US troop moves in Europe

HELSINGBORG, Sweden (AP) — NATO allies and defense officials expressed bewilderment on Friday at U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland just weeks after he had ordered 5,000 troops to be pulled out of Europe. “It is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer […]
3 months ago

Asian shares track Wall Street gains and oil prices climb on uncertainty over the Iran war

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian shares advanced Friday following modest gains on Wall Street, while oil prices rose as efforts to end the Iran war yielded limited results. Oil prices had eased Thursday in U.S. trading, alleviating pressure from the bond market as yields fell. Earlier this week yields climbed so high they threatened to […]
3 months ago

In heavily Democratic California, 2 GOP House rivals grapple in nasty fight over Trump loyalty

CORONA, Calif. (AP) — No one would call California Trump country. But a vicious U.S. House primary is playing out southeast of Los Angeles where two Republican incumbents wedged into the same district are fighting over their MAGA bona fides and loyalty to the president. Rep. Ken Calvert, the longest serving Republican in the state’s […]
3 months ago

A proposed additive ban could change New York’s pizza and bagels, some say for the better

NEW YORK (AP) — After more than a decade of mixing and kneading dough in his family’s Brooklyn pizzeria, Salvatore Lo Duca recently made a distressing discovery: A key component of their thin-crust pies, bromated flour, contained a suspected carcinogen already banned in much of the world. So, in the back kitchen of Lo Duca […]
3 months ago

Trump heads to a competitive New York district to sell his tax law as voters sour on the economy

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is heading to a toss-up congressional district in New York on Friday to test his midterm message on the economy, even as voters largely disapprove of his stewardship of it. Trump will travel to the Hudson Valley area to appear with Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who is up for […]
3 months ago

Rubio embarks on another mission to ease tensions with allies during NATO meeting

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio is on his latest mission to assuage nervous U.S. allies in Europe about the Trump administration’s intentions with NATO or at least put a friendlier face on whipsawing changes and uncertainty about American troop reductions. Rubio will attend a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Sweden on Friday […]
3 months ago

SpaceX tries to launch a bigger version of Starship but hits a series of last-minute problems

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX got within a half-minute of launching its newest and biggest Starship on a test flight Thursday evening before a cascade of problems halted the countdown. The 407-foot (124-meter) rocket was poised to begin a space-skimming journey from Texas extending halfway around the world. But issues cropped up with the […]
3 months ago

Trump says he’s sending 5,000 more troops to Poland, stirring confusion about US presence in Europe

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday said the U.S. will send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, stirring confusion following weeks of changing statements from Trump and his administration about reducing — not increasing — the American military footprint in Europe. The Trump administration has said it was reducing levels in Europe by […]
3 months ago

House rejects Smithsonian women’s museum bill after GOP bans ‘biological men’ from exhibits

WASHINGTON (AP) — What started as widely backed proposal to locate a new Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum on the National Mall devolved into a partisan fight Thursday after Republicans revised the legislation to ensure no transgender people are included in the exhibits. The House rejected the bill, 204-216, an outcome that leaves next steps […]
3 months ago

Charges dropped against activists in Chicago immigration crackdown amid grand jury misconduct claims

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago’s top federal prosecutor abandoned a closely watched case Thursday against four activists who protested outside a federal building during last year’s immigration crackdown in the city, after a judge scrutinized allegations of grand jury misconduct by the prosecutor’s office. U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros announced the decision to dismiss the remaining charges […]
3 months ago

Newsom’s office warns Californians to avoid Chevron this holiday weekend, citing high gas prices

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom is in a spat with a major oil company over who is to blame for the state’s high gas prices, with the Democratic governor’s office urging drivers not to fill up at Chevron stations over Memorial Day weekend. “Pro tip: unbranded gas comes from the same refineries, […]
3 months ago