Associated Press

Associated Press

Created as IDs, dog tags became a crucial link between military families and fallen troops

Family members often clench them as if they were still clasping their fallen loved one’s hands. Companions-in-arms have broken down reading them. More than a century after a U.S. Army chaplain pushed for “dog tags” to become standard issue for troops, they remain one of the most powerful links for grieving military families to their […]
3 months ago

Bam! Pow! Krakoom! The everlasting allure of the American comic book

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Pick one up. Be seduced by its glossy cover. Gaze upon the impossibly muscular body clad in a skin-tight suit. Our hero or heroine will surely be soaring, shouting, blasting a villain into next week. They are ridiculous. They are addictively great. Comic books, of the superhero variety, are 100% American. […]
3 months ago

The largest US children’s hospital settles with Texas and the Trump administration over gender care

The nation’s largest children’s hospital has agreed to a legal settlement with Texas and the Trump administration over gender-affirming care for transgender youth that includes a $10 million payment to the state, the administration and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Friday. Texas Children’s Hospital, based in Houston, said in a statement that it had […]
3 months ago

U.S. eyes indictment against Raul Castro amid pressure by Trump administration, sources tell AP

MIAMI (AP) — The Justice Department is preparing to seek an indictment against former Cuban President Raúl Castro, three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Friday, as President Donald Trump threatens possible military action against the communist-run island. One of the people told the AP that the potential indictment is connected […]
3 months ago

Owl found stuck in a concrete mixer is on the mend and flying free

An adolescent owl that was found stuck in a concrete mixer in southwestern Utah is finally on the mend, flying free and maybe a bit wiser from the ordeal. The great horned owl somehow made his way into the truck-mounted mixer in late October and was discovered by workers pouring concrete at a resort construction […]
3 months ago

Wife of US Army sergeant released from federal immigration custody

The wife of a U.S. Army sergeant has been released from federal immigration custody after spending a month in detention, according to the office of U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth. Sgt. Jose Serrano, an active duty soldier stationed in Texas who served three tours in Afghanistan, previously told The Associated Press that immigration agents arrested his […]
3 months ago

Iraqi national accused of plotting at least 18 terror attacks in Europe is arrested

NEW YORK (AP) — An Iraqi national accused of plotting at least 18 terror attacks in Europe in retaliation for the U.S. war in Iran, including firebombing a bank in Amsterdam and stabbing Jewish men in London, has been arrested and charged with supporting Iran-backed terrorist organizations. According to a complaint unsealed Friday in federal […]
3 months ago

Tech CEOs summoned to Congress for another hearing on social media’s risks for children

Social media CEOs once again are being called to testify before the Senate in light of mounting legal and public pressure to protect young users on their platforms. The leaders of Meta, Alphabet, TikTok and Snap were invited to testify next month before the Senate Judiciary Committee, a committee spokesperson confirmed Friday. The hearing comes […]
3 months ago

AP begins implementing layoffs of US-based journalists, part of a pivot away from print journalism

The Associated Press confirmed it was laying off an unspecified number of U.S.-based journalists on Friday, part of a restructuring announced last month that would turn the news organization’s focus away from print journalism and toward visual journalism and other revenue sources. “This is part of the restructuring we announced last month to align our […]
3 months ago

New Virginia law banning `assault firearms’ prompts quick lawsuits from gun-rights groups

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has signed legislation banning the sale and manufacture of certain semi-automatic firearms, prompting immediate lawsuits from gun-rights groups. The limits on “ assault firearms,” as they are described by the legislation, are among two dozen new restrictions and regulations on guns enacted by the Democratic governor in her first few months […]
3 months ago

Maine lumber mill explosion injures several as firefighters respond to roaring blaze

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Emergency responders in Maine are at the scene of a large fire and explosion at a lumber mill in a small town in the state’s scenic midcoast region where several people are injured. Waldo County officials said Friday that they are considering the fire and explosion a “mass casualty event.” They […]
3 months ago

Jurors struggle to decide Harvey Weinstein’s rape retrial

NEW YORK (AP) — The jury in Harvey Weinstein ‘s rape retrial said Friday it was at loggerheads in the closely watched #MeToo-era case, but a judge told the panel to keep trying for a verdict. The signs of stalemate emerged a few hours into the third day of deliberations. Jurors sent a note saying […]
3 months ago

Justice Department to seek death penalty for man charged with killing 2 Israeli Embassy staffers

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department will seek the death penalty for the man accused of fatally shooting two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington outside a Jewish museum, prosecutors said in a court filing Friday. Elias Rodriguez faces federal hate crime and murder charges in the killings of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah […]
3 months ago

Rep. Steve Cohen ending campaign in Tennessee after redraw of his Memphis district

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Rep. Steven Cohen of Tennessee on Friday announced that he is ending his bid for reelection, his career upended by the redistricting battles that are sweeping the country after last month’s Supreme Court decision. Earlier this month, Republicans in Tennessee enacted a new U.S. House map that carves up a Cohen’s […]
3 months ago

Texas high court rejects removal of Democratic lawmakers who led quorum break over redistricting

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Supreme Court on Friday refused to declare that Democratic lawmakers who briefly fled the state in 2025 to block a vote on new congressional voting maps pushed by President Donald Trump had vacated their office. The all-Republican court dealt a blow to Gov. Greg Abbott and state Republicans in […]
3 months ago

Belarus authoritarian leader welcomes US evangelist Franklin Graham to hold massive gathering

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus’ authoritarian leader on Friday greeted U.S. Rev. Franklin Graham, who arrived in the tightly controlled country to hold the largest evangelical Christian gathering in its history. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko asked Graham to convey warm greetings to President Donald Trump and tell him that he has “reliable friends and supporters […]
3 months ago

Trump says Xi is considering a detained pastor’s case, but freeing activist Jimmy Lai is ‘tough’

HONG KONG (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he raised the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping of releasing a prominent detained pastor and imprisoned Hong Kong activist Jimmy Lai, and quoted Xi as saying he’d consider the pastor but that Lai’s case is a “tough one.” Speaking to reporters as he flew […]
3 months ago

Trump says sculpture garden honoring prominent Americans is planned for park along Potomac River

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump plans to build an exhibit of statues featuring prominent Americans in a tightly regulated park along the Potomac River, potentially opening a new legal fight over whether his administration is ignoring the approvals process that typically governs Washington’s monumental core as he muscles through a dramatic overhaul of the […]
3 months ago

Iran’s top diplomat says a lack of trust is impeding talks to end war with the US

NEW DELHI (AP) — Iran ’s foreign minister said a lack of trust is the biggest obstacle in negotiations to end the war with the U.S., saying Friday that Tehran would be open to diplomatic help, particularly from China, to help ease tensions. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said contradictory messages have “made us reluctant […]
3 months ago

Election denial is a fault line in Republican primary for Georgia secretary of state

ATLANTA (AP) — The specter of the 2020 election — when President Donald Trump refused to accept his loss to Democrat Joe Biden — continues to haunt Georgia and casts a long shadow over the Republican primary for candidates vying to be the state’s top election official. Georgia’s current secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, became […]
3 months ago

Takeaways from AP’s interview with Colombian woman deported to Congo by US

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The Trump administration has deported 15 Latin Americans to the Democratic Republic of Congo, sending them to an unfamiliar country thousands of miles from home — many despite U.S. court orders protecting them from deportation to their homelands. The Associated Press spoke on the phone with one of them, a 29-year-old […]
3 months ago

Latin American nationals deported by the US to Congo face an uncertain future

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — It’s an existence that Congo’s president has described as “living the Congolese dream.” For the 15 Latin Americans deported to the African nation under the Trump administration’s widely criticized crackdown on migrants, it feels more like a nightmare. The Associated Press spoke with one, a 29-year old Colombian woman who confirmed […]
3 months ago

Trump says China will buy 200 planes from Boeing, with a possibility of expanding the deal to 750

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing will make its first major sale to China in nearly a decade with an order for 200 planes, President Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Friday, a deal he said had been made during his summit with China’s President Xi Jinping this week and that could grow to as […]
3 months ago

FBI offers $200,000 reward to catch ex-Air Force specialist wanted on espionage charges in Iran

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI is offering a $200,000 reward for information leading to capture and prosecution of a former U.S. Air Force counterintelligence specialist who defected to Iran in 2013 and was later charged with revealing classified information to the Tehran government. Monica Elfriede Witt, who is in her 40s, was indicted by a […]
3 months ago