Associated Press

Associated Press

Online forum Reddit will join the influential and closely tracked S&P 500 index

NEW YORK (AP) — Reddit will join the S&P 500 next week, giving the wide-ranging online forum a boost in prestige and investments. Joining the S&P 500 is considered an achievement for a company because the index is a widely followed measure of the broader U.S. stock market’s health. A company is selected for the […]
14 days ago

A timeline of Luigi Mangione’s criminal cases in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO

NEW YORK (AP) — Luigi Mangione’s guilty plea Friday to federal stalking charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson resolved one of two cases against him in the executive’s death. He is scheduled to go on trial on state murder charges on Sept. 8. Thompson, 50, was shot outside a New York City […]
14 days ago

Trump asks Supreme Court to let White House resume ballroom construction work during appeal

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the White House to resume construction on its $400 million ballroom project while it appeals a lower court’s order to halt the work. Trump’s solicitor general on Friday petitioned the high court to suspend last week’s decision by a three-judge […]
14 days ago

Wife of US soldier is removed from deportation flight and released from federal immigration custody

A U.S. soldier’s wife who spent more than a month in federal immigration detention said she is back home after officers removed her from a deportation flight to Brazil. Earlier this month, The Associated Press highlighted Maisa Lopes Eliaser as one of dozens of spouses or parents of U.S. troops who had been detained after […]
14 days ago

Retail sales unexpectedly fall in July as government tax refunds fade

NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers unexpectedly cut their spending in July as a boost from government tax refunds faded. Retail sales slipped 0.6% last month, the biggest drop since May 2025 from a revised gain of 0.2%, according to the Commerce Department data released Friday. There was a notable bump in spending in both April […]
14 days ago

Oppressive heat, high humidity grip much of the US as students start a new school year

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A late summer heat wave has gripped much of the United States in a sweaty headlock and forecasters say it won’t let go anytime soon. Roughly 97 million people from the central Plains to the Southeast face heat advisories. Dangerous temperatures are expected in more than a dozen states in […]
14 days ago

US special forces ready to step up combat drills in Philippines and help deter aggression in Asia

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — American special operations forces are ready to step up warfighting-readiness exercises with counterparts in the Philippines and other countries in Asia to further strengthen a security alliance and help deter a major conflict in the region, a U.S. military official said Thursday. Adm. Frank Bradley, commander of the U.S. Special Operations […]
14 days ago

2 UAE tankers attacked while transiting Strait of Hormuz, and other news from the Middle East

The United Arab Emirates is blaming Iran for firing drones at two tankers operated by a state-owned oil company as they sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, saying Friday that the attacks were acts of piracy. The attacks caused no casualties but underlined the dangers faced by vessels seeking to move cargo through the critical […]
14 days ago

The hidden politics of time: How clocks, calendars — and now-contentious time zones — came to be

NEW YORK (AP) — It flies. It heals all wounds. It can be of the essence, and it can be money. We thrill in the best of it, lament the worst. We’re warned not to waste it, since we can’t turn it back — even as we try to make up for when it’s lost. […]
14 days ago

Israel’s Christians rely on faith and allies as they fear rising harassment

MOUNT TABOR, Israel (AP) — Sister Mayela wears her black veil and habit as she walks to work near where another Catholic nun was violently attacked in Jerusalem’s Old City — but she’s now accompanied by a Jewish volunteer for protection. Many Christians in Israel, who make up less than 2% of the country’s population, […]
14 days ago

Asian shares mostly fall and US futures are little changed after US inflation data improves

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares mostly declined Friday in Asia and U.S. futures were little changed after U.S. inflation data showed a better-than-expected improvement in July. Oil prices were holding steady after slipping in recent days. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.3% to 68,533.85, while the Kospi in South Korea rose 1.3%, to 6,924.74. In Hong […]
14 days ago

Trump set to highlight violent crime reduction during a visit to New York police academy

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump plans to highlight his record on crime and safety during a visit to New York on Friday, pivoting to one of his strongest issues as he looks to boost Republicans in battleground races ahead of the November midterms. Trump is visiting the Nassau County Police Academy in suburban Long […]
14 days ago

Iowa Republican Zach Lahn confronts curiosity, and concerns, in outsider bid for governor

ARLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — Farmer Tim Burrack had concerns about the Republican nominee for Iowa governor — and he wasn’t the only one. The conservative voter from northeast Iowa said he didn’t know Zach Lahn before the political newcomer “came out of nowhere” with a surprise GOP primary win over the candidate endorsed by President […]
14 days ago

National Code Talker day to bring 101-year-old veteran to Phoenix

PHOENIX (AP) — Hundreds of Navajos were recruited by the Marine Corps during World War II to create a code based on their native language. Their efforts frustrated the Japanese force and ended up playing a vital role in U.S. victories in the Pacific War. The program remained secret for decades and in 1982, President […]
14 days ago

World War II Memorial in DC vandalized with bubbles, graffiti

WASHINGTON (AP) — The World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was vandalized Thursday, with bubbles filling a fountain and “Clean hands dirty $” written in red paint. The Interior Department released a statement late Thursday saying: “Our U.S. Park Police are on the scene and the investigation is ongoing. The […]
14 days ago

Luigi Mangione set to appear in court for expected guilty plea in killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO

NEW YORK (AP) — Luigi Mangione is scheduled to be in federal court Friday for a hearing at which he’s expected to plead guilty in connection with the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, according to a person familiar with the matter. Mangione could still change his mind about the plea, said the person, […]
14 days ago

An ‘influencer’ degree? Colleges bet on content creator major as critics question its value

Ask a teen what they want to be when they grow up, and there’s a fair chance being an influencer is on their list. Digital media and the people who star in it have been cultural mainstays for teens’ entire lives, so creating social media, video or podcast content seems a natural, albeit nontraditional, career […]
14 days ago

Kids keep getting hurt and killed on e-bikes. Should parents be held responsible?

NEW YORK (AP) — As traumatic injuries and deaths surge among children involved in crashes on e-bikes and other electrified vehicles, one California prosecutor is cracking down by pursuing criminal charges against some of the young riders’ parents. It is just one way officials across the country are trying to tackle the growing issue, while […]
14 days ago

NYPD officer convicted of using chokehold banned after death of George Floyd

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City police officer who was the first prosecuted under a local law banning chokeholds and some other methods of restraint was convicted Thursday. Omar Habib was convicted of the misdemeanor established in the law that was passed after George Floyd ‘s killing, along with felony strangulation and misdemeanor […]
14 days ago

Documents show federal surveillance operation in Minnesota targeted progressive groups, unions

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal agents launched a sweeping undercover surveillance operation earlier this year targeting progressive organizations, labor unions and other groups protesting the immigration crackdown then raging through Minneapolis, according to court documents filed Thursday. The program, dubbed Operation Puppet Master, was aimed at what officials called a network of conspirators helping “violent opportunists […]
14 days ago

What to know about a surrogacy dispute between a California couple, their surrogate and Texas courts

A newborn with a severe heart defect is at the center of a legal battle between a California couple and a surrogate who flew from Alaska to Texas to give birth in a case that has drawn the attention of anti-abortion groups and GOP leaders. McKenna West, the surrogate, gave birth Wednesday to a boy […]
14 days ago

Jared Kushner to visit Israel and Egypt next week with Board of Peace officials to talk Gaza

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and negotiator Jared Kushner will travel to the Middle East next week to try to advance plans for an end to the conflict in Gaza after a deal recently announced by the Trump administration ran into Israeli opposition. An official with the Board of Peace, the body Trump […]
14 days ago

Trump orders the Navy to return to an older system of launching jets off aircraft carriers

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is ordering the U.S. Navy to remove the advanced system used to launch fighter jets from its newest type of aircraft carrier and return to using older steam catapults that he has long said he prefers, according to a directive issued Thursday. The new mandate would likely cost billions […]
14 days ago

US Attorney confirms no meth was found in van of Texas man shot by immigration officers

HOUSTON (AP) — A federal prosecutor says tests on “a white crystal-like substance” found inside the van of a man shot to death by immigration officers in Houston last month showed the material was not methamphetamine. U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz confirmed the tests were negative for meth in a statement to The Texas Tribune, the […]
14 days ago