Associated Press

Associated Press

Inside the Numbers: Some notes going into the NBA playoffs

A winning season usually gets you to the NBA playoffs. Not this year. There were a record-tying three teams — Charlotte at 44-38, Miami at 43-39 and the Los Angeles Clippers at 42-40 — that finished over .500 this season but failed to qualify for the playoffs. The only other years when that happened were […]
6 months ago

States eulogize Charlie Kirk with new laws promoting religion and free speech

A new Kansas law will allow college students to sue their schools for free-speech violations. In Tennessee, a new law will encourage teachers and professors to include “the positive impacts of religion” in American history courses. The common factor: Both are being done in the name of Charlie Kirk. The laws are among the first […]
6 months ago

Stories of Black and Indigenous patriots come into focus as US remembers the American Revolution

LEXINGTON, Mass. (AP) — Charlie Price says he didn’t learn much about the American Revolution in school. He knew about George Washington, the Battle of Bunker Hill and that the patriots won. It wasn’t until he joined the Lexington Minutemen — a group of Revolutionary War reenactors — that he realized there’s so much more […]
6 months ago

Weapons-grade chemical carfentanil surges as dangerous substitute for fentanyl

Nearly two decades after drug addiction sent him to rehab as a teenager, 36-year-old Michael Nalewaja had settled into a quiet life in Alaska where he worked as an electrician. That all came crashing down days before Thanksgiving 2025, when he and a mutual friend unknowingly took a lethal cocktail of fentanyl and carfentanil they […]
6 months ago

Likely tornado wallops small village in Illinois, ripping down power lines and roofs

LENA, Ill. (AP) — A likely tornado tore through a small village in northwest Illinois on Friday, ripping down power lines and roofs, uprooting trees and forcing officials to shut down the community. The storm caused “extensive damage” throughout Lena, with trees and other debris blocking roadways and “compromised structures” causing hazardous conditions, according to […]
6 months ago

US extends waiver on Russian oil sanctions to ease Iran war shortages despite Bessent denial

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday extended its pause on sanctions on Russian oil shipments to ease shortages from the Iran war, days after Secretary Scott Bessent ruled out such a move. The so-called boosted Moscow’s ability to profit from its energy exports, which had been restrained since the invasion of Ukraine. […]
6 months ago

LA to pay $11.8 million to man blinded by police projectile during Dodgers celebration

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The city of Los Angeles must pay $11.8 million to a man who was blinded by a projectile fired into a crowd by police officers while he was celebrating the Dodgers 2020 World Series win. A federal jury ordered the payment Thursday after a trial brought by 27-year-old Isaac Castellanos, who […]
6 months ago

US and Cuban officials met recently in Havana amid new diplomatic push

WASHINGTON (AP) — An American delegation recently met with Cuban government officials in the island nation, marking a renewed diplomatic push even as U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to intervene and Cuba’s leader said this week that his country is prepared to fight if that should happen. A senior State Department official met with […]
6 months ago

Federal judge blocks Nexstar-Tegna TV station merger until antitrust lawsuit is settled

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A federal judge has blocked a $6.2 billion merger of local television giants Nexstar Media Group and rival Tegna until an antitrust lawsuit is resolved. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Troy L. Nunley made the ruling late Friday afternoon, finding that eight attorneys general and DirecTV were likely to prevail in […]
6 months ago

Costa Rica takes in a second group of migrants deported from the US

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Costa Rica on Friday received a second group of migrants deported from the United States as part of an agreement to help the Trump administration’s latest policy of deporting immigrants to “third countries.” Under a bilateral agreement signed in March by Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves and U.S. Special […]
6 months ago

Key prosecutor in John Brennan investigation has been removed from case, AP source says

WASHINGTON (AP) — A lead prosecutor in the John Brennan investigation has been removed from the case after expressing concerns to Justice Department officials about the legal strength of a potential criminal prosecution of the former CIA director, a person familiar with the matter said Friday. Maria Medetis Long told defense lawyers involved in the […]
6 months ago

Roommates of man accused of killing 2 say a dispute preceded the Atlanta-area attacks

DECATUR, Ga. (AP) — A U.S. Navy veteran accused of killing two people and critically injuring another in a series of attacks in the Atlanta area had, shortly before the shootings, stormed out of his communal house after getting into an intense argument over the air conditioning in the home, according to his roommates. Authorities […]
6 months ago

Photos show the ‘Build the Red Wall’ rally in Arizona, headlined by Trump

PHOENIX (AP) — President Donald Trump joins Erika Kirk at Dream City Church in north Phoenix for Turning Point Action’s “Build the Red Wall” rally to show support for Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections. ___ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
6 months ago

Mamdani endorses City Council candidate who accused Cuomo of sexual harassment

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed Lindsey Boylan — the first woman to publicly accuse former Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment — in a City Council race on Friday, his latest attempt to wield his political clout to influence Democratic contests. Boylan “represents the kind of fearless leadership this […]
6 months ago

Opening statements set for Tuesday in Harvey Weinstein’s rape retrial

NEW YORK (AP) — Opening statements are set for Tuesday in Harvey Weinstein ‘s third trial on a New York rape charge. Four days of jury selection wrapped up Friday in the case against the former Hollywood powerbroker turned #MeToo pariah. A jury of seven men and five women will be tasked with deciding whether […]
6 months ago

FACT FOCUS: RFK Jr. says the US is limiting measles outbreaks better than the rest of the world

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said that the U.S., under his leadership, is limiting the spread of measles better than any other country in the world. His most recent comments came Friday as he testified in his first congressional hearings in months, in which he sought to defend a more than 12% proposed […]
6 months ago

2 Alaska-based soldiers injured in encounter with brown bear during training exercise

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Two U.S. Army soldiers have been injured after encountering a brown bear in a mountainous training area in Anchorage, the military said Friday. The incident happened Thursday as the soldiers were participating in a “land navigation training event” in Arctic Valley, part of the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson’s training area. The soldiers […]
6 months ago

Traffic and trepidation in the Persian Gulf could keep gasoline prices from dropping quickly

NEW YORK (AP) — After U.S. President Donald Trump and Iran’s foreign minister said the Strait of Hormuz was fully open to commercial vessels after almost seven weeks of war, oil prices plunged 10% and the stock market rallied Friday. Motorists, hoping for relief at the pump, wondered how quickly gasoline prices might fall once […]
6 months ago

Former Wisconsin man sentenced to 20 months in federal prison for illegal campaign contributions

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal judge has sentenced a former Wisconsin man to 20 months in prison for funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars into domestic political campaigns after moving to another country and renouncing his U.S. citizenship. Court records show U.S. District Judge James Peterson sentenced Roger Hoffman on Wednesday. He also ordered […]
6 months ago

Pilot says Hawaii tour helicopter vibrated and spun before crash killed 3

The pilot of a helicopter that crashed on a sightseeing flight off the Hawaiian island of Kauai last month, killing three passengers, told investigators that the aircraft vibrated and spun before plunging into the water, according to report released Friday. The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report did not identify a suspected cause of the […]
6 months ago

1 million bees make for bumper-to-buzzer traffic on a Tennessee highway ramp

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Travelers on an East Tennessee interstate were forced to brake for workers — and drones, perhaps even a queen — when a truck carrying about 1 million bees crashed Friday. The swarm shut down an exit of Interstate 40 in Knoxville, said Mark Nagi, Tennessee Department of Transportation regional spokesperson. There […]
6 months ago

Coast Guard searching in Pacific for 6 after losing contact with boat following Typhoon Sinlaku

HAGATNA, Guam (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard was searching for six people after losing contact with their disabled boat off the coast of Guam following Typhoon Sinlaku. The crew of the 145-foot (44-meter) dry cargo vessel, named the Mariana, notified the Coast Guard on April 15 that the boat had lost its starboard engine […]
6 months ago

Tentative contract deal holds off strike by New York City apartment building workers

NEW YORK (AP) — Union leaders representing thousands of New York City apartment house doorpersons, superintendents and other workers said Friday that they had reached a tentative contract agreement with building owners, averting a strike at the homes of an estimated 1.5 million people. The deal came just days before nearly 34,000 workers’ contract with […]
6 months ago

Federal judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit seeking detailed information about Rhode Island voters

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A federal judge on Friday dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit demanding detailed voter data from Rhode Island, a decision that follows similar rulings in a handful of other states. U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy sided with Rhode Island’s top election officials and civil rights advocates, writing that federal law does […]
6 months ago