Associated Press

Associated Press

An iconic Oregon waterfall was put up for sale on Redfin. Lawmakers approved the money to buy it

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The state of Oregon may soon have some new public property: A spectacular waterfall, beloved by generations, that was recently put up for sale on Redfin. Abiqua Falls — known for its 92-foot (28-meter) vertical drop over a columnar basalt cliff — has been privately owned for over a century but […]
6 months ago

Police respond to a report of an active shooter at a Detroit-area synagogue

WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (AP) — Police are responding to reports of an “active shooter” at a synagogue outside Detroit, where smoke is billowing from the roof. WDIV-TV reports that a truck crashed into the Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, on Thursday. Footage from the scene shows dozens of police vehicles surrounding the […]
6 months ago

Iran-linked hackers take aim at US and other targets, raising risk of cyberattacks during war

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pro-Iranian hackers are targeting sites in the Middle East and starting to stretch into the United States during the war, raising the risk of American defense contractors, power stations and water plants being swept into a wave of digital chaos that could expand if Tehran’s allies join the fray. Hackers supporting Iran […]
6 months ago

Eswatini receives third batch of migrants deported by the US

Johannesburg (AP) — Four more African migrants deported from the United States arrived in Eswatini, authorities said Thursday. This is the third batch of deportees that the Trump administration has sent to Eswatini. They are the latest of more than 40 deportees sent to Africa as part of largely secretive agreements with at least seven […]
6 months ago

Senate passes bipartisan housing bill to improve access and affordability

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate passed a broad bill on Thursday to make U.S. housing more accessible and affordable, a rare bipartisan effort in Congress to address a growing national problem. The bill, which passed 89-10, would reduce regulations, regulate corporate investors and expand how housing dollars can be used to build affordable homes and […]
6 months ago

Winter heat wave will send temperatures into the 90s across Southern California

LOS ANGELES (AP) — With spring still a week away, it’s already starting to feel like summer in Southern California with forecasters predicting unseasonably hot weather, including temperatures in the mid-90s around Los Angeles. It’s expected to be about 20 degrees warmer than normal for mid-March on Thursday and Friday, the National Weather Service said. […]
6 months ago

Gunman who shot 2 people at Old Dominion University in Virginia is dead, college says

A gunman is dead and two people are hurt after a shooting at Old Dominion University on Thursday, the Virginia school said. ODU said a gunman opened fire in its business school building, injuring two people who were sent to the hospital. It wasn’t immediately clear how the shooter died. The university in Norfolk canceled […]
6 months ago

Trump discourages Iranian soccer team from attending the World Cup, citing safety concerns

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said he did not think it would be “appropriate” for the Iranian soccer team to attend this year’s World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, and cited safety concerns as a reason on Thursday, while the countries are embroiled in a war. “The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome […]
6 months ago

Lawyers for Jack ‘Ziz’ LaSota seek competency review while rejecting ‘Zizian’ and ‘cult’ labels

BALTIMORE (AP) — A lawyer representing the leader of the cultlike Zizians group that has been linked to six deaths told a judge Thursday that there is reason to believe his client is mentally incompetent to stand trial. Jack LaSota, a transgender woman who goes by “Ziz,” was supposed to be in federal court for […]
6 months ago

Smaller portions are a big restaurant trend as customers watch their budgets and waistlines

The biggest new restaurant trend is small. Special menus with petite, less expensive portions are popping up all over, from large chains like Olive Garden and The Cheesecake Factory to trendy urban eateries and farm-to-fork dining rooms. Restaurants hope that offering smaller servings beyond the children’s menu will meet many different diners’ needs. Some people […]
6 months ago

When stock markets get shaken, it can pay for investors to be patient

NEW YORK (AP) — When stock markets are as manic as they’ve been recently, it’s natural to want to do something to protect your retirement savings. Historically, though, staying calm has usually been best. The U.S. stock market has a track record of recovering from every steep drop it’s taken. Whether it’s a global financial […]
6 months ago

California governor says no imminent threat despite warning about possible Iran drone attack

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom said there was no imminent threat to the state, despite a warning from the FBI that Iran could send drones to the West Coast in retaliation for war. Newsom said drone issues “have always been top of mind.” “We’ve been aware of that information. … It’s all […]
6 months ago

Long-serving Democrat Jim Clyburn of South Carolina will run for an 18th term in Congress

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the dean of South Carolina’s Democrats, said Thursday that he will run for an 18th House term, a move that could position him as an influential elder statesman in Congress if his party regains the majority in November. At 85, Clyburn is among the oldest Democrats serving […]
6 months ago

The islands off Iran’s southern coast are key to its economy and security. What to know about them

JERUSALEM (AP) — Iran’s parliament speaker warned on Thursday that attacks on the Persian Gulf islands that form Iran’s southern maritime frontier would provoke a new level of retaliation, underscoring how central they are to the country’s economy and security. In a social media post, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said Iran “will abandon all restraint” if […]
6 months ago

Hockey player who lost family in Rhode Island shooting scores winning goal in double overtime

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — High school senior hockey player Colin Dorgan, wearing a patch on his jersey honoring the three family members he lost in a Rhode Island ice rink shooting last month, scored a game-winning goal in double overtime Wednesday that advanced the Blackstone Valley Co-op team out of the semifinals. Colin Dorgan was […]
6 months ago

Lawyers in landmark social media addiction trial make final appeals to the jury

LOS ANGELES (AP) — After about a month of hearing from addiction experts, therapists, platform engineers and executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, a jury will listen to closing arguments before heading to the deliberation room to decide whether social media companies should be liable for harms caused to children using their platforms. Closing statements in the […]
6 months ago

Israeli military drops charges against soldiers charged in abusing Palestinian prisoner

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military says it is dropping charges against five soldiers who were accused of sexually abusing a Palestinian detainee in an encounter partially caught on camera. The army announced the decision in the high-profile case at a time when much of the country’s attention is focused on the war with Iran.
6 months ago

Ohio State names provost as new president after predecessor’s abrupt resignation

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State acted swiftly on Thursday to move past the abrupt resignation of the university’s president over the weekend, elevating its chief academic officer into the role. Trustees are voting to appoint Executive Vice President and Provost Ravi Ballamkonda as Carter’s successor, bypassing the traditional nationwide search to name its fourth […]
6 months ago

Is Atlanta still the ‘Hollywood of the South’? A film boomtown faces a test

ATLANTA (AP) — Chris Ratledge used to make as much as $9,500 a week working on film sets around Atlanta. Now, he’s on food stamps. The 48-year-old digital imaging technician moved from Indiana to Georgia in 2017 as studios — lured by generous tax credits — turned Atlanta into the “Hollywood of the South,” the […]
6 months ago

Google overhauls its Maps app, adding in more AI features to help people get around

Google Maps will depend more heavily on artificial intelligence to help people figure out where they want to go and the best way to get there as part of a major redesign unveiled on Thursday. The overhaul driven by Google’s Gemini technology will introduce two AI features into a digital mapping service used by more […]
6 months ago

Slavery exhibit is changing at the Smithsonian museum as a loan agreement ends

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Smithsonian museum exhibit about the maritime journey that millions of Africans were forced to take across the Atlantic to slavery in the Americas will change later this month, when a remnant from one of the first sunken slave ships ever recovered is taken off display in Washington. The National Museum of […]
6 months ago

South Korean lawmakers pass law to manage Seoul’s pledge of $350 billion in US investments

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean lawmakers on Thursday passed a law to implement a pledge of $350 billion in U.S. investments Seoul made last year to avoid the Trump administration’s highest tariffs. Government officials had urged lawmakers to quickly pass the contested bill, submitted in November, as uncertainty mounts for the country’s trade-dependent […]
6 months ago

Iran’s unrelenting attacks on Mideast shipping and energy infrastructure send oil prices soaring

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Unrelenting Iranian attacks on shipping traffic and energy infrastructure pushed oil above $100 a barrel on Thursday, as American and Israeli strikes pounded the Islamic Republic with no sign of an end to the war in sight. Iran hit a container ship off the coast of Dubai, caused a […]
6 months ago

Damage to historical sites in Iran raises alarm about war’s impact on protected places

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran have damaged at least four cultural and historical sites, including palaces and an ancient mosque, raising alarms about the impact of the widening war on protected landmarks that are important to Iranian identity and world history. The speed and extent of the damage have so […]
6 months ago