WASHINGTON (AP) — A “buoyant” U.S. economy is poised to see accelerated growth and lower unemployment this year. But big federal budget debts ”represent a growing stability risk,” the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday. The 191-country lending organization’s assessment of the world’s biggest economy was mostly positive. The IMF saw U.S. gross domestic product — […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department said Wednesday that it was looking into whether it improperly withheld documents from the Jeffrey Epstein files after several news organizations reported that some records involving uncorroborated accusations made by a woman against President Donald Trump were not among those released to the public. The announcement followed news reports […]
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after admitting his reckless driving caused a head-on collision in rural West Texas that killed Laura Lynch, a founding member of the country music group now known as The Chicks, prosecutors said. Domenick Chavez, 33, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in […]
NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s attorney general has sued video game developer Valve, claiming the “loot boxes” found in Counter-Strike and other popular video game franchises illegally promote gambling. State Attorney General Letitia James said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in New York state court that games such as Counter-Strike 2, Team Fortress 2 […]
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The no-parking zone around the home of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother where journalists and social media streamers have stationed themselves over the past three weeks since her disappearance is being widened in response to bitter complaints from neighbors about congested roads, trespassing and trash left alongside roadways. Pima County […]
Researchers say seven seal pups have tested positive for an avian flu virus at California’s Año Nuevo State Park and several more are showing signs of the illness. The outbreak has prompted park officials to cancel the park’s popular seal-watching tours for the remainder of the seal breeding season. Researchers with University of California-Santa Cruz […]
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Prosecutors charged a Wisconsin legislator with disorderly conduct Wednesday in connection with a feud over who was involved with drafting resolutions honoring Hispanics last year. Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, a Milwaukee Democrat, faces up to 90 days in jail if she’s convicted in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. Online court records didn’t list […]
BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts couple who were subjected to threats and bizarre anonymous deliveries — including live insects, a funeral wreath and a bloody pig Halloween mask — by former eBay Inc. employees reached a settlement Wednesday in their lawsuit against the company. In their 2021 lawsuit filed in Boston federal court, David and […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — For some of their conservative critics, this is the scandal that could finally topple them. Their resistance to testifying proved futile. And now, staring down another epic fight, they’re harnessing their considerable political skills to try and turn the table on their accusers. For Bill and Hillary Clinton, the 1990s are back. […]
Newly released police video shows former WWE CEO Vince McMahon’s high-speed car crash in Connecticut last summer and reveals that a state trooper was trying to catch up to him to pull him over at the time. McMahon, now 80, was driving his 2024 Bentley Continental GT on the Merritt Parkway in Westport on July […]
Bill Gates addressed his connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and “took responsibility for his actions” during a town hall meeting of his nonprofit Gates Foundation on Tuesday, the nonprofit said. “Bill spoke candidly, addressing several questions in detail,” a Gates Foundation spokesperson said in a statement. Gates appears multiple times in the Justice […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President JD Vance announced Wednesday that the Trump administration would “temporarily halt” some Medicaid funding to the state of Minnesota over fraud concerns, as part of what he described as an aggressive crackdown on misuse of public funds. Medicaid is the U.S. health care safety net for low-income Americans. As of […]
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on four commanders of Sudan’s warring paramilitary force suspected of atrocities against civilians that U.N. experts said showed “hallmarks of genocide.” The four commanders in the Rapid Support Forces, which have been at war with the Sudanese military since 2023, were added to the blacklist […]
ATLANTA (AP) — Federal energy officials on Wednesday announced a record $27 billion loan to electric utilities in Georgia and Alabama, saying the loan will save customers money as the companies undertake a huge expansion driven by demand from computer data centers. A total of $22.4 billion will go to Georgia Power and $4.1 billion […]
NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein has hired Luigi Mangione and Sean “Diddy” Combs’ lawyers to represent him at his third New York rape trial, reshaping his legal team after declining to end the matter with a guilty plea. The lawyers, Jacob Kaplan, Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos, confirmed the move in court papers Tuesday. […]
A Rhode Island college football player died from carbon monoxide poisoning after he tried to charge his phone in his car during a massive snow storm in a power outage. The storm knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of people across the Northeast. First responders found 21-year-old Salve Regina University student Joseph Boutros unresponsive […]
HAVANA (AP) — Cuba’s government said Wednesday that its soldiers killed four people aboard a speed boat registered in Florida that opened fire on officers in Cuban waters. Cuba’s Interior Ministry issued a statement that provided few details about the shooting, but noted that the boat was roughly one mile northeast of Cayo Falcones, off […]
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota judge has said he will order Greenpeace to pay damages expected to total $345 million in connection with protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline from nearly a decade ago, a figure the environmental group contends it cannot pay. In court papers filed Tuesday, Judge James Gion said […]
Crews in South Florida were trying to contain a wildfire in Big Cypress National Preserve that had burned more than 25,000 acres (100 square kilometers) near the immigration detention facility known as “ Alligator Alcatraz ” as of Wednesday. The fire caused periodic lane closures due to smoke and poor visibility on the stretch of […]
PRESCOTT VALLEY (AP) — “Let’s win not clash” said a sign posted outside a meeting of Arizona Republicans as candidates for governor tried to win over the party’s most ardent supporters inside. The message channeled frustration from a decade of ideological infighting and eroding power in a state where Democrats have been gaining ground. But […]
A massive post-blizzard snowball fight in New York that ended in police officers being pelted is creating a frosty dispute between Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his own police department. Mamdani has downplayed the fracas in Washington Square Park as kids simply having some fun. The New York Police Department and its leader, Jessica Tisch, are […]
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge in Texas has ruled that ExxonMobil can bring a defamation lawsuit against California’s attorney general over comments about the company’s plastic recycling efforts. U.S. District Judge Michael J. Truncale in the Eastern District of Texas said in a ruling earlier this month that California Attorney General Rob Bonta […]
NEW YORK (AP) — The World Trade Center’s final office tower will start construction as soon as this spring and become American Express ‘ new headquarters, Gov. Kathy Hochul and the company said Wednesday, marking a milestone nearly 25 years after the Sept. 11 attacks destroyed the site. The 2 World Trade Center building will […]
DETROIT (AP) — China’s government intervened and helped get charges dropped against three Chinese scientists at the University of Michigan who were accused of helping a colleague smuggle biological materials into the U.S., defense lawyers said. The materials turned out to be mostly tiny, transparent worms — nothing dangerous — though U.S. officials last year […]
