Associated Press

Associated Press

White House will present Trump’s ballroom project for a review months after construction began

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is expected to share details of President Donald Trump’s planned ballroom at Thursday’s monthly meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission, months after the East Wing was demolished in preparation for the construction. The White House in December submitted its ballroom plans to the commission, one of two federal […]
23 hours ago

Gmail adds new AI features, turning it into a personal assistant

More artificial intelligence is being implanted into Gmail as Google tries to turn the world’s most popular email service into a personal assistant that can improve writing, summarize far-flung information buried in inboxes and deliver daily to-do lists. The new AI features announced Thursday could herald a pivotal moment for Gmail, a service that transformed […]
23 hours ago

Inside a chaotic digital record of the Brown University shooting: What students saw, feared, shared

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — When a gunman began firing inside an academic building on the Brown University campus, students didn’t wait for official alerts warning of trouble. They got information almost instantly, in bits and bursts — through phones vibrating in pockets, messages from strangers, rumors that felt urgent because they might keep someone alive. […]
23 hours ago

Hochul and Mamdani to unveil free child care plan in New York City

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City parents may soon have access to free child care for their 2-year-olds, under a plan set to be unveiled Thursday by Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The two Democrats are expected to detail the program at a news conference Thursday morning, along with a pledge from […]
24 hours ago

How many Americans donate to crowdfunding campaigns, according to a new AP-NORC poll

NEW YORK (AP) — Quintin Sharpe considers it a duty to support those without means. Whether collecting food pantry goods through local service groups or helping out his parents’ nonprofit music school, he regularly gives back to his small-town waterside community in southeast Wisconsin. But the 27-year-old wealth manager encountered a situation last year that […]
1 day ago

Democratic Fulton County commissioner announces bid to become Georgia secretary of state

ATLANTA (AP) — An elected leader in Georgia’s Fulton County, which drew national attention after the 2020 election when President Donald Trump claimed without proof that voter fraud there cost him victory in Georgia, announced that she is running to be the state’s top election official. Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett planned to hold a […]
1 day ago

Protests in Iran sparked by economic woes now nationwide, activists say

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Protests in Iran sparked by economic woes have now gone nationwide in the Islamic Republic, activists said Thursday, signaling both their staying power and intensity as they challenge the country’s theocracy. Wednesday saw the most-intense day of demonstrations, reaching rural towns and major cities in every province though still […]
1 day ago

A familiar refrain as China and Japan, uneasy neighbors in East Asia, begin 2026 at odds again

BEIJING (AP) — They’re at it again. China and Japan — frenemies, trading partners and uneasy neighbors with a tortured, bloody history they still struggle to navigate — are freshly at each other’s rhetorical throats as 2026 begins. And it’s over the same sticking points that have kept them resentful and suspicious for many decades: […]
1 day ago

California Gov. Gavin Newsom to deliver final State of the State address

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom delivers his final State of the State address to lawmakers Thursday in Sacramento, where he is expected to lay out his priorities for his last year in office as he eyes a run for president in 2028. Newsom, a Democrat, is conscious of his legacy as he […]
1 day ago

Minneapolis on edge after fatal shooting of woman by ICE officer

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minneapolis was on edge Thursday following the fatal shooting of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer taking part in the Trump administration’s latest immigration crackdown, with the governor calling for people to remain calm and schools canceling classes and activities as a safety precaution. State and local officials demanded […]
1 day ago

Trump’s ‘beautiful’ new law means states have big decisions this year on Medicaid, SNAP and taxes

States have major decisions to make in 2026 about the social safety net and taxes in the aftermath of a sweeping law President Donald Trump signed last year. The federal government is shifting more responsibilities to states over the next few years, and states must prepare for greater costs in the Medicaid health care and […]
1 day ago

Rep. Steny Hoyer, the longest-serving House Democrat, to retire at the end of term

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the longest-serving Democrat in Congress and once a rival to become House speaker, will announce Thursday he is set to retire at the end of his term. Hoyer, who served for years in party leadership and helped steer Democrats through some of their most significant legislative victories, […]
1 day ago

Woman killed by ICE agent in Minneapolis was a mother of 3, poet and new to the city

WASHINGTON (AP) — The woman shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis on Wednesday was Renee Nicole Macklin Good, a 37-year-old mother of three who had recently moved to Minnesota. She was a U.S. citizen born in Colorado and appears to never have been charged with anything involving law […]
1 day ago

House considers overriding Trump vetoes as Republicans weigh crossing president

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans will consider a rare rebuke of President Donald Trump with House votes Thursday to override his vetoes of two low-profile bills that were considered noncontroversial when they passed Congress. One bill was designed to help local communities finance the construction of a pipeline to provide water to tens of thousands in […]
1 day ago

Wisconsin man accused of killing parents to fund Trump assassination plot set to enter plea deal

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin man accused of killing his parents and stealing their money to fund a plan to assassinate President Donald Trump is set to enter a plea deal resolving the case Thursday. Nikita Casap, 18, is expected to agree to the deal during a morning hearing in Waukesha County Circuit Court […]
1 day ago

Harvey Weinstein says jurors were bullied into convicting him. A judge is set to rule

NEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein returns to court Thursday, seeking to get his latest sex crime conviction thrown out because anger and apprehensions flared among jurors during deliberations last spring. It’s the latest convoluted turn in the former Hollywood honcho’s path through the criminal justice system. His landmark #MeToo-era case has spanned seven years, […]
1 day ago

Asian shares are mixed after Wall Street’s strong start to the year cools

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian shares were mixed on Thursday after Wall Street’s strong start to the year cooled. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1% to 51,660.50 in early trading, with technology stocks among those leading the decline. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.6% to 4,576.95. Both reached all-time high levels earlier this week. Hong Kong’s benchmark […]
1 day ago

2 killed in shooting at Salt Lake City church meetinghouse

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A shooting during a funeral service at a church building in Salt Lake City left two people dead and several more injured Wednesday, local media reported. The shooting took place in the parking lot of a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, according to the Deseret […]
1 day ago

What to know about the fatal shooting of a woman by an ICE officer in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal officials and local leaders clashed Wednesday over their differing characterizations of a fatal shooting by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis. While President Donald Trump’s administration described the killing of a 37-year-old mother as an act of self-defense amid his latest immigration crackdown, Minneapolis officials have disputed that narrative. […]
1 day ago

Mental health evaluation ordered for woman accused of stabbing tourist in Manhattan Macy’s

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City judge on Wednesday ordered a mental health evaluation for a Massachusetts woman charged in the unprovoked stabbing of a tourist changing her baby’s diaper in a bathroom of Macy’s flagship store in midtown Manhattan around the holidays. Kerri Aherne, 43, of Tewksbury, will be examined by mental […]
1 day ago

Sen. Graham says Trump has ‘greenlit’ sanctions bill aiming to punish Russia for war in Ukraine

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is now on board with a hard-hitting sanctions package meant to economically cripple Moscow as his administration continues to negotiate a deal to end the war that began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he met with Trump at the White House earlier Wednesday, during […]
1 day ago

After losing home in wildfire, reality TV personality Spencer Pratt says he will run for LA mayor

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Spencer Pratt, a reality television personality who lost his home in the deadly Palisades wildfire last year, announced Wednesday that he intends to run for mayor of Los Angeles. Pratt, a Republican who rose to reality-TV fame alongside his wife, Heidi Montag, on “The Hills,” said at a fire anniversary event […]
1 day ago

Federal prosecutors slam Mangione lawyers’ ‘meritless’ claims about Bondi’s lobbying ties

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors slammed Luigi Mangione’s lawyers on Wednesday for making what the government said were “meritless” and “misleading” claims about Attorney General Pam Bondi’s ties to a lobbying firm and her decision to seek the death penalty in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Deputy Manhattan U.S. Attorney Sean Buckley […]
1 day ago

Fatal shooting by ICE agent in Minneapolis raises questions about officers firing at moving vehicles

The fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis on Wednesday has thrust a long-running and deeply contested question back into the national spotlight: When is a law enforcement officer justified in using lethal force against someone in a moving vehicle? The killing, captured on cellphone video, has exposed sharp divisions […]
1 day ago