Associated Press

Associated Press

Los Angeles mayor’s race kicks off amid homelessness, raids and fallout from deadly 2025 wildfire

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is heading into a challenging reelection bid as she continues to suffer fallout from last year’s devastating wildfire and ongoing criticism of City Hall on issues from street paving to homelessness. The deadline is Saturday for candidates to enter the contest ahead of the June 2 […]
7 months ago

Pentagon says it’s cutting ties with ‘woke’ Harvard, discontinuing military training, fellowships

The Pentagon said Friday it is cutting ties with Harvard University, ending all military training, fellowships and certificate programs with the Ivy League institution. The announcement marks the latest development in the Trump administration’s prolonged standoff with Harvard over the White House’s demands for reforms at the Ivy League school. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said […]
7 months ago

Judge orders Trump administration to bring back 3 families deported to Honduras, other countries

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A judge says the federal government must return three families hurt by the first Trump administration’s policy of separating parents from the children at the border, saying their deportations in recent months relied on “lies, deception and coercion.” The order, issued Thursday, found the deported families should have been allowed to […]
7 months ago

Government must reach agreement on right to counsel for people at Minnesota ICE facility, judge says

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Attorneys for the federal government have until next Thursday to reach an agreement with human rights lawyers who are seeking to ensure the right to counsel for people detained at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Minnesota, a judge said Friday. Advocates said people held at the facility on the edge […]
7 months ago

Feds can’t withhold social service funds from 5 Democratic states amid fraud claims, judge rules

A federal judge ruled Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration must keep funds flowing to child care subsidies and other social service programs in five Democratic-controlled states — at least for now. U.S. District Judge Vernon Broderick in New York, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama, granted the states’ request for a preliminary […]
7 months ago

Cheers for Team USA turn to jeers for Vance at Milan Cortina opening ceremony

MILAN (AP) — American athletes received an enthusiastic welcome at the opening ceremony for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, but the mood shifted when cameras briefly turned to Vice President JD Vance. Led by speedskater and flag bearer Erin Jackson, Team USA was among the last delegations to enter Milan’s San Siro stadium in the […]
7 months ago

Body believed to be Lil Jon’s son D.J. Young is found in pond near Atlanta

MILTON, Ga. (AP) — A person believed to be the son of rapper Lil Jon has been found dead in a pond north of Atlanta, police said Friday. Nathan Smith, known professionally as D.J. Young Slade, left his home in Milton “under unusual circumstances” early Tuesday morning, police said. Lil Jon said in a statement […]
7 months ago

Ex-MLB player Yasiel Puig found guilty of obstruction and lying to federal officials

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A jury has found former major league outfielder Yasiel Puig guilty of obstruction of justice and lying to federal officials investigating an illegal gambling operation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Friday. The verdict came after a multiweek trial that featured testimony from Major League Baseball officials and Donny Kadokawa, a Hawaii […]
7 months ago

Mississippians near two weeks without power after winter storm

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Nearly two weeks after an ice storm knocked out power to her home, Barbara Bishop still finds herself trying to flip the lights on and looking in her fridge for food that has since spoiled. Bishop, 79, and her 85-year-old husband, George Bishop, live in a rural area near Oxford, Mississippi, […]
7 months ago

Judge strikes down old Arizona abortion restrictions that clash with voter-backed guarantees

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona must stop enforcing abortion restrictions that predate and contradict a 2024 voter-approved constitutional amendment guaranteeing abortion rights, a judge ordered in a ruling released Friday. Maricopa Superior Court Judge Greg Como found that the older laws present unnecessary obstacles to getting an abortion, including barring one if a woman was seeking […]
7 months ago

Annual orchids show brings vivid color to Chicago winter

CHICAGO (AP) — A soft layer of white snow blankets the grounds of the Chicago Botanic Garden. The air is chilly, the sky gray. Inside, however, the air is warm and lights illuminate more than 10,000 vividly colored orchids. Staff members move in and out of greenhouses, preparing to open the garden’s 12th annual Orchid […]
7 months ago

At least 3 people have died from eating Death Cap mushrooms as they spread in California after rains

SAN DIEGO (AP) — At least three people have died and three others have required liver transplants after eating the aptly named Death Cap mushroom that is proliferating in California following a rainy winter. The California Department of Public Health is urging people to avoid mushroom foraging altogether this year because Death Cap mushrooms are […]
7 months ago

New York City police officer convicted of manslaughter in cooler throwing death

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City police officer was convicted Friday of second-degree manslaughter after he tossed a picnic cooler filled with drinks at a fleeing suspect, causing the man to fatally crash his motorized scooter. Judge Guy Mitchell handed down the guilty verdict Friday in Bronx criminal court in the case against […]
7 months ago

Sheriff searching for Savannah Guthrie’s missing mom calls lack of video a disappointing setback

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The sheriff investigating the apparent abduction of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother said Friday he was frustrated that a camera at Nancy Guthrie ‘s home wasn’t able to capture images of anyone the day she went missing. Investigators have found that the home’s doorbell camera was disconnected early Sunday and […]
7 months ago

Valentine flower imports increase at Miami airport, despite tariffs and higher costs, officials say

MIAMI (AP) — Winged babies shooting heart-shaped arrows might get most of the credit on Valentine’s Day, but the real magic behind millions of romantic bouquets happens in a cargo warehouse at a South Florida airport. Agricultural specialists at Miami International Airport will process about 990 million stems of cut flowers in the weeks before […]
7 months ago

FEMA will resume staff reductions that were paused during winter storm, managers say

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will resume staff cuts that were briefly paused during January’s severe winter storm, according to two FEMA managers, stoking concern across the agency over its ability to address disasters with fewer workers. FEMA at the start of January abruptly stopped renewing employment contracts for a group of staffers known as […]
7 months ago

Special prosecutor to get cases of man who says North Carolina religious group beat him in 2013

A district attorney has turned over to a special prosecutor the criminal cases accusing members of a secretive North Carolina religious group of holding down and beating a one-time member 13 years ago. The victim asked a judge to kick District Attorney Ted Bell off the case just days before a retrial — that had […]
7 months ago

Massive Washington sewage leak will take weeks longer to fix, water company says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Repairs on a pipe rupture that has sent sewage flowing into the Potomac River northwest of Washington, D.C., will take weeks more to repair because of an unexpected blockage, according to the local water authority. In a release posted on its website Thursday, DC Water, which operates the sewer system, said a […]
7 months ago

Japanese-based Kirin announces deal to sell the Four Roses bourbon brand to wine giant Gallo

Gallo signaled Friday that it sees wine and whiskey as a good mix for business. The wine giant said it plans to add a prominent Kentucky bourbon brand to its portfolio in a deal to purchase Four Roses Distillery from Japanese-based Kirin. The deal, valued at up to $775 million, is expected to close in […]
7 months ago

UN peacekeepers in Lebanon allege surge in Israeli violence toward them

BEIRUT (AP) — U.N. peacekeepers patrolling southern Lebanon have faced a dramatic surge of “aggressive behavior” by Israeli forces over the last year, including drone-dropped grenades and machine-gun fire, according to an internal report seen by The Associated Press. The report by one of the 48 nations that together have more than 7,500 peacekeepers in […]
7 months ago

Leadership changes in Minnesota follow tensions among agencies over immigration enforcement tactics

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House border czar Tom Homan’s announcement that enforcement in Minnesota was being unified under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement followed months of internal grumbling and infighting among agencies about how to carry out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign. Since it was created in 2003, ICE has conducted street arrests through […]
7 months ago

In unusual move, Republican chairman scrutinizes companies tied to husband of Rep. Ilhan Omar

WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the House Oversight Committee on Friday requested records related to firms partially owned by the husband of Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, taking the extraordinary step of scrutinizing the spouse of a sitting House member. Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, released a letter to Timothy Mynett, a former […]
7 months ago

Actor Timothy Busfield indicted on 4 counts of sexual contact with a child

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico grand jury has indicted Timothy Busfield has been indicted on four counts of criminal sexual contact with a child. Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman announced the indictment Friday in a social media post. Busfield was arrested last month over allegations that investigators said stemmed from when […]
7 months ago

Uber found liable in sexual assault case and ordered to pay $8.5 million

A federal jury has ordered Uber to pay $8.5 million to a woman who says one of its drivers raped her during a 2023 trip. Uber has faced criticism for its safety record, much of it spanning from thousands of incidents of sexual assault reported by both passengers and drivers. Because drivers on the ridesharing […]
7 months ago