MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The state of Alabama has joined a growing number of Republican-led states seeking to revive the death penalty for child rape, a sentence outlawed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2008. Alabama approved legislation Thursday to add rape and sexual torture of a child under 12 to the narrow list of […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday that demands made by Democrats for new restrictions on federal immigration officers are “unrealistic” and warned that the Department of Homeland Security will shut down next week if they do not work with Republicans and the White House. Democrats say they will not vote for […]
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is relaxing rules that restrict when food companies can claim their products have no artificial colors. The agency announced Thursday that food labels may claim to have “no artificial colors” when they are free of petroleum-based dyes, even when they contain dyes derived from natural sources such as plants. […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says it would be “up to the president” to decide whether or not to sue Kevin Warsh, Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, if he fails to lower interest rates. During remarks at a private black-tie dinner of the elite Alfalfa Club on Saturday night, Trump […]
MANSFIELD, Conn. (AP) — A freight train derailed Thursday in Connecticut, sending cars carrying hazardous materials tumbling into a river, though officials say they don’t appear to be leaking. Local and state officials said the incident happened shortly before 9:30 a.m. along the Willimantic River in Mansfield, a rural town a few miles west of […]
Brad Karp, chairman of one of the country’s most prestigious law firms, has resigned from his position after the release of emails revealing his exchanges with Jeffrey Epstein, a high-profile departure in the fallout among those with ties to the late convicted sex offender. A statement Wednesday from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Garrison & Wharton did […]
NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday will launch TrumpRx, a website it says will help patients buy prescription drugs directly from manufacturers at a discounted rate at a time when health care and the cost of living are growing concerns for Americans. The government-hosted website is not expected to be a platform […]
NEW YORK (AP) — During the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, experts worried that disruptions to cancer diagnosis and treatment would cost lives. A new study suggests they were right. The federally funded study published Thursday by the medical journal JAMA Oncology is being called the first to assess the effects of pandemic-related disruptions […]
The Boar’s Head deli meat plant tied to a deadly food-poisoning outbreak in 2024 is back in business, company officials said. The Jarratt, Virginia, site resumed limited operations on Monday, nearly 17 months after it was shut down following the listeria outbreak that killed 10 people and sickened dozens. Boar’s Head, a 120-year-old company based […]
PANAMA CITY (AP) — Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino on Thursday said he hoped an ongoing legal battle with a Hong Kong firm over operations of Panama Canal ports would “not escalate,” but that Panama’s government would remain firm in its ruling against the company. “Panama is a dignified country and will not allow itself […]
MILAN (AP) — Show respect. Be humble and a good Olympic partner. Keep Team USA athletes safe. United States Olympic leaders set out goals Thursday for the Milan Cortina Winter Games that arrive during what they acknowledged is “a period of geopolitical turmoil.” The days before the opening ceremony Friday saw street protests in Milan […]
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Andrés Velásquez didn’t stick around to become one more government critic jailed after Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election. A former governor who had crisscrossed Venezuela stumping for then-President Nicolás Maduro’s opponent in the disputed race, he grew a thick beard, sent his children into exile and avoided public events that could expose […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. job openings fell to the lowest level in more than five years, another sign that the American labor market remains sluggish. The Labor Department reported Tuesday that vacancies fell to 6.5 million in December — from 6.9 million in November and the fewest since September 2020. Layoffs rose slightly. The number […]
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed Gov. Kathy Hochul for reelection on Thursday, offering the moderate governor some progressive heft as she faces a challenge from her political left in her campaign for a second full term in office. In an op-ed in The Nation, Mamdani, a democratic socialist, noted […]
DALTON, Ga. (AP) — Bob Shaw glared at the executives from the chemical giant 3M across the table from him. He held up a carpet sample and pointed at the logo for Scotchgard on the back. “That’s not a logo,” fumed Shaw, CEO of the world’s largest carpet company, one attendee later recalled. “That’s a […]
The two artificial intelligence startups behind rival chatbots ChatGPT and Claude are bracing for an existential showdown this year as both need to prove they can grow a business that will make more money than they’re losing. The fiercest competition between the two AI developers, along with bigger companies like Google, is a race to […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan is refusing to voluntarily comply with a Justice Department investigation into a video she organized urging U.S. military members to resist “illegal orders” — escalating a dispute that President Donald Trump has publicly pushed. In letters first obtained by The Associated Press, Slotkin’s lawyer informed U.S. […]
Democrats are threatening to block funding for the Homeland Security Department when it expires in two weeks unless there are “dramatic changes” and “real accountability” for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other law enforcement agencies who are carrying out President Donald Trump’s campaign of federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota and across the country. It’s […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is taking direct aim at the financial lifelines of Mexico’s most violent drug cartels, targeting money brokers who prosecutors say have adapted to intensified enforcement by increasingly routing drug profits through cryptocurrency from American cities to cartel leaders in Mexico. The cases of four defendants recently sent from Mexico […]
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — There was no public sign early Thursday of a response to NBC “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s message to her 84-year-old mother’s kidnapper. In a recorded video posted on social media Wednesday, Guthrie said her family is ready to talk but wants proof that Nancy Guthrie, who authorities believe was taken […]
COLLINGSWOOD, N.J. (AP) — The shawarma, falafel wraps and baklava at Jersey Kebab are great, but many of its patrons are also there these days for a side of protest. A New Jersey suburb of Philadelphia has rallied around the restaurant’s Turkish owners since federal officers detained the couple last February because they say their […]
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter responding to assist officers with an active shooter situation crashed, killing both the pilot and a trooper who was a paramedic on board, authorities said. A Ranger helicopter crew responded to assist the Flagstaff Police Department and other law enforcement agencies on Wednesday night, […]
MOSCOW (AP) — The last remaining nuclear arms pact between Russia and the United States expired Thursday, removing any caps on the two largest atomic arsenals for the first time in more than a half-century. The termination of the New START Treaty could set the stage for what many fear could be an unconstrained nuclear […]
New federal data shows about two-thirds of the nation’s 3- to 5-year-olds are on track to enter kindergarten. But being ready for school involves a lot more than a child’s ability to count or recite their ABCs. The effort to get a snapshot of kindergarten readiness is part of the National Survey of Children’s Health, […]
