Associated Press

Associated Press

Death Valley landmark Scotty’s Castle is reopening for limited tours after years of flood repairs

DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — Scotty’s Castle, a 1920s vacation home for a millionaire couple and the domain of a famous con man, was a top attraction in Death Valley National Park before it closed from a flash flood. After 10 years of repairs, the landmark is offering limited tours. The castle nestled […]
8 months ago

German leader hails Europe as an ‘alternative to imperialism and autocracy’

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hailed the European Union on Thursday as an “alternative to imperialism and autocracy” that can forge deals with like-minded partners in a world of increasing great power rivalry. Merz underlined the continuing value of a NATO in which Europe will intensify its defense efforts, and said it will […]
8 months ago

US says aid will resume while Somali officials deny causing disruption leading to suspension

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The United States on Wednesday said it would lift a suspension of aid to Somalia after claiming authorities in the East African nation had taken responsibility for actions earlier this month that disrupted aid operations. Despite the U.S. statement that Somalia had acknowledged accountability for the disruption of World Food Program […]
8 months ago

EU appears poised to sanction Iran’s Revolutionary Guard over protest crackdown

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union appeared poised Thursday to sanction Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard over Tehran’s deadly crackdown on nationwide protests. Kaja Kallas said that she expects foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday to agree on adding Iran’s Guard to its terrorist list. “This will put them on the same footing with al-Qaida, […]
8 months ago

US appeals court says Noem’s decision to end protections for Venezuelans in US was illegal

A federal appeals court ruled late Wednesday that the Trump administration acted illegally when it ended legal protections that gave hundreds of thousands of people from Venezuela permission to live and work in the United States. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that found Homeland […]
8 months ago

Situation in US South grows more dire after days of ice, frigid temperatures and widespread outages

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi dispatchers are fielding desperate calls for medication or oxygen from people stuck in their homes. Troopers in Tennessee are fanning out for welfare checks on those who haven’t been heard from in days. And in at least one rural area, officials have resorted to using trucks typically used for battling […]
8 months ago

Democrats poised to trigger government shutdown if White House won’t meet demands for ICE reform

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats are threatening to block legislation that would fund the Department of Homeland Security and several other agencies Thursday, potentially bringing the government a step closer to a partial shutdown if Republicans and the White House do not agree to new restrictions on President Donald Trump’s surge of immigration enforcement. As […]
8 months ago

Melania Trump’s documentary premieres at the Kennedy Center ahead of global release

WASHINGTON (AP) — Melania Trump is capping her first year back as first lady with the global release of a documentary she produced about the 20 days leading up to husband Donald Trump’s return to the White House. “Melania” will premiere Thursday at the Kennedy Center, where the Trumps are expected to walk the red […]
8 months ago

FEMA could still support winter storm response in a shutdown, despite administration warnings

The Federal Emergency Management Agency would have enough money to respond to the massive winter storm still impacting large swaths of the U.S. even if a partial government shutdown begins at midnight Friday, experts and former FEMA officials said, despite Trump administration warnings to the contrary. FEMA would have about $7 billion to $8 billion […]
8 months ago

The former Illinois deputy convicted of killing Sonya Massey faces up to 20 years in prison

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The former Illinois sheriff’s deputy convicted of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, a Black woman who called 911 to request help, is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday. Sean Grayson, 31, was convicted in October. Grayson, who is white, could be sentenced to as much as 20 years […]
8 months ago

US life expectancy hit an all-time high in 2024, CDC says

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. life expectancy rose to 79 years in 2024 — the highest mark in American history. It’s the result of not only the dissipation of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also waning death rates from all the nation’s top killers, including heart disease, cancer and drug overdoses. What’s more, preliminary statistics suggest […]
8 months ago

FBI raid in Georgia highlights Trump’s 2020 election obsession and hints at possible future actions

DENVER (AP) — Donald Trump lost his bid for reelection in 2020. But for more than five years, he’s been trying to convince Americans the opposite is true by falsely saying the election was marred by widespread fraud. Now that he’s president again, Trump is pushing the federal government to back up those bogus claims. […]
8 months ago

A shadow network in Minneapolis defies ICE and protects immigrants

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — If there’s been a soundtrack to life in Minneapolis in recent weeks, it’s the shrieking whistles and honking horns of thousands of people following immigration agents across the city. They are the ever-moving shadow of the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge. They are teachers, scientists and stay-at-home parents. They own small businesses […]
8 months ago

Asian shares mostly fall and gold jumps more than 4% after the Fed keeps rates unchanged

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly fell Thursday as a wait-and-see attitude dominated in regional markets following the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep its key interest rate unchanged. That was expected, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell said interest rates look to be “in a good place” for now. Gold jumped another 4%, trading at $5,520 […]
8 months ago

New videos show Alex Pretti scuffle with federal officers in Minneapolis 11 days before his death

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Pretti was forcefully taken to the ground by federal immigration agents after kicking out the tail light of their vehicle during a Minneapolis protest 11 days before he was shot and killed by Border Patrol officers, videos that emerged Wednesday showed. The Jan. 13 scuffle was captured in a pair of […]
8 months ago

Car rams into Chabad headquarters in New York City, damaging doors

NEW YORK (AP) — A car crashed into the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters in New York City on Wednesday night, damaging some of the deeply revered Hasidic Jewish site’s doors. There were no apparent injuries, and the driver was detained by police, Chabad Lubavitch spokesperson Motti Seligson said. “Those are the facts that we know […]
8 months ago

Trump facing growing cultural revolt against immigration crackdown

NEW YORK (AP) — No longer confined to the partisans and activists, the fierce backlash against Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has begun to break out across American culture, spanning the worlds of business, sports and entertainment. Bruce Springsteen released a new song on Wednesday that slammed “Trump’s federal thugs.” OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman told […]
8 months ago

Republicans fear their midterm chances are slipping away over immigration chaos

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are increasingly concerned that immigration enforcement is becoming a political liability in the upcoming midterm elections after two people were killed by federal agents during President Donald Trump’s crackdown in Minneapolis. Although few are willing to publicly break with the president, there has been a crescendo of criticism as Republicans nudge […]
8 months ago

Families of 67 killed in US aircraft crash remember loved ones and call for reforms

Families of the 67 people who died in an aircraft collision last January gathered on Wednesday evening to mark the first anniversary, just one day after investigators testified about years of ignored warnings and near-misses. Family members and politicians spoke Wednesday throughout the music-filled ceremony honoring the victims who died when an American Airlines jet […]
8 months ago

TikTok star Shirley Raines, known for bringing meals and respect to people on Skid Row, dies at 58

Shirley Raines, a social media creator and nonprofit founder who dedicated her life to caring for people experiencing homelessness, has died, her organization Beauty 2 The Streetz said Wednesday. She was 58. Raines was known as “Ms. Shirley,” to her more than 5 million TikTok followers and to the people who regularly lined up for […]
8 months ago

Norfolk Southern’s profit slips 12% amid merger costs and economic uncertainty

Norfolk Southern’s quarterly profit slipped 12% amid the uncertain economy as well as unusual costs related to its efforts to merge with Union Pacific in an $85 billion deal that would create a transcontinental railroad. Norfolk Southern said it made $644 million, or $2.87 per share, in the fourth quarter. That’s down from $733 million, […]
8 months ago

EPA plan would begin rolling back ‘good neighbor’ rule on downwind pollution from smokestacks

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Wednesday took a step toward rolling back a rule that limits smokestack emissions that burden downwind areas in neighboring states. The so-called “good neighbor” rule is one of dozens of regulations that Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin has targeted for reconsideration or repeal. The Supreme Court ruled […]
8 months ago

Alabama inmate activists from an Oscar-nominated film are moved to solitary, attorneys say

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama prison system has moved three well-known inmate activists who supported a 2022 prison strike and were featured in an Oscar-nominated documentary about the troubled system to isolated cells with little contact with others, family members and attorneys said. Family members of the three men said they fear for their […]
8 months ago

Mayors warn that Trump’s hardline immigration tactics could dent trust in law enforcement

WASHINGTON (AP) — Elizabeth Kautz says she now carries her passport around the Minneapolis suburb where she’s been the mayor since 1995. “Those ICE agents don’t know that I’m the mayor of the city of Burnsville,” Kautz, a Republican who has occasionally diverted from the Trump administration’s views, said Wednesday as the United States Conference […]
8 months ago