WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal agency in charge of enforcing workplace anti-discrimination laws on Thursday voted to rescind its own guidance on how to guard against harassment at work, marking another major shift in U.S. civil rights enforcement under President Donald Trump’s second administration. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s newly-established Republican majority voted to […]
A trove of previously private text messages and emails sent by Blake Lively, including exchanges with her longtime friend Taylor Swift, have been made public as part of the actress’ ongoing legal battle with actor-director Justin Baldoni. Lively sued Baldoni and his hired crisis communications expert alleging harassment and a coordinated campaign to attack her […]
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — With the acquittal in the first Texas trial over the hesitant police response to the Robb Elementary School mass shooting, prosecutors must now decide how to try their case against the only other officer who was charged. Adrian Gonzales’ trial was a rare prosecution of an officer accused of failing to […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House was voting Thursday on a resolution that directs President Donald Trump to remove U.S. military forces from Venezuela as Democrats pressed the Republican-controlled Congress to curb the president’s aggression in the Western Hemisphere. The Trump administration told senators last week that there are no U.S. troops on the ground in […]
BALTIMORE (AP) — Clothing retailer Under Armour is investigating a recent data breach that purloined customers’ email addresses and other personal information, but so far there are no signs the hackers stole any passwords or financial information. The breach is believed to have happened late last year, and affected 72 million email addresses, according to […]
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — An opinion by Florida’s Republican attorney general calling into question the constitutionality of dozens of state laws which support minority contracting and promote diverse appointments ignores that racial discrimination still exists and could harm the state’s Black residents, Democratic state lawmakers said Thursday. Attorney General James Uthmeier released the opinion on […]
President Donald Trump’s budget office this week ordered most government agencies to compile data on the federal money that is sent to 14 mostly Democratic-controlled states and the District of Columbia in what it describes as a tool to “reduce the improper and fraudulent use of those funds.” The order comes a week after Trump […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. imposed sanctions on five Costa Ricans and five Costa Rican entities for allegedly helping to transport tons of cocaine from Colombia, storing the drugs in Costa Rica, then shipping them to the U.S. and Europe. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control alleges that Costa Rican national Luis Manuel […]
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s Democratic governor challenged federal immigration officials Thursday to provide arrest warrants, real-time arrest numbers and basic information about who is being detained in a sweeping enforcement operation in her state, saying residents have been left largely in the dark as fear spreads through immigrant communities. “If they have warrants, show […]
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump sued banking giant JPMorgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon for $5 billion, accusing JPMorgan of debanking him and his businesses for political reasons after he left office in January 2021. The lawsuit, filed in Miami-Dade County court in Florida, alleges that JPMorgan abruptly closed multiple accounts in […]
Some of Donald Trump’s handpicked appointees who have a say in his White House ballroom project asked questions Thursday about its “immense” design and scale, even as they broadly endorsed the president’s vision for a massive expansion. The Commission on Fine Arts discussion, which also included a brief review of mostly negative public comments on […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is expanding its ban on U.S. foreign aid for groups supporting abortion services to include assistance going to international and domestic organizations and agencies that promote gender identity as well as diversity, equity and inclusion programs. An administration official said Thursday that the State Department would release final rules […]
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers on Thursday formally reprimanded a House member who sent a sexually vulgar text message to a colleague while protesting a congressional redistricting plan backed by President Donald Trump. Democratic state Rep. Jeremy Dean was barred from serving on House committees, ordered to stay at least 50 feet (15 […]
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Vice President JD Vance, speaking in his home state of Ohio before visiting Minnesota on Thursday, blamed the “far left” for turmoil surrounding the White House’s deportation campaign. “If you want to turn down the chaos in Minneapolis, stop fighting immigration enforcement and accept that we have to have a border […]
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blasted his European allies Thursday for what he portrayed as the continent’s slow, fragmented and inadequate response to Russia’s invasion nearly four years ago and its continued international aggression. Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Zelenskyy listed a litany of grievances and criticisms of Europe […]
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Guinea-Bissau is suspending a Trump administration-backed hepatitis B vaccine study on newborns in the West African country, pending an ethical review, the health minister said Thursday. A six-person ethics committee didn’t meet to review the study during the initial confirmation process, Health Minister Quinhi Nantot said during a news conference held […]
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — As more and more space junk comes crashing down, a new study shows how earthquake monitors can better track incoming objects by tuning into their sonic booms. Scientists reported Thursday that seismic readings from sonic booms that were generated when a discarded module from a Chinese crew capsule reentered over […]
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City nurses on strike headed back to the bargaining table Thursday with hospital administrators to try to bring an end to the city’s biggest walkout of its kind in decades. The New York State Nurses Association said contract negotiations resumed in the morning with officials at the three private […]
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, is attacking his primary opponent Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger over the 2020 election again, this time wielding his legislative powers. In what appears to be an attempt to galvanize his right-wing supporters, Jones, a close ally of President Donald Trump, has demanded […]
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Texas supplied the most new residents of any U.S. state for nine other states, despite having the biggest population growth this decade, according to figures released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau. Texas was the top source of new residents for Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico […]
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has canceled solar projects in Puerto Rico worth millions of dollars, as the island struggles with chronic power outages and a crumbling electric grid. The projects were aimed at helping 30,000 low-income families in rural areas across the U.S. territory as part […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge ticked up in November in the latest sign that prices remain stubbornly elevated. Consumer prices rose 2.8% in November from a year earlier, the Commerce Department said Thursday, up from a 2.7% annual pace in October. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices also […]
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Sports bettors in Missouri could face new restrictions on college athlete wagers under rules being considered Thursday in response to an NCAA request to states following the latest betting scandal to rock college athletics. The move by the Missouri Gaming Commission comes a week after the NCAA sent a letter […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans who smoke may soon be hearing a lot more about Zyn, the flavored nicotine pouches that have generated billions in sales while going viral on social media. The Food and Drug Administration is holding a public meeting Thursday to consider whether Philip Morris International can advertise its pouches as a less-harmful […]