Associated Press

Associated Press

Trump says he wants government to buy $200B in mortgage bonds in a push to bring down mortgage rates

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said on social media Thursday that he is directing the federal government to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds, a move he said would help reduce mortgage rates at a time when Americans are worried about home prices. Trump and the White House have been trying to show they […]
8 months ago

Tennessee university reinstates professor fired for Charlie Kirk post and settles for $500k

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Austin Peay State University has reinstated a professor who was fired for his social media post after the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The Tennessee school is also paying the teacher $500,000 in the settlement. Austin Peay spokesperson Brian Dunn said Darren Michael returned to his position as a tenured […]
8 months ago

Commanders cornerback Marshon Lattimore arrested outside Cleveland on weapons charges

LAKEWOOD, Ohio (AP) — Washington Commanders cornerback Marshon Lattimore was arrested outside his hometown of Cleveland on Wednesday shortly after a car in which he was a passenger was pulled over in a traffic stop. Police in Lakewood, a suburb west of the city, reported that they arrested the NFL cornerback at around 6:15 p.m. […]
8 months ago

2-time Olympic champion Chloe Kim injures shoulde, ‘trying to stay optimistic’ for Italy

LAAX, Switzerland (AP) — Two-time Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim said Thursday that Winter Games in Italy next month. Kim posted footage of her fall from earlier this week on the halfpipe in Laax, where the world’s top snowboarders compete later this month in a key pre-Olympic tune-up. She landed a jump cleanly but lost […]
8 months ago

Officials withheld evidence on Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ funding, environmental groups say

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Federal and state officials withheld evidence that the Department of Homeland Security had agreed to reimburse Florida for some of the costs of constructing an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” according to environmental groups suing to shut down the facility. The Everglades facility remains open, […]
8 months ago

House easily passes spending package as lawmakers work to avoid another shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House passed a bipartisan package of three spending bills on Thursday that would fund parts of the federal government through September, demonstrating the eagerness of lawmakers to avoid another government shutdown near the end of the month. Congress has so far passed only three of the 12 annual spending bills that […]
8 months ago

Colorado AG accuses Trump of ‘revenge campaign’ for state refusal to free convicted elections clerk

Colorado’s attorney general accused the Trump administration on Thursday of waging a “revenge campaign” by choking off funds and ending federal programs over the state’s refusal to accede to the Republican president’s demands to free an imprisoned elections clerk. President Donald Trump has pushed unsuccessfully for Colorado to release former Mesa County elections clerk Tina […]
8 months ago

Washington Metropolitan Police officer dies from injuries suffered while helping stranded motorist

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer struck by a car last month while helping a stranded motorist has died from his injuries, the department announced Thursday. Terry Bennett, 32, had been hospitalized since December 23 when he was struck by a passing vehicle as he helped a motorist who ran out of […]
8 months ago

Former Rep. Gabby Giffords returns to House floor on 15th anniversary of shooting

PHOENIX (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords returned to the House floor Thursday on the 15th anniversary of the assassination attempt that cut short her promising political career and shocked a nation that has only seen political violence worsen in the years since. Giffords held hands with her husband, Sen. Mark Kelly, as House […]
8 months ago

Russia harshly condemns US seizure of oil tanker, warns of a spike in tensions

Russia on Thursday strongly condemned the U.S. seizure of an oil tanker, heralding a new chill in relations between Moscow and Washington that could spread to other areas and affect President Donald Trump’s efforts to persuade Russia to end its nearly four-year war in Ukraine. The seizure Wednesday of the Russian-flagged tanker in the North […]
8 months ago

Budget office expects Federal Reserve to cut rates in 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is expected to cut short-term rates in 2026, with its key interest rate settling at 3.4% towards the end of President Donald Trump ‘s term in office in 2028, according to a new report released Thursday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Despite the Fed’s cuts, however, the budget […]
8 months ago

‘Worst in Show’ CES products include AI refrigerators, AI companions and AI doorbells

The promise of artificial intelligence was front and center at this year’s CES gadget show. But spicing up a simple machine like a refrigerator with unnecessary AI was also a surefire way to win the “Worst in Show.” The annual contest that no tech company wants to win announced its decisions Thursday. Among those getting […]
8 months ago

ICE shooting reinforces Minnesota’s grim role as Trump’s public enemy No. 1

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal officers have encountered opposition in nearly all of the cities targeted by President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign. But it was in Minnesota — a state that’s been in daily conflict with the Trump administration in 2026 — that a 37-year-old woman was shot and killed by an immigration officer not […]
8 months ago

How Trump shook up defense stocks this week

President Donald Trump caused some commotion for investors in U.S. defense contractors this week. First, Trump criticized the companies for taking too long to produce military equipment and also failing to maintain it while at the same time paying out billions in dividends and stock buybacks to investors. But then the president proposed a $1.5 […]
8 months ago

Severe storms bring high winds and possible tornadoes to Oklahoma

PURCELL, Okla. (AP) — Severe storms moved through Oklahoma with high winds and two possible tornadoes around sunrise Thursday, damaging buildings and downing power lines and trees, authorities said. Damage in two areas outside of Oklahoma City was believed to have been caused by tornadoes, and crews were out assessing the situation, said Kaitlin Schueth, […]
8 months ago

The shooting outside a Utah church grew out of a dispute between funeral goers, police say

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Investigators say a shooting outside a church building in Salt Lake City that killed two people and injured six others grew out of a dispute between people who knew each other and were attending a funeral. No arrests have been made in Wednesday’s shooting in the parking lot of a […]
8 months ago

Venezuela to release a ‘significant number’ of prisoners in effort as gesture to ‘seek peace’

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela will release a “significant number” of Venezuelan and foreigners imprisoned in the country, the head of Venezuela’s national assembly said Thursday. Jorge Rodríguez, brother of acting President Delcy Rodríguez, did not specify who they would be releasing or how many people would be released. Despite mass detentions following the tumultuous […]
8 months ago

Judge disqualifies federal prosecutor in investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A judge disqualified a federal prosecutor from overseeing investigations into New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling Thursday that he had been serving in his post unlawfully when he requested subpoenas. U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield blocked subpoenas requested by John Sarcone, the acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District […]
8 months ago

What to know about the rules for officers firing at a moving vehicle

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal immigration operation in Minneapolis turned deadly this week when a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good during a confrontation involving her vehicle. Cellphone video captured the shooting, which federal officials claimed was an act of self-defense but that the city’s mayor described as […]
8 months ago

Early birds can begin filing their taxes on Jan. 26 this year

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jan. 26 marks the official start date of the 2026 tax filing season, when the IRS will begin accepting and processing 2025 tax returns. April 15 is the filing deadline. Tax experts, including the IRS’ independent watchdog, have warned that this year’s filing season could be hampered by the loss of tens […]
8 months ago

Britain says tanker seizure is a win for trans-Atlantic security but tensions loom over Greenland

LONDON (AP) — The U.S. seizure of a Venezuela-linked oil tanker in the North Atlantic was seen by some as the unilateral action of an America-first government with scant regard for other countries’ views. Britain calls it an example of trans-Atlantic cooperation in support of international rules. The U.K. government argues that the interception of […]
8 months ago

Trump officials and Louisiana put an end to another decades-old school desegregation order

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration and Louisiana officials have lifted another decades-old school desegregation order, part of a campaign to end court mandates they describe as outdated. A federal judge on Monday approved a joint motion from Louisiana and the U.S. Justice Department to dismiss a 1967 lawsuit in DeSoto Parish schools, a district […]
8 months ago

The Latest: Protesters gather outside Minneapolis immigration court after ICE officer kills driver

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 schools canceling classes and activities as a safety precaution and Minnesota’s governor calling for people to remain calm. As dawn began to break, scores of people […]
8 months ago

Senate considers limiting Trump’s war powers after Venezuela raid

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is expected to vote on a resolution Thursday that would limit President Donald Trump’s ability to conduct further attacks against Venezuela, setting up a test for his expanding ambitions in the Western Hemisphere. The Nicolás Maduro, in a surprise nighttime raid and as Trump’s administration is seeking to control Venezuela’s […]
8 months ago