Associated Press

Associated Press

Belarus frees Nobel Prize laureate Bialiatski, opposition figure Kolesnikova as US lifts sanctions

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Belarus freed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, key opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova and dozens of other prisoners on Saturday, capping two days of talks with Washington aimed at improving ties and getting crippling U.S. sanctions lifted on a key Belarusian agricultural export. The U.S. announced earlier Saturday that it was […]
9 months ago

Fighting rages on Thai-Cambodian border despite Trump’s ceasefire claim

SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Fighting continued to rage Saturday morning along the border of Thailand and Cambodia, even after U.S. President Donald Trump, acting as a mediator, declared that he had won agreement from both countries for a ceasefire. Thai officials have said they did not agree to a ceasefire, and Cambodia has not commented […]
9 months ago

Heisman Trophy finalists include 3 quarterbacks and Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love

NEW YORK (AP) — Three quarterbacks — Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia and Julian Sayin of Ohio State — joined Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love in New York on Saturday for the awarding of the Heisman Trophy given to the top player in college football. Quarterbacks have won the Heisman three of last […]
9 months ago

Historic rains and flooding trigger dramatic rescues in Washington state

BURLINGTON, Wash. (AP) — When Eddie Wicks and his wife went to bed in their house next to the Snoqualmie River on a Washington state farm known for its sunflower mazes and Christmas trees, they weren’t too worried about the flooding heading their way. After 30 years living in the city of Duvall northeast of […]
9 months ago

What to know about Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s release from immigration custody

BALTIMORE (AP) — Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose mistaken deportation helped galvanize opposition to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, was released from immigration detention on Thursday, and a judge has temporarily blocked any further efforts to detain him. Abrego Garcia currently can’t be deported to his home country of El Salvador thanks to a 2019 immigration […]
9 months ago

Democratic former Sen. Doug Jones launches campaign for Alabama governor

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, the last Democrat to hold statewide office in Alabama, kicked off his campaign for governor Friday, saying voters deserve a choice and a leader who will put aside divisions to address the state’s pressing needs. “With your help we can finish what we began. We can […]
9 months ago

$31.5 million settlement reached in lawsuit over California girl’s starvation death

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A lawsuit over the death of an 11-year-old California girl who was allegedly tortured and starved by her adoptive family reached a settlement Friday totaling $31.5 million from the city and county of San Diego as well as other groups. The suit was brought on behalf of the two younger sisters […]
9 months ago

Justice Department faces hurdle in seeking case against Comey as judge finds constitutional problems

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department violated the constitutional rights of a close friend of James Comey and must return to him computer files that prosecutors had hoped to use for a potential criminal case against the former FBI director, a federal judge said Friday. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly represents not […]
9 months ago

Utah repeals ban on collective bargaining for teachers, firefighters and police unions

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah has repealed a collective bargaining ban passed earlier this year that prevented labor unions serving teachers, firefighters, police and other public employees from negotiating on behalf of their workers. Republican Gov. Spencer Cox on Thursday approved the repeal of a policy that experts had called one of the most […]
9 months ago

Problems with commercial driver’s licenses for immigrants found in 8 states so far

The federal government’s crackdown on commercial driver’s licenses for immigrants has found problems in eight states so far in the wake of several deadly crashes. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has publicly threatened to withhold millions in federal money from California, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and now New York after investigations found problems such as licenses that remained […]
9 months ago

Hailee Steinfeld and NFL husband Josh Allen are expecting their first child

Actor Hailee Steinfeld and her husband, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, are expecting their first baby together. Steinfeld, known for her roles in “Hawkeye,” “Sinners” and the “Pitch Perfect” franchise, announced her pregnancy Friday in her Substack newsletter as part of a list of her favorite moments of the year. At the end of the […]
9 months ago

TSA renews push to end collective bargaining agreement for airport security screeners

The Transportation Security Administration is renewing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s push to end a collective bargaining agreement with airport screening officers — the second such attempt this year and one that comes just a month after the longest government shutdown on record. The agency said Friday the move is based on a September memo […]
9 months ago

Trump was unable to insult his way to victory in Indiana redistricting battle

If Indiana Republican senators had any doubt about what to do with President Donald Trump’s redistricting proposal, he helped them make up their minds the night before this week’s vote. In a social media screed, Trump accused the state’s top senator of being “a bad guy, or a very stupid one.” “That kind of language […]
9 months ago

A Georgia woman suffers severe burns in a chemical attack at a Savannah park

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia woman has been hospitalized with severe burns after someone poured a corrosive chemical onto her head while she was walking at a public park in Savannah, the victim’s son and a close friend said Friday. Savannah police confirmed they are searching for a suspect in the chemical attack at […]
9 months ago

Speaker Johnson scrambles to find a health care plan as Republicans remain divided

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate failed to get anywhere on the health care issue this week. Now it’s the House’s turn to show what it can do. Speaker Mike Johnson is in a last-minute sprint to develop a Republican alternative, as his party refuses to extend tax subsidies for those who buy policies through the […]
9 months ago

Case dismissed against former death row inmate in Ohio who had been freed pending a new trial

CINCINNATI (AP) — The case was dismissed Friday against a man who spent a quarter-century on death row for the robbery and murder of a New Jersey woman at an Ohio hotel nearly three decades ago. Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich said the dismissal of the case of Elwood Jones of Cincinnati followed a monthslong […]
9 months ago

New Orleans jail escapee who evaded captured for months gets life sentence for double murder

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The last inmate caught after an audacious New Orleans jailbreak was sentenced Friday to two life sentences over a 2018 double murder, with the Louisiana judge rebuking him for the disruption caused by his five months on the run. Derrick Groves, 28, wore shackles and an orange jumpsuit in a New […]
9 months ago

Florida plows ahead with push to roll back certain vaccine mandates for schoolchildren

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Florida officials are plowing ahead with a proposal to roll back certain vaccine mandates for the state’s schoolchildren, after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis called for the state to become the first in the nation to eliminate all school vaccination requirements. Pediatricians, infectious disease physicians and teachers have decried the […]
9 months ago

FEMA to send Georgia more than $300 million in Hurricane Helene relief after accusations of delays

ATLANTA (AP) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Friday announced it would send $350 million in funding to localities and electric cooperatives for relief efforts following Hurricane Helene and Tropical Storm Debby. The announcement comes two months after Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia released a report that nearly $500 million in Hurricane […]
9 months ago

Illinois becomes 12th state to provide medical aid in dying for the terminally ill

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois residents with terminal illnesses may choose to end their lives on their own terms under a law Gov. JB Pritzker signed Friday. The Medical Aid in Dying act takes effect in September 2026 to give the Illinois Department of Public Health and other medical participants time to develop “stringent processes […]
9 months ago

Army sergeant to face court-martial in Georgia base shooting that wounded 5

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A U.S. Army soldier accused of shooting five people at a Georgia base in August will stand trial in a military court on charges including attempting murder, Army prosecutors said Friday. Charges against Sgt. Quornelius Radford are being referred to a general court-martial, which handles cases involving the most serious crimes […]
9 months ago

Man who opened fire outside his former Jewish school in Memphis avoids prison with guilty plea

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee man who was shot by police after he fired a gun at a contractor outside his former Jewish school in Memphis in 2023 pleaded guilty on Friday and was sentenced to eight years’ probation. Joel Bowman, 35, entered guilty pleas to aggravated assault and aggravated burglary in a Memphis […]
9 months ago

Justice Department sues 4 more states for access to detailed voter data

The U.S. Justice Department is suing four more states as part of its effort to collect detailed voting data and other election information across the country. The department filed federal lawsuits against Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Nevada on Thursday for “failing to produce statewide voter registration lists upon request.” So far, 18 states have been […]
9 months ago

US removes Brazilian Supreme Court justice and his wife from sanctions list

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. removed Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes from its sanctions list on Friday after initially adding him over his role in leading the trial against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. De Moraes’ wife and the Lex Institute, which she leads, were also taken off the list, according to documents […]
9 months ago