Associated Press

Associated Press

How Dolly Parton’s love of the Great Smoky Mountains helped transform her hometown

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Dolly Parton didn’t just sing lovingly about her Tennessee mountain home. She spent her life elevating an often-overlooked region to showcase what long inspired her music and sparked a tourism boom that forever changed those living against the backdrop of the Great Smoky Mountains. And it is because of that deep […]
1 month ago

Investigators sift for evidence at burned Montana home where 8 family members were killed at dinner

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Shovelful by shovelful, investigators sifted through the charred remnants of a Montana home where four generations of a family were killed as they gathered for Sunday dinner, searching for evidence that might help explain what happened and why. Alan Smith, 44, killed his grandmother, his parents, his younger sister and her […]
1 month ago

New Fed chair Kevin Warsh under pressure to clarify views on inflation, interest rates

WASHINGTON (AP) — New Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh has brought sharp change in how the central bank communicates by saying much less than his predecessors about the economy and inflation. But so far, many economists and Wall Street investors haven’t been thrilled with that approach. On Friday, Warsh has a high-stakes opportunity to address […]
1 month ago

FACT FOCUS: Could Canada leave US cities in the dark as part of the trade war? Not likely

Social media users are claiming that Canada could plunge the U.S. into darkness if the trade war between the once-friendly neighbors escalates further. Speculation spread after Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in an interview with The Associated Press on Monday that “everything is on the table” if the dispute worsens, including cutting off electricity from […]
1 month ago

Army plans to build nuclear microreactors at five bases as US seeks to ramp up nuclear power

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Army announced Wednesday that it plans to add nuclear microreactors at five military bases from New York to Texas as a reliable source of energy independent of the commercial electric grid. The announcement comes as the Trump administration pushes hard to develop the next generation of nuclear power, including billions […]
1 month ago

Pulitzer winning photographer who shot iconic ‘Burst of Joy’ dies at age 99

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Slava ‘Sal’ Veder, best known for his picture of a U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel joyfully reuniting with his family after five years in a prisoner of war camp in Vietnam, died Aug. 22. He was 99. Veder’s family on Wednesday confirmed that the retired Associated Press […]
1 month ago

Republican nominee for Maine governor says he wants ICE agents at polling places in the state

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s Republican nominee for governor recently told a crowd of supporters that he would ask a top Department of Homeland Security official to send U.S. Marshals and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to polling places in the state for this fall’s midterm elections, according to audio obtained by The Associated Press. […]
1 month ago

Lucky Charms and Trix go au naturel as General Mills ditches artificial colors

General Mills said Wednesday it has removed artificial colors from all its U.S. cereals, including Lucky Charms and Trix. The Minneapolis company has shifted to fruit- and vegetable-based dyes as well as colors derived from spices like turmeric and paprika to give its cereals their customary bright colors. “This achievement reflects how we are evolving […]
1 month ago

Trump says the US doesn’t need Canada. America’s economy says otherwise.

TORONTO (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump says his country does not need Canada. But every day, roughly 4 million barrels of Canadian crude oil flow south, helping fuel American cars, trucks and airplanes and supply U.S. industry. And oil is only the beginning. Canada also supplies aluminum, potash to U.S. farms and parts for […]
1 month ago

Investigation underway after police shoot and kill a man outside a home in Pennsylvania

POTTSTOWN, Pa. (AP) — An investigation is underway after police responding to a call of a possible home break-in shot and killed a man in Pennsylvania over the weekend. Police in Upper Pottsgrove Township, about 45 miles (70 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia, responded around 12:30 a.m. Sunday to a 911 call about a possible break-in […]
1 month ago

Judge grants Blake Lively $400,000 of $8M in legal fees she sought in film fight with Justin Baldoni

NEW YORK (AP) — Blake Lively will get just over $400,000 of the $8 million she sought in legal costs from actor and director Justin Baldoni after they settled their fight over the production of their 2024 film “It Ends With Us,” a federal judge ruled Wednesday. Judge Lewis J. Liman explained in a written […]
1 month ago

Maryland court rules Democratic-backed redistricting amendment cannot go on November ballot

A Maryland court has ruled against a proposed constitutional amendment that could have paved the way for Democrats to redraw the state’s congressional districts ahead of the 2028 elections. The ruling Wednesday by a judge in the state’s capital city marks another setback in Democrats’ national attempts to counter a Republican redistricting movement pushed by […]
1 month ago

For over 100 years, travelers have checked into US motel rooms and found the Gideon Bible

SALISBURY, Md. (AP) — “Rocky Raccoon checked into his room, only to find Gideon’s Bible.” Paul McCartney explained those famous lines in the song by The Beatles, saying these Bibles “were in every hotel in America.” He’d never seen something like that in England. For more than a century, countless have found it in the […]
1 month ago

FDA approves landmark pancreatic cancer drug that’s shown to improve survival

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved a groundbreaking new drug for the most common form of pancreatic cancer, offering U.S. patients a more effective treatment against one of the deadliest types of cancer. FDA officials gave expedited approval to the first-of-a-kind pill, called daraxonrasib, that blocks a mutated protein that […]
1 month ago

Man convicted in murder-for-hire killing of Microsoft manager on Florida road

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A man accused of arranging the fatal shooting of a Microsoft design manager on a Florida road was convicted Wednesday in a murder-for-hire scheme fueled by a stormy child custody arrangement between the victim and his wealthy ex-wife. Jared Bridegan was shot four years ago after he got out of his […]
1 month ago

Democratic states file new lawsuit seeking to block Trump’s order limiting mail voting in midterms

Democratic-controlled states on Wednesday filed another lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to limit mail voting in this year’s midterm elections. The action, filed by about two dozen states against the U.S. Postal Service, marked a new phase in the high-stakes litigation just two days after the Supreme Court ruled against them in […]
1 month ago

A Thai woman suspected in Myanmar death of US diplomat gets 1-year jail term on immigration charge

BANGKOK (AP) — A Thai woman accused of killing her ex-husband, a U.S. diplomat, has been sentenced to one year in prison for violating Myanmar’s immigration laws, but she still might go to trial for murder, a lawyer familiar with her case said Wednesday. The court in Yangon’s Kamayut township on Tuesday found Pavinee Supasirivisan […]
1 month ago

FBI psychiatrist returns as Lindsay Clancy murder trial nears closing arguments

The prosecution resumed questioning its final witness Wednesday in the murder trial against Lindsay Clancy, with an FBI psychiatrist testifying that the choices she made while killing her three children indicated she remained in control of her actions. Dr. Gregory Saathoff, a forensic psychiatrist at the University of Virginia and a senior psychiatrist for the […]
1 month ago

Meta reaches $17 billion settlement with states in landmark trial over teen social media addiction

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Meta has agreed to pay $17 billion and add child-safety measures to its Facebook and Instagram platforms to end a landmark trial over teen social media addiction and settle claims filed by 47 states, state attorneys general announced Wednesday. California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey were among 29 states that sued […]
1 month ago

The Kremlin says the CIA director held talks in Moscow with his intelligence counterparts

The Kremlin said Wednesday that CIA Director John Ratcliffe held talks in Moscow with his intelligence counterparts, a rare and secretive visit at a time when relations with Washington remain strained over Russia’s war in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ratcliffe did not meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was informed of the […]
1 month ago

Key inflation gauge remains elevated during Iran war and ongoing US trade fights

WASHINGTON (AP) — An inflation measure closely watched by the Federal Reserve was unchanged last month in the latest sign that many Americans are still struggling with higher costs. The Commerce Department’s Wednesday report showed that prices rose 3.7% in July compared with a year earlier. Inflation has worsened since the Iran war began in […]
1 month ago

US economy expands at sluggish 1.5% pace in second quarter, but consumer spending stayed strong

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a sluggish 1.5% pace from April through June. But consumer spending stayed strong. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that growth in gross domestic product — the nation’s output of a goods and services — decelerated from a 2.1% pace from January through March. The second-quarter growth number […]
1 month ago

Iran warns of military ship ban in Hormuz under potential deal with Oman and other Middle East news

JERUSALEM (AP) — Iran will not allow military vessels to transit through the Strait of Hormuz under an agreement the Islamic Republic is currently negotiating with Oman, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister told state TV late on Tuesday night. The top diplomats of the two countries met to discuss managing commercial shipping traffic in the vital […]
1 month ago

How to avoid a Social Security cut? Lawmakers are floating ideas for what to do

WASHINGTON (AP) — With the few months they have left as senators, Democrat Dick Durbin and Republican Bill Cassidy have embarked on a mission to save tens of millions of Social Security beneficiaries from a projected 22% cut in their benefits, starting in just six years. It is one of the most perilous political efforts […]
1 month ago