Associated Press

Associated Press

Investment firm leader gets 11 years for Ponzi scheme that bilked dozens, including Travis Kelce

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The creator of a Texas-based investment company has been sentenced to 11 years in federal prison for his role in a Ponzi scheme that prosecutors say bilked 64 victims, including Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. U.S. District Judge Zachary Bluestone sentenced Siddharth Jawahar, 38, on Tuesday and ordered him […]
5 days ago

Park Service quietly awards contracts to work on Trump’s takeover of East Potomac golf course

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has awarded contracts to begin work on President Donald Trump’s planned takeover of the East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee said Wednesday. Rep. Jared Huffman of California, the panel’s top Democrat, revealed during a committee hearing that the National Park Service hired […]
5 days ago

3 dead after being swept away by floodwaters on the Navajo Nation

NEWCOMB, N.M. (AP) — Three people are dead after being swept away by floodwaters early Wednesday on the Navajo Nation, authorities said. Tribal police officers received a report around 12:30 a.m. about people being washed away near the community of Newcomb in northwestern New Mexico. The report followed a day of heavy rain that left […]
5 days ago

Speaker Johnson recesses the House early as Rep. Thomas Massie pushes Hegseth impeachment

WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Mike Johnson is closing up the House early, sending lawmakers home Wednesday to campaign for the midterm elections after what he claims is the most productive Congress in decades. But not without a scathing rebuke from GOP Rep. Thomas Massie for all the unfinished business. Massie’s Jeffrey Epstein investigation are all […]
5 days ago

Divisions emerge in the tech industry over calls for a coordinated AI slowdown

Fears about out-of-control artificial intelligence and suggestions to hit the brakes on the technology’s development aren’t new, but they have recently found new life as warnings about rogue AI systems causing mayhem grow louder. Several leading AI executives recently voiced agreement on a need for a coordinated slowdown, including international collaboration, to protect humanity from […]
5 days ago

Top Democrat places hold on Trump administration’s plan to sell heavy bombs to Israel

WASHINGTON (AP) — The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Wednesday that he’s going to block a proposed sale of $2.8 billion in heavy weaponry to Israel over concerns that the powerful bombs may not be used in line with U.S. and international law. Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York said he […]
5 days ago

The body of the last victim of Hurricane Helene in Tennessee has been found, 2 years later

The remains of the final missing Tennessee victim from Hurricane Helene were found two years after the storm devastated Appalachian mountain towns with floods that wiped away whole communities. Nancy Tucker, 76, disappeared along with her husband Jimmy Tucker when flooding from the Nolichucky River took their home in rural Washington County in the northeastern […]
5 days ago

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles says she no longer shows evidence of cancer after treatment

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said Wednesday that she no longer shows evidence of cancer after she underwent months of treatment for early stage breast cancer. Wiles, who is President Donald Trump’ s closest adviser and counsel, said in a post on X that her pathology results came back clear […]
5 days ago

FBI and Coast Guard boarded US-bound oil tankers after signs the ships were hit with cyberattacks

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI and U.S. Coast Guard boarded two oil tankers bound for the United States to investigate after indications the ships’ networks had been compromised by cyberattacks, officials said Wednesday. Investigators on Aug. 21 and Aug. 24 responded to reported network breaches of two foreign-flagged commercial oil tankers, and a multiagency team […]
5 days ago

Kamala Harris is to campaign in Michigan with Abdul El-Sayed

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Former Vice President Kamala Harris plans to campaign with Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan next week in the party’s latest push to unify voters in a key battleground state that will help determine control of the Senate. Harris and El-Sayed have spoken multiple times since she endorsed the progressive […]
5 days ago

House holds billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress over Epstein investigation

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House approved a resolution Wednesday holding billionaire Leon Black in contempt of Congress, referring the matter to the Department of Justice after he defied the Oversight Committee’s subpoenas in its investigation into disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. The action was swift, and without a formal vote, and now leaves it to the […]
5 days ago

Leake County schools in Mississippi released from decades-long desegregation order

After more than half a century, Leake County schools have been released from a federal order that monitored and prevented racial discrimination within the district. That means a judge will no longer oversee Leake County School District to ensure Black students get equal access to a quality education. U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Jordan approved […]
5 days ago

Trump-aligned groups are pouring money into the midterm races

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Big money groups aligned with President Donald Trump are pouring huge sums of cash into midterm races in the final sprint toward Election Day. The groups have now reserved more than $130 million in advertising, according to AdImpact, which tracks ad buys and media spending. The flood shows Trump’s willingness […]
5 days ago

Fed rate hike will likely push borrowing costs on credit cards, mortgages — but benefit savers

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve just raised the cost of money — bad news for borrowers, good news for savers. The Fed increased its benchmark interest rate Wednesday by a quarter-point, the first rate hike since the summer of 2023. The hike will likely make it even costlier to borrow for homes, autos and […]
5 days ago

NASA spacecraft discovers a huge new crater on the moon

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Scientists have discovered a crater on the moon that’s bigger than the Roman Colosseum and is the result of a powerful impact two years ago that initially went undetected. The steep-sided hole — about 728 feet (222 meters) across and up to 141 feet (43 meters) deep — is the […]
5 days ago

Fencing goes up around the main Kennedy Center building after Trump-aligned board votes to close it

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fencing went up Wednesday around the main Kennedy Center building, a day after the Trump-aligned board voted to close the performing arts center for repairs.
5 days ago

Jimmy Lai’s son pleads in Washington for his father’s release ahead of Xi’s US visit

WASHINGTON (AP) — The son of imprisoned former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai appealed for his father’s release at a congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday, one week before Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit the U.S. Sebastien Lai urged his father’s release on humanitarian grounds at a hearing of the Congressional-Executive […]
5 days ago

Afghan man sentenced to 20-year prison term in case tied to suicide bombing at Kabul airport

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — An Islamic State group member was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in prison for aiding the terrorist organization that took credit for a suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members and about 160 Afghans at the Kabul airport five years ago during the American military’s chaotic withdrawal from the country. […]
5 days ago

Federal prosecutors charge 3 in alleged $12M homelessness aid fraud in Southern California

Three people were charged by federal authorities in Los Angeles on Wednesday with stealing $12 million in federal and state homelessness aid dollars to buy real estate, go on luxury trips and buy vintage vehicles. This is the second such arrest of people on federal fraud charges in Southern California this week, as President Donald […]
5 days ago

AP exclusive: Change in human trafficking reporting alarms advocates for migrant children

The Trump administration has ordered caregivers for migrant children to stop reporting human trafficking concerns directly to the office created to help victims, a change that critics say could make some vulnerable minors easier to deport. The directive, in a Sept. 10 memo reviewed by The Associated Press, could mean that some victims would be […]
5 days ago

Scenes from a colonial resurrection: First-person interpretations of history draw America 250 crowds

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Betsy Ross is a dynamo with a T-shirt cannon. America’s 250th birthday has been a banner year for the actors of Historic Philadelphia, Inc. who immerse visitors in Colonial history via first-person interpretations and true stories. In the last few months, Betsy, played by Carol Spacht, has waved the checkered flag at […]
5 days ago

The Obamas’ family dog Sunny dies, the former president says

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obamas’ pet dog Sunny has died, former President Barack Obama said Wednesday. Sunny, a 13-year-old Portuguese water dog the Obamas got in 2013 while living in the White House, died Tuesday. “We got Sunny at the start of our second term in the White House, and all of us – including […]
5 days ago

Retail sales rise a better-than-expected 1.2% in August after shoppers pulled back spending in July

NEW YORK (AP) — Consumers stepped up their spending at a better-than-anticipated pace in August after an unexpectedly sharp pullback in July. Retail sales rose 1.2% last month after recording a revised 0.5% dip in July, according to Commerce Department data released Wednesday. Economists were expecting a 0.7% gain for the month, according to FactSet. […]
5 days ago

The Latest: House votes for a third time to end the Iran war as conflict drags on

For a third time, the U.S. House has voted to end the war in Iran, approving a war powers resolution that would halt President Donald Trump’s ability to continue military action without congressional approval. The roll call was similar to earlier efforts this summer. None of the resolutions have made it to the president’s desk, […]
5 days ago