Associated Press

Associated Press

World Cup buzz has the potential to mint more soccer fans among kids — some just toddlers now

LENEXA, Kan. (AP) — Jude Cornell joined a swarm of toddlers crawling after soccer balls, tossing training cones into the air and relocating a goalie net that was proving to be very, very portable. “He just started walking,” laughed his mother, 27-year-old Kyra Cornell. She’s already plotting her son’s soccer career during a World Cup-themed […]
2 months ago

Trump announces midterm convention for Republicans in Dallas in September

President Donald Trump has announced that Republicans will hold their first-ever national convention ahead of the midterm elections, an unusual event aimed at boosting turnout in races that will decide whether the party maintains control of Congress. The convention will be held in Dallas on Sept. 9 and 10. Although both major parties traditionally hold […]
2 months ago

Vance and Rubio take different approaches as Iran tests their 2028 prospects

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio appear to be staking out differing approaches to carrying out President Donald Trump’s national security agenda as the possible 2028 presidential rivals jostle for position in a divided Republican Party. With vastly different backgrounds and policy experience, they have moved along separate […]
2 months ago

The divided Supreme Court’s birthright citizenship decision exposes sharp rifts among justices

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court’s divided ruling that children born in the U.S. are citizens under the Fourteenth Amendment — even if their parents are in the country unlawfully or only temporarily — exposed deep fissures in the justices’ views on the issue and toward each other. The court’s two Black justices notably […]
2 months ago

Book that Tupac Shakur murder suspect wrote is clear for use in the trial, judge rules

Las Vegas (AP) — A book co-written by the man who prosecutors allege ordered the 1996 killing of rap icon Tupac Shakur can be used in trial, a judge ruled Tuesday. The defense attorney for Duane “Keffe D” Davis tried to bar the 2019 memoir “Compton Street Legend” from being used in trial, which is […]
2 months ago

Takeaways from Supreme Court term: Trump’s power is enhanced, but he lost some high-profile cases

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump didn’t get what he wanted in some of the biggest Supreme Court cases this year: tariffs, birthright citizenship and the attempted firing of Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook. But he also emerged from the term with even greater power. His immigration crackdown was largely upheld, his call to redistrict […]
2 months ago

PHOTO ESSAY: Aqueduct Race Track closes after ‘A Good Run’ of over 130 years

NEW YORK (AP) — Aqueduct Race Track ran its final races Sunday as the venerable New York City horse racing facility prepares to close its doors after more than 130 years in business. The goodbye to “the Big A” included a long line of patrons, a cake commemorating the occasion and a final race aptly […]
2 months ago

Harvard professor with polarizing alien theories is picked to lead new White House UFO council

WASHINGTON (AP) — A polarizing Harvard astronomer known for splashy theories about alien visits has been tapped by the White House to lead a team of outside scientists to study the national security risks posed by UFOs. Avi Loeb, a cosmologist who studied black holes and served as head of Harvard’s astronomy department until 2020, […]
2 months ago

Cuban official says talks with the US are at a standstill, announces UN debate on US oil embargo

HAVANA (AP) — Talks between Cuba and the U.S. are at a standstill, despite the island recently approving a series of free-market reforms, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez announced Tuesday. He noted that the newly unveiled reforms were neither mentioned nor discussed in earlier talks between the two nations. “The recently announced (measures) are a […]
2 months ago

NPR retracts article incorrectly reporting Justice Alito’s retirement, citing ‘misunderstanding’

On the final day of the Supreme Court’s session, National Public Radio quickly retracted an article Tuesday that incorrectly reported that Justice Samuel Alito was retiring, blaming the error on “a misunderstanding.” The article was written by NPR’s veteran Supreme Court reporter, Nina Totenberg, who planned to address the issue on air later in the […]
2 months ago

As wildfires worsen, Trump administration revives discredited policy to stomp out all fires quickly

The deaths of three U.S. government firefighters in a Colorado wildfire are casting a spotlight on the Trump administration’s creation of a new federal fire service and its revival of a previously discredited policy to stomp out all wildfires quickly. One of the killed firefighters worked for the U.S. Wildland Fire Service, created this year […]
2 months ago

New Trump book, ‘Regime Change,’ has sold 300,000 copies, with more being printed, publisher says

It turns out readers still want to learn more about President Donald Trump after all. “Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump,” the l atest book on the Trump presidency, written by political journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, has sold more than 300,000 copies in its opening week, according to publisher Simon […]
2 months ago

Forecasters cite ‘dangerous’ conditions as heat scorches Midwest while on its way to the East

DETROIT (AP) — Nature’s oven was on high Tuesday for millions of people in the Midwest and Great Lakes states as intense heat and humidity baked the regions with no immediate relief before the misery shifts to the eastern U.S. The National Weather Service was blunt: Conditions were “dangerous” as the heat index, a combination […]
2 months ago

After helping the US win the Cold War, the all-you-can-eat buffet is fading. Thanks, COVID

LAS VEGAS (AP) — On a cool fall evening after the end of World War II, Las Vegas watched “officialdom and ‘cafe society’ turn out for the opening of America’s first all-you-can-eat buffet,” a local paper wrote. It was a big night in a small town that dreamed of hungry visitors. The glazed ham and […]
2 months ago

Trump administration suspends funding for New York’s Medicaid fraud unit

NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration on Tuesday said it would freeze federal funding for New York’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, a state agency responsible for investigating and prosecuting fraud in the safety-net government healthcare program. In a letter sent to New York officials, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General Thomas […]
2 months ago

Federal judge denies effort by Trump administration to get New Hampshire’s detailed voter data

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by the Justice Department aimed at compelling New Hampshire to turn over its voter rolls, dealing the Trump administration another setback in its quest for detailed information about the nation’s voters. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Joseph LaPlante found that the request to provide the state’s voter […]
2 months ago

Apparent human remains are found in an NYC school’s chimney

NEW YORK (AP) — What appear to be human remains were found in a chimney at a New York City school on Tuesday, a few days into summer break, police said. It’s unclear how long the remains had been there or how they got there. Police are investigating, and city medical examiners are to determine […]
2 months ago

Dead baby is found in a portable toilet at a music festival in Michigan

ROTHBURY, Mich. (AP) — Police are asking for the public’s help as they investigate the death of a baby found inside a portable toilet at a music festival in rural western Michigan. The body was discovered by an employee of the bathroom company during routine maintenance Sunday morning, the last day of the Electric Forest […]
2 months ago

Rights lawyers sue Ghana over third-country deportation deal with the US

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — An international coalition of human rights lawyers and advocates sued Ghana on Tuesday, accusing the government of forcing deportees from the U.S. back to the home countries they had fled in violation of their rights. It’s the latest legal case targeting an African country over a deal it signed with the […]
2 months ago

Supreme Court will consider striking down assault weapons bans, in Connecticut and the Chicago-area

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Supreme Court that has expanded gun rights will consider whether bans on semiautomatic rifles, often called assault weapons, violate the Second Amendment. The justices said Tuesday they will take up appeals asking the court to strike down bans on the AR-15 and similar semiautomatic firearms in the Chicago area and Connecticut. […]
2 months ago

Blake Lively wants $8 million in legal fees from Justin Baldoni after ‘It Ends With Us’ dispute

NEW YORK (AP) — Blake Lively is seeking $8 million in legal costs from actor and director Justin Baldoni after resolving their dispute over the acrimonious production of their 2024 film “It Ends With Us.” Lively’s lawyers disclosed the amount, covering nearly $7.5 million in attorney’s fees from two law firms that represented her and […]
2 months ago

Mississippi district attorney pleads guilty to bribery conspiracy and resigns

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi district attorney has resigned and changed his plea to guilty in a bribery scheme that ensnared other officials in the state’s capital city, including Jackson’s former mayor. Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens was indicted in November 2024 after two FBI agents posing as real estate developers offered bribes […]
2 months ago

Supreme Court strikes down limits on party spending in federal elections, backing Republican appeal

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday erased limits on how much political parties can spend in coordination with candidates for Congress and president, striking down a federal election law that is more than 50 years old. Prodded by a Republican-led lawsuit that includes Vice President JD Vance, the court’s conservative justices were again […]
2 months ago

Consumer confidence ticks up as gas prices fall but Americans remain gloomy about the economy

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans’ attitudes toward the economy improved slightly this month as gas prices declined, but their outlook is still mostly negative by historical standards. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose 0.6 point to 91.2 in June, a figure that is still below its year-ago reading of 95.2. Consumer […]
2 months ago