Associated Press

Associated Press

Democrat Xavier Becerra advances to general election in race for California governor

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Democrat Xavier Becerra has advanced to the general election for California governor after pitching himself as an experienced choice to lead the nation’s most populous state. Becerra leaned on his more than 35 years in public office — including as state attorney general and U.S. health secretary — to argue that […]
2 months ago

Matsui advances to November ballot in reelection bid for California House seat

California Democratic Rep. Doris Matsui has advanced to the November ballot after facing a reelection challenge from a younger Democrat. Matsui, 81, has been in Congress since she replaced her late husband, former Rep. Bob Matsui, in the Sacramento-based seat in 2005. She faced a primary challenge from fellow Democrat Mai Vang, a member of […]
2 months ago

UN food agency says millions are being pushed into hunger by Iran war

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. food agency said millions of people are being pushed into acute hunger by the Iran war, as it warned would happen if the conflict escalated and oil prices remained high. The World Food Program said an analysis in three vulnerable countries found that an additional 2.5 million people in […]
2 months ago

Trump keeps the door open to a call with Taiwan’s president even though China has warned against it

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday indicated that he may still speak with Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te — even after China has publicly urged him not to directly engage with the leader of the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own. Trump first raised the idea last month on […]
2 months ago

US military says it shot down Iranian drones launched toward Strait of Hormuz

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wisc. (AP) — The U.S. military said it shot down four Iranian drones that were launched toward the Strait of Hormuz on Friday and then struck some of the Islamic Republic’s coastal surveillance radar sites in response, raising the risk to a shaky ceasefire as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on Iran. […]
2 months ago

US attorney opens investigations into California’s elections, sends prosecutor to LA vote center

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles said Friday it had opened “multiple election fraud investigations” related to California’s elections and sent a prosecutor to the county’s vote-counting center. The developments came a day after President Donald Trump made baseless claims of mass fraud in California’s drawn-out vote count from Tuesday’s […]
2 months ago

Ebola outbreak in Central Africa could reach 20,000 cases without strong public health measures

NEW YORK (AP) — The Ebola outbreak in Central Africa could grow to 20,000 cases or more, depending on how quickly infected people are isolated to slow the spread, according to a new analysis by U.S. health officials. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a range of scenarios generated by computer models Friday, […]
2 months ago

FBI analysts tied to disputed ‘Catholic ideology’ memo told they’re being fired, AP sources say

WASHINGTON (AP) — Several FBI analysts tied to the creation of a 2023 memo warning of a potential threat from Catholic “violent extremists” were told Friday that they were being fired, according to three people familiar with the matter, the latest wave of terminations under the leadership of Director Kash Patel. Two of the people […]
2 months ago

Trump calls for military to accelerate use of AI while protecting Americans

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump issued a memo Friday that calls for the U.S. military and national security agencies to accelerate their use of artificial intelligence, while acknowledging the need to protect civil liberties and maintain oversight over autonomous weapon systems. The memo comes at a time of growing anxiety over AI in American […]
2 months ago

Fuel prices are shaping summer plans as US boaters get ready to hit the water

DEXTER TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — On the kind of warm, bright afternoon that Michigan boaters wait all year for, Malik Amine and his brother readied their family’s pontoon boat for the summer. The cover was off and Portage Lake sparkled in the sun. But before the brothers could leave a narrow wooden dock, they had […]
2 months ago

Texas governor wants to speed up work on a fly-breeding factory to fight a cattle parasite

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott expressed concern Friday that a new factory isn’t expected to start breeding sterile New World screwworm flies for more than a year as a big part of the effort to stop its flesh-eating larvae from threatening the $113 U.S. billion cattle industry. Abbott pledged Texas will help the U.S. Department of […]
2 months ago

Defense Department slashes its religious designations list from more than 200 choices to 31

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Defense announced on Friday a significant reduction in the number of religious affiliations it officially recognizes. The new list of 31 is down from more than 200 previously recognized traditions that troops could choose from. The list no longer includes atheists, Unitarian Universalists, pagans and Wiccans. “This decrease in […]
2 months ago

Refilling starts for newly painted Reflecting Pool in Washington, in photos

WASHINGTON (AP) — Water has started flowing into the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after President Donald Trump’s renovation, which included painting the basin a deep shade he called “American flag blue.” This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
2 months ago

Can’t afford sky-high tickets to see the Knicks in person? Trump says ‘watch it on television’

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — President Donald Trump confirmed he will attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday at Madison Square Garden, but said he doesn’t have much sympathy for ordinary basketball fans who can’t afford sky-high ticket prices to do the same. “They can watch it on television,” Trump told reporters […]
2 months ago

Trump ballroom construction should not be up to courts, government attorney argues in appeals case

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers representing the federal government argued Friday that a court could not stop construction of a White House ballroom it was already underway and because of the sensitive security concerns they say the structure is meant to address. Attorney Yaakov Roth, speaking during an exchange with U.S. Appeals Court Judge Patricia Millett, […]
2 months ago

National Park Service ranger dies after falling into a crevasse on Alaska’s Mount McKinley

DENALI NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE, Alaska (AP) — A ranger in Alaska died after falling into a crevasse on North America’s tallest mountain, the National Park Service said. Robin Pendery of Enumclaw, Washington was a seasonal mountaineering ranger assigned to Denali National Park and Preserve. She fell Thursday while on climbing patrol on Mount McKinley, […]
2 months ago

Energy Department says advanced nuclear reactor first to reach critical milestone

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Energy Department says a small nuclear reactor under development at a national lab has reached a crucial milestone that could allow it to produce electricity within a few years. The microreactor being developed by Antares Nuclear Inc. at the Idaho National Lab reached “criticality” on Thursday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said. […]
2 months ago

Trump’s deportation agenda is about to get a $70B infusion from Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — With virtually no strings attached, Congress is on the verge of providing a sizable infusion of cash to the Department of Homeland Security, powering President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda for the remainder of his term in the White House. The nearly $70 billion package, which cleared the Republican-held Senate in a […]
2 months ago

What to know about new trials ordered for two paramedics in the death of Elijah McClain

DENVER (AP) — A Colorado court has ordered new trials for two paramedics found guilty in the death of Elijah McClain, almost seven years after the Black man was pinned down by police and injected with a fatal dose of ketamine. The rare homicide convictions of the two Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics sent shock waves […]
2 months ago

The electric guitar spawned garage bands, rock-god dreams — and generations of popular music

ATLANTA (AP) — What is more American than taking a musical instrument with ancient roots and zapping it with electricity? That new creation, the electric guitar, has launched the dreams of millions of teenagers. It turned garages into impromptu rehearsal spaces for would-be rock stars across the American suburbs. For those who couldn’t play, couldn’t […]
2 months ago

Pulte should start firing intelligence community officials, Trump says in a new interview

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says in a new interview that he wants his acting director of national intelligence to start firing national security officials and he wants to see the intelligence community “smaller.” In the interview with The Wall Street Journal, the Republican president says he has already conveyed his view to Bill […]
2 months ago

A federal judge strikes down Trump administration immigration policy affecting 39 countries

BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday struck down a Trump administration policy enacted after the shooting of two National Guard members that made it harder for immigrants from dozens of countries to stay and enter the country. In a ruling harshly criticizing the administration, U.S. District Chief Judge John McConnell Jr. said the […]
2 months ago

Judge orders pretrial detention for ex-CIA official accused of stashing $40M in gold bars at home

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A former senior CIA official accused of stealing over $40 million worth of gold bars from the federal government and storing them in the basement of his Virginia home was ordered to remain jailed until his trial after a hearing Friday where a defense attorney accused prosecutors of smearing the official […]
2 months ago

Jury awards $176M for wrongful deaths of young brothers struck by California socialite’s car

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles jury has awarded $176 million to the parents of two young brothers killed in a hit-and-run collision when a California socialite’s car struck them in a crosswalk nearly six years ago. The jury found both Rebecca Grossman and Scott Erickson, a former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, negligent in […]
2 months ago