National News

An American Barn Owl sits perched on a water tower on the Upper West Side neighborhood, Wednesday, ...

The roof of a water tower in Manhattan where a rare family of barn owls nested has been removed

The roof of a water tower where a family of celebrity barn owls had been nesting in Manhattan’s Upper West Side has been removed, sparking outrage among New Yorkers who have been captivated by the elusive birds. The barn owl family was discovered weeks ago, drawing crowds of people in the street eager to get […]
35 minutes ago

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance says it’s investigating reports of a potential security incident

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, said Thursday it’s investigating reports of a potential security issue as its founder said the incident “does look like a hack on Binance.” It wasn’t immediately clear the extent of the damage hackers might have been able to accomplish and Binance had not explicitly confirmed […]
2 hours ago

2 helicopters collide southwest of Portland, Oregon, shutting down highway

McMINNVILLE Ore. (AP) — Two helicopters collided Thursday near a small airport southwest of Portland, Oregon, forcing the closure of a key highway, authorities said. Emergency crews responded around 2:15 p.m. following reports of a crash a few miles east of the McMinnville Airport, according to the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office. Officials had no details […]
3 hours ago
Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy arrives before President Donald Trump speaks dur...

Controversial attack ad featuring Democrat’s estranged mother has run its course in Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio governor candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s controversial attack ad featuring the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, Dr. Amy Acton, is off the air after the Republican spent about a quarter of what his campaign initially said it would invest to run it. Ramaswamy said during a campaign appearance in Vandalia, Ohio, […]
3 hours ago
FILE - Hunter Biden arrives for a closed-door deposition on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 28, 20...

Ex-FBI officials accused of false statements about Hunter Biden press for dismissal of charges

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense lawyers urged a federal judge Thursday to dismiss a criminal complaint charging two former FBI counterintelligence officials with making false statements to Congress about Hunter Biden, calling the case an overtly political prosecution aimed at placating President Donald Trump. The arguments capped a days-long hearing in which lawyers for the former […]
4 hours ago
Voters use privacy booths to fill out their ballots at an early voting site in Haverstraw, N.Y., Mo...

Judge presses the Trump administration for details on its campaign to stop noncitizens from voting

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Trump administration to identify all states where it has pressured officials to comply with its efforts to prevent non-U.S. citizens from voting in the midterm election, inquiries that Democrats have challenged as an illegal power grab. Chief Judge James Boasberg said he intends to rule […]
4 hours ago

Watchdogs raise alarms about fire at South Carolina site where US plans to build nuclear component

Nuclear watchdog groups on Thursday demanded a thorough accounting of a fire at a national lab in South Carolina, noting the surrounding site contains nuclear material and U.S. officials are ramping up efforts to build a core nuclear weapon component there. The U.S. Department of Energy said the fire at the Savannah River National Laboratory […]
4 hours ago
FILE - A phone displays sports trades on Polymarket, April 16, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Je...

Polymarket paused international trading after a security issue involving a third-party provider

Polymarket temporarily halted trading on its international platform Thursday because of a security incident that compromised a third-party provider, the company said. Trading was paused for about an hour and resumed Thursday afternoon. The company has promised to fully reimburse any affected traders. The prediction market platform said it halted trading “out of an abundance […]
5 hours ago
FILE - Firearms training unit Detective Barbara J. Mattson, of the Connecticut State Police, holds ...

Sandy Hook families urge Supreme Court to uphold state and local bans on AR-15-style rifles

Relatives whose loved ones were killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting are making an impassioned plea to the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold state and local bans on certain semiautomatic rifles, citing the high body counts and devastating injuries the weapons can inflict. The parents of five of the 20 first-graders killed in […]
6 hours ago
FILE - The spire of the Baker-Berry Library stands above The Green at Dartmouth College in Hanover,...

Dartmouth provost resigns following accusations he used artificial intelligence for writing

A top administrator at Dartmouth College has resigned after a faculty committee found he used artificial intelligence to shape his writing, including in a guest column in The Washington Post on AI cheating. The announcement Wednesday of Provost Santiago Schnell’s departure from the Ivy League university comes as colleges across the country grapple with how […]
6 hours ago
Patrick Stewart...

Patrick Stewart, stage giant also of ‘Star Trek’ and ‘X-Men’ fame, dies at 86

Patrick Stewart, the classically trained stage actor who scaled the Shakespearean canon and added gravitas to "Star Trek" and "X-Men," has died.
6 hours ago
President Donald Trump talks with reporters after arriving on Air Force One, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026,...

Judge blocks Trump administration’s Medicaid rule forcing sick recipients to prove frailty

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chronically ill people on Medicaid won’t be bound by new work requirement rules that the latest Trump administration guidance requires in order to qualify for “medically frail” exemptions, a federal judge ruled Thursday. U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns in Boston gave a partial victory to a coalition of 25 states and the […]
7 hours ago

Virginia GOP says shooting outside its offices in Richmond appears unrelated to its operations

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Republican Party of Virginia said a shooting Thursday just outside its offices in Richmond doesn’t appear to have anything to do with its operations. The party said in a statement posted online that a woman was shot around 1:45 p.m. directly in front of the building that houses its offices. […]
7 hours ago
FILE - The U.S. Department of Justice logo is seen on a podium before a news conference, May 4, 202...

Justice Department appeals ruling allowing California to count disputed ballots

Los Angeles (AP) — The Trump administration has asked a federal appeals court to quickly weigh in on whether it can temporarily prevent California from counting the ballots of up to 20,000 people it alleges are likely noncitizens after a lower court judge forcefully rejected the request. The Justice Department said in a late Wednesday […]
8 hours ago
This photo provided by the U.S. Army shows Maj. Gen. Brett Sylvia, at a 101st Airborne Division cha...

Pentagon accuses newly fired general of leaking sensitive information to the media

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon has accused a newly ousted three-star general of leaking sensitive information to the media just hours after officials confirmed his removal from a top military planning post. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia as head of strategy, plans and policy for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, […]
8 hours ago
(AP Illustration / Peter Hamlin)Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS...

What to consider if a company that made AI-related job cuts wants you back

NEW YORK (AP) — Companies around the world are increasingly citing artificial intelligence when slashing jobs, fueling anxiety that a lot more workers may lose their livelihoods to machines. Microsoft, Barclays Bank and supermarket chain Kroger are among the latest entries on a growing list of companies that have announced AI-related workforce reductions this year, […]
9 hours ago
This photo provided by Brunk Auctions shows the original, hand-drawn survey of the Mason-Dixon Line...

‘Dixie’ map that divided the US into North and South fetches nearly $1 million at auction

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — The hand-drawn map showing the Mason-Dixon Line that eventually divided free from slave states in the U.S. sold Thursday for $950,000. Forty-five bidders battled just under three minutes for ownership of what is perhaps the most consequential map in American history. Bidding started at $400,000 for the survey of states divided […]
9 hours ago
FILE - A 12-foot Home Depot skeleton stands in the front yard of a Cincinnati home on Sept. 24, 202...

Make no bones about it, the giant skeleton has become an American Halloween fixture

It reared its bony head in 2020, during that first, chaotic pandemic year that was rife with grief and fear but also toilet paper hoarding and questionable lockdown-inspired purchases. Behold Skelly, the 12-foot, 90-pound skeleton, on sale for $299 from Home Depot, just in time for Halloween — at least, if you can get your […]
9 hours ago
FILE - U.S. Secret Service agents respond near President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump ...

September 2027 trial date set for man charged with attacking White House correspondents’ dinner

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday set a September 2027 trial date for a man charged with attempting to kill President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner earlier this year. Cole Tomas Allen’s trial is scheduled to start with jury selection on Sept. 7 in Washington, D.C., and is expected […]
10 hours ago
FILE - A woman places a bouquet of flowers at a makeshift memorial for victims of an attack outside...

Man accused of Colorado demonstration attack to change plea to federal hate crime charges

DENVER (AP) — An Egyptian man is scheduled to change his not guilty plea to federal hate crime and other charges Thursday for a deadly firebombing attack on demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado, last year. Mohamed Soliman is already serving life in prison after pleading guilty to state charges last spring. Yelling “Free Palestine,” Soliman lit […]
11 hours ago
FILE - The CNN logo is displayed at the entrance to the CNN Center in Atlanta on Feb. 2, 2022. (AP ...

CNN, MSNOW and Politico ask court to make Trump access order permanent

Three news outlets have beefed up their legal complaint against the White House over access, saying it is continuing to defy a judge’s orders by refusing to let them return to covering President Donald Trump in the Oval Office and on Air Force One — thus violating their free speech rights by continuing to keep […]
12 hours ago
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky arrives at the Airbnb Gala on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, at Milk Studios in ...

Airbnb pledges $500M to nonprofit, scaling emergency stays and raising questions over housing relief

NEW YORK (AP) — Airbnb plans to dedicate $500 million to its philanthropic arm over the next five years to increase temporary housing support for medical travelers and disaster survivors. The short-term rental platform will fund the expansion by donating 10 cents from every booking and make up any shortfall, according to Airbnb CEO Brian […]
12 hours ago
New York Attorney General Letitia James attends a news conference with New York Governor Kathy Hoch...

Man accused in Cornell rape lawsuit wants Letitia James removed from investigation over her posts

Should social media posts disqualify New York’s attorney general from leading a criminal investigation into gang rape allegations at Cornell University? That’s the question before a state judge on Thursday as one of the accused men seeks to remove Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor overseeing the renewed criminal probe. One of at […]
12 hours ago
Dr. Annie Andrews, Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, participates in a Get Out the Vote rally wit...

Trump lends support for Darline Graham in South Carolina as Republican anxiety rises in Senate race

FORT MILL, S.C. (AP) — Annie Andrews has a request for voters in South Carolina who haven’t sent a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in nearly three decades: Just give me a chance. “Let’s try something new for once,” Andrews said Wednesday in this rapidly growing part of the Upstate. “If she doesn’t do what […]
12 hours ago