National News

People visiting the Smithsonian Museum of American History on the National Mall in Washington, Tues...

Smithsonian marks 25th anniversary of 9/11 with a display of rare artifacts

WASHINGTON (AP) — Seat belts and a flight attendant call button from the doomed United Airlines Flight 93. A purse filled with keys and a wallet recovered from the World Trade Center site. The telephone that sat on U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson’s desk when his wife, Barbara, called from a hijacked airplane. The Smithsonian’s […]
3 minutes ago
FILE - The Michigan Marching Band performs at the end of the first period during an NCAA college me...

Former hockey players at University of Michigan sue, say they were sexually abused decades ago

DETROIT (AP) — More than a dozen former hockey players are suing the University of Michigan, alleging their coach and other staff were aware of sexual hazing that included the forced shaving of their genitals and other abuse by teammates decades ago. “The abuse was ritualized, meticulously planned, and sadistic. … Enduring sexual abuse was […]
30 minutes ago
President Donald Trump speaks at the Republican convention, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Dallas. (A...

Trump wants to send Americans money. Congress and economists don’t seem thrilled with the idea

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump’s pitch to send Americans $5,000 checks should Republicans prevail in the November midterms is drawing scorn from some members of Congress — the very people who have constitutional authority over federal spending. Economists and other political observers are voicing concerns about the potential effects on inflation and the national balance […]
33 minutes ago
CORRECTS FIRST NAME TO AKIVA FROM AKIRA - Aliquippa Senior running back Akiva Woods (8) leads a pre...

Across the US, high school sports provide a sense of community — and, for some, a way out

The phone calls started coming long before the lights at “The Pit” flickered on for the first time this fall. “When will the senior citizen passes be available?” Aliquippa High athletic director Jennifer Damico’s office heard more than once as the latest season of Quips football inched forward. At the school about 30 minutes northwest […]
35 minutes ago
FILE - Vote-by-mail ballots for the presidential primary election are seen on March 12, 2024, at th...

Appeals court hands Trump a loss on mail voting as Supreme Court considers his executive order

WASHINGTON (AP) — An appeals court on Thursday upheld a block on President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting mail voting, a decision that comes as the Supreme Court considers the same case and states have already started sending out ballots for the high-stakes midterm elections. The three-judge panel refused to lift a preliminary injunction against […]
42 minutes ago

Appeals court hands Trump a loss on mail voting as Supreme Court considers his executive order

WASHINGTON (AP) — An appeals court on Thursday upheld a block on President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting mail voting, a decision that comes as the Supreme Court considers the same case and states have already started sending out ballots for the high-stakes midterm elections. The three-judge panel refused to lift a preliminary injunction against […]
49 minutes ago
Jimmy Kimmel poses with the award for outstanding host for a game show for "Who Wants to Be a Milli...

Kimmel says interview with James Talarico won’t air on TV under pressure from the FCC

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel said the agency that regulates television “threatened” the show and that an interview with James Talarico, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, will not air on television but on YouTube — thus bypassing any control or regulation by the Federal Communications Commission. It’s not the first time a TV […]
57 minutes ago
FILE - District Court Judge Shelley Joseph departs federal court, April 25, 2019, in Boston. (AP Ph...

Judge accused of enabling immigrant to escape ICE gets a rare public reprimand

BOSTON (AP) — The highest court in Massachusetts on Thursday issued a public reprimand against a district court judge who was accused of allowing an immigrant to escape U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. The case dates back to 2018 when Judge Shelley Joseph was accused of colluding with the immigrant’s attorney and a court […]
1 hour ago
President Donald Trump speaks at the Republican convention, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Dallas. (A...

Trump promises $500 Obamacare rebate checks for 1M enrollees in 30 states

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is promising $500 rebate checks to an estimated 1 million Affordable Care Act enrollees across 30 states, whom the White House alleges were overcharged by the Biden administration for exchange fees. The promise comes after Trump pledged Wednesday to send every American adult $5,000 if Republicans retain control of […]
3 hours ago
FILE - Luxury homes are under construction in a subdivision, May 22, 2007 in New Albany, Ohio. (AP ...

US home sales weaken to slowest pace in more than a year as mortgage rates, home prices climb

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes declined in August to their slowest annual pace in more than a year as home shoppers grappled with rising mortgage rates and home prices. Existing home sales fell 2% last month from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.98 million units, the National Association of Realtors said […]
4 hours ago
FILE - A pregnant woman stands for a portrait in Dallas, May 18, 2023. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)Cre...

Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies pledges $100M to cut US maternal mortality rate in half

Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies America, the bipartisan campaign founded by Olivia and Tom Walton’s nonprofit Heartland Forward, announced a $100 million pledge Thursday to make giving birth in the United States safer. The five-year commitment aims to cut the maternal mortality rate in the United States in half by 2031. “For millions of moms in […]
5 hours ago
Workers install a copper pipe to replace a lead service line that brings drinking water to homes Tu...

The push to remove lead pipes is on. Thousands of water systems still don’t know where theirs are

Kathryn Pilgrim knew the century-old Victorian she bought in Dunkirk, New York, came with old plumbing. She replaced pipes she suspected of containing lead and later installed a kitchen filter designed to remove heavy metals. But six years after buying the house, she still can’t be sure that her tap water is lead-free because she […]
5 hours ago
This composite image provided by NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie ...

Little Mercury may be shrinking faster than scientists expected

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A new study shows that little, wrinkly Mercury may be shrinking faster than expected, the cosmos’ version of a grape shriveling into a raisin under the sun. Scientists from the German Aerospace Center’s Institute of Space Research reported Thursday that Mercury’s shrinkage may be 30% greater than previously believed — […]
5 hours ago
Apple COO Sabih Khan, center, and CEO Tim Cook, left, give U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnic...

Wholesale prices moved higher last month in latest sign of stubborn inflation

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wholesale inflation picked up last month after cooling earlier this summer as higher oil and gas prices stemming from the Iran war are keeping costs elevated. The Labor Department’s producer price index — which captures inflation before it reaches consumers — rose 5.4% in August from a year ago, up from 4.7% […]
5 hours ago
FILE - Portraits of Presidents Donald Trump and Theodore Roosevelt hang above the Department of Lab...

US unemployment claims dip to 206,000 as layoffs continue to remain rare

WASHINGTON (AP) — Slightly fewer Americans filed for unemployment claims last week as jobless claims remain at historically low levels and layoffs are still relatively rare. Filings for benefits dipped to 206,000 last week from a revised 207,000 the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week […]
6 hours ago
Aliquippa High School football fans cheer during a high school football game between Aliquippa and ...

Across the US, ‘Friday night lights’ provide a sense of community — and, for some, a way out

ALIQUIPPA, Pa. (AP) — The phone calls, all asking the same question, started coming long before the lights at “The Pit” flickered on for the first time this fall. “When will the senior citizen passes be available?” Aliquippa High athletic director Jennifer Damico’s office heard more than once as the countdown to the latest season […]
6 hours ago
President Donald Trump speaks at the Republican convention, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Dallas. (A...

The Latest: Trump makes dubious pledge to give every US adult $5,000 if GOP wins midterm elections

President Donald Trump has pledged to send every American adult $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections. The dubious promise would likely cost more than $1 trillion and require congressional approval, and would further exacerbate the country’s nearly $1.8 trillion annual budget deficit and concerns about inflation. Trump […]
6 hours ago
In this photo taken with a smartphone, people opposed to a congressional redistricting plan rally o...

Federal judge allows Missouri’s top court to hold contempt hearing in redistricting dispute

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A federal judge has allowed Missouri’s top court to proceed with a contempt hearing Thursday for Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in a tense and twisting legal battle over whether new congressional districts supported by President Donald Trump can be used in the November election. Missouri’s top court previously […]
6 hours ago
With election season getting underway, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., center, flanked by...

Republicans showcase their ‘big beautiful bill’ to voters, but the law’s impact has been mixed

WASHINGTON (AP) — Working to keep the majority in Congress, Republicans at the midterm convention in Dallas are showcasing their chief legislative accomplishment — the sweeping package of tax breaks, social service cuts and immigration enforcement that President Donald Trump signed into law. A year on, what’s known as the One Big Beautiful Bill — […]
6 hours ago
A general view of the New York skyline during an FDNY memorial to commemorate the 25th anniversary ...

Sept. 11 ranks among the most historic events in many Americans’ lifetimes, polling shows

WASHINGTON (AP) — Twenty-five years later, the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, are still remembered as among the most important historic events in many Americans’ lives, according to a new poll. A the COVID-19 pandemic and the elections of Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. The polling points to the enduring legacy of 9/11, even […]
7 hours ago
FILE -Travelers queue up to pass through the south security checkpoint in Denver International Airp...

Travel scams are getting harder to spot. Here’s how to stay safe

NEW YORK (AP) — Pickpockets were once the biggest worry for travelers heading to new destinations on vacation. But travel scams have become more sophisticated, and scammers using new artificial intelligence tools have become better at creating fake websites and using stolen data to their advantage, said Florent Silve, an executive at Engine, a corporate […]
8 hours ago

Tropical Storm Norbert forms in the Pacific Ocean and isn’t threatening land

MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Norbert formed Thursday in the Pacific Ocean and wasn’t threatening land, forecasters said. The storm was about 685 miles (1,102 kilometers) southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula of Mexico, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said. It had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (64 kph) and […]
8 hours ago
FILE- A man walks past kelp as he goes for a swim in the Pacific Ocean at La Jolla Shores, July 24,...

California officials allow plans for the country’s biggest kelp farm to move forward

California has long been farm country, and its oceans soon could be, too. State coastal officials voted Wednesday to allow a plan to build the United States’ largest kelp farm 6 miles (10 kilometers) off the Southern California coast to move forward as the Trump administration seeks to ramp up aquaculture in the Pacific Ocean. […]
8 hours ago

Associated Press journalists who witnessed Sept. 11 remember what they saw, 25 years later

NEW YORK (AP) — Karen Matthews was getting her 3-year-old daughter ready for preschool in her Manhattan apartment on Sept. 11, 2001, when she heard a loud boom, unlike anything she’d ever heard before. Holding her child, she went outside. Around her, people stared up at a gash in the north tower of the World […]
14 hours ago