National News

FILE - Jane Ferguson, founder of Noosphere, is photographed in the site's office, in New York, Wedn...

Talk back: Tech deal promotes conversations between journalists and those who follow their stories

NEW YORK (AP) — Environmentalist Christine Holland closely follows journalist Tiffany Higgins’ stories from the Amazon River region, frequently sending her comments and questions. This week, Higgins responded to one message about her piece on the Brazilian arts community by sending Holland a lengthy personal video. They’ve turned the usual one-way conversation between a journalist […]
5 months ago
FILE - Ken Martin speaks at the 2026 California Democratic Party State Convention in San Francisco,...

Democrats tackle outside groups flooding their primaries with campaign cash

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are struggling to come up for air after outside groups flooded their first round of midterm primaries with campaign cash. As the Democratic Party fights to regain control of Congress, organizations affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence have dominated the airwaves, sometimes leaving candidates on […]
5 months ago
FILE - Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Oz speaks during a...

Trump administration admits a glaring error in its accusations about New York health care fraud

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration this week acknowledged it made a significant error in figures it used to help justify a fraud probe into New York’s Medicaid program, a glaring mistake that undercuts a federal campaign to tackle waste, mostly in Democratic-led states. The error, one of at least a few misrepresentations […]
5 months ago
In this image from video provided by Just Like Me in April 2026, the company's co-founder and inves...

From ‘BuddhaBot’ to $1.99 chats with AI Jesus, the faith-based tech boom is here

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — For some evangelical Christians, faith is about having a personal relationship with Jesus. At $1.99 per minute, the tech company Just Like Me is taking that concept to a new level. Users of the platform can join video calls with an avatar of Jesus generated by artificial intelligence. Like other religious […]
5 months ago
Workers remove debris at Tehran's Sharif University of Technology complex that Iranian authorities ...

By the numbers: US thrashed military targets in Iran, but some capabilities remain

WASHINGTON (AP) — Since the ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. was announced, leaders in President Donald Trump’s administration have been quick to say Iranian military and arms capacity have been all but wiped out during weeks of fighting. But there is also an acknowledgment that Tehran retains some capabilities, whether to strike back or […]
5 months ago
FILE - New York Attorney General Letitia James, left, administers the oath of office to mayor-elect...

In his first 100 days, Mamdani brings a unique star power to New York City governance

NEW YORK (AP) — In his first 100 days in office, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has governed with a star power unusual in politics. Crowds of supporters show up to his news conferences. Basic municipal services have been infused with newfound excitement. Celebrities help him promote his agenda. In the process, he’s been […]
5 months ago
In this image provided by NASA, the Artemis II crew captured this view as the Earth sets behind the...

Artemis II’s grand moon finale is almost here with a Pacific splashdown to cap NASA’s lunar comeback

HOUSTON (AP) — Their dramatic grand finale fast approaching, Artemis II’s astronauts aimed for a splashdown in the Pacific on Friday to close out humanity’s first voyage to the moon in more than half a century. The tension in Mission Control mounted as the miles melted away between the four returning astronauts and Earth. All […]
5 months ago
Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, hits from the fairway on the 15th hole during the first round of...

McIlroy atop Masters leaderboard again, while DeChambeau and Rahm will have to fight to make the cut

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Defending champion Rory McIlroy picked up where he left off a year ago. For a couple other big names at the Masters, just making the cut is no guarantee. McIlroy and Sam Burns enter Friday’s second round tied for first after opening with 5-under 67s at Augusta National. Those within striking […]
5 months ago
Displaced families extend their hands while waiting for donated food beside the tents they use as s...

The Latest: Kuwait blames Iran for drone strikes as Trump casts doubt on ceasefire

U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to cast doubt on the effectiveness of the two-week ceasefire over Iran’s continued chokehold over the Strait of Hormuz, while Kuwait accused Iran and its proxies of launching drone attacks targeting it on Thursday despite the ceasefire. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard denied launching attacks on Persian Gulf states after Kuwait’s […]
5 months ago
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White Ho...

Trump’s tenuous Iran exit plan isn’t healing Republican rifts exposed by the war

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s search for an off-ramp from the war with Iran is getting bumpy inside his Republican Party. In the decade since Trump’s “America First” movement rose to power by rejecting military intervention, his coalition has rarely been tested the way it is now. Trump’s exit efforts — first through threats […]
5 months ago
Pope Leo XIV blesses faithful as he starts his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at th...

A president and a pope: The world’s most influential Americans are at odds over Iran

Donald Trump is accustomed to criticism from coast to coast — Democrats, disaffected Republicans, late-night comedians, massive protests. Yet in his second presidency, Trump’s most influential American critic doesn’t live in the country but at the Vatican. It’s an unprecedented situation, with the first American pope directly assailing the American president over the war in […]
5 months ago
Vice President JD Vance waves as he boards Air Force Two to depart for Budapest, at Joint Base Andr...

Vance sets off to Pakistan to lead talks with Iran as war’s ceasefire remains shaky

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is tasking the member of his inner circle who has seemed to be the most reluctant defender of the conflict with Iran to now find a resolution to the war that began six weeks ago and stave off the U.S. president’s astonishing threat to wipe out its “whole civilization.” […]
5 months ago
FILE - Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil holds a news conference outside Federal Court, Oct. 21, ...

Immigration board denies Mahmoud Khalil’s appeal, bringing activist one step closer to deportation

NEW YORK (AP) — An immigration appeals board has denied Mahmoud Khalil’s latest bid to dismiss his deportation case, a largely expected ruling that brings the former Columbia University graduate student and Palestinian activist one step closer to re-arrest and possible expulsion. The Board of Immigration Appeals issued the final order of removal on Thursday, […]
5 months ago
Chick-fil-A employees lower a U.S. flag outside their restaurant on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. (Alan...

For Chinese visa-seekers in the US, the path to good fortune lies in … Chick-fil-A?

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — On a recent weekend afternoon, at a Chinese comedy show in northern Virginia, the host asked the audience, “What food do you like?” The loudest answer echoed through the hall: “Chick-fil-A!” “You still haven’t gotten your H-1B lottery, ha?” quipped the host, citing the most popular work visa among Chinese students. […]
5 months ago
Chinese Premier Li Qiang is displayed on a large screen live broadcasting his speech at the opening...

Beijing calculates its next steps in Iran ceasefire ahead of Trump’s trip to China

WASHINGTON (AP) — With a fragile ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran holding for now, China is calculating its role in helping find a durable endgame to the war in the Middle East. After prodding China, which is more reliant on Persian Gulf oil than the U.S., to get involved in reopening the choked-off […]
5 months ago
FILE - Hip hop DJ pioneer Afrika Bambaataa speaks at a news conference in New York on Feb. 28, 2006...

Hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa dies at age 68

Afrika Bambaataa, a man widely considered one of the main pioneers of hip-hop, died in Pennsylvania of prostate cancer on Thursday, according to his lawyer. He was 68. Bambaataa’s sudden death was met with an outpouring of condolences from friends, family and fans across the world, who paid tribute to his profound and unmistakable impact […]
5 months ago
A person votes early in the Virginia redistricting referendum at the Fairfax County Government Cent...

A federal judge dismisses another DOJ lawsuit seeking voter data, this time in Massachusetts

A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice seeking Massachusetts’ state voter rolls, marking the latest setback in a wide-ranging effort by the Trump administration to collect detailed data on the nation’s voters. The ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin marks at least the fifth time a […]
5 months ago
The White House is seen in Washington, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. EDT. (AP Photo/Rod Lamk...

IRS touts a 24% increase in tax refunds compared to the previous administration

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tax refunds this season are up 24% compared with the four-year average of refunds before President Donald Trump took office, his administration said Thursday — a change credited to Republicans’ tax legislation signed into law last year. As the tax season kicked off in January, the White House had boasted that average […]
5 months ago

Sheriff’s deputy killed in central California while serving eviction notice

PORTERVILLE, Calif. (AP) — A man shot and killed a central California sheriff’s deputy Thursday morning while authorities were serving an eviction notice and hours later he remained barricaded inside the home, authorities said. Tulare County deputies were serving an eviction notice at a home in Porterville when a 60-year-old man opened fire on them, […]
5 months ago
FILE - Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor speaks during a service for retired Supreme Court Just...

Trump administration’s volume of emergency docket appeals ‘unprecedented,’ Sotomayor says

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has notched a string of wins on the Supreme Court ’s emergency docket, in part because the conservative justices believe that blocking executive policies is a blow that can’t be easily fixed, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said Thursday. The increase in emergency appeals by the Trump administration is “unprecedented in […]
5 months ago
war powers resolution republicans democrats emily randall middle east...
Frank Sumrall

WA Rep Emily Randall demands action after Republicans block House Democrats’ war powers resolution to end Middle East conflict

House Democrats tried but failed to pass a war powers resolution in an effort to wrestle the U.S. military out of the Middle East.
5 months ago
Red & White Crisp Rice cereal is sold for $7.25 per 18-ounce box at a market serving the Central Am...

Inflation may jump by most in nearly four years as gas prices spike in wake of Iran war

WASHINGTON (AP) — Soaring gas prices are expected to produce a spike in inflation when the government reports consumer prices for March on Friday, likely unnerving the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve and heightening the political challenges of rising costs for the White House. Inflation probably rose to 3.4% in March compared with a […]
5 months ago

NYC man charged with setting deadly fire said he needed to ‘get out his rage’ after losing job

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City man has been charged in the death of four people, including a toddler, after setting fire to a residential building last month in a fit of rage over losing his job, prosecutors said. The choice of building was random, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, who […]
5 months ago
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announces the dismantling of a major hospice fraud scheme tha...

California officials charge 21 people in hospice fraud exceeding $250 million

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California officials on Thursday said they uncovered a multimillion-dollar scheme to use stolen identities from people outside the state to charge for hospice services paid for with a government insurance program. State Attorney General Rob Bonta said officials have charged 21 and have so far arrested 5 people involved as the […]
5 months ago