NEW ORLEANS (AP) — It is Carnival season in New Orleans. That means gazillions of green, gold and purple Mardi Gras beads. Once made of glass and cherished by parade spectators who were lucky enough to catch them, today cheap plastic beaded necklaces from overseas are tossed from floats by the handful. Spectators sometimes pile […]
If you daydream about getting a break from work, you might picture two weeks of vacation or a long weekend getaway. But some people dare to imagine something bigger and find ways to get a substantial breather from stress or their day-to-day routines. Mini-sabbaticals. Adult gap years. Micro-retirement. Extended career breaks go by many names […]
PHOENIX (AP) — The seven Western states that depend on the Colorado River missed a deadline for the second time Saturday to agree on a plan addressing record drought and water shortages. Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo released a joint statement calling on Upper Basin states to […]
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The International Space Station returned to full strength with Saturday’s arrival of four new astronauts to replace colleagues who bailed early because of health concerns. SpaceX delivered the U.S., French and Russian astronauts a day after launching them from Cape Canaveral. Last month’s medical evacuation was NASA’s first in 65 […]
As people travel for the holiday weekend, much of Northern California is under a winter storm watch, with communities bracing for several feet of snow. The National Weather Service warned people traveling to and from the Sierra Nevada and its popular ski resorts to expect “major travel impacts” and to use “extreme caution.” But there […]
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The U.S.’s ocean regulator plans to make industry-friendly changes to a longstanding rule designed to protect vanishing whales, prompting criticism from environmental groups who cite the recent death of an endangered whale. The rules protect the North Atlantic right whale, which numbers less than 400 and lives off the East Coast. […]
DETROIT (AP) — Valentine’s Day dinner at White Castle with candles, attentive wait staff and white tablecloths was a treasured experience for Krystal Gray and her mother, Cornelia Murphy. This year, Gray will bring along a photo of her mother, who died last spring at age 80, and place it on the table she has […]
CUMBERLAND, Md. (AP) — The violent deaths linked to the group known as Zizians stopped at six a year ago, after a U.S. border agent was killed and three members were arrested on trespassing and gun charges in the woods of western Maryland. Seven of the group’s members are jailed in three states, all awaiting […]
As hundreds of federal and local agents scoured the Arizona desert and chased down potential leads in the nearly two weeks since Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her affluent neighborhood, families of other missing people are reminded how elusive answers can be. On the one hand, families who spoke to The Associated Press share in the […]
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Law enforcement agents have been gathering more potential evidence as the search for “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie ‘s mother heads into its third week. Nancy Guthrie, 84, was last seen at her Arizona home on Jan. 31 and was reported missing the following day. Authorities say her blood was found […]
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Law enforcement investigating the disappearance of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother sealed off a road near Nancy Guthrie’s home in Arizona late Friday night. A parade of sheriff’s and FBI vehicles, including forensics vehicles, passed through the roadblock that was set up about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the house. […]
A shutdown of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that took effect early Saturday impacts the agency responsible for screening passengers and bags at airports across the country. Travelers with airline reservations may be nervously recalling a 43-day government shutdown that led to historic flight cancellations and long delays last year. Transportation Security Administration officers […]
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — As the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota winds down, Minneapolis will need to decide how to manage makeshift memorial sites for two U.S. citizens killed by federal agents last month. Piles of flowers, signs and artwork swiftly formed to commemorate the lives of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the locations […]
A federal law requiring impairment-detection devices inside all new cars survived a recent push to strip its funding but remains stalled by questions about whether the technology is ready. Rana Abbas Taylor lost her sister, brother-in-law, nephew and two nieces when a driver with a blood-alcohol level almost four times the legal limit slammed into […]
PHOENIX (AP) — Minutes after getting to a park in the middle of Phoenix, you can see flashes of green in the sky and hear chatter because love is in the air — or at least, the lovebirds are. The small parrots are transplants from the other side of the world that are thought to […]
Two golfers in Washington, D.C., sued the federal government on Friday to try to prevent the Trump administration from overhauling a more than 100-year-old public golf course, accusing the administration of violating environmental laws and polluting a park that is on the National Register of Historic Places. The suit is the latest in a series […]
The government’s ability to deal with drones that pose a threat on American soil has been questioned this week after the use of a laser designed to shoot down drones near the border in Texas led to the abrupt closure of the airspace over El Paso, sources familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. […]
Federal authorities announced an investigation Friday into two immigration officers who appeared to have made untruthful statements under oath about a shooting in Minneapolis last month. It is among at least five shootings in which initial descriptions by the immigration officials were later contradicted by video evidence. Those included the fatal Minneapolis shootings of Renee […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said Friday that it has carried out another deadly strike on a vessel accused of trafficking drugs in the Caribbean Sea. U.S. Southern Command said on social media that the boat “was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.” It said the […]
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Four people have been indicted on federal charges stemming from clashes with federal officers in Minneapolis, including one woman who is accused of biting off an immigration officer’s fingertip. The three others were charged in connection with threats made to FBI agents after documents containing the agents’ personal information was stolen from […]
Federal immigration officials plan to spend $38.3 billion to boost detention capacity to 92,600 beds, a document released Friday shows, as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement quietly purchases warehouses to turn into detention and processing facilities. Republican New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte posted the document online amid tension over ICE’s plans to convert a warehouse […]
MALAKOFF, Texas (AP) — Some school districts in the U.S. dropped plans for class pictures after widespread social media posts linked a billionaire with ties to Jeffrey Epstein to the photography giant Lifetouch, which on Friday called the claims “completely false.” The disruption to school picture plans in Texas and elsewhere began after online posts […]
The White House mansion’s eastern facade appears to have been “excellently preserved” when demolition crews tore down the East Wing to make way for President Donald Trump’s planned ballroom, an administration official said in a memo made public Friday. Contractors took pains to protect the White House residence during demolition, keeping heavy equipment at a […]
BATON ROGUE, La. (AP) — Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana on Friday downplayed the impact of President Donald Trump backing a GOP rival in a race that will test whether the the two-term senator can survive the president’s quest to rid the party of members who have crossed him. Cassidy expressed confidence about reelction […]
