National News

FILE - An FBI seal is displayed on a podium before a news conference at the field office in Portlan...

Minneapolis man is charged with threatening and cyberstalking ICE officers

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minneapolis man was arrested Thursday on charges of cyberstalking and threatening to kill or assault Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers involved in the crackdown in Minnesota. Federal prosecutors said in a statement that Kyle Wagner, 37, of Minneapolis, was charged by complaint, and that a decision to seek an indictment, which […]
7 months ago
This undated photo provided by the Ape Initiative shows Kanzi, a bonobo who learned to communicate ...

Can apes play pretend? Scientists use an imaginary tea party to find out

NEW YORK (AP) — By age 2, most kids know how to play pretend. They turn their bedrooms into faraway castles and hold make-believe tea parties. The ability to make something out of nothing may seem uniquely human — a bedrock of creativity that’s led to new kinds of art, music and more. Now, for […]
7 months ago
FILE - This Dec. 15, 2016, file photo shows a Pizza Hut restaurant in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald...

Pizza Hut closing 250 US stores as parent company considers selling the brand

Pizza Hut plans to close 250 U.S. restaurants in the first half of this year as its parent company considers a sale of the chain. Yum Brands said Wednesday it’s targeting underperforming Pizza Hut restaurants in its system. Pizza Hut has more than 6,000 locations in the U.S. Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum Brands said in November […]
7 months ago

Some GOP-led states seek to bring back death penalty for child rape convictions

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The state of Alabama has joined a growing number of Republican-led states seeking to revive the death penalty for child rape, a sentence outlawed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2008. Alabama approved legislation Thursday to add rape and sexual torture of a child under 12 to the narrow list of […]
7 months ago
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., arrives for the Senate Prayer Breakfast, at the Capitol ...

A Homeland Security shutdown grows more likely as Republicans rebuff Democratic demands for ICE

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday that demands made by Democrats for new restrictions on federal immigration officers are “unrealistic” and warned that the Department of Homeland Security will shut down next week if they do not work with Republicans and the White House. Democrats say they will not vote for […]
7 months ago
FILE - Applications Scientist Anuj Bag mixes coloring with flour at Sensient Technologies Corp., a ...

Companies can now claim ‘no artificial colors’ if they add plant-based color to food

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is relaxing rules that restrict when food companies can claim their products have no artificial colors. The agency announced Thursday that food labels may claim to have “no artificial colors” when they are free of petroleum-based dyes, even when they contain dyes derived from natural sources such as plants. […]
7 months ago
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent speaks during a House Financial Services Committee hearing ...

Bessent says it would be up to Trump whether to sue his Fed nominee over interest rates

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says it would be “up to the president” to decide whether or not to sue Kevin Warsh, Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, if he fails to lower interest rates. During remarks at a private black-tie dinner of the elite Alfalfa Club on Saturday night, Trump […]
7 months ago

Freight train derails in Connecticut, sending cars carrying liquid propane into river

MANSFIELD, Conn. (AP) — A freight train derailed Thursday in Connecticut, sending cars carrying hazardous materials tumbling into a river, though officials say they don’t appear to be leaking. Local and state officials said the incident happened shortly before 9:30 a.m. along the Willimantic River in Mansfield, a rural town a few miles west of […]
7 months ago
FILE - In this Nov. 19, 2014, file photo, lawyer Brad Karp leaves federal court in Philadelphia. (A...

Chairman of prominent law firm Paul Weiss resigns after release of emails linking him to Epstein

Brad Karp, chairman of one of the country’s most prestigious law firms, has resigned from his position after the release of emails revealing his exchanges with Jeffrey Epstein, a high-profile departure in the fallout among those with ties to the late convicted sex offender. A statement Wednesday from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Garrison & Wharton did […]
7 months ago
Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, leaves the White Hous...

Trump administration to launch TrumpRx website for discounted drugs

NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday will launch TrumpRx, a website it says will help patients buy prescription drugs directly from manufacturers at a discounted rate at a time when health care and the cost of living are growing concerns for Americans. The government-hosted website is not expected to be a platform […]
7 months ago
FILE - A radiologist uses a magnifying glass to check mammograms for breast cancer in Los Angeles, ...

Pandemic disruptions to health care worsened cancer survival, study suggests

NEW YORK (AP) — During the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, experts worried that disruptions to cancer diagnosis and treatment would cost lives. A new study suggests they were right. The federally funded study published Thursday by the medical journal JAMA Oncology is being called the first to assess the effects of pandemic-related disruptions […]
7 months ago
FILE - An aerial view of the Boar's Head processing plant, Aug. 29, 2024, in Jarratt, Va. (AP Photo...

Boar’s Head reopens Virginia deli meat plant tied to deadly listeria outbreak

The Boar’s Head deli meat plant tied to a deadly food-poisoning outbreak in 2024 is back in business, company officials said. The Jarratt, Virginia, site resumed limited operations on Monday, nearly 17 months after it was shut down following the listeria outbreak that killed 10 people and sickened dozens. Boar’s Head, a 120-year-old company based […]
7 months ago
FILE - Pedestrians walk past a help wanted sign posted on the door of a restaurant in San Francisco...

US job openings fall to 6.5 million, fewest since 2020, as labor market remains sluggish

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. job openings fell to the lowest level in more than five years, another sign that the American labor market remains sluggish. The Labor Department reported Tuesday that vacancies fell to 6.5 million in December — from 6.9 million in November and the fewest since September 2020. Layoffs rose slightly. The number […]
7 months ago
FILE - New York Governor Kathy Hochul speaks during a press conference with New York Mayor Zohran M...

Mamdani endorses Hochul for reelection as New York governor

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed Gov. Kathy Hochul for reelection on Thursday, offering the moderate governor some progressive heft as she faces a challenge from her political left in her campaign for a second full term in office. In an op-ed in The Nation, Mamdani, a democratic socialist, noted […]
7 months ago
Faye Jackson has lived for decades on a patch of rural land, right, in Resaca, Ga., on the banks of...

Inside the toxic legacy of America’s multibillion-dollar carpet empire

DALTON, Ga. (AP) — Bob Shaw glared at the executives from the chemical giant 3M across the table from him. He held up a carpet sample and pointed at the logo for Scotchgard on the back. “That’s not a logo,” fumed Shaw, CEO of the world’s largest carpet company, one attendee later recalled. “That’s a […]
7 months ago
FILE - Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, testifies before a Senate committee hearing on Cap...

Anthropic, OpenAI rivalry spills into new Super Bowl ads as both fight to win over AI users

The two artificial intelligence startups behind rival chatbots ChatGPT and Claude are bracing for an existential showdown this year as both need to prove they can grow a business that will make more money than they’re losing. The fiercest competition between the two AI developers, along with bigger companies like Google, is a race to […]
7 months ago
FILE - Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., speaks at the Center for American Progress, June 26, 2025, in ...

Slotkin rejects Justice Department request for interview on Democrats’ video about ‘illegal orders’

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan is refusing to voluntarily comply with a Justice Department investigation into a video she organized urging U.S. military members to resist “illegal orders” — escalating a dispute that President Donald Trump has publicly pushed. In letters first obtained by The Associated Press, Slotkin’s lawyer informed U.S. […]
7 months ago
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after signing a spending bill that ends a partial shutdo...

The Latest: Democrats demand ‘dramatic changes’ for ICE

Democrats are threatening to block funding for the Homeland Security Department when it expires in two weeks unless there are “dramatic changes” and “real accountability” for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other law enforcement agencies who are carrying out President Donald Trump’s campaign of federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota and across the country. It’s […]
7 months ago
FILE - The U.S. Department of Justice logo is seen on a podium before a press conference, May 6, 20...

Justice Department steps up pressure on cartels’ financial networks as launderers turn to crypto

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is taking direct aim at the financial lifelines of Mexico’s most violent drug cartels, targeting money brokers who prosecutors say have adapted to intensified enforcement by increasingly routing drug profits through cryptocurrency from American cities to cartel leaders in Mexico. The cases of four defendants recently sent from Mexico […]
7 months ago
A group of people walk up to St. Philip's in the Hills Episcopal Church to attend the candlelight s...

No public sign of a response to Savannah Guthrie’s message to her mother’s kidnapper

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — There was no public sign early Thursday of a response to NBC “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s message to her 84-year-old mother’s kidnapper. In a recorded video posted on social media Wednesday, Guthrie said her family is ready to talk but wants proof that Nancy Guthrie, who authorities believe was taken […]
7 months ago
Muhammed Emanet pours Turkish tea for a guest at the Jersey Kebab restaurant, Thursday, Jan. 29, 20...

The detention of New Jersey kebab shop owners sparked change. Deportation still looms

COLLINGSWOOD, N.J. (AP) — The shawarma, falafel wraps and baklava at Jersey Kebab are great, but many of its patrons are also there these days for a side of protest. A New Jersey suburb of Philadelphia has rallied around the restaurant’s Turkish owners since federal officers detained the couple last February because they say their […]
7 months ago

Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter crash kills pilot and trooper during shooter response

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter responding to assist officers with an active shooter situation crashed, killing both the pilot and a trooper who was a paramedic on board, authorities said. A Ranger helicopter crew responded to assist the Flagstaff Police Department and other law enforcement agencies on Wednesday night, […]
7 months ago
Pre-K 4 SA students arrive by school bus, Oct. 9, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)Credit: ...

Is your child ready to register for kindergarten? Here’s what experts look for

New federal data shows about two-thirds of the nation’s 3- to 5-year-olds are on track to enter kindergarten. But being ready for school involves a lot more than a child’s ability to count or recite their ABCs. The effort to get a snapshot of kindergarten readiness is part of the National Survey of Children’s Health, […]
7 months ago
Former Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. speaks during an event where he was endorsed by the Southlan...

Jesse Jackson Jr. pitches redemption in bid for old House seat years after campaign fraud conviction

COUNTRY CLUB HILLS, Ill. (AP) — As Jesse Jackson Jr. campaigns for his old U.S. House seat at Chicago-area churches, banquet halls and on Black radio shows, he often takes a moment to address the obvious matter hanging over his political comeback. The son of the civil rights icon tries to bring it up first: […]
7 months ago