National News

Gas explosion in New Hampshire sparks a fire at a mental health facility

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — Three firefighters were injured when a natural gas leak caused an explosion and fire Monday at a New Hampshire mental health center, but the building’s occupants all evacuated safely. About 40 people were in the Greater Nashua Mental Health facility when someone called 911 to report an odor of gas, State […]
9 months ago
FILE - Two young children hold signs through the car window that make reference to the 2020 U.S. Ce...

Trump administration cuts number of sites for testing the 2030 census, focusing on the South

The Trump administration is eliminating four out of the six locations that had been slated for a practice test to try out new methods for the 2030 census, raising concerns that the U.S. Census Bureau might not learn enough about communities that have been traditionally difficult to count. The test, which started Monday, will be […]
9 months ago
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a news conference at Federal Emergency Manage...

Every Homeland Security officer in Minneapolis is now being issued a body-worn camera, Noem says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Every Homeland Security officer on the ground, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, will be immediately issued body-worn cameras, Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday. Noem made the announcement on the social media platform X. She said the body-worn camera program is being expanded nationwide as funding becomes available. “We will rapidly acquire […]
9 months ago
A show dog named Valli gets groomed at the 150th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, Monday, Feb. 2, ...

Couples at the Westminster show bond over dogs, and each other

NEW YORK (AP) — Must love dogs. Really, really love dogs. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show spotlights the bond between people and dogs. But reaching the United States’ premier canine event also can be about another kind of love. “For me, it would be very hard to do this without somebody who was as […]
9 months ago
The Northern Arizona University campus in Flagstaff, Ariz., is shown Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Phot...

3 fraternity members arrested in death of Northern Arizona student following rush event

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A Northern Arizona University student has died after a night of drinking at a fraternity event, leading to the arrest of three fraternity members and an investigation by the school, officials said. The 18-year-old male student was found unresponsive at a home by police officers on Saturday after bystanders performed CPR […]
9 months ago
FILE - Rioters loyal to President Donald Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2...

Ed Martin removed as head of Justice Department’s ‘Weaponization Working Group’

WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservative activist Ed Martin has been removed as head of the Justice Department group tasked with scrutinizing the federal prosecutions of President Donald Trump and is no longer working out of department headquarters, according to a person familiar with the matter. Martin remains the department’s pardon attorney, but is now working out […]
9 months ago
FILE - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during a news conference Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (A...

Recreational marijuana and 21 other citizen initiatives fail to qualify for Florida’s 2026 ballot

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A proposed amendment to Florida’s constitution that would allow recreational marijuana use for adults is one of 22 citizen initiatives that failed to qualify for the 2026 ballot, state officials said. The Florida Department of State announced Sunday that none of the active proposed constitutional amendments by initiative petition met the […]
9 months ago

Editorial Roundup: United States

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: ___ The Washington Post says Trump is focused on foreign policy while voters worry about cost of living President Donald Trump kicked off his midterm campaign travel this week with a bipolar economy: huge growth but plummeting consumer confidence. How he navigates that tension will […]
9 months ago
Tennessee National Guard Specialist Taylor Osteen, left, holds a chainsaw as he takes a break from ...

School closures in the Southeast stretch into 2nd week after latest winter storm

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — School systems across the Southeast are dealing with weather-related school closures for the second week in a row, leading some to try remote learning while many prepare to add more school days to make up for lost instructional time. A series of winter storms have left tens of thousands without electricity […]
9 months ago
FILE - Flags fly at the Reynolds Coliseum at North Carolina State University, Feb. 19, 2022, in Ral...

17 former NC State athletes join lawsuit alleging abuse by ex-head trainer, bringing total to 31

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Seventeen additional former N.C. State male athletes have joined a state lawsuit alleging sexual abuse under the guise of treatment and harassment by the Wolfpack’s former director of sports medicine, pushing the total number to 31 in a case that began with a federal lawsuit from a single athlete more than […]
9 months ago

Southern US enters a second week of biting cold and prolonged outages

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Four homes blasted by icy winds on an eroding North Carolina island collapsed into the ocean and Florida farmers anxiously waited for frozen plants to thaw Monday as people across the eastern half of the United States coped with more than a week of sub-freezing weather. Thermometers hovered below freezing throughout […]
9 months ago

One person is arrested after a suspected biolab is found at Las Vegas home

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Federal and local authorities were investigating Monday after a suspected biological laboratory was found inside a home in Las Vegas over the weekend. One person was arrested. SWAT officers served a search warrant on Saturday after receiving a tip that a biolab was located at the residence on the city’s east […]
9 months ago
FILE - Blades and turbine bases for offshore wind sit at a staging area at New London State Pier, J...

Yet another judge rejects Trump effort to block offshore wind, saying NY project can resume

A federal judge on Monday ruled that an offshore wind project aimed at powering 600,000 New York homes can resume construction, the fifth such project put back on track after the Trump administration halted them in December. In clearing the way for Sunrise Wind to proceed, Judge Royce Lamberth found that the government had not […]
9 months ago
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. listens as President Donald Trump speaks ...

HHS unveils program to address homelessness and addiction, part of a set of new initiatives

NEW YORK (AP) — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday announced that his department will devote $100 million toward a pilot program addressing homelessness and substance abuse in eight cities, building on an executive order President Donald Trump signed last week related to addiction. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will […]
9 months ago
Congregants worship at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, i...

Hundreds pack an Ohio church to back extending protected status for Haitians in the US

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — In a church crowded to overcapacity, two-dozen faith leaders and their audience of hundreds sang and prayed together in unity Monday as a sign of support for Haitian migrants, some of whom fear their protected status in the United States may be ended this week. Religious leaders representing congregations from across […]
9 months ago
Penny, a doberman pinscher, gets a kiss from handler Andy Linton after winning Best in Show of the ...

Photos of the Westminster dog show

NEW YORK (AP) — The Westminster Kennel Club hosted its 150th annual show. This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
9 months ago

Labor Department delays January jobs report because of partial shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Labor Department, citing the partial federal government shutdown, said Monday that it will not release the January jobs report on Friday as scheduled. In a statement, the department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said: “Once funding is restored, BLS will resume normal operations and notify the public of any changes to the […]
9 months ago
FILE - Former President Bill Clinton, left, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton listen as...

GOP chair rejects Clintons’ offer in Epstein investigation ahead of contempt of Congress vote

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican chair of a House Committee rejected an offer Monday from former President Bill Clinton to conduct a transcribed interview for a House investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, pushing the threat to hold both Clintons in contempt of Congress closer towards a vote. The impasse comes as the full […]
9 months ago
A document that was included in the U.S. Department of Justice release of the Jeffrey Epstein files...

Justice Department says it’s taken down Epstein-related files that may have had victim information

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department said Monday that it had taken down several thousand documents and “media” that may have inadvertently included victim-identifying information since it began releasing the latest batch of documents related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein on Friday. It blamed the release of sensitive information that drew an outcry from victims […]
9 months ago

Coast Guard identifies victims and begins investigating fishing boat’s sinking that killed 7

BOSTON (AP) — U.S. Coast Guard officials said Monday they have identified all seven victims who perished when a commercial fishing vessel sank in the frigid waters off Gloucester, Massachusetts, with no mayday call. The Coast Guard on Saturday suspended its search for those aboard the Lily Jean. Authorities had launched a search and rescue […]
9 months ago
In this photo released by U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-TX, Adrian Conejo Arias and his son, five-yea...

Father of 5-year-old detained in Minnesota disputes government assertion he abandoned the boy

The father of a 5-year-old boy who was detained by immigration officers and held at an federal facility in Texas denied government accounts Monday that he abandoned his son as the pair returned to Minnesota. Adrian Conejo Arias, who is originally from Ecudador, told ABC News that he loves his son, Liam, and would never […]
9 months ago
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Geoff Duncan speaks to a group, Jan. 21, 2026, in Marietta, Ga. ...

Geoff Duncan broke with Trump. The former Republican wants Democrats to make him Georgia’s governor

MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) — Under the fluorescent lights of an American Legion hall near Atlanta, in front of more than a dozen Democratic activists, Geoff Duncan apologized for all the things that he did as a Republican. He regrets opposing gun control. He’s sorry for fighting the expansion of Georgia’s Medicaid program. And he’s most […]
9 months ago
FILE - A Planned Parenthood sign is displayed outside a facility in Austin, Texas, Monday, Aug. 14,...

Planned Parenthood drops lawsuit against Trump administration’s Medicaid cuts

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Planned Parenthood has moved to drop its legal challenge against the Trump administration for cutting off Medicaid funding to its abortion providers across the U.S. Since July, Planned Parenthood’s attorneys have been fighting to block part of President Donald Trump’s tax bill that they argued unfairly targeted their clinics and would […]
9 months ago

San Francisco Bay Area rattled by series of early morning earthquakes

SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — A series of small earthquakes rattled the San Francisco Bay Area on Monday morning in an area that has had a lot of seismic activity in recent months. The most powerful of Monday’s quakes was a magnitude 4.2 that struck shortly after 7 a.m. just south of San Ramon, according […]
9 months ago