National News

FILE - A pharmacist gives a patient a flu shot in Miami on Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Daniel Kozin, F...

US flu activity fell for a second week. But experts worry the season is far from over

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. flu season appears to be waning with two straight weeks of decline in measures of flu activity, according to the latest government data released Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted data — for flu activity through last week — that showed a big drop in flu […]
10 months ago

Virginia lawmakers back redrawing congressional maps, paving the way for a voter referendum

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia voters will decide whether to back a redrawn district map that favors Democrats in the tit-for-tat battle for the U.S. House after the left-leaning Senate advanced a proposed constitutional amendment on Friday that supports mid-decade congressional redistricting. Such a congressional map has not been publicly released, though lawmakers say that […]
10 months ago
Striking nurses demonstrate outside Mt. Sinai Hospital, in New York, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP ...

Nurses restart contract talks with another major hospital system on 5th day of strike

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City nurses on strike say they’ve restarted contract talks with another one of the major hospital systems affected by the walkout that’s now in its fifth day. The New York State Nurses Association said Friday that its bargaining team began meetings with their counterparts at the three impacted Mount […]
10 months ago
CIA Director John Ratcliffe arrives at the U.S. Capitol Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Washington, to bri...

CIA director meets Venezuela’s acting president in Caracas

WASHINGTON (AP) — CIA Director John Ratcliffe has traveled to Venezuela to meet with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, becoming the highest-ranking Trump administration official to visit the South American country after the U.S. raid that captured former leader Nicolás Maduro. The meeting Thursday in Caracas, the capital, lasted two hours, according to a U.S. government […]
10 months ago
FILE - Governor Wanda Vázquez speaks at a press conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 21, 2020....

Trump plans to pardon ex-Puerto Rico Gov. Vázquez on campaign finance violation charge: official

WASHINGTON (AP) — A White House official says President Donald Trump plans to pardon former Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez. Vázquez pleaded guilty last August to a campaign finance violation in a federal case that authorities say also involved a former FBI agent and a Venezuelan banker. Her sentencing was set for later this month. […]
10 months ago
A protective coating of ice clings to a strawberry plant in sub-freezing temperatures at a field Fr...

Warming shelters for the homeless are open as Florida experiences its coldest weather this winter

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Tourists bundled up, warming shelters for the homeless opened and growers sprayed crops with water to create protective ice for their plants on Friday as sunny Florida shivered through the coldest weather that parts of the state have experienced in more than three years. The 19 degree Fahrenheit (minus 7.2 Celsius) […]
10 months ago
A person looks out of their vehicle as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents walk away, ...

A Liberian man released after his battering-ram arrest in Minneapolis is back in custody again

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (AP) — A Liberian man in Minnesota is back in custody Friday, his lawyer said, a day after a judge ordered him released because federal agents broke down his door to arrest him without a judicial warrant. The dramatic arrest of Garrison Gibson last weekend by armed immigration agents using a battering ram […]
10 months ago
President Donald Trump speaks during an event to promote investment in rural health care in the Eas...

Trump says he may punish countries with tariffs if they don’t back the US controlling Greenland

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he may punish countries with tariffs if they don’t back the U.S. controlling Greenland. Trump didn’t provide details Friday. Trump says the United States needs Greenland for national security. Trump for months has insisted that the U.S. should control Greenland, a self-governing territory that is part of the […]
10 months ago
FILE - The U.S. Department of Education building is seen in Washington, on Nov. 18, 2024. (AP Photo...

The Education Department is opening fewer sexual violence investigations as Trump dismantles it

WASHINGTON (AP) — Before President Donald Trump’s administration started dismantling the Education Department, the agency served as a powerful enforcer in cases of sexual violence at schools and universities. It brought the weight of the government against schools that mishandled sexual assault complaints involving students. That work is quickly fading away. The department’s Office for […]
10 months ago
Dr. Marty Makary, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, speaks during a press briefing ...

Legal questions swirl around FDA’s new expedited drug program, including who should give sign off

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration commissioner’s effort to drastically shorten the review of drugs favored by President Donald Trump’s administration is causing alarm across the agency, stoking worries that the plan may run afoul of legal, ethical and scientific standards long used to vet the safety and effectiveness of new medicines. Marty […]
10 months ago
In this undated handout photo provided by Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf in January 2026, a ...

Sharks are famous for fearsome teeth, but ocean acidification could make them weaker

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Sharks are the most feared predators in the sea, and their survival hinges on fearsome teeth that regrow throughout their lives. But changes in the ocean’s chemistry could put those weapons at risk. That is the takeaway from a study performed by a group of German scientists who tested the effects […]
10 months ago
FILE - President Donald Trump gestures to a chart as he speaks at Mount Airy Casino Resort, Dec. 9,...

Are Trump’s supporters getting what they want from his second term? Here’s what a new poll shows

NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly a year into his second term, President Donald Trump’s work on the economy hasn’t lived up to the expectations of many people in his own party, according to a new AP-NORC survey. The poll from a stunning level of turmoil at home and abroad. Just 16% of Republicans say Trump […]
10 months ago

US futures gain as 1st week of earnings season ends with markets near near records

U.S. futures are edging higher Friday as the first week of earnings season comes to a close with markets trading close to record levels. Futures for the S&P 500 added 0.2% while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were effectively flat. Nasdaq futures rose 0.5%. Oil prices rebounded around 1.5% after dropping sharply on […]
10 months ago
FILE - Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in...

Defendant in Charlie Kirk’s killing asks judge to disqualify prosecutors

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The 22-year-old Utah man charged with killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk is due back in court Friday as his attorneys seek to disqualify prosecutors in the case over an alleged conflict of interest. Tyler Robinson is charged with aggravated murder in Kirk’s Sept. 10 shooting on the Utah Valley University […]
10 months ago
Meta's Stanton Springs Data Center is seen Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Newton County, East of Atlant...

How the White House and governors want to fix AI-driven power shortages and price spikes

The White House and a bipartisan group of governors are pressuring the operator of the mid-Atlantic power grid to take urgent steps to boost energy supply and curb price hikes, holding a Friday event aimed at addressing a rising concern among voters about the enormous amount of power used for artificial intelligence ahead of elections […]
10 months ago
Anam Petit, a former Justice Department employee, poses for a portrait in the Robert and Arlene Kog...

Inside a year of firings that have shaken the Trump Justice Department: ‘A great deal of fear’

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michael Ben’Ary was driving one of his children to soccer practice on an October evening last year when he paused at a red light to check his work phone. He was in the middle of a counterterrorism prosecution so important that President Donald Trump highlighted it in his State of the Union […]
10 months ago
FILE - A poster showing the Trump Gold Card is seen as President Donald Trump signs executive order...

Trump isn’t waiting for future generations to name things after him. It’s happening now

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most American presidents aspire to the kind of greatness that prompts future generations to name important things in their honor. Donald Trump isn’t leaving it to future generations. As the first year of his second term wraps up, his administration and allies have put the president’s name on the U.S. Institute of […]
10 months ago
FILE - A voter leaves Albion Town hall after casting their ballot on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024, in...

Judge dismisses Trump administration lawsuit seeking detailed voter information from California

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit against California that sought detailed voting records and personal data on its 23 million registered voters, concluding that the government’s request was “unprecedented and illegal.” The Trump administration’s lawsuit, filed last year, contended that California and other states […]
10 months ago
Venezuela...
Associated Press

Venezuela’s Machado says she presented her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump during their meeting

Venezuelan leader María Corina Machado presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump at the White House, sparking global attention.
10 months ago
CORRECTS FROM A PROTESTER TO A PERSON - A person is detained by federal agents near the scene where...

Federal immigration agents filmed dragging a woman from her car in Minneapolis

A U.S. citizen on her way to a medical appointment in Minneapolis was dragged out of her car and detained by immigration officers, according to a statement released by the woman on Thursday, after a video of her arrest drew millions of views on social media. Aliya Rahman said she was brought to a detention […]
10 months ago
FILE - Employees sort vote-by-mail ballots from municipal elections on Election Day at the Miami-Da...

Senators worry that US Postal Service changes could disenfranchise voters who cast ballots by mail

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A group of Democratic U.S. senators sent a letter Thursday to the U.S. Postal Service, voicing concern that mail processing changes could affect postmark dates for mail-in ballots during an election year that will determine control of Congress. Updated agency policy says postmarks might not indicate the first day the Postal […]
10 months ago
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado is welcomed as she arrives for meetings in the of...

Photos show Venezuela caught between Machado’s diplomacy and Rodríguez’s rule

WASHINGTON (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado met with U.S. President Donald Trump, presenting him with her Nobel Peace Prize medal and praising his support for Venezuelan democracy, even as Trump has signaled a willingness to work with the country’s acting president. As Machado was in Washington, acting President Delcy Rodríguez delivered her […]
10 months ago

Ex-Sen. Kyrsten Sinema sued for allegedly breaking up bodyguard’s marriage

PHOENIX (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema had a romantic relationship with a member of her security detail that led to the breakup of the man’s marriage, his ex-wife alleges in a lawsuit seeking at least $75,000 from Sinema. Matthew and Heather Ammel had “a good and loving marriage” with “genuine love and affection” […]
10 months ago
FILE - President Donald Trump is presented with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize by FIFA President Gi...

US names major sporting events other than World Cup, Olympics exempt from Trump visa ban

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has identified a host of athletic competitions it classifies as “major sporting events” — aside from soccer’s 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games — that athletes and coaches will be allowed to travel to the U.S. to take part in despite a broad visa ban on nearly […]
10 months ago