National News

Michael and Susan Dell pose for photographs Nov. 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II...

Michael and Susan Dell donate $6.25 billion to encourage families to claim ‘Trump Accounts’

NEW YORK (AP) — Billionaires Michael and Susan Dell pledged $6.25 billion Tuesday to provide 25 million American children under 10 an incentive to claim the new investment accounts for children created as part of President Donald Trump’s tax and spending legislation. The historic gift has little precedent, with few single charitable commitments in the […]
10 months ago
FILE - Wisconsin U.S. Senate candidate Mandela Barnes speaks at a rally Oct. 29, 2022, in Milwaukee...

Democrat Mandela Barnes, a former US Senate candidate, enters the Wisconsin governor’s race

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democrat Mandela Barnes, who served four years as Wisconsin’s lieutenant governor and narrowly lost a 2022 U.S. Senate bid, jumped into the battleground state’s open race for governor on Tuesday. Given his prominent name recognition and statewide funding network, Barnes enters the 2026 race as the presumptive front-runner in a crowded […]
10 months ago

A list of mass killings in the United States this year

The latest mass killing in the United States occurred Saturday night when three children ages 8, 9 and 14, and a 21-year-old adult were killed in a shooting at a child’s birthday party in California. Eleven people were also wounded at a Stockton banquet hall. This is the country’s 17th mass killing this year. The […]
10 months ago
Juan Espinoza, vice provost for enrollment management at Virginia Tech, poses for a photo in his of...

AI may be scoring your college essay. Welcome to the new era of admissions

Students applying to college know they can’t — or at least shouldn’t — use AI chatbots to write their essays and personal statements. So it might come as a surprise that some schools are now using artificial intelligence to read them. AI tools are now being incorporated into how student applications are screened and analyzed, […]
10 months ago

Northeast prepares for first major snowstorm of season

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Northeast was getting ready Tuesday for its first major snowstorm of the season, just as the Midwest began to escape snow and ice that snarled travel after the Thanksgiving holiday. Some parts of northern New England were expecting up to 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) of snow. A windy, potentially icy […]
10 months ago
Jersey City Mayor-elect James Solomon gestures during his speech at a watch party, Tuesday, Dec. 2,...

James Solomon is elected Jersey City mayor, turning away ex-NJ Gov. Jim McGreevey’s comeback bid

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — James Solomon was elected mayor of Jersey City on Tuesday, thwarting former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey’s bid for a political comeback more than two decades after a scandalous resignation. Addressing supporters who had gathered to watch returns and cheer him on, Solomon said: “Now the mission is clear, and […]
10 months ago
Republican congressional candidate Matt Van Epps, center, and his wife Meg Wrather, left, greet a p...

Tennessee voters make final call in House special election testing Trump’s power

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — President Donald Trump and Republicans will try to bounce back from recent losses around the country when Tennessee voters choose the next representative for the reliably conservative 7th U.S. House Congressional District on Tuesday. The special election, which was organized after Republican Rep. Mark Green resigned this summer, saw an unexpected […]
10 months ago
Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Criminal Court, Monday, Dec. 1, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yu...

Luigi Mangione due in court as fight continues over evidence in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing case

NEW YORK (AP) — Luigi Mangione is due back in court on Tuesday for the second day of a hearing in his bid to bar New York prosecutors from using evidence that they say links him to last year’s killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The pretrial hearing in Mangione’s state murder case kicked off […]
10 months ago
With flowers in the foreground, construction on the front of the U.S. Supreme Court continues Monda...

Abortion opponents coming before the Supreme Court in challenge to state investigation

WASHINGTON (AP) — A faith-based pregnancy center will come before the Supreme Court on Tuesday to challenge an investigation into whether it misled people to discourage abortions. The facilities often known as “crisis pregnancy centers” have been on the rise in the U.S., especially since the Supreme Court’s conservative majority overturned abortion as a nationwide […]
10 months ago
Bullet holes are shown where a mass shooting took place Saturday at a banquet hall in Stockton, Cal...

Mass killings in 2025 in the US hit the lowest level since 2006

A shooting last weekend at a children’s birthday party in California that left four dead was the 17th mass killing this year — the lowest number recorded since 2006, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University. Experts warn that the drop doesn’t necessarily mean safer […]
10 months ago

Editorial Roundup: United States

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: ___ Nov. 19 The Washington Post on the National Guard ambush Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24, were sworn in as National Guard members on Tuesday. The following day, they were ambushed by an Afghan refugee while on patrol near the White House. As […]
10 months ago
seattle mayor katie wilson...
Frank Sumrall

USA TODAY column warns Americans after Seattle, NYC elect ‘socialist’ mayors

Ingrid Jacques penned an opinion piece dubbed, "NYC, Seattle just chose socialist mayors. Wake up, America."
10 months ago
FILE - This Oct. 24, 2016 file photo shows dollar bills in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)...

5 Financial To-Dos Before the End of 2025

As 2025 winds down, here are some moves to help you finish the year strong financially. Morningstar’s director of personal finance and retirement planning, Christine Benz, discusses strategies. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Benefits of Rebalancing Your Portfolio Q: What are the benefits of portfolio rebalancing, and who most needs to […]
10 months ago
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during the 4th annual Northeast Indiana Defense Summit at Pur...

Outlets that reach millions denied access to rare Pentagon news briefings this week

Outlets that reach millions of news consumers are being denied access to rare briefings by Pentagon officials this week — sessions that are being held instead for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s hand-picked media organizations. It’s not as if there’s little to talk about, with both the Senate and House Armed Services committees opening investigations into […]
10 months ago
FILE - In this image taken from video provided by the 36th District Court in Michigan, Jacob Wohl, ...

2 conservative operatives get probation for robocalls to discourage Black Detroit voters in 2020

DETROIT (AP) — Two conservative political operatives were sentenced to probation Monday for a scheme to discourage Black Detroit voters from voting by mail in the 2020 presidential election, the last court hearing in a multistate effort to blast thousands of robocalls. Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman were accused of creating robocalls that warned people […]
10 months ago
Protestors opposed to mid-decade redistricting wave signs outside of Florida’s Capitol building i...

Gerrymandering is spreading across US states after Trump pushed for new congressional districts

A push to reshape congressional voting districts, initiated by President Donald Trump, is sweeping across states as political parties vie for an edge in next year’s elections. Trump is hoping to buck historical trends of the president’s party losing seats in midterm elections. Republican state officials have responded to his call by redrawing House districts […]
10 months ago
starbucks...
Associated Press

Starbucks to pay about $35M to NYC workers to settle claims it violated labor law

Starbucks will pay about $35 million to more than 15,000 New York City workers to settle claims it denied them stable schedules and arbitrarily cut their hours, city officials announced Monday.
10 months ago
FILE - Gerardo Santos lifts his son Xavier, 5, on his shoulders during a protest in reaction to imm...

Shooting of National Guard members prompts flurry of US immigration restrictions

WASHINGTON (AP) — Since last week’s shooting of two National Guard members in the nation’s capital by a suspect who is an Afghan national, the Trump administration announced a flurry of policies aimed at making it harder for some foreigners to enter or stay in the country. The administration said it was pausing asylum decisions, […]
10 months ago
Signs indicate a polling place at Miami City Hall, on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Miami...

GOP-led states settle lawsuit against federal government over checking citizenship status of voters

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Four Republican-led states agreed to settle lawsuits against the federal government over access to voters’ citizenship data, ending a dispute that began with the Biden administration in advance of the 2024 presidential election. Officials in Florida, Indiana, Iowa and Ohio entered the settlement with the Department of Homeland Security and […]
10 months ago
FILE - The Chow's Gymnastics & Dance Institute is seen Aug. 4, 2025, in West Des Moines, Iowa. (AP ...

USA Gymnastics and Olympic sports watchdog failed to stop coach’s sexual abuse, lawsuits allege

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Two gymnasts who say they were sexually abused at an elite academy in Iowa filed lawsuits Monday against the sport’s oversight bodies, alleging they failed to stop Sean Gardner from preying on girls despite repeated complaints about the coach’s behavior. The lawsuits allege USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Center for […]
10 months ago
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth arrives at a a pardoning ceremony for the national Thanksgiving t...

Experts explain what the law says about killing survivors of a boat strike

WASHINGTON (AP) — Leveling a second strike on the survivors of an initial attack on an alleged drug boat would have been a crime, legal experts say. It doesn’t matter whether the U.S. is in “armed conflict” with drug cartels as the Trump administration asserts. Such a fatal attack would have violated peacetime laws and […]
10 months ago
FILE - A Real ID sign is displayed as Travelers wait to go through security check point at O'Hare I...

US air travelers without REAL IDs will be charged a $45 fee

Air travelers in the U.S. without a REAL ID will be charged a $45 fee beginning in February, the Transportation Security Administration announced Monday. The updated ID has been required since May, but passengers without it have so far been allowed to clear security with additional screening and a warning. The Department of Homeland Security […]
10 months ago

White House says admiral ordered follow-on strike on alleged drug boat, insists attack was lawful

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House said Monday that a Navy admiral ordered a second strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea and insists that a September attack that has come under bipartisan scrutiny was lawful. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt offered a justification for the Sept. 2 strike after lawmakers […]
10 months ago
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., flanked by Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., right, speaks d...

Schumer says three of his New York offices were targeted with bomb threats

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Monday that three of his New York offices were targeted with emailed bomb threats from an email address alleging the “2020 election was rigged.” Schumer said in a statement that local law enforcement received bomb threats referencing his offices in Rochester, Binghamton and Long Island with […]
10 months ago