National News

Signage and security fencing warns of explosives along the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool ahead o...

Former Olympian indicted on felony charge in what Trump called Reflecting Pool vandalism

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former Olympian was indicted Thursday on a felony charge in what President Donald Trump has called vandalism of the Reflecting Pool. David Hearn, a former Olympic canoe racer, was indicted on a single count of property destruction in Washington, D.C. court. He previously told The Associated Press that he reached into […]
1 month ago
President Donald Trump arrives on the Freedom 250 train, Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in Medora, N.D., ...

Democrats accuse Trump-linked fundraisers of fraud over diverted donations for America’s anniversary

WASHINGTON (AP) — Consultants tied to President Donald Trump may have engaged in financial fraud, tricking donors who wanted to support the nation’s bipartisan 250th anniversary organizer into sending their money instead to a rival group set up by his administration, according to a report released Thursday by House Democrats. The report draws in part […]
1 month ago
Cape Verde supporters celebrate in cars on the streets after the World Cup Group H soccer match bet...

Massachusetts city with large Cape Verdean community sets curfew ahead of World Cup match

BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts city home to one of the nation’s largest Cape Verdean communities will impose a nighttime curfew ahead of Cape Verde’s World Cup match Friday after police said recent postgame celebrations were marred by shootings, stabbings and other violence, prompting city officials to request National Guard assistance. Brockton Mayor Moises Rodrigues […]
1 month ago
FILE - In this image from police body camera video released by the Martin County, Fla., Sheriff's O...

Tiger Woods’ hospital records will be handed over to prosecutors in Florida DUI case, judge rules

STUART, Fla. (AP) — Prosecutors are allowed to review medical records related to Tiger Woods ‘ March vehicle crash and subsequent arrest in Florida on suspicion of driving under the influence, a judge has ruled. Judge Darren Steele approved an agreement last week between Woods’ defense attorney and the State Attorney’s Office that allows prosecutors […]
1 month ago
Douglas DePodesta, special agent in charge of the Chicago Field Office, speaks with reporters at th...

Top FBI agent in Chicago abruptly leaving post after being pushed to retire, AP sources say

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the FBI’s Chicago field office is abruptly leaving his position, according to a resignation message he sent to colleagues and multiple people familiar with the situation who said he was told to retire. Douglas DePodesta has served as special agent in charge in Chicago, one of the FBI’s largest […]
1 month ago

Couple charged with felonies for Empire State Building climb-turned-proposal

NEW YORK (AP) — A skyscraper-scaling daredevil told police that he and his girlfriend climbed the Empire State Building’s antenna and unfurled a banner about love and peace because he wanted to “do something special” for their engagement, prosecutors said Thursday at the couple’s arraignment on felony reckless endangerment, burglary and other charges. The couple, […]
1 month ago
FILE - Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) skates in the third period of an NHL hockey ...

Alex Ovechkin returning for a 22nd NHL season after re-signing with the Capitals

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Alex Ovechkin is returning for a 22nd NHL season after re-signing with the Washington Capitals on Thursday. The league’s career goal-scoring record holder inked a deal with a $1 million salary and bonuses worth an additional $8 million. Ovechkin turns 41 in September. Ovechkin has 929 goals after scoring 32 last […]
1 month ago
FILE - A hot dog vendor plies his wares amid a large crowd that turned out at Candlestick Park in S...

The hot dog: We need to be frank about how German sausages became an American icon

Nineteenth-century Indiana passed some of the country’s toughest “blue laws” to protect Sunday’s rest and worship from alcohol and … hot dogs? But Indiana’s push was noteworthy for another reason: It produced the country’s earliest known use in print of the culinary term that now sits at the center of American culture. “Even the innocent […]
1 month ago
Madeline Capodilupo poses for a photo at a farmers market in Bedford, N.H., Tuesday, June 30, 2026....

‘Awesome.’ ‘Sad.’ ‘Let’s keep democracy going.’ Americans weigh in on state of a 250-year-old nation

WASHINGTON (AP) — Across the United States, many Americans are celebrating their country’s 250th birthday by closing their ears to all the partisan shouting. All the fingernails-on-chalkboard screeching out of Washington. All the clamor of social media agitprop. Instead, in varied ways, they are tuning into their own personal concepts of America the Beautiful. In […]
1 month ago
Mickelina Papotto, of Salem, Ore., left, and Lorie Odegaard, of Gaithersburg, Md., fan themselves w...

Finding freedom from the heat on July 4th will be a challenge in eastern US

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Heat as oppressive as British colonial rule is bearing down on the eastern U.S. heading into the long Fourth of July weekend, prompting some communities to cancel, postpone or otherwise alter their Independence Day plans. Dangerous, record-breaking heat will continue across much of the central and eastern U.S. through Friday and […]
1 month ago
A data center built by the Markley Group looms over a residential neighborhood in Lowell, Mass., on...

Heat adds to strains on areas with data centers, raising the temperature on AI debates

LOWELL, Mass. (AP) — Eileen Castle’s swimming pool, the only one for blocks around, was once a refuge for neighborhood children on hot summer days. But even as temperatures soared this week, Castle, 82, said she won’t be filling the pool — not with the data center behind her house buzzing with the sound of […]
1 month ago
The Supreme Court is seen Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)Credit:...

The Supreme Court tackled race, history and the law in fraught and reflective major rulings

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court just wrapped up a term that yielded significant rulings in cases involving race and discrimination that could have lasting effects on U.S. politics and society. Justices were at times bitterly divided — and critical of one another — in rulings that winnowed key provisions of a landmark voting rights […]
1 month ago
People attend a watch party for a World Cup soccer match between the United States and Bosnia Wedne...

Soccer fans are into this year’s World Cup, but the US still isn’t a soccer nation, new poll finds

WASHINGTON (AP) — This World Cup has given U.S. soccer fans plenty to cheer about — even if a new survey shows most Americans are still on the sidelines. New polling from Ipsos Sports, provided exclusively to The Associated Press, shows that the World Cup has excited soccer fans and piqued many Americans’ interest, even […]
1 month ago
A worker inspects a ballot at the L.A. County Ballot Processing Center during the California primar...

Goal of higher voter turnout remains elusive in California as changes have extended ballot counting

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California is finally nearing the end of the ballot counting from its June 2 primary, a tediously slow process that is largely the result of multiple changes over the years intended to boost turnout by making voting easier and more accessible. State data and experts who study voting trends suggest those […]
1 month ago
This photo provided by NASA shows Kieran Wilson, LINK’s principal investigator, and Hunter Robert...

Last-minute launch problem delays satellite rescue mission for NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A rush rescue mission to save a NASA space telescope remains grounded, this time because of a last-minute launch problem. Northrop Grumman’s rocket-launching plane took off from the Marshall Islands in the Pacific on Thursday, following weather delays all week. But an issue prevented the team from releasing the Pegasus […]
1 month ago
Bottles of medications sit on shelves at the Stormont Vail Retail Pharmacy in Topeka, Kan., Tuesday...

Trump administration proposes a rule it says could save Medicare patients $1.1 billion on drugs

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is proposing a new rule on Thursday to keep hospitals from charging markups on discounted drugs for Medicare patients and says that could save consumers $1.1 billion next year, according to estimates obtained by The Associated Press. The rule would apply to hospitals that serve low-income patients under what […]
1 month ago
President Donald Trump speaks alongside a red cap stating "America Is Back!" in the Oval Office of ...

Trump Accounts launch July 4, giving newborns $1,000. Here’s what to know

WASHINGTON (AP) — On Saturday, President Donald Trump’s administration plans to launch Trump Accounts, tying the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence to an effort to boost financial independence for American kids. Under the program, parents can open investment accounts for any child born during Trump’s second term and automatically receive […]
1 month ago
President Donald Trump arrives at the opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library on the...

The Latest: Ex-CIA Director seeks court order requiring records from investigations be preserved

Former CIA Director John Brennan sued the Trump administration Wednesday, demanding a court order that would require officials to preserve records from investigations he says are targeting him for “what amounts to phantom criminal conduct.” The lawsuit says the records would shed light on the motivations of government officials who are investigating Brennan. Meanwhile, President […]
1 month ago
FILE - Surveillance technology used by various law enforcement sit on a tower at the border wall, J...

Trump administration’s $46 billion ‘smart wall’ races ahead on the US-Mexico border

PHOENIX (AP) — For decades, all that separated the U.S. from Mexico was barbed wire. Now, after a massive infusion of cash from Congress, President Donald Trump’s administration is swiftly building what it has dubbed a “smart wall,” a combination of 30-foot-tall (9-meter-tall) steel fencing and an array of sophisticated technology like sensors, cameras and […]
1 month ago
This undated photo courtesy of the Gribbin family shows Lulu Gribbin, who lost her hand and part of...

Shark attack on Alabama teen inspires the start of a national alert system

Lulu Gribbin was 15 when she survived a shark attack off the coast of Florida. She lost her left hand, part of her right leg and almost her life. What she didn’t know when she entered the water on that day in 2024 was that another woman had been bitten by a shark 90 minutes […]
1 month ago

Trump and Republicans return to communist attacks against Democrats ahead of the midterm elections

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans are reviving a line of attack against Democrats heading into the midterm elections: They’re communists. In just the past week, Trump has issued dark warnings that members of the Democratic Party’s ascendant left are communists who want to “completely destroy the traditional American way of […]
1 month ago
FILE - The tanker Boracay that allegedly belongs to Russia's so-called shadow fleet, is seen Oct. 2...

Russia waged a drone campaign in Europe and likely launched drones from shadow ships, report says

Russia likely used shadow ships to launch drones over Europe that repeatedly disrupted civilian aviation, as it monitored military sites and tested the air defenses of NATO nations, according to a report published Thursday by the International Institute of Strategic Studies think tank. The report, which was shared before publication with The Associated Press, plotted […]
1 month ago
FILE - A copy of the satirical outlet The Onion is seen Nov. 14, 2024, in Little Rock, Ark. (AP Pho...

The Onion’s new parody of Alex Jones’ Infowars starts with $100,000 to Sandy Hook families

The satirical news site The Onion isn’t waiting to take possession of Infowars to launch a parody of Alex Jones ’ conspiracy platform. More than a year after first trying to buy Infowars, The Onion on Thursday will debut a send-up under its own website with plans to give some of the revenue to families […]
1 month ago
FILE - Portraits of a red-headed Thomas Jefferson, left, and John Dickinson, right, by by Charles W...

The Declaration’s forgotten (non)signer: John Dickinson’s missing 1776 signature haunts his legacy

NEW YORK (AP) — For a quarter century, Jane Calvert has been on a mission shared by few scholars of the Revolutionary War era. She has championed a founder mostly remembered, when remembered at all, as the man who wouldn’t sign the Declaration of Independence — the lawyer and statesman John Dickinson. “It has been […]
1 month ago