National News

Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro speaks during a press conference in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, ...

Vessel struck by US military off Venezuela was heading back to shore, AP sources say

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military strike on what the Trump administration says was a drug-carrying speedboat from Venezuela came after the vessel had turned around and was heading back to shore, raising fresh questions from members of Congress demanding more information about the provocative attack. National security officials acknowledged during a closed briefing this […]
1 year ago

Son of billionaire Patriots owner Josh Kraft drops out of Boston mayor’s race against Michelle Wu

BOSTON (AP) — Josh Kraft, the son of the New England Patriots’ owner, announced Thursday he is dropping his bid to unseat Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, days after advancing to the November ballot. He announced the move on WCVB-TV after Kraft and Wu bested two challengers to advance during a preliminary election Tuesday. Despite spending […]
1 year ago

US Naval Academy is on lockdown following reports of threats

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — The United States Naval Academy in Maryland was on lockdown Thursday as law enforcement responded to reports of threats made to the military school, officials said. The academy in Annapolis was working with local law enforcement to respond to the reports of threats, Lt. Naweed Lemar, the spokesperson for the base […]
1 year ago

Appeals court allows Trump’s administration to block Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood

BOSTON (AP) — A U.S. appeals court panel on Thursday allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to block Medicaid fund to Planned Parenthood while legal challenges continue. A federal judge in July ruled Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide must continue to be reimbursed for Medicaid funding as the nation’s largest abortion provider fights Trump’s administration over efforts […]
1 year ago
A police officer walks near the scene of the shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University in ...

Charlie Kirk’s open-air debates made him a draw on college campuses. They also made him vulnerable

WASHINGTON (AP) — The same scene played out at campuses across the country. Charlie Kirk would grab a microphone, take a seat under a canopy — often in busy campus hubs — and invite debate from anyone who came along. His prompt: “Prove me wrong.” Kirk’s open and engaging approach veered from the well-worn tracks […]
1 year ago
FILE - Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, left, and his wife, Nadine Menendez, arrive...

Things to know about the bribery prosecution of ex-Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez

NEW YORK (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez is already in prison. His wife is headed there next. The onetime political power couple’s criminal prosecution culminated Thursday with a judge sentencing Nadine Menendez to 4½ years behind bars. Her punishment came three months after her husband, a New Jersey Democrat, started his 11-year prison […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the Wh...

Trump marking 9/11 by attending a New York Yankees game

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump was attending the New York Yankees game on Thursday night to mark the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, after honoring the memories of the victims at the Pentagon earlier in the day. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Trump was even expected to stop by the locker […]
1 year ago

State board confirms Landry as University of Florida’s interim president

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The board overseeing Florida’s public universities on Thursday confirmed Dr. Donald W. Landry as the interim president of the University of Florida, after the board rejected another candidate following conservative criticism. Landry, a physician and chair emeritus of the Columbia University Department of Medicine, took the helm at the school this […]
1 year ago
In this photo released by the Cape May Police Department N.J., a damaged Humpty Dumpty statue is se...

Humpty Dumpty caper at New Jersey mini-golf course sparks police investigation

CAPE MAY, N.J. (AP) — Humpty Dumpty took a big fall, and now police are hoping to crack the case. A playful, colorful statue of the nursery rhyme icon was forcibly removed from a structure at a miniature golf course in Cape May, New Jersey, on Sunday and dumped down the street. Local police say […]
1 year ago
FILE - The campus of Clark Atlanta University is seen April 21, 2019, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jeff Ma...

Historically Black colleges issue lockdown orders, cancel classes after receiving threats

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A series of reported threats toward historically Black colleges and universities across the U.S. on Thursday led to lockdown orders, canceled classes and heightened security. Authorities did not elaborate on the type of threats that were made and no injuries had been reported. Although lockdowns have since been lifted, in […]
1 year ago
Police barricades and tape is set up at Utah Valley University a day after Charlie Kirk was shot an...

2 initially detained in Charlie Kirk shooting threatened even after police cleared them

Two people who were detained and later released following the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk faced a number of threats and scrutiny even after police said they were not suspects, police said Thursday. “These individuals were not suspects. They were people of interest,” Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said. “They don’t […]
1 year ago
The Kentucky Supreme Court hears oral arguments at Centre College's Norton Center for the Arts in D...

Disputed charter school funding measure gets a pivotal hearing before the Kentucky Supreme Court

School choice resurfaced Thursday as a hotly debated issue in Kentucky, where the state’s highest court heard arguments in a bitter dispute over the constitutionality of a measure to publicly fund charter schools. The measure, known as House Bill 9, was enacted by the state’s GOP-dominated legislature in 2022 over Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto. […]
1 year ago
North Carolina state Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, left, speaks while House Speaker Dest...

NC lawmakers likely to propose tougher pretrial release laws after fatal stabbing

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s top legislative leaders said Thursday that they are aiming to advance a package of proposed laws in part designed to tighten pretrial release rules following the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee on a Charlotte commuter train that prompted national attention and calls for tougher-on-crime policies. More oversight of […]
1 year ago

Former exec of Mars candy subsidiary pleads guilty to stealing $28M from company

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — A former executive for a subsidiary of candymaker Mars Inc. pleaded guilty Thursday to fraud and tax charges in connection with his theft of $28 million from the company, federal prosecutors said. Paul Steed, 58, appeared in federal court in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He also agreed to pay $28.4 million in restitution […]
1 year ago

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp swears in his daughter as a state trooper

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has been protected by state troopers since he took office in 2019, and now he has a trooper in the family. Lucy Kemp, the middle of the governor’s three daughters, was one of 30 new troopers who joined the ranks of the Georgia State Patrol last week. The […]
1 year ago
FILE - Federal Reserve Board of Governors member Lisa Cook listens during an open meeting of the Bo...

Trump administration requests emergency ruling to remove Cook from Fed board

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has asked an appeals court to remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve’s board of governors by Monday, before the central bank’s next vote on interest rates. The request represents an extraordinary effort by the White House to shape the board before the Fed’s interest rate-setting committee meets next […]
1 year ago
FILE - South Florida head coach Jim Leavitt watches his team play Charleston Southern during a NCAA...

Domestic violence, theft charges dropped for former USF football coach Jim Leavitt

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Domestic violence and theft charges have been dropped for former University of South Florida football coach Jim Leavitt, according to court documents. Leavitt, 68, was arrested last month after what police called an argument with an ex-girlfriend at a St. Petersburg apartment complex. He was charged with felony grand theft, […]
1 year ago

Indictment charges church leaders with swindling millions in military benefits

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Leaders of a Georgia-based church with congregations in five states have been charged by federal prosecutors with swindling millions of dollars in veterans benefits from parishioners serving in the military. An indictment unsealed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Savannah charges House of Prayer Christian Churches of America founder Rony Denis […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump, right, and first lady Melania Trump attend a ceremony in the Pentagon court...

Judge issues nationwide block on Trump policy that cuts off Head Start for people in US illegally

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge on Thursday issued a nationwide block on a Trump administration policy that cuts off Head Start for people in the United States illegally.
1 year ago
Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver waits to speak against a proposed congressional redistricting ...

US Rep. Emanuel Cleaver faces off with Missouri lawmakers seeking to reshape his district

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Facing those seeking to oust him from office, Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver warned Missouri lawmakers on Thursday that a redistricting plan backed by President Donald Trump is reopening decades-old racial divisions in Kansas City. Cleaver flew from the nation’s Capitol to Missouri’s statehouse in what he acknowledged was a […]
1 year ago
FILE - People walk past a "vote" sign on the first day of early voting in the general election in M...

Appeals court upholds Florida law barring noncitizens from gathering voter petitions

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Provisions of a Florida law restricting the state’s process for getting citizens’ initiatives on the ballot can go into effect, a federal appeals court has decided. The decision issued Tuesday overrules a lower court’s order that blocked portions of the law from being enforced while the legal challenge brought by grassroots […]
1 year ago
Orem police monitor the campus at Utah Valley University a day after Charlie Kirk was shot and kill...

Utah, where Charlie Kirk was killed, has strong pro-gun laws

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot in a state that has permissive gun laws and allows firearms to be concealed or openly carried without a permit in most instances, experts said. Investigators said a high-powered, bolt-action rifle that might have been used in the attack was found hidden in a towel in a wooded […]
1 year ago
FILE - Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice head...

Maine principals fight DOJ request for student names in transgender athlete case

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A Maine principals’ group is fighting a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice that seeks the names of all students playing interscholastic sports in the state as the DOJ attempts to ban transgender athletes from participating. President Donald Trump’s administration sued Maine in April for not complying with an executive […]
1 year ago
Law enforcement and emergency personnel respond to a shooting at Evergreen High School in Evergreen...

Authorities say student who had been radicalized fired revolver at Colorado school, wounding 2

DENVER (AP) — A 16-year-old boy who had been radicalized by an “extremist network” fired a revolver multiple times at a suburban Denver high school, wounding two students, authorities said Thursday. Some students ran and others locked down during Wednesday’s shooting at Evergreen High School in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. One of the […]
1 year ago