National News

FILE - Environmental Protection Agency employees and their supporters take part in a national march...

EPA fires employees who publicly criticized agency policies under Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday fired at least eight employees who signed a letter criticizing the agency’s leadership under Administrator Lee Zeldin and President Donald Trump. “Following a thorough internal investigation, EPA supervisors made decisions on an individualized basis,” an EPA spokeswoman said Friday in a statement. The so-called declaration of […]
1 year ago

Late crime-busting sheriff Buford Pusser inspired Hollywood. Investigators say he killed his wife

A late Tennessee sheriff who inspired a Hollywood movie about a law enforcement officer who took on organized crime killed his wife in 1967 and led people to believe she was murdered by his enemies, authorities in Tennessee said Friday. The finding will likely shock many who grew up as Buford Pusser fans and watched […]
1 year ago
Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano, left, listens as President Donald Trump speaks during...

Social Security whistleblower who claims DOGE mishandled Americans’ sensitive data resigns from post

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Social Security official who has filed a whistleblower complaint alleging the Department of Government Efficiency officials mishandled Americans’ sensitive information says he’s resigning his post because of actions taken against him since making his complaint. Charles Borges, the agency’s chief data officer, alleged that more than 300 million Americans’ Social Security […]
1 year ago

Federal appeals court to decide whether Texas can give police broad powers to arrest migrants

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appeals court is set to decide whether a Texas law to give police broad powers to arrest migrants suspected of illegally entering the U.S. can take effect. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday vacated an earlier ruling by a three-judge panel that the law is unconstitutional, and […]
1 year ago
East High School's clocktower is seen in Denver on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Thomas Peiper...

Denver school district pushes back but hasn’t decided whether to change all-gender bathrooms

Denver school officials pushed back Friday against a U.S. Education Department finding that its all-gender bathrooms violate Title IX protections against sex-based discrimination, accusing the Trump administration of using that law to promote an “anti-trans agenda.” In a statement, Denver Public Schools said the department did not cite any statutes or legal cases to back […]
1 year ago
A bicyclist traverses the Rio Grande's dry riverbed in Albuquerque, N.M., on Thursday, Aug. 21, 202...

Western states seek to end long-running water dispute over dwindling Rio Grande

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A simmering feud over management of one of North America’s longest rivers reached a boiling point when the U.S. Supreme Court sent western states and the federal government back to the negotiating table last year. Now the battle over waters of the Rio Grande could be nearing resolution as New Mexico, […]
1 year ago

Tesla asks court to throw out big damage award in crash by arguing comments about Musk misled jury

NEW YORK (AP) — The car company run by Elon Musk asked a federal court Friday to dismiss massive damages awarded to victims of a deadly crash, arguing that their lawyers had misled the jury by improperly bringing up the billionaire during the trial. The filing in Miami federal court seeks to overturn the $243 […]
1 year ago

Utah Supreme Court blocks execution of prisoner with dementia who chose to die by firing squad

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The impending execution of a man by firing squad in Utah was blocked by the state’s Supreme Court on Friday after his attorneys argued he should be spared because he has dementia. Ralph Leroy Menzies, 67, was set to be executed Sept. 5 for abducting and killing Utah mother of […]
1 year ago
FILE - Members rally during a California Gig Workers Union demonstration on Oct. 12, 2022, in San F...

California lawmakers reach deal with Uber, Lyft that would allow drivers to unionize

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers have struck a deal with rideshare companies Uber and Lyft to allow drivers to join a union and bargain collectively for better wages and benefits. The agreement includes a bill for collective bargaining backed by the Service Employees International Union along with a measure […]
1 year ago
FILE - A Spirit Airlines 319 Airbus taxis at Manchester Boston Regional Airport, Friday, June 2, 20...

Spirit Airlines files for bankruptcy protection again

Budget carrier Spirit Airlines said Friday that it has filed for fresh bankruptcy protection months after emerging from a Chapter 11 reorganization. The no-frills airline said it intends to conduct business as normal during the restructuring process, meaning passengers can continue to book trips and use their tickets, credits and loyalty points. The company said […]
1 year ago
FILE - The Salesforce Tower and skyline are shown behind the gasoline price board at a gas station ...

California energy regulators pause efforts to penalize oil companies for high profits

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California energy regulators Friday put the brakes on plans requiring oil companies to pay a penalty if their profits climb too high, a temporary win for the fossil fuel industry two years after the governor declared the state had “finally beat big oil.” The postponement by the California Energy Commission until […]
1 year ago
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., listens during a town hall meeting on Friday, July 25, 2025, in Wasco, Ore....

Trump administration plans to remove nearly 700 unaccompanied migrant children, senator says

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is planning to remove nearly 700 Guatemalan children who had come to the U.S. without their parents, according to a letter sent Friday by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, and the Central American country said it was ready to take them in. The removals would violate the Office of […]
1 year ago

2 Kentucky deputies shot while serving warrant. Suspect then took his own life, authorities say

WALTON, Ky. (AP) — Two Kentucky sheriff’s deputies were shot by a man while serving a warrant at an apartment, and the man then took his own life, authorities said. The Boone County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that the deputies were in stable condition at a hospital Friday with multiple gunshot wounds. Both […]
1 year ago

Lawsuit challenges Hawaii’s tourist tax on cruise industry aimed at climate change consequences

HONOLULU (AP) — A lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Hawaii imposing a tourist tax to deal with climate change consequences seeks to stop officials from enforcing the new law on cruise ship passengers. In the nation’s first such levy to help cope with a warming planet, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green signed legislation in May that […]
1 year ago
FILE - Clouds hover over the entrance of the Florida State Prison in Starke, Fla., Aug. 3, 2023. (A...

Execution date set for Florida man who fatally stabbed married couple during 1990 robbery

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man who fatally stabbed a married couple during a robbery is set to be executed in Florida under a death warrant signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. The state already has put to death more people this year than ever before since the death penalty was restored nearly 50 […]
1 year ago
Rhonda Grayson, foreground, and Jeffrey Kennedy leave a Muscogee Nation office after being unable t...

Muscogee chief blocks tribal IDs for the descendants of Freedman amid review

OKMULGEE, OK (AP) — Black descendants of Freedmen who are seeking Muscogee Nation citizenship will have to wait for tribal IDs after Chief David Hill on Thursday blocked the tribe’s citizenship board from issuing them until leaders decide how to change the tribe’s constitution. The move comes weeks after the Muscogee Nation’s supreme court ruled […]
1 year ago

Appeals court blocks Trump administration from ending legal protections for 600,000 Venezuelans

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s plans to end protections for 600,000 people from Venezuela who have had permission to live and work in the United States, saying that plaintiffs are likely to win their claim that the Republican administration’s actions were unlawful. A three-judge panel of […]
1 year ago
In this photo provided by the Department of Health and Human Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., rig...

Trump’s new CDC chief: A Washington health insider with a libertarian streak

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has picked Jim O’Neill, a former investor and critic of health regulations serving under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to take control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, following a tumultuous week in which the agency’s director was forced out. O’Neill, Kennedy’s deputy at the Department […]
1 year ago
FILE - Student Marianna Torres, 11, center, cries as she evacuates Park Avenue Elementary School af...

Delta agrees to pay $79M to settle lawsuit after jetliner dumped fuel on schools

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Delta Air Lines has agreed to pay $79 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed in 2020 after one of its airplanes that was experiencing engine trouble dumped its fuel over schoolyards and densely populated neighborhoods near Los Angeles. The Delta jet had departed from Los Angeles to Shanghai on Jan. […]
1 year ago
Patrick Crowley, president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO, calls on the Trump administration to allow ...

Trump admin cancels $679 million for offshore wind projects as attacks on reeling industry continue

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Transportation Department on Friday canceled $679 million in federal funding for a dozen offshore wind projects, the latest attack by the Trump administration on the reeling U.S. offshore wind industry. Funding for projects in 11 states was rescinded, including $435 million for a floating wind farm in Northern California and $47 […]
1 year ago
A member of the West Virginia National Guard gazes up at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall ...

Judges, defense lawyers and grand jurors poke holes in cases from Trump’s DC federal intervention

WASHINGTON (AP) — A grand jury refused to indict a man who was captured on video hurling a sandwich at a federal agent. Prosecutors dropped another case after complaints that police illegally searched a man’s satchel and found a gun. Judges, too, have balked at keeping several defendants in jail, citing weak evidence and dubious […]
1 year ago
FILE - President Donald Trump holds up an executive order after signing it at an indoor Presidentia...

Trump administration tells states to remove references to ‘gender ideology’ from sex ed materials

President Donald Trump’s administration this week told 40 states to eliminate parts of lessons that focus on LGBTQ+ issues from federally funded sexual education materials or that they will lose funding. The move is the latest in a line of efforts since Trump returned to the White House in January to recognize people as only […]
1 year ago
FILE - Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer gives a policy speech at an event, April 9, 2025, in Washingt...

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer calls special election for state Senate seat that could split Michigan chamber

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called a special election Friday for a state Senate seat that has been vacant for nearly nine months, setting up a contest that could let Republicans hobble Whitmer’s agenda in the Democrat’s final year in office. The 35th Senate District has been unrepresented in the Legislature all […]
1 year ago

Sunblock, charcoal … and Powerball? Holiday weekend lottery drawing worth $1 billion

DETROIT (AP) — This could buy a lot of Labor Day weekend sunblock: Saturday’s Powerball jackpot is estimated at $1 billion, the sixth-largest prize in the game’s history. Powerball, which costs $2 per ticket, is played in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The jackpot has been growing […]
1 year ago