National News

Michigan led on safe water after Flint, but mobile home parks are stubborn rough spot

After the Flint water crisis, Michigan became a national leader on safe drinking water, requiring the removal of lead pipes and the reduction of harmful “forever chemicals” years before the federal government acted. But the state has a blind spot when it comes to the hundreds of thousands of people who live in its mobile […]
1 year ago

Jared Allen’s 136 sacks and fun-loving cowboy style for Chiefs, Vikings have him Hall of Fame-bound

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jared Allen will be wearing a cowboy hat next weekend in Canton for his Hall of Fame induction, the signature apparel that inspired his celebratory calf-roping act after each sack and still serves as a fitting snapshot of his off-the-field life. Raised on a horse ranch in Northern California, Allen was audacious […]
1 year ago

As the ADA turns 35, groups fighting for disability rights could see their federal dollars slashed

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Nancy Jensen believes she’d still be living in an abusive group home if it wasn’t shut down in 2004 with the help of the Disability Rights Center of Kansas, which for decades has received federal money to look out for Americans with disabilities. But the flow of funding under the Trump […]
1 year ago

Parts of the Appalachian Trail are still damaged after Helene. Volunteers are fixing it by hand

UNICOI COUNTY, Tenn. (AP) — In a rugged patch of the Appalachian Trail in eastern Tennessee, volunteers size up a massive, gnarled tree lying on its side. Its tangled web of roots and dark brown soil, known as a root ball, is roughly the size of a large kiddie pool. The collection of volunteers and […]
1 year ago

Statehouses are the public’s houses, but the fight for potty parity continues

For female state lawmakers in Kentucky, choosing when to go to the bathroom has long required careful calculation. There are only two bathroom stalls for women on the third floor of the Kentucky Statehouse, where the House and Senate chambers are located. Female legislators — 41 of the 138 member Legislature — needing a reprieve […]
1 year ago

Lumbee tribe of North Carolina sees politics snarl recognition by Washington

Since the 1980s, the Lumbee Tribe has lobbied Congress to acknowledge it as a sovereign nation. There was renewed hope last year when both major party candidates in the presidential election promised to intervene on behalf of the Lumbee. In his first week in office, President Donald Trump appeared to be making good on his […]
1 year ago

A grenade is missing from the scene of an explosion that killed 3 LA deputies

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A grenade is missing from the scene of an explosion that killed three Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies, Sheriff Robert Luna said Friday. The July 18 blast at a sheriff’s department training facility killed three experienced deputies on the arson and explosives team. The deputies were working on two grenades that […]
1 year ago

New York City police charge mother in the deaths of newborn twins found behind a building in 2020

NEW YORK (AP) — A 36-year-old woman was charged Friday in the deaths of newborn twins who were found behind a New York City apartment building nearly five years ago, police said. Stephanie Castillo, identified as the boys’ mother, was arrested at a homeless shelter in the Bronx, police said. She is charged with murder […]
1 year ago

With Columbia as a model, White House seeks fines in potential deals with Harvard and others

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is pursuing heavy fines from Harvard and other universities as part of potential settlements to end investigations into campus antisemitism, using the deal it struck with Columbia University as a template, according to an administration official familiar with the matter. Fines have become a staple of proposed deals in […]
1 year ago

Southwest flight headed to Las Vegas takes dramatic plunge shortly after leaving Southern California

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Two Southwest Airlines flight attendants are being treated for injuries after a passenger jet heading to Las Vegas from Southern California took a dramatic plunge shortly after takeoff Friday, the airline and passengers said. The crew of Southwest flight 1496 responded to two air alerts that required the pilot to climb […]
1 year ago

Correction: US-Virginia-Wife-Killing story

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — In a story published Jul. 25, 2025, about an IRS agent charged with killing his wife and another man, The Associated Press erroneously reported that a deputy chief from the Fairfax County police department resigned. Deputy Chief Patrick Brusch retired.
1 year ago

Judge dismisses Trump administration lawsuit against Chicago ‘sanctuary’ laws

CHICAGO (AP) — A judge in Illinois dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit Friday that sought to disrupt limits Chicago imposes on cooperation between federal immigration agents and local police. The lawsuit, filed in February, alleged that so-called sanctuary laws in the nation’s third-largest city “thwart” federal efforts to enforce immigration laws. It argued that local […]
1 year ago

A look at the status of US executions in 2025

Twenty-six men have died by court-ordered execution so far this year in the U.S., and 10 other people are scheduled to be put to death in seven states during the remainder of 2025. The next scheduled execution is in Florida, when a man who killed his wife and two children is set to be put […]
1 year ago

Democrats and advocates criticize Trump’s executive order on homelessness

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Leading Democrats and advocates for the homeless are criticizing an executive order President Donald Trump signed this week aimed at removing homeless people from the streets, possibly by committing them for mental health or drug treatment without their consent. Trump directed some of his Cabinet heads to prioritize funding to cities […]
1 year ago

Judge stays execution to evaluate if Alabama inmate is competent

A state judge has stayed an upcoming execution in Alabama to evaluate whether the man is too mentally ill to be put to death. The judge temporarily stayed the Aug. 21 execution of David Lee Roberts until it can be established whether he has a “rational understanding” of what is to happen to him. “Or […]
1 year ago

Judge blocks Trump’s birthright citizenship restrictions in third ruling since high court decision

BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from ending birthright citizenship for the children of parents who are in the U.S. illegally, issuing the third court ruling blocking the birthright order nationwide since a key Supreme Court decision in June. U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin, joining another district court as […]
1 year ago

House ethics panel tells Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to pay more for Met Gala attendance

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee on Friday told Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to make additional payments for her attendance at the 2021 Met Fashion Gala, where she drew attention for wearing a dress adorned with the message “tax the rich.” The ethics panel, which found the New York Democrat had underpaid for some of […]
1 year ago

Chuck E. Cheese employee arrested in iconic mouse mask for using stolen credit card, police say

TALLAHASSEE (AP) — Wearing the furry mask of the iconic Chuck E. Cheese mascot mouse, an employee of the popular children’s birthday destination was arrested for using a stolen credit card at one of the chain’s Florida restaurants, police said. “Chuck E, come with me Chuck E,” a police officer in Tallahassee told the suspect, […]
1 year ago

Parents were given their deceased son’s brain by funeral homes, lawsuit alleges

Two funeral homes allegedly gave grieving parents their deceased son’s brain in a box, which began to smell, leaked into their car and got on the father’s hands when he moved it, according to an updated lawsuit filed this week. The father, Lawrence Butler, said the discovery was overwhelming at a news conference Thursday, leaving […]
1 year ago

Famed Wanamaker Organ will again be heard by the public in fall art series in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — One of the most famous organs in the world, which graces one of Philadelphia’s favorite public spaces, was at risk of going quiet this spring when Macy’s closed up shop in the city’s storied Wanamaker Building. But countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, the avant-garde opera star hired last year to run Opera Philadelphia, […]
1 year ago

Takeaways: US military enters gray area with expanded role at Mexico-US border

NOGALES, Ariz. (AP) — President Donald Trump has thrust the military into a central role in deterring illegal crossings into the U.S. at its southern border. The strategy is playing out in Arizona’s border community of Nogales, where an Army scout used an optical scope this week to find a man atop the border wall […]
1 year ago

Trump administration investigates Oregon’s transgender athlete policies

The Trump administration said Friday it’s investigating the Oregon Department of Education after receiving a complaint from a conservative non-profit group alleging the state was violating civil rights law by allowing transgender girls to compete on girls sports teams. It’s the latest escalation in the Republican administration’s effort to bar transgender athletes from women’s sports […]
1 year ago

In Epstein furor, Trump struggles to shake off a controversy his allies once stoked

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite the sun bearing down on him and the sweat beading across his face, President Donald Trump still lingered with reporters lined up outside the White House on Friday. He was leaving on a trip to Scotland, where he would visit his golf courses, and he wanted to talk about how his […]
1 year ago

Education Department says it will release billions in remaining withheld grant money for schools

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is releasing billions of dollars in grants to schools for adult literacy, English language instruction and other programs, the Education Department said Friday. President Donald Trump’s administration had withheld $6 billion in funding on July 1 as part of a review to ensure spending aligned with the White House’s […]
1 year ago