National News

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

A former Georgia deputy gets federal prison for beating a Black man in a jail cell

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A former Georgia sheriff’s deputy has been sentenced to 16 months in federal prison for repeatedly punching a Black detainee whose beating by guards was recorded by a jail security camera nearly three years ago. A U.S. District Court judge sentenced 27-year-old Ryan Biegel on Thursday. The former Camden County deputy […]
1 year ago

Trump wants to play global peacemaker. Derailed Gaza ceasefire shows how daunting that ambition is

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States cutting short Gaza ceasefire talks this week plunges one of President Donald Trump’s pushes to solve global conflicts into new uncertainty. The derailing of talks to solve the 21-month Israel-Hamas war is the latest blow to Trump as several of his efforts to broker agreements for fraught conflicts and […]
1 year ago

AP PHOTOS: A look back at the White House Rose Garden as Trump’s paved makeover nears completion

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s paved makeover of the White House’s Rose Garden appears to be nearly finished. The garden’s previously grassy lawn was fully covered by pavement as construction crews put the final touches on Trump’s project Friday. The last rows of pavers were put in place as workers taped off their edges. […]
1 year ago

PHOTO COLLECTION: The U.S. Postal Service at 250

This is a photo collection curated by AP photo editors.
1 year ago

Longtime lawmaker shapes the debate as Arizona grapples with dwindling water supplies

PHOENIX (AP) — Throughout two decades marked by drought, climate change and growing demand for water, Arizona’s leaders have fiercely debated an increasingly urgent problem: how to manage dwindling water supplies in an arid state. At the crossroads sits Rep. Gail Griffin, a savvy and quietly assertive lawmaker who has for years used her status […]
1 year ago

Hulk Hogan’s death resurfaces painful contradictions for Black wrestling fans

One of Kazeem Famuyide’s earliest memories is sitting on his father’s lap watching Hulk Hogan wrestle in the 1988 Survivor Series. His love of Hogan in the ring became inextricable from what would become a lifelong obsession with the sport — including a yearlong role touring the country and writing scripts for WWE’s top talent. […]
1 year ago

From Benjamin Franklin to Pony Express to anthrax: How the US Postal Service shaped a nation

The one government agency that still reaches nearly every American daily — undeterred by rain, sleet, snow or even gloom of night — turns 250 on Saturday. Established in 1775, when the Second Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin as postmaster general, the postal service predates the United States itself. It was launched nearly a year […]
1 year ago

1 dead, 1 wounded, suspect at large in University of New Mexico dorm shooting

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — One person was fatally shot and another was wounded early Friday at the University of New New Mexico in Albuquerque, where authorities said the suspect remains at large. They shut down the campus and told students to shelter in place. Gunshots were fired at the Casas del Rio dormitory complex, the […]
1 year ago

PHOTO ESSAY: Many Californians lack safe tap water and don’t trust cleanup efforts

THERMAL, Calif. (AP) — Agustin and Ricarda Toledo loaded eight empty 5-gallon jugs onto their truck and drove to a water store some 14 miles from their Southern California home, just as they’ve done almost weekly for years. The couple, originally from Mexico, planned to make dozens of chicken tamales for their five children and […]
1 year ago

The Latest: Trump leaves for Scotland to inaugurate a new golf course in Aberdeenshire

President Donald Trump will travel to Scotland on Friday as his family’s business prepares for the Aug. 13 opening of a new golf course in Aberdeenshire billed as “the greatest 36 holes in golf.” While there, Trump will talk trade with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a meeting he’s said will take place at “probably […]
1 year ago

Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez becomes the first Democrat to enter the 2026 governor race

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Democratic Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, a former emergency room nurse, announced Friday that she is running for governor, the day after the incumbent decided against seeking a third term. Rodriguez is the first Democrat to officially enter the 2026 race. Several others are considering running after Gov. Tony Evers said […]
1 year ago