National News

Trading a suit for boots and a hard hat: Behind the scenes at the Federal Reserve, mid-renovation

WASHINGTON (AP) — Typically I wear a suit and tie when visiting the Federal Reserve, one of the most powerful financial institutions in the world. But on Thursday, it was jeans, boots and a hard hat. I was not at the Fed for the usual discussions of interest rates, inflation and unemployment, but for something […]
1 year ago

What to know about the man charged with trying to assassinate Trump in Florida

A man charged with attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump in South Florida last year was back in court this week, asking a federal judge to let him represent himself, as prosecutors tried to block him from introducing irrelevant evidence during trial. Ryan Routh’s court-appointed federal public defenders on Thursday asked to be taken off […]
1 year ago

Early Hawaiian petroglyphs on a beach are visible again with changing tides and shifting sands

WAIANAE, Hawaii (AP) — Hawaiian petroglyphs dating back at least a half-millennium are visible on Oahu for the first time in years, thanks to seasonal ocean swells that peel away sand covering a panel of more than two dozen images of mostly human-looking stick figures. The petroglyphs are easy to spot during low tide when […]
1 year ago

Lori Vallow Daybell to be sentenced on Arizona convictions, signaling end to legal saga

PHOENIX (AP) — Lori Vallow Daybell, already serving life sentences in Idaho in the killings of her two youngest children and a romantic rival, will be sentenced Friday on two murder conspiracy convictions in Arizona, signaling an end to a winding legal saga for the mother with doomsday religious beliefs who claimed people in her […]
1 year ago

Here’s why prosecutors didn’t require a full confession from Bryan Kohberger

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — One victim’s aunt urged the killer to call her and answer her questions. Another’s sister demanded to know her sibling’s last words. Even the White House weighed in, saying President Donald Trump “would have forced this monster to publicly explain why he chose to steal these innocent souls.” Instead, Bryan Kohberger […]
1 year ago

Prosecutor who handled high-profile Capitol riot cases sues government over his firing

Michael Gordon prosecuted some of the most notorious members of the mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His latest case to make is proving that the Justice Department fired him because he was good at his job. Gordon sued the federal government Thursday, claiming his June 27 termination was politically motivated […]
1 year ago

US and Mexico sign accord to combat Tijuana River sewage flowing across the border

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The United States and Mexico have signed an agreement outlining specific steps and a new timetable to clean up the longstanding problem of the Tijuana River pouring sewage across the border and polluting California beaches, officials from both countries announced Thursday. Billions of gallons of sewage and toxic chemicals from Tijuana […]
1 year ago

Flash flooding prompts rescues in New Mexico mountain village

RUIDOSO, N.M. (AP) — Another afternoon of heavy rainfall Thursday prompted flash flooding in the mountain village of Ruidoso, forcing the closure of roads and the rescue of at least five people who were trapped by the rushing water. The southern New Mexico community has been reeling this summer, with afternoon thunderstorms bringing more rain […]
1 year ago

Fed chair tells Trump he has his facts wrong on central bank’s renovation costs

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump rattled off a number to shame Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell about the renovation costs of the Fed’s headquarters — and America’s central banker dared to correct him. Live on video. The exchange occurred Thursday in the plywood-sheathed headquarters of the Fed that are still under construction. Both men […]
1 year ago

Federal regulators approve Paramount’s $8 billion deal with Skydance, capping months of turmoil

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal regulators on Thursday approved Paramount’s $8 billion merger with Skydance, clearing the way to close a deal that combined Hollywood glitz with political intrigue. The stamp of approval from the Federal Communications Commission comes after months of turmoil revolving around President Donald Trump’s legal battle with “60 Minutes,” the crown […]
1 year ago

Wrongfully imprisoned Maryland man who spent 32 years behind bars sues former authorities

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A Maryland man who was wrongly imprisoned for 32 years, including a decade on death row, for two killings he did not commit is suing former law enforcement officials in a lawsuit announced Thursday, though four of the five people named as defendants are deceased. John Huffington was pardoned by then-Gov. […]
1 year ago

The White House wants more states to redraw House maps to help GOP. Democrats are readying a fight

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is eyeing redistricting efforts beyond Texas to help Republicans hold the U.S. House in 2026 — and Democrats are preparing to escalate in response, with one senator vowing to go “nuclear” if needed. What’s shaping up to be a multi-state redistricting battle could mark the opening round for House […]
1 year ago

Democrats slam rush to redraw US House maps at first hearing in Texas

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Democrats on Thursday laid into Republicans for racing to create more winnable U.S. House seats before the 2026 elections in the first public hearing by lawmakers as they undertake a rare summer redrawing of the congressional maps at the urging of President Donald Trump. No proposals of what Texas’ new […]
1 year ago

Hulk Hogan’s death marks the end of an era that defined larger-than-life personalities of the 1980s

Hulk Hogan was billed as “The Immortal One” and the former WWE champion seemed to believe it as he bellowed in his red-and-yellow attire throughout sold-out arenas around the world in the 1980s and into this century that Hulkamania would live forever. Hogan was the first wrestler to host “Saturday Night Live,” the only wrestler […]
1 year ago

Judge sanctions lawyers defending Alabama’s prison system for using fake ChatGPT cases in filings

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A federal judge reprimanded lawyers with a high-priced firm defending Alabama’s prison system for using ChatGPT to write court filings with “completely made up” case citations. U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco publicly reprimanded three lawyers with Butler Snow, the law firm hired to defend Alabama and other jurisdictions in lawsuits against […]
1 year ago

Trump administration sues New York City over ‘sanctuary city’ policies

NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday sued New York City over its “sanctuary city” policies, arguing they are obstructing the government from enforcing immigration law and contributed to the recent shooting of an off-duty U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer. The federal lawsuit is the latest in a series of suits brought […]
1 year ago

Tennessee sets US House special election as candidates of both major parties line up

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A December special election in Tennessee will take place to fill an opening left by Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Green’s retirement, putting the focus on a district that has reliably favored the GOP in recent elections but includes a chunk of Democratic-voting Nashville. State officials on Thursday announced that the primary […]
1 year ago

Trump and Hulk Hogan forged a decadeslong bond based on wrestling, reality stardom and politics

WASHINGTON (AP) — One was a businessman turned reality TV star twice elected president. The other was a professional wrestler who became politically active later in life. Donald Trump and Hulk Hogan’s paths first crossed at a late 1980s wrestling event at one of Trump’s Atlantic City, New Jersey, hotels, kicking off a more than […]
1 year ago

Trump administration appeals to Supreme Court to allow $783 million research-funding cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to allow it to cut hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of research funding in its push to roll back federal diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. The Justice Department argued a federal judge in Massachusetts was wrong to block the National Institutes of […]
1 year ago

Parents seeking religious exemptions to school vaccines win reprieve in a West Virginia county

A West Virginia judge on Thursday allowed the children of three families in one county to attend school this fall without required vaccinations, the latest move in a showdown between Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey and the state Board of Education. Raleigh County Circuit Judge Michael Froble issued a preliminary injunction less than a month before […]
1 year ago

Trump signs executive order seeking to clarify college athletes’ employment status

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order mandating that federal authorities clarify whether college athletes can be considered employees of the schools they play for — attempting to create clearer national standards for the NCAA’s name image and likeness program. The move comes amid a dramatic increase in the money […]
1 year ago

Appeals court says California law requiring background checks for ammunition is unconstitutional

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A voter-backed California law requiring background checks for people who buy bullets is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. In upholding a 2024 ruling by a lower court, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that the state law violates the Second Amendment. Voters passed the law in 2016 and […]
1 year ago

How Trump could use a building renovation to oust Fed Chair Powell

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump may have found a way to achieve his goal of removing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell: by accusing him of mismanaging the U.S. central bank’s $2.5 billion building renovation project. The push comes after a monthslong campaign by Trump to try to rid himself of the politically independent central […]
1 year ago

The Environmental Protection Agency wants to bring back the weed killer dicamba

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed allowing the weed killer dicamba for genetically engineered soybeans and cotton, two crops that are grown extensively in the United States. This week’s recommendation comes after the first Trump administration made the same move, only to have courts block it in 2020 and 2024. This is the first year […]
1 year ago