National News

Searchers in helicopters and on horseback scour Texas flood debris for the missing

HUNT, Texas (AP) — As the search in Texas continued Wednesday for more than 160 people believed to be missing days after a destructive wall of water killed over 100 people, the full extent of the catastrophe had yet to be revealed as officials warned that unaccounted victims could still be found amid the massive […]
1 year ago
A currency trader watches monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOS...

Shares in Asia are mixed amid Trump’s new tariff deadlines

Shares were mixed in Asia on Wednesday, following a choppy trading day on Wall Street as the Trump administration pressed its campaign to win more favorable trade deals with nations around the globe. Japan’s Nikkei 225 is up 0.2% to 39,764. 02, while South Korea’s Kospi added 0.5% to 3,132.02 as Tokyo and Seoul are […]
1 year ago
FILE - Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, and Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi posses fo...

Trump’s tariffs may cast a pall over Rubio’s first official trip to Asia

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sweeping tariffs set to be imposed by President Donald Trump next month may cast a pall over his top diplomat’s first official trip to Asia this week — just as the U.S. seeks to boost relations with Indo-Pacific nations to counter China’s growing influence in the region. Trump on Monday sent notice […]
1 year ago
FILE - President Donald Trump colors during a visit with a group of children at the Nationwide Chil...

What Trump’s big tax law could mean for the youngest Americans

WASHINGTON (AP) — The impact of the massive spending bill that President Donald Trump signed into law on Independence Day is expected to filter down to infants and toddlers — a segment of the population that is particularly vulnerable to cuts to the federal social safety net. Many middle-class and wealthy families will see benefits […]
1 year ago

How the Know-Nothings, Free Soilers and other third parties shaped US politics

Elon Musk’s plan to create a new political party puts him in the company of a long line of business and political titans looking to upend the two-party system that has dominated U.S. politics since almost the beginning. From the Anti-Masonic Party in the early 1800s to last year’s ill-fated No Labels, nascent political parties […]
1 year ago
FILE - Residents watch as law enforcement search for a fugitive that escaped a prison in New Orlean...

Convicted murderer Derrick Groves eludes law enforcement as last New Orleans jail escapee on the run

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Nearly two months after 10 inmates escaped from a New Orleans jail by crawling through a hole behind a toilet, authorities have recaptured all but the man with the most violent rap sheet: Derrick Groves. Following the May 16 jailbreak, law enforcement tracked down three escapees within 24 hours and most […]
1 year ago
FILE - President Donald Trump speaks at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Sept. 1, 20...

Texas flooding, and politics around it, underscore the challenges Trump faces in replacing FEMA

Just weeks ago, President Donald Trump said he wanted to begin “phasing out” the Federal Emergency Management Agency after this hurricane season to “wean off of FEMA” and “bring it down to the state level.” But after months of promises to overhaul or eliminate the federal agency charged with responding to disasters, Trump and his […]
1 year ago
FILE - This frame grab from video, provided by the Mexican government, shows Ovidio Guzman Lopez be...

Son of ‘El Chapo’ expected to plead guilty to drug trafficking charges in Chicago

CHICAGO (AP) — A son of notorious Mexican drug kingpin “El Chapo” is expected to plead guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges at a Wednesday hearing. He would be the first of El Chapo’s sons facing similar charges in the U.S. to enter a plea deal. Prosecutors allege Ovidio Guzman Lopez and his brother, Joaquin […]
1 year ago
Protesters chant slogans while demonstrating against the closure of the trans youth clinic at Child...

Protesters rally against closure of largest gender-affirming care center for kids in the US

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Growing up, Sage Sol Pitchenik wanted to hide. “I hated my body,” the nonbinary 16-year-old said. “I hated looking at it.” When therapy didn’t help, Pitchenik, who uses the pronoun they, started going to the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, the country’s biggest public provider […]
1 year ago
Asif Ali poses for a portrait on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)...

Asian American, Pacific Islander comics are the main event in an LA comedy and cuisine festival

With the Belly Laughs Festival, an ambitious Asian American and Pacific Islander-centered comedy festival, the food is as important as the talent line-up. Every detail is intended to send a message of unabashed cultural pride. “It’s like we grew up kind of shying away and hiding our Asian-ness,” said Viv Wang, a volunteer festival producer […]
1 year ago
Lost items sit at a bridge as a volunteer cleans up debris on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, after a flash ...

Timeline raises questions over how Texas officials handled warnings before the deadly July 4 flood

Officials in Texas are facing mounting questions about whether they did enough to get people out of harm’s way before a flash flood swept down the Guadalupe River and killed more than 100 people, including 27 children and counselors at an all-girls Christian camp. More than 160 people are still believed to be missing in […]
1 year ago
In this undated photo provided by her daughter, Mandonna "Donna" Kashanian, 64, holds up a champagn...

Iranian mother released from ICE detention after Republican House Majority Leader intervenes

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An Iranian mother detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers has been released this week following advocacy from Republican House Majority Leader Steve Scalise. Mandonna “Donna” Kashanian, 64, was detained by ICE officers last month as she gardened in the yard of her New Orleans home. She had been living […]
1 year ago
This photo provided by the National Weather Service shows flooding in the Guadalupe River in Texas ...

A deadly 1987 flood scarred the same Texas county that is reeling through another disaster

Cindy Manley was a summer camp counselor in 1987 when a different devastating flood scarred the Texas Hill Country. The Heart O’ the Hills camp is on the Guadalupe River, where a massive search continues for more than 160 people who are believed to still be missing after catastrophic flooding over the July Fourth holiday. […]
1 year ago
As the monsoon cranks up in the southwestern U.S., a rainstorm moves across the plains near Rio Ran...

House swept away as flash flooding hits mountain village in New Mexico

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Floodwaters trapped people in their homes and cars Tuesday in a mountain village that is a popular summer retreat in southern New Mexico as monsoon rains triggered flash flooding and an entire house was swept downstream. Emergency crews carried out at least 85 swift water rescues in the Ruidoso area, […]
1 year ago
Damage is seen on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, near Hunt, Texas, after a flash flood swept through the ar...

Texas inspectors approved Camp Mystic’s disaster plan 2 days before deadly flood, records show

Texas inspectors signed off on Camp Mystic’s emergency planning just two days before catastrophic flooding killed more than two dozen people at the all-girls Christian summer camp, most of them children. The Department of State Health Services released records Tuesday showing the camp complied with a host of state regulations regarding “procedures to be implemented […]
1 year ago
FILE - A sign covers the broken back window of the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colo.,...

Funeral home owner accused of stashing decaying bodies expected to plead guilty in federal court

DENVER (AP) — A funeral home owner in Colorado accused of storing nearly 190 decomposing bodies in a room-temperature building and defrauding the federal government out of nearly $900,000 is expected to plead guilty in federal court, according to court documents filed Tuesday. Carie Hallford, who ran Return to Nature Funeral Home with her husband […]
1 year ago
A person carries a sign reading "Do Good. Do No Harm. Keep Falling In Love with Jesus" after it was...

Faith-based camps like those hit by Texas floods are rite of passage for many. They’re now grieving

Texas’ catastrophic flooding hit faith-based summer camps especially hard, and the heartbreak is sweeping across the country where similar camps mark a rite of passage and a crucial faith experience for millions of children and teens. “Camp is such a unique experience that you just instantly empathize,” said Rachael Botting of the tragedy that struck […]
1 year ago

Chinese man charged in Texas with stealing COVID-19 research from US colleges

HOUSTON (AP) — A Chinese national has been arrested on suspicion of hacking into several U.S. universities’ computer systems to steal COVID-19-related research, authorities announced on Tuesday. Xu Zewei is charged in a nine-count indictment in the Southern District of Texas for his alleged involvement in computer intrusions between February 2020 and June 2021. Another […]
1 year ago
FILE - Edward A. Caban, center, speaks after being sworn in as NYPD police commissioner outside New...

Ex-NYPD chiefs allege corruption and cronyism in lawsuits against Mayor Adams and his allies

NEW YORK (AP) — Four high-ranking former New York City police officials are accusing Mayor Eric Adams and his top deputies of doling out promotions to unqualified allies as part of a scheme that also involved alleged cash bribes paid to the ex-police commissioner. In separate lawsuits filed Monday, the former officials — including the […]
1 year ago
FILE - A U.S. Army Caisson team carries the casket of Army Capt. Stephanie Rader, during a full mil...

Army will end most of its ceremonial horse programs and adopt out the animals

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Army’s history is closely tied to its cavalry units, those soldiers who rode into battle on horseback. But the service announced Tuesday that it’s moving toward a future without the ceremonial horses and will put most of them up for adoption. The Army, however, will keep operating the Old Guard […]
1 year ago
Cranes and shipping containers are seen at a port in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Tuesday, July 8, 2025...

Trump’s trade blitz produces few deals but lots of uncertainty

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and his advisers promised a lightning round of global trade negotiations with dozens of countries back in April. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro predicted “90 deals in 90 days.’’ Administration officials declared that other countries were desperate to make concessions to avoid the massive import taxes – tariffs […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump, right, puts his hand on shoulder of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, center,...

Trump on past presidents: Ike was ‘underrated,’ FDR ‘amazing,’ Polk ‘sort of a real-estate guy’

WASHINGTON (AP) — Turns out Donald Trump gauges his esteem for presidential predecessors by how well their portraits fit into his White House redecorating scheme. Or sometimes how well the frames around those portraits do. “I’m a frame person,” Trump said Tuesday during a meeting with his Cabinet. “Sometimes I like frames more than I […]
1 year ago
People play cards on a sidewalk at MacArthur Park, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo...

Residents still shaken a day after federal authorities march through Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hector Velasquez was playing cards with friends at MacArthur Park in Los Angeles early Monday when a young man with a megaphone walked through announcing federal agents were on their way. Another man drove past in a car, shouting out the window, “Immigration is coming!” The people in Velasquez’s group who […]
1 year ago
Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson speaks during a news conference at the United States Courth...

Second defendant pleads guilty in Minnesota voter fraud case

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The second of two defendants from Nevada who were charged in Minnesota with conspiracy to commit voter registration fraud pleaded guilty Tuesday, federal prosecutors announced. Ronnie Williams, 58, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Laura Provinzino in St. Paul. Court records don’t say whether there was a formal plea agreement. “Free […]
1 year ago