National News

FILE - The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott A...

The Latest: US Supreme Court to rule on birthright citizenship

The U.S. Supreme Court will issue decisions on the final six cases left on its docket for the summer, including those that are emergency appeals relating to U.S. President Donald Trump’s agenda. Cases on the court’s emergency docket are handled swiftly, and decisions often come without explanations of the justices’ reasoning. Decisions released today will […]
1 year ago
FILE - A shopper considers large-screen televisions on display in a Costco warehouse Oct. 3, 2024, ...

Key inflation gauge rose last month while Americans cut back on spending

WASHINGTON (AP) — A key inflation gauge moved higher in May in the latest sign that prices remain stubbornly elevated while Americans cut back on their spending. Prices rose 2.3% in May compared with a year ago, up from just 2.1% in April, the Commerce Department said Friday. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump speaks at an event to promote his domestic policy and budget agenda in the E...

The Latest: Key Medicaid provision in Trump’s bill found to violate Senate rules

The Senate parliamentarian has advised that a Medicaid provider tax overhaul central to President Donald Trump’s tax cut and spending bill doesn’t adhere to the chamber’s procedural rules, delivering a crucial blow as Republicans rush to finish the package this week. Republicans were counting on big cuts to Medicaid and other programs to offset trillions […]
1 year ago
This photo provided by his attorneys shows former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent Chad S...

Pardon applications are being carefully crafted with one man in mind: Donald Trump

ASHLAND, Ky. (AP) — Pounding away on a prison typewriter, Chad Scott seemed worlds apart from President Donald Trump. But when the disgraced narcotics agent wrote the White House seeking clemency for his corruption conviction, Scott sought to draw Trump’s attention to what they have in common. Both men had survived a bullet wound to […]
1 year ago

UN peacekeeping chief warns that conflict in Sudan is spilling into Central African Republic

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The conflict in Sudan is spilling across its southwestern border into Central African Republic, a country already battered by its own conflict with rebels, the United Nations peacekeeping chief warned Thursday. Undersecretary-General Jean-Pierre Lacroix told the U.N. Security Council that the attack that killed a U.N. peacekeeper near the country’s border […]
1 year ago

An 84-game season is among the changes coming to the NHL as part of the new labor deal

An 84-game season is coming to the NHL as part of an extension of the collective bargaining agreement, which is expected to be announced as soon as Friday before the first round of the draft. The league and the NHL Players’ Association are on the verge of reaching a deal that two people told The […]
1 year ago
A memorial for Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark is seen at the state Capit...

Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman to lie in state as suspect faces court date

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman will lie in state in the Minnesota Capitol rotunda on Friday while the man charged with killing her and her husband, and wounding a state senator and his wife, is due in court. Hortman, a Democrat, will be the first woman and one of fewer than […]
1 year ago

Colorado funeral home owner accused of stashing nearly 190 bodies to be sentenced for fraud

DENVER (AP) — A Colorado funeral home owner accused of stashing nearly 190 dead bodies in a decrepit building and sending grieving families fake ashes is set to be sentenced Friday in federal court for cheating customers and defrauding the government out of nearly $900,000 in COVID-19 aid. Jon Hallford, owner of Return to Nature […]
1 year ago
Hennessey Lustica poses for a portrait, Thursday, June 26, 2025, in Newark, N.Y. (AP Photo/Lauren P...

Rural schools feel the pinch from Trump administration’s cuts to mental health grants

WASHINGTON (AP) — In parts of rural upstate New York, schools have more than 1,100 students for every mental health provider. In a far-flung region with little public transportation, those few school counselors often are the only mental health professionals available to students. Hennessey Lustica has been overseeing grant-funded efforts to train and hire more […]
1 year ago
FILE - Body bags lie at the scene where a tractor trailer with multiple dead bodies was discovered,...

Smugglers to be sentenced in 53 migrant deaths from 2022 human smuggling tragedy in Texas

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Two smugglers convicted of federal charges in connection with the deaths of 53 migrants found in the back of a sweltering tractor-trailer in Texas in 2022 face up to life in prison when they are scheduled to be sentenced Friday. Felipe Orduna-Torres and Armando Gonzales-Ortega are to be the first of […]
1 year ago

Supreme Court meets Friday to decide 6 remaining cases, including birthright citizenship

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is meeting Friday to decide the final six cases of its term, including President Donald Trump’s bid to enforce his executive order denying birthright citizenship to U.S.-born children of parents who are in the country illegally. The justices take the bench at 10 a.m. for their last public session […]
1 year ago
FILE - The James A. McClure Federal Building & United States Courthouse, which houses the U.S. Dist...

Idaho doctor, patients sue over new law halting public benefits to immigrants in US unlawfully

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho doctor and four residents are challenging a new state law that halts some of the few public benefits available to people living in the U.S. unlawfully, including a program that provides access to life-saving HIV and AIDS medication for low income patients. The ACLU of Idaho filed the federal […]
1 year ago
A protester against immigration raids waves a flag in front of the 300 North Los Angeles Street Fed...

Family files for release in lawsuit considered first involving children challenging arrests at court

A mother and her two young kids are fighting for their release from a Texas immigration detention center in what is believed to be the first lawsuit involving children challenging the Trump administration’s policy on immigrant arrests at courthouses. The lawsuit filed Tuesday argues that the family’s arrests after fleeing Honduras and entering the U.S. […]
1 year ago
FILE - The Autherine Lucy Clock Tower at the Malone Hood Plaza stands in front of Foster Auditorium...

Federal judge weighs whether Alabama’s anti-DEI law threatens First Amendment

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Professors and students at the University of Alabama testified on Thursday that a new an anti-diversity, equity and inclusion law has jeopardized funding and changed curriculum, as a federal judge weighs whether the legislation is constitutional before the new school year begins. The new state law, SB129, followed a slew of […]
1 year ago
FILE - Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students, is e...

Idaho judge rejects Bryan Kohberger’s request to delay murder trial in college student stabbings

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho judge says he won’t postpone the quadruple murder trial of a man accused in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students. Fourth District Judge Steven Hippler made the ruling Thursday, telling Bryan Kohberger’s attorneys that jury selection will begin in August and opening arguments will likely be […]
1 year ago
FILE - The School District of Philadelphia headquarters are shown in Philadelphia, July 23, 2024. (...

Philadelphia’s schools accused of failing to properly inspect asbestos in buildings

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Federal prosecutors on Thursday charged Philadelphia’s public schools with failing to properly inspect eight schools for damaged asbestos. The district agreed to have the criminal case deferred while it pays for a court supervised monitor to keep tabs on its response. Prosecutors said it was the first time a school district in […]
1 year ago
This undated photo provided by the Morris for Senate Campaign shows Republican businessman Nate Mor...

Kentucky Senate hopeful Nate Morris pledges his loyalty to President Trump

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Republican businessman Nate Morris entered Kentucky’s competitive campaign Thursday to succeed longtime Senate power broker Mitch McConnell, branding himself as a political outsider and loyal supporter of President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement. Morris joins U.S. Rep. Andy Barr and ex-state Attorney General Daniel Cameron as GOP heavyweights vying for their party’s […]
1 year ago
FILE - This combination of photos from 2017 to 2022 shows the logos of Facebook, YouTube, TikTok an...

Judge blocks Georgia’s social media age verification law, citing free speech concerns

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia has become the latest state where a federal judge has blocked a law requiring age verification for social media accounts. Like in seven other states where such laws have been blocked, a federal judge ruled Thursday that the Georgia law infringes on free speech rights. The ruling by U.S. District Judge […]
1 year ago
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., arrives to speak with reporters about the reconciliation...

Meet the Senate parliamentarian, the official tying Republicans in knots over their tax bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — A few Republicans reacted with indignation Thursday after the Senate parliamentarian advised that some of the measures in their tax and immigration bill could not be included in the legislation. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., tweeted on X that Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough should be fired, “ASAP.” Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., intimated that […]
1 year ago
FILE - The Federal Detention Center stands on Sept. 15, 2022, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, Fil...

Canadian man held by immigration officials dies in South Florida federal facility, officials say

MIAMI (AP) — A Canadian man being held by immigration officials in South Florida has died in federal custody, officials said. Johnny Noviello, 49, died Monday afternoon at the Bureau of Prisons Federal Detention Center in Miami, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement press release said. The cause of death was under investigation. Noviello was […]
1 year ago
FILE - Former New York Governor Kathy Hochul aide Linda Sun, right, and her husband, Christopher Hu...

Accused of acting as a Chinese agent, NY governors’ ex-aide now faces pandemic fraud charge, too

NEW YORK (AP) — Already charged with acting as an illicit agent of the Chinese government, a former aide to two New York governors is being accused of illegally profiteering off the state’s pandemic-era scramble for face masks. Linda Sun — who worked for Govs. Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul, both Democrats — and husband […]
1 year ago
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent talks to reporters about his lunch meeting with Republican senator...

Lawmakers remove ‘revenge’ tax provision from Trump’s big bill after Treasury requests its removal

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Republicans agreed to remove the so-called revenge tax provision from President Donald Trump’s big bill Thursday after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asked members of Congress to do so earlier in the day. The Section 899 provision would allow the federal government to impose taxes on companies with foreign owners, as well […]
1 year ago

What’s that in the sky? We’re not sure, but the fireball was very bright

McDONOUGH, Ga. (AP) — An object bright enough to be seen streaking across the midday sky fell across parts of the Southeast U.S. on Thursday. The object was likely either a meteor or space junk, with most sightings of the streak of light and fireball coming from Georgia and South Carolina around 12:30 p.m., the […]
1 year ago
North Dakota Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong holds a map of a proposed natural gas pipeline on Thur...

North Dakota considers 2 proposed natural gas pipelines that would stretch across the state

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A state official briefed regulators Thursday on two separate underground pipelines that companies plan to build across hundreds of miles of North Dakota, bringing natural gas from the oil fields in the west to mostly industrial users in the more populated east. Both pipelines — one by Intensity Infrastructure Partners and […]
1 year ago