National News

Oil field disposal plant in eastern Montana explodes, no injuries

SIDNEY, Mont. (AP) — Authorities say an explosion at a storage and disposal plant in the oil fields of eastern Montana Wednesday night was felt by people 10 miles (16 kilometers) away but caused no injuries or fatalities. The fire continued to burn Thursday while emergency crews waited until it became safer to approach the […]
1 year ago
FILE - Sean Combs arrives at the Pre-Grammy Gala And Salute To Industry Icons at the Beverly Hilton...

Prosecutor casts Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs as a criminal who abused others through power, violence and fear

NEW YORK (AP) — Two days of closing arguments in Sean “Diddy” Combs ’ sex trafficking trial began on Thursday with a prosecutor telling the jury the hip-hop mogul used “power, violence and fear” to rule a criminal enterprise that facilitated kidnapping, arson and brutal sex crimes that she said were at the heart of […]
1 year ago
FILE - Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court John Roberts speaks during a lecture to the Georgeto...

Supreme Court’s final opinions of the term are coming Friday, Chief Justice Roberts says

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will issue the final opinions of its term on Friday. Chief Justice John Roberts made the courtroom announcement Thursday. Six cases remain to be decided, including whether President Donald Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship can take effect anywhere in the United States. Other remaining cases include whether Maryland […]
1 year ago
FILE - Climate activists Elizabeth Wathuti, of Kenya, Vanessa Nakate, of Uganda, and Helena Gualing...

Young leaders advancing potential climate solutions could win $1 million grants

NEW YORK (AP) — Youth-led climate groups are getting a $25 million injection from a philanthropic collaborative that hopes other funders will follow their lead in supporting solutions created by younger generations grappling with a future marked by increasing temperatures and rising sea levels. Despite recent upticks in donations to nonprofits combatting climate change, Enlight […]
1 year ago
FILE - The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill, Feb. 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamke...

Justices side with Texas death row inmate seeking DNA testing to show he shouldn’t be executed

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled for a Texas death row inmate who is seeking DNA testing to show he should be ineligible for execution. The 6-3 decision in favor of Ruben Gutierrez gives him a potential path to have evidence tested that his lawyers say would help prove he was not […]
1 year ago
FILE - Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Appl...

States can cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood, the Supreme Court rules

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court allowed states to cut off Medicaid money to Planned Parenthood in a ruling handed down Thursday amid a wider Republican-backed push to defund the country’s biggest abortion provider. The case centers on funding for other health care services Planned Parenthood provides in South Carolina, but the ruling could have […]
1 year ago

More refunds are being sent to Fortnite players ‘tricked’ into unwanted purchases. How you can apply

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is sending out the latest round of refunds to consumers it says were “tricked” into purchases they didn’t want from Fortnite maker Epic Games — and eligible players who haven’t been compensated yet still have time to apply. According to an FTC went out in December 2024. […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump gestures after arriving on Air Force One, Wednesday, June 25, 2025, at Joint...

Key Medicaid provision in Trump’s big bill found to violate Senate rules

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate parliamentarian has advised that a key Medicaid provider tax overhaul that is central to President Donald Trump’s big tax cut and spending bill does not adhere to procedural rules, delivering a crucial blow Republicans rushing to finish the massive package this week. The guidance Thursday from the parliamentarian is rarely […]
1 year ago
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon, Thursday, June 26, ...

Pentagon leaders double down on the destruction from US attacks on Iran

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon’s top leaders doubled down Thursday on how destructive the U.S. attacks had been on Iran’s nuclear facilities and described in detail the study and planning behind the bombing mission. In a rare Pentagon news briefing, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, […]
1 year ago
BKV Carbon Ventures health and safety advisor Adam Pope looks on at a compression station that is p...

How carbon capture works and the debate about whether it’s a future climate solution

Power plants and industrial facilities that emit carbon dioxide, the primary driver of global warming, are hopeful that Congress will keep tax credits for capturing the gas and storing it deep underground. The process, called carbon capture and sequestration, is seen by many as an important way to reduce pollution during a transition to renewable […]
1 year ago
A now hiring and help wanted sign is posted in Morrisville, Pa., Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ma...

Fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week as layoffs remain low

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week, the Labor Department said Thursday, a sign that companies aren’t cutting many jobs. Jobless claims dropped 10,000 to 236,000, a historically-low level. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out weekly volatility, dipped 750 to 245,000. Applications for unemployment aid are […]
1 year ago
FILE - Composer and conductor Tania León arrives to attend the Kennedy Center honorees reception a...

Carnegie honors 20 ‘Great Immigrants,’ including composer Tania León, for 20th anniversary

Tania León, the noted composer and conductor who also co-founded Dance Theatre of Harlem, never planned on emigrating to the United States. She wanted to move to Paris. When León received the opportunity to leave Cuba on a resettlement flight to Miami in 1967, she took it, thinking she would eventually end up settling in […]
1 year ago
FILE - United Nations Conference delegates unanimously adopt the United Nations Charter in San Fran...

As the United Nations turns 80, some key moments in its history

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — There have been many memorable moments in the 80-year history of the United Nations, both at its headquarters in New York and at its far-flung global operations. Here are photos of some of the U.N.’s history-making events as the world body marks the anniversary of its founding on June 26, 1945, […]
1 year ago
Dr. Martin Kulldorf speaks during a meeting of the Advisory Committee in Immunization Practices at ...

Kennedy’s vaccine committee to vote on flu vaccines and controversial preservative

ATLANTA (AP) — U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s new vaccine advisory committee returned to work Thursday, and the panel may vote on proposals about fall flu vaccines and a preservative in some flu shots that antivaccine groups have falsely tied to autism. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, meeting in Atlanta, also is expected […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump watches Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a press conference after the p...

The Latest: Hegseth praises US attack on Iran but offers few details on the strikes’ impact

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine held a Thursday morning news conference to respond to an early leaked intelligence report suggesting U.S. strikes against Iran likely put the country back mere months. President Donald Trump has insisted the U.S. strikes delivered a “devastating” attack and that questioning his assessment of the strike was […]
1 year ago
SpaceX Falcon 9 crew, Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Space Research Organization, from left, Tibor...

International Space Station welcomes its first astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The first astronauts in more than 40 years from India, Poland and Hungary arrived at the International Space Station on Thursday, ferried there by SpaceX on a private flight. The crew of four will spend two weeks at the orbiting lab, performing dozens of experiments. They launched Wednesday from NASA’s […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump speaks standing between Secretary of State Marco Rubio, right, and Defense S...

Trump officials to give first classified briefing to Congress on Iran strikes

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators are set to meet with top national security officials Thursday as many question President Donald Trump’s decision to bomb three Iranian nuclear sites — and whether those strikes were ultimately successful. The classified briefing, which was originally scheduled for Tuesday and was delayed, also comes as the Senate is expected to […]
1 year ago
FILE - Sean "Diddy" Combs arrives at the LA Premiere of "The Four: Battle For Stardom" at the CBS R...

Cassie, Jane, Cudi and freak-offs: How Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ sex trafficking trial has played out

NEW YORK (AP) — Jurors at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking trial were barely seated on the trial’s first day when they were shown a video of the hip-hop mogul viciously attacking his longtime girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie. Over the next seven weeks, jurors heard from 34 witnesses. All were called to the stand […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump gestures after arriving on Air Force One, Wednesday, June 25, 2025, at Joint...

Trump’s latest rejection of intelligence assessments reflects a long distrust of spy agencies

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s fights with the intelligence community were a running theme of his first term, as he raged against an investigation into his campaign’s alleged links to Russia. Now, a sequel is playing out as Trump battles to shape the public’s understanding of his foreign policy gamble in Iran. An early […]
1 year ago
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., center, joined at left by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., th...

Senate struggle over Medicaid cuts threatens progress on Trump’s big bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — One key unsettled issue stalling progress on President Donald Trump’s big bill in Congress is particularly daunting: How to cut billions from health care without harming Americans or the hospitals and others who provide care? Republicans are struggling to devise a solution to the health care problem their package has created. Already, […]
1 year ago

Justice Department closes investigation into Muslim-centered community near Dallas

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice has closed a federal civil rights investigation into a Muslim-centered planned community around one of the state’s largest mosques near Dallas without filing any charges or lawsuits. The Justice Department had opened the investigation after U.S. Sen. John Cornyn called for it, arguing that the development […]
1 year ago
Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani appears on stage with his family including his wife, Ra...

Zohran Mamdani’s wife Rama Duwaji is an animator, illustrator and ceramicist. And they met on Hinge

NEW YORK (AP) — Rama Duwaji’s Election Day post on Instagram was only four words long, but said all it needed to say: “couldn’t possibly be prouder.” It was accompanied by a photo-booth strip of happy poses with her husband, Zohran Mamdani, and a voting selfie that would presage a momentous night: The 33-year-old state […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump speaks during a media conference at the end of the NATO summit in The Hague,...

Trump attacks the media for reporting on intelligence assessment of Iran strikes

President Donald Trump is repeatedly condemning CNN and The New York Times for reports that call into question the damage caused by last weekend’s U.S. strikes of Iran — and downplaying his own intelligence analysts in the process. Trump on Wednesday called on CNN to throw out “like a dog” a reporter who has worked […]
1 year ago
FILE - Former Venezuelan military spy chief, retired Maj. Gen. Hugo Carvajal, walks out of prison i...

Former Venezuela spymaster pleads guilty to narcoterrorism charge ahead of trial

MIAMI (AP) — A former Venezuelan spymaster who was close to the country’s late President Hugo Chávez pleaded guilty Wednesday to drug trafficking charges a week before his trial was set to begin in a Manhattan federal court. Retired Maj. Gen. Hugo Carvajal was extradited from Spain in 2023 after more than a decade on […]
1 year ago