National News

A crypto investor is charged with kidnapping and torturing a man in an NYC apartment for weeks

NEW YORK (AP) — A cryptocurrency investor has been arrested and charged with kidnapping a man and keeping him locked up for weeks in an upscale Manhattan apartment, where authorities say he was beaten, shocked and led to believe that his family was in danger if he didn’t give up his Bitcoin password. John Woeltz, […]
1 year ago
FILE - This 5-foot tall stone slab bearing the Ten Commandments stands near the Capitol in Austin, ...

Texas is closer to putting the Ten Commandments in classrooms after a key vote

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas would require all public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments under a Republican proposal that cleared a major vote Saturday and would make the state the nation’s largest to impose such a mandate. If passed as expected, the measure is likely to draw a legal challenge from critics who […]
1 year ago
In this screengrab taken from a video posted on Oliver Widger's Instagram account on Saturday, May ...

An Oregon man who quit his job to set sail with his cat arrives to cheering fans in Hawaii

HONOLULU (AP) — An Oregon man who quit his job at a tire company and liquidated his retirement savings to set sail for Hawaii with his cat, Phoenix, reached his destination Saturday, welcomed by cheering fans at the end of a weekslong journey that he documented for his mass of followers on social media. Oliver […]
1 year ago

1 dead in New York boat explosion on Hudson River

NEW YORK (AP) — One man died Saturday morning after an explosion on a boat docked on the Hudson River in New York, authorities said. The man was doing work involving a flame or sparks when the blast happened about 10:30 a.m., the U.S. Coast Guard said on social media. First responders answering a 911 […]
1 year ago

A federal judge orders the Trump administration to return a Guatemalan deported to Mexico to the US

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration late Friday to facilitate the return of a Guatemalan man it deported to Mexico in spite of his fears of being harmed there. The man, who is gay, was protected from being returned to his home country under a U.S. immigration judge’s order at the time. But the […]
1 year ago

In their words: How recent presidents have honored America’s fallen on Memorial Day

WASHINGTON (AP) — From Arlington National Cemetery outside the nation’s capital to the American burial ground in Normandy, France, presidents customarily commemorate Memorial Day on hallowed ground. In somber wreath-laying ceremonies and poignant speeches, presidents remember the military members who died serving the country, even as many Americans associate the holiday with a three-day weekend […]
1 year ago
Debris covers the ground after a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting homes a...

What we know about the plane crash that killed alternative music executive Dave Shapiro

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A plane crash in San Diego that likely killed six people, including groundbreaking alternative music executive Dave Shapiro, happened as the private plane approached an airport whose runway lights were out in heavy fog, investigators said. It could take a year to sort out exactly what happened to the plane that […]
1 year ago
Kentucky Democratic Party Chairman Colmon Elridge addresses a "Rural Listening Tour" gathering in P...

The Democrats’ path back to power might start in places like this Appalachian town

PAINTSVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Janet Lynn Stumbo leaned on her cane and surveyed the two dozen or so voters who had convened in a small Appalachian town to meet with the chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party. A former Kentucky Supreme Court justice, the 70-year-old Stumbo said the event was “the biggest Democratic gathering I […]
1 year ago
FILE - Storm aftermath is seen, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020, in Orange Beach, Ala. (AP Photo/Angie Wan...

Alabama study reveals hurricane resilience programs are paying off for homeowners and insurers

A new Alabama study of hurricane-affected homes sends a clear message to insurers and homeowners nationwide: climate-resilient construction methods can protect homes, and save a lot of money. The first-of-its-kind Hurricane Sally, which struck Alabama’s coast in 2020 with wind speeds up to 105 miles per hour. Homes retrofitted or built to Fortified standards, a […]
1 year ago
Interim US Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba, left, arrives to the courthouse in Newark, N.J., Th...

Some of Trump’s loyalty-first picks for prosecutors draw opposition from senators who can block them

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s early selections for U.S. attorneys have drawn strong pushback from Democratic senators who have considerable power to block them, setting up another fight over personnel picks from a president who places a premium on loyalty as he staffs his administration. His choices for the top prosecutors in Nevada, New […]
1 year ago
Takashi Murakami greets visitors to an exhibit of his art at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Clevela...

Japanese artist Takashi Murakami opens exhibit in Ohio museum with more than 100 works

CLEVELAND (AP) — Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami has never been limited to one medium, creating paintings, sculptures, luxury goods with fashion houses like Louis Vuitton, album covers and an exclusive merchandising collection with Major League Baseball. Now, he has filled a U.S. museum hall with portraits in every color as part of an exhibit […]
1 year ago
A protester carries a U.S. flag upside down, a sign of distress, next to a burning building in Minn...

AP PHOTOS: Looking back at 10 days in 2020 of fervent non-stop protests for George Floyd

As cellphone video documenting the last breaths of George Floyd spread across the internet, so did the collective outrage. For 10 consecutive days after his murder at the hands of Minneapolis police officers on Memorial Day in 2020, protests erupted across the U.S., not just in major cities but suburbs and small towns, too. Five […]
1 year ago
Former Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo sits for a portrait in Minneapolis, Minn., on Tue...

Ex-Minneapolis police chief recalls ‘absolutely gut-wrenching’ moment of seeing George Floyd video

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo vividly remembers receiving a call around midnight from a community activist. The caller told him to watch a video spreading on social media of a white officer pinning a Black man to the ground, despite his fading pleas of “I can’t breathe.” The dying man was […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, N.J....

President Donald Trump is set to give the commencement address to West Point graduates

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is delivering his first military commencement address since returning to office. The Republican president is set to speak to West Point’s graduating class on Saturday morning. Trump gave the commencement address at West Point in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The president urged the graduating cadets […]
1 year ago
House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., poses for a photo in the Congressional Prayer Room at the U.S. C...

At 3 a.m. in the Capitol, the Speaker of the House pauses to share his place for prayer

WASHINGTON (AP) — It was just past 3 a.m., a few hours before the House vote on President Donald Trump’s top priority in Congress, his “big, beautiful bill.” House Speaker Mike Johnson was rushing through the Capitol halls with his security guards and aides in tow. For a moment, he paused. Would you like to […]
1 year ago
Elle Fanning, left, and Joachim Trier pose for photographers during the awards ceremony red carpet ...

Cannes, with the lights back on after outage, prepares to award the Palme d’Or

The Cannes Film Festival closing ceremony got underway Saturday after a major power outage struck southeastern France due to what police suspected as arson. The ceremony and the awarding of the festival’s top prize, the Palme d’Or, remained as scheduled during the hours-long outage due to an alternative power supply. But a few hours before […]
1 year ago
U.S. Institute of Peace employees hold an impromptu celebration on the steps of the U.S. Institute ...

Judge denies stay request, lets ruling stand blocking DOGE efforts to shut down peace institute

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday denied the Trump administration’s request that she stay her May 19 ruling that returned control of the U.S. Institute of Peace back to its acting president and board. In a seven-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell said the government did not meet any of […]
1 year ago
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listens during an event with President Donald Trump to sign executiv...

Defense Secretary Hegseth, bedeviled by leaks, orders more restrictions on press at Pentagon

Bedeviled by leaks to the media during his short tenure, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a series of restrictions on the press late Friday that include banning reporters from entering wide swaths of the Pentagon without a government escort — areas where the press has had access in past administrations as it covers the activities […]
1 year ago
FILE - A protester demonstrates in front of a Planned Parenthood on July 12, 2022, in Saint Paul, M...

A Planned Parenthood affiliate plans to close 4 clinics in Iowa and another 4 in Minnesota

Four of the six Planned Parenthood clinics in Iowa and four in Minnesota will shut down in a year, the Midwestern affiliate operating them said Friday, blaming a freeze in federal funds, budget cuts proposed in Congress and state restrictions on abortion. The clinics closing in Iowa include the only Planned Parenthood facility in the […]
1 year ago

Environmentalists’ lawsuit challenges Trump’s order to allow commercial fishing in Pacific monument

HONOLULU (AP) — Environmentalists are challenging in court President Donald Trump’s executive order that they say strips core protections from the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument and opens the area to harmful commercial fishing. On the same day of last month’s proclamation allowing commercial fishing in the monument, Trump issued an order to boost […]
1 year ago
President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, N.J....

White House conducting massive overhaul of National Security Council, officials say

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is ordering a massive overhaul of the National Security Council that will shrink its size and return many career appointees back to their home agencies, according to two U.S. officials and one person familiar with the reorganization. The move is expected to significantly reduce the number of staff at […]
1 year ago
Gerhardt Konig, charged with the attempted murder of his wife, enters a courtroom in Honolulu on Tu...

Restraining order against Maui doctor is dismissed because he’s being held without bail

WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) — A judge on Friday dismissed a petition for a temporary restraining order against a Maui anesthesiologist accused of attempting to kill his wife on a Honolulu hiking trail. Gerhardt Konig’s wife initially filed the petition after he allegedly pushed her toward the edge of a cliff, attempted to inject her with […]
1 year ago

Movie armorer completes prison sentence in fatal ‘Rust’ set shooting

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A movie armorer convicted in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western movie “Rust” was released from a New Mexico prison on Friday after completing an 18-month sentence. Prison records show Hannah Gutierrez-Reed signed out of the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility […]
1 year ago

North Carolina’s high court says elections board shift can continue while governor appeals

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A divided North Carolina Supreme Court confirmed Friday that it was OK for a new law that shifted the power to appoint State Board of Elections members away from the Democratic governor to have taken effect earlier this month, even as the law’s constitutionality is deliberated. The Republican majority on the […]
1 year ago