National News

FILE - Elon Musk attends the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan....

Elon Musk’s xAI sues Minnesota over its first-in-the-nation law banning ‘nudification’ technology

Elon Musk’s company xAI has sued Minnesota over the state’s first-in-the-nation law that bans “nudification” technology on websites and apps, potentially providing a test for how far states can go in constitutionally regulating the use of artificial intelligence. Musk’s company sued Monday in federal court, days before the law is set to take effect Saturday […]
2 months ago

‘Pleading the Fifth’ invokes a constitutional amendment that has a long history in US society

NEW YORK (AP) — It was important enough to the framers of the U.S. Constitution to be included in the first 10 amendments known as the Bill of Rights — that no person “shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” As part of the Fifth Amendment, the right against […]
2 months ago
A display of a Bentley car at the Mall at Short Hills, in Short Hills, New Jersey, June 6, 2026, wh...

Malls, once symbols of American consumer culture, are splitting. Some are dying as others thrive

LIVINGSTON, N.J. (AP) — I wasn’t a mall rat. Growing up in the 1970s, I didn’t hang out much with my friends at my local mall in New Jersey. The Livingston Mall, which opened in 1972 with stores including Bamberger’s, Sears and Hahne & Co., may have been a bustling social scene for my peers. […]
2 months ago
FILE - A sign of Washington Dulles International Airport station is seen during the opening of new ...

Trump is set to announce a $22B makeover of Dulles airport that will eliminate the ‘people movers’

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is expected Wednesday to announce a $22 billion renovation of Washington Dulles International Airport that will end the use of the widely disliked “people movers,” the mobile lounges that have been used for decades to shuttle travelers to and from the main terminal. The airport makeover would expand a […]
2 months ago
FILE - Stephen Colbert attends The Hollywood Reporter's The Most Powerful People in New York Media ...

Stephen Colbert wins an anti-censorship award after CBS ends ‘The Late Show’

NEW YORK (AP) — Stephen Colbert, whose 11-year run as host of “The Late Show” was defined in part by his feud with President Donald Trump, has received an “anti-censorship” award from a foundation established by the author-playwright-publisher Ishmael Reed. Colbert was among the recipients of the 47th annual American Book Awards. They were announced […]
2 months ago
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks during a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee with Acting At...

Blanche nomination at risk of delay as senator seeks assurances on Trump settlement

WASHINGTON (AP) — A planned vote to move forward with Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general appeared in doubt Wednesday as a key Republican senator demanded more assurances from the Justice Department about the settlement of President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. GOP Sen. John Cornyn, a crucial swing vote, called off […]
2 months ago
Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., left, who is running to fill the seat of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., gr...

Lindsey Graham returns home one last time for his funeral in South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The Washington powerbroker Sen. Lindsey Graham returned home to South Carolina for the last time Wednesday for his funeral and burial. After Graham was eulogized Tuesday in the nation’s capital as an indefatigable dealmaker by the president, vice president and others, mourners in Columbia prepared to remember him Wednesday as the […]
2 months ago
President Donald Trump speaks at the funeral of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., at the Washington Nati...

Trump and DOJ ask Supreme Court to toss $83 million defamation verdict in E. Jean Carroll case

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and the Justice Department are asking the Supreme Court to toss an $83 million defamation verdict won by writer E. Jean Carroll after she accused him of sexual assault, saying he can’t be sued for comments he made while he was president. It’s the second time Trump has asked […]
2 months ago
FILE - Protestors of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's bill to eliminate collective bargaining rights f...

Wisconsin’s appeals court overturns ruling that had restored collective bargaining power

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin appeals court on Wednesday restored a 2011 anti-union law that abolished collective bargaining rights, in a setback for unions and public workers. Unions are expected to appeal, sending the case to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which is controlled by liberal justices. The 2024 ruling striking down the law as […]
2 months ago
President Donald Trump waves as he departs on Air Force One at Oakland County International Airport...

The Latest: Dr. Anthony Fauci will face questions from Senate Republicans about COVID-19 origins

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. scientist who helped lead the nation’s COVID-19 pandemic response, is set to face off — again — with a Republican senator probing the origins of the coronavirus. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky subpoenaed Fauci to appear before a Senate committee Wednesday. It’s part of Paul’s yearslong accusations that the now-retired […]
2 months ago
FILE - Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek speaks during a primary election night watch party after winning ...

Obama endorses Iowa Democrat Turek for the US Senate in a video of them playing basketball

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Democrat Josh Turek got an assist Wednesday from former President Barack Obama, who endorsed his bid to flip a Republican-held U.S. Senate seat in a video of the two shooting hoops. The seat held by retiring two-term Sen. Joni Ernst is among the tough targeted races for Democrats navigating […]
2 months ago
A visitor views an installation by Nathalie Auzepy during the "Hospital of Emotions" exhibition ins...

How artists transformed a former hospital in Los Angeles to examine human emotions

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Just beyond an ambulance and wheelchair ramp wait Dr. Moodswing and Dr. Feelgood, dressed in starched white lab coats and ready to check you in with a neon orange patient wristband. At this hospital though, it’s not your vitals that will be examined, but your feelings. The “Hospital of Emotions” is […]
2 months ago
Delivery vans bearing the logo sit during a protest staged as part of a countrywide National Day of...

Trump’s attacks on mail balloting and concerns over delays turn midterms spotlight on Postal Service

Roughly six weeks before the first midterm ballots are mailed out, the U.S. Postal Service is emerging as a pivotal player in an election season that will determine control of Congress. President Donald Trump is seeking greater control over mail balloting through an executive order while a change to how the agency processes mail is […]
2 months ago
FILE - Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disea...

Anthony Fauci again faces questions from Senate Republicans about pandemic origins

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. scientist who helped lead the nation’s COVID-19 pandemic response, is set to face off — again — with a Republican senator probing the origins of the coronavirus. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky subpoenaed Fauci to appear before a Senate committee Wednesday. It’s part of Paul’s yearslong accusations that the now-retired […]
2 months ago

Russia charges Telegram founder Pavel Durov with aiding terrorism and puts him on wanted list

Russia’s main domestic security agency said Wednesday that Pavel Durov, founder of the messaging app Telegram, has been charged with “aiding terrorism” and put on an international wanted list. Telegram’s administration has not removed “numerous channels, chats and bots” that are “actively used by Ukrainian intelligence agencies, terrorist, and extremist organizations to prepare and coordinate […]
2 months ago
Patrick Clancy, the father of Cora, Dawson and Callan Clancy testifies for the prosecution against ...

Lindsay Clancy’s ex-husband set to resume testifying about the day she killed their 3 children

PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — The former husband of a Massachusetts woman on trial for killing their three young children is expected to return to the stand Wednesday, continuing his testimony about a day that began with art projects and playtime in the snow and ended with him coming home to find the bodies. Prosecutors say […]
2 months ago
FILE - The New York Stock Exchange is seen in New York, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth We...

US markets mixed ahead of Fed decision, oil prices jump as Middle East violence

Wall Street is mixed before the opening bell Wednesday and oil prices jumped more than 4% after Jordan and the U.S. knocked down another Iranian missile barrage launched against American forces in the Middle East. Futures for the S&P 500 gained 0.2% in premarket trading, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3%. […]
2 months ago
Power lines tangled with debris lie on the ground after a tornado tore through a day before in Appl...

Twisted trees, crushed cars and shattered homes in Wisconsin, in photos

A tornado carved a path of destruction through Wisconsin’s Fox Cities, leaving neighborhoods littered with shattered homes, crushed vehicles and fallen trees. ___ This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
2 months ago
Activists celebrate the Supreme Court's birthright citizenship ruling outside of the Supreme Court ...

Deadline passes for Trump to ask Supreme Court to reconsider birthright citizenship ruling

WASHINGTON (AP) — The deadline passed Tuesday for the Trump administration to ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its rejection of the president’s birthright citizenship restrictions, with no new filing on the docket. President Donald Trump vowed to seek a rehearing shortly after the opinion handed him a loss on a signature issue, but by […]
2 months ago
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives at the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Was...

Senate takes first steps on Russian sanctions after meeting with Zelenskyy

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate took the first steps toward passage of a sweeping Russian sanctions bill on Tuesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Capitol, moving forward on the legislation to penalize countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas and other exports after more than a year of negotiations. The bipartisan 86-12 […]
2 months ago
A U.S. Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan o...

Pentagon ties new casualty category for renewed US-Iran fighting to the end of ‘Operation Epic Fury’

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon said a new, separate category was created in its official casualty system to account for those killed and wounded in the renewed U.S.-Iran fighting because “Operation Epic Fury,” the military’s name for combat operations against Tehran, has ended. The Defense Casualty Analysis System, or DCAS, has removed the four soldiers […]
2 months ago
FILE - Norah O'Donnell poses as she arrives at the annual White House Correspondents' Association D...

CBS’ ’60 minutes’ announces new slate of correspondents for upcoming 59th season

NEW YORK (AP) — Two months after a major shakeup, CBS’s “60 Minutes” has hired a lineup of new correspondents and contributors in time for its 59th season, including Ross Douthat, a conservative opinion columnist at The New York Times, and Norah O’Donnell, former anchor of “CBS Evening News.” The show’s new executive producer, Nick […]
2 months ago

Ex-Citigroup managing director sentenced to 30 years in prison for sex crimes

NEW YORK (AP) — A Harvard-educated former managing director at Citigroup Inc. who blamed autism for his actions was sentenced Tuesday to 30 years in prison for sex crimes that prosecutors say occurred over a 10-year period. Edward Gene Smith, 50, was sentenced in Manhattan federal court by Judge Paul A. Engelmayer after he pleaded […]
2 months ago
FILE - A Patriot missile mobile launcher is displayed outside the Fort Sill Army Post near Lawton, ...

Recent fighting with Iran further draws down key US air defense stockpiles, analysis says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Recent fighting with Iran used up more of the U.S. military’s already diminished stockpiles of advanced missile interceptors, potentially putting American troops at more risk if hostilities resume, a new analysis says. Shrunken inventories of Patriot and THAAD interceptors may force the U.S. and its Middle Eastern allies to take more risks […]
2 months ago