WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve just raised the cost of money — bad news for borrowers, good news for savers. The Fed increased its benchmark interest rate Wednesday by a quarter-point, the first rate hike since the summer of 2023. The hike will likely make it even costlier to borrow for homes, autos and […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The son of imprisoned former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai appealed for his father’s release at a congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday, one week before Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit the U.S. Sebastien Lai urged his father’s release on humanitarian grounds at a hearing of the Congressional-Executive […]
Three people were charged by federal authorities in Los Angeles on Wednesday with stealing $12 million in federal and state homelessness aid dollars to buy real estate, go on luxury trips and buy vintage vehicles. This is the second such arrest of people on federal fraud charges in Southern California this week, as President Donald […]
The Trump administration has ordered caregivers for migrant children to stop reporting human trafficking concerns directly to the office created to help victims, a change that critics say could make some vulnerable minors easier to deport. The directive, in a Sept. 10 memo reviewed by The Associated Press, could mean that some victims would be […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obamas’ pet dog Sunny has died, former President Barack Obama said Wednesday. Sunny, a 13-year-old Portuguese water dog the Obamas got in 2013 while living in the White House, died Tuesday. “We got Sunny at the start of our second term in the White House, and all of us – including […]
For a third time, the U.S. House has voted to end the war in Iran, approving a war powers resolution that would halt President Donald Trump’s ability to continue military action without congressional approval. The roll call was similar to earlier efforts this summer. None of the resolutions have made it to the president’s desk, […]
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The U.S. special envoy for Belarus said Wednesday that the country’s authorities have agreed to release 25 prisoners as part of a deal that includes the lifting of U.S. sanctions against some Belarusian companies. John Coale, President Donald Trump’s special envoy for Belarus, made the statement a day after meeting Belarus’ […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Nicole Saphier, President Donald Trump’s third surgeon general nominee, was grilled at her confirmation hearing Wednesday about her stance on childhood vaccines, voicing support for immunization as she seeks to serve in an administration that has moved to make sweeping changes to vaccine guidance. Saphier, a radiologist and former Fox News […]
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Charlie Kirk’s family blamed Utah officials for failing to prevent the conservative activist’s assassination at a state university, in a wrongful death notice announced Wednesday that presages a possible lawsuit. Attorneys for the family said Kirk’s death resulted from a string of “reckless decisions” by officials at Utah Valley University […]
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The Trump administration has announced that it will impose travel bans on officials it claims are responsible for discrimination against whites and other minority groups in South Africa. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday he would revoke U.S. visas or reject visa applications from foreign nationals found […]
On the way home from a recent trip, Eriech Tapia drove past a sea of dark industrial buildings lining an already jam-packed northern Virginia road: data centers. “It was interesting to see how many were going up,” said Tapia, a 30-year-old Republican from Arlington, Virginia, who works in higher education advocacy and policy. He said […]
President Donald Trump will travel to North Carolina on Wednesday to campaign with Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley as the former national party chairman tries to shore up his campaign against Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper. The trip marks Trump’s first campaign rally since his unusual midterm convention in Dallas. The president, despite voter frustrations […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Barely four months into the job, Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh is stuck between two strong and opposing forces: Financial markets that anticipate the central bank will raise interest rates, and President Donald Trump, who wants the Fed to cut them or leave them unchanged. Economists expect that on Wednesday, Warsh and […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — For a third time, the U.S. House has voted to end the war in Iran, approving a war powers resolution that would halt President Donald Trump’s ability to continue military action without congressional approval. The roll call late Tuesday, 220-204, was similar to earlier efforts this summer, with a few more Republicans […]
NEW YORK (AP) — A trade war between the United States and Canada is making it more difficult and expensive for small businesses in the economically entwined countries to operate, according to business owners caught in the crossfire. Canada imposed reciprocal tariffs on about $20 billion (CA$27.6 billion) worth of U.S. goods last week after […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Oversight Committee voted Tuesday to recommend that billionaire Leon Black be held in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena for testimony in the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein. Republicans and Democrats joined unanimously in the bipartisan vote after Black refused to appear this month for a sworn […]
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A federal judge referred Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner to the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday for investigation into whether he broke the law while overseeing a post-conviction case. U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond disqualified Krasner and Assistant DA Matthew Stiegler from participating in the case involving Dennis Johnson, who […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is planning to deliver powerful 2,000-pound bombs to Israel as part of an upcoming arms deal, weapons that prompted such concerns about the possibility of mass casualties in Gaza that the Biden administration paused their delivery two years ago. The $2.8 billion package includes 40,000 of the bombs, made […]
NEW YORK (AP) — Photographer Chick Harrity, who documented the Vietnam War and eight sitting U.S. presidents for The Associated Press and U.S. News and World Report, has died. He was 87. Harrity took one of the best-known photographs of the Vietnam War, of a baby girl lying in a box alongside her brother in […]
Seven people in Texas who are not U.S. citizens have been charged with illegally voting in federal elections or falsely claiming citizenship, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas announced Tuesday as part of a broader Trump administration focus on noncitizen voting. District Attorney Ryan Raybould said investigators determined the alleged conduct was […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — Legislation to broadly regulate college sports has cleared a first major hurdle in the Senate as high-profile supporters, including prominent coaches and the NCAA, mount an all-out push for the legislation ahead of the midterm elections. The Senate voted 74-24 Tuesday to begin consideration of the bill, a significant step forward. The […]
NEW YORK (AP) — The Supreme Court this week closed the chapter on one of President Donald Trump’s boldest efforts to reshape November’s elections — a plan that would have demanded a dramatic overhaul of the nation’s mail voting processes on what most election officials agreed was an impossibly short timeline. But the case was […]
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Sixty-three years ago, dynamite planted by Ku Klux Klan members exploded through the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four girls as they prepared for Sunday services. Hundreds of people filled the church on Tuesday on the 63rd anniversary of the bombing. The church marked the anniversary with the […]
NEW YORK (AP) — Americans value press freedom — with some exceptions. About three-quarters of U.S. adults said press freedom is “extremely” or “very” important to society’s well-being, according to a newly released government restrictions on reporting in specific circumstances, such as protecting national security or preventing inaccurate information. At the same time, many Americans […]