Top General News
Biden and Trump, trading barbs, agree to 2 presidential debates, in June and September
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on Wednesday agreed to hold two campaign debates — the first on June 27 hosted by CNN and the second on Sept. 10 hosted by ABC — setting the stage for their first presidential face-off to play out in just over a month. ...
Slovakia's populist prime minister shot in assassination attempt, shocking Europe before elections
BANSKA BYSTRICA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s populist prime minister, Robert Fico, was shot multiple times and gravely wounded Wednesday while greeting supporters at an event in an attempted assassination that shocked the small country and reverberated across Europe weeks before an election. ...
Russia's Putin arrives in China for state visit in a show of unity between the authoritarian allies
BEIJING (AP) — Russia’s President Vladimir Putin landed Thursday in Beijing for a two-day state visit to China, in a show of unity between the authoritarian allies as Moscow presses forward with a new offensive in Ukraine. Putin’s visit comes as Russia has become more...
Supreme Court orders Louisiana to use congressional map with additional Black district in 2024 vote
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered Louisiana to hold congressional elections in 2024 using a House map with a second mostly Black district, despite a lower-court ruling that called the map an illegal racial gerrymander. The order allows the use of a map that...
The jurors in Trump's hush money trial are getting a front row seat to history -- most of the time
A gag order. The House Speaker turning up outside court. Angry denouncements of the judge overseeing the case. Some of the most explosive moments in Donald Trump's hush money trial have played out for most of the world to see — except for the people who are actually deciding his...
Netanyahu fends off criticism at home and abroad over his lack of a postwar plan for Gaza
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday fended off criticism that he is not planning for a postwar reality in the Gaza Strip, saying it was impossible to prepare for any scenario in the embattled Palestinian enclave until Hamas is defeated. Netanyahu...
Reported sex assaults in the US military have dropped. That reverses what had been a growing problem
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of reported sexual assaults across the military decreased last year, and a confidential survey found a 19% drop in the number of service members who said they had experienced some type of unwanted sexual contact, according to new figures obtained by The Associated...
Driver said he smoked pot oil, took medication before Florida crash that killed 8 Mexican workers
OCALA, Fla. (AP) — A man with a long record of dangerous driving told investigators he smoked marijuana oil and took prescription drugs hours before he sideswiped a bus, killing eight Mexican farmworkers and injuring dozens more, according to an arrest report unsealed Wednesday. ...
Fewer US overdose deaths were reported last year, but experts are still cautious
NEW YORK (AP) — The number of U.S. fatal overdoses fell last year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data posted Wednesday. Agency officials noted the data is provisional and could change after more analysis, but that they still expect a drop when the final...
This, too, could pass: Christian group's rule keeping beaches closed on Sunday mornings may end
OCEAN GROVE, N.J. (AP) — In this seaside community that calls itself “God's Square Mile at the Jersey Shore,” all the land is owned by a religious group that has for generations enforced an 11th Commandment: Thou shalt stay off the beach on Sunday morning. But there are signs...
Latest General News
Sen. Bob Menendez traded power for gold, cash, prosecutor alleges
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal jury was alternately introduced to Bob Menendez as a bribe-taking U.S. senator who betrayed his country and as an American patriot Wednesday as a prosecutor and defense lawyer delivered contrasting visions of the once-powerful Democrat at the start of his New York...
The first Mexican taco stand to get a Michelin star is a tiny business where the heat makes the meat
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Newly minted Michelin-starred chef Arturo Rivera Martínez stood over an insanely hot grill Wednesday at the first Mexican taco stand ever to get a coveted star from the French dining guide, and did exactly the same thing he's been doing for 20 years: searing meat. ...
Kansas governor cites competition concerns while vetoing measure for school gun-detection technology
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed a measure Wednesday that could have earmarked up to $5 million for gun-detection systems in schools while expressing concern that it could have benefitted only one particular company. Kelly's line-item veto leaves in place $5 million for school safety...
Supreme Court orders Louisiana to use congressional map with additional Black district in 2024 vote
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered Louisiana to hold congressional elections in 2024 using a House map with a second mostly Black district, despite a lower-court ruling that called the map an illegal racial gerrymander. The order allows the use of a map that...
Family of California Navy veteran who died after officer knelt on his neck settles lawsuit for $7.5M
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Family members of a Navy veteran who died in 2020 after a police officer pressed a knee to his neck for nearly five minutes while he was in a mental health crisis have settled a federal lawsuit against the Northern California city of Antioch for $7.5 million, their attorneys...
10 indicted on charges of theft from Tuskegee University
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Ten people have been indicted on charges of theft of federal program funding from Tuskegee University, federal prosecutors said. They are accused of conspiracy to commit federal program theft that began on an unknown date and continued until 2020, the U.S....
DeSantis, amid criticism, signs Florida bill making climate change a lesser state priority
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Climate change will be a lesser priority in Florida and largely disappear from state statutes under legislation signed Wednesday by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that also bans power-generating wind turbines offshore or near the state's lengthy coastline. ...
Why the speech by Kansas City Chiefs kicker was embraced at Benedictine College's commencement
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker may have stirred controversy in some quarters for his proclamations of conservative politics and Catholicism on Saturday, but he received a standing ovation from graduates and other attendees of the May 11 commencement ceremony at Benedictine College in...
Reported sex assaults in the US military have dropped. That reverses what had been a growing problem
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of reported sexual assaults across the military decreased last year, and a confidential survey found a 19% drop in the number of service members who said they had experienced some type of unwanted sexual contact, according to new figures obtained by The Associated...
US border arrests fall in April, bucking usual spring increase as Mexico steps up enforcement
WASHINGTON (AP) — Arrests for illegally crossing the U.S. border from Mexico fell more than 6% in April to the fourth lowest month of the Biden administration, authorities said Wednesday, bucking the usual spring increase. U.S. officials have largely attributed the decline to more...
