Top General News

Severe storms kill at least 4 in Houston, knock out power to 850,000 homes and businesses

May. 16, 2024 23:37 PM EDT

HOUSTON (AP) — Fast-moving thunderstorms pummeled southeastern Texas on Thursday for the second time this month, killing at least four people, blowing out windows in high-rise buildings, downing trees and knocking out power to more than 850,000 homes and businesses in the Houston area. ...

Michael Cohen pressed on his crimes and lies as defense attacks key Trump hush money trial witness

May. 16, 2024 20:09 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump's lawyers accused the star prosecution witness in his hush money trial of lying to jurors, portraying Trump fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen on Thursday as a serial fabulist who is bent on seeing the presumptive Republican presidential nominee behind bars. ...

GOP advances Garland contempt charges after White House exerts executive privilege over Biden audio

May. 16, 2024 23:14 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two House committees moved ahead Thursday with contempt charges against Attorney General Merrick Garland for refusing to turn over audio from President Joe Biden’s interview with a special counsel, advancing the matter after the White House's decision to block the release of...

Texas governor pardons ex-Army sergeant convicted of killing Black Lives Matter protester

May. 16, 2024 18:38 PM EDT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a full pardon Thursday for a former U.S. Army sergeant convicted of murder for fatally shooting an armed demonstrator in 2020 during nationwide protests against police violence and racial injustice. Abbott announced the pardon...

Justice Alito's home flew flag upside down after Trump's 'Stop the Steal' claims, report says

May. 16, 2024 21:57 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — An upside-down American flag, a symbol associated with former President Donald Trump’s false claims of election fraud, was displayed outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in January 2021, The New York Times reported Thursday. A photo obtained...

Aid for Gaza will soon flow from pier project just finished by US military, Pentagon says

May. 16, 2024 18:08 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon said Thursday that humanitarian aid will soon begin flowing onto the Gaza shore through the new pier that was anchored to the beach and will begin reaching those in need almost immediately. Sabrina Singh, Pentagon spokeswoman, told reporters that the...

House votes to require delivery of bombs to Israel in GOP-led rebuke of Biden policies

May. 16, 2024 20:10 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House delivered a rebuke to President Joe Biden Thursday for pausing a shipment of bombs to Israel, passing legislation that seeks to force the weapons transfer as Republicans worked to highlight Democratic divisions over the Israel-Hamas war. Seeking to...

Kim's sister denies North Korea has supplied weapons to Russia

May. 16, 2024 22:22 PM EDT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un again denied Friday that her country has exported any weapons to Russia, as she labeled outside speculation on North Korea-Russian arms dealings as “the most absurd paradox.” The U.S., South...

Lawyer for family of slain US Air Force airman says video and calls show deputy went to wrong home

May. 16, 2024 20:00 PM EDT

STONECREST, Ga. (AP) — A lawyer for the family of Roger Fortson said Thursday that police radio traffic and the body camera footage of the Florida sheriff’s deputy who killed the Black U.S. Air Force airman reinforce their assertion that the deputy was directed to the wrong apartment while...

Justice Department formally moves to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug in historic shift

May. 16, 2024 15:59 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Thursday formally moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a historic shift in generations of U.S. drug policy. A proposed rule sent to the federal register recognizes the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledges it has...

Latest General News

Stock market today: Asian shares retreat after Wall St edges back from records

May. 16, 2024 23:44 PM EDT

Asian shares retreated on Friday after U.S. stocks edged back from their record heights, though the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly topped 40,000 for the first time. U.S. futures fell and oil prices edged higher. Chinese stocks were little changed after...

New immigration court docket aims to speed up removals of newly arrived migrants

May. 16, 2024 23:42 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Thursday that a new fast-track docket in immigration courts will cut the time it takes to decide asylum claims from years to months for some single adults. Migrants who settle in five cities — Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles...

Severe storms kill at least 4 in Houston, knock out power to 850,000 homes and businesses

May. 16, 2024 23:37 PM EDT

HOUSTON (AP) — Fast-moving thunderstorms pummeled southeastern Texas on Thursday for the second time this month, killing at least four people, blowing out windows in high-rise buildings, downing trees and knocking out power to more than 850,000 homes and businesses in the Houston area. ...

Haiti's crisis rises to the forefront of elections in neighboring Dominican Republic

May. 16, 2024 23:25 PM EDT

VERON, Dominican Republic (AP) — As soaring violence and political turmoil grip neighboring Haiti, the Dominican Republic will hold elections Sunday that have been defined by calls for more crackdowns on migrants and finishing a border wall dividing the countries. Politics in the...

Lainey Wilson wins big at the 2024 Academy of Country Music Awards, including the top honor

May. 16, 2024 23:23 PM EDT

It was Lainey Wilson ’s night, in many ways. She took home female artist of the year and the top prize of entertainer of the year at the 2024 Academy of Country Music Awards, held at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, just north of Dallas. The award show was hosted by...

GOP advances Garland contempt charges after White House exerts executive privilege over Biden audio

May. 16, 2024 23:14 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two House committees moved ahead Thursday with contempt charges against Attorney General Merrick Garland for refusing to turn over audio from President Joe Biden’s interview with a special counsel, advancing the matter after the White House's decision to block the release of...

Watchdog: EPA's lead pipe fix sent about $3 billion to states based on unverified data

May. 16, 2024 23:07 PM EDT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency distributed about $3 billion to states last year to replace harmful lead pipes based on unverified data, according to an agency inspector general's memo, likely meaning some states got too much money and others got too little. ...

USS Ronald Reagan leaves its Japan home port after nearly 9 years

May. 16, 2024 23:03 PM EDT

YOKOSUKA, Japan (AP) — A U.S. Navy strike group's flagship aircraft carrier left its Japanese home port on Thursday, wrapping up nearly nine years of deployment in the Indo-Pacific, where it served a key role in the U.S. effort to bolster defense ties with Japan and other partners in the region. ...

Human rights group urges Thailand to stop forcing dissidents to return home

May. 16, 2024 23:03 PM EDT

BANGKOK (AP) — A leading international human rights organization on Thursday urged the Thai government to stop forcing political dissidents who fled to Thailand for safety to return to authoritarian home countries, where they may face torture, persecution or death. In a new...

UN resolution to commemorate the Srebrenica genocide in Bosnia sparks opposition from Serbs

May. 16, 2024 22:59 PM EDT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A U.N. resolution sponsored by Germany and Rwanda to establish an annual day to commemorate the 1995 genocide of more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslims by Bosnian Serbs has sparked protests and a strong lobbying campaign against its adoption by Serbia’s president and the Bosnian...