Top General News
Government funding plan collapses as Trump makes new demands days before shutdown
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan Wednesday to prevent a Christmastime government shutdown, instead telling House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans to essentially renegotiate — days before a deadline when federal funding runs out. ...
US stocks fall sharply and Dow tumbles 1,100 points after the Fed hints at just 2 rate cuts for 2025
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks tumbled to one of their worst days of the year after the Federal Reserve hinted Wednesday it may deliver fewer shots of adrenaline for the U.S. economy in 2025 than earlier thought. The S&P 500 fell 2.9%, just shy of its biggest loss for the year,...
Federal Reserve cuts its key rate by a quarter-point but envisions fewer reductions next year
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday by a quarter-point — its third cut this year — but also signaled that it expects to reduce rates more slowly next year than it previously envisioned, mostly because of still-elevated inflation. The...
How New York prosecutors used a terrorism law in the charges against Luigi Mangione
NEW YORK (AP) — New York prosecutors are using a 9/11-era anti-terrorism law in their case against the man charged with gunning down UnitedHealthcare's CEO outside a midtown Manhattan hotel. Luigi Mangione was indicted on charges of murder as an act of terrorism, under a state law...
Judge: Pardoning Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes for Capitol riot plot would be 'frightening'
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal judge who presided over the seditious conspiracy case against Oath Keepers members said Wednesday that it would be "frightening" if the anti-government group's founder, Stewart Rhodes, is pardoned for orchestrating a violent plot to keep Donald Trump in the White...
House Ethics Committee secretly voted to release Matt Gaetz ethics report, source says
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee voted in secret to release the long-awaited ethics report into ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz, raising the possibility that the allegations against the Florida Republican who was President-elect Donald Trump's first choice for attorney general could be made public...
US retreats from massive air bag recall and says industry comments show need for more investigation
DETROIT (AP) — U.S. auto safety regulators have backed away from seeking a giant recall of nearly 50 million air bag inflators and will investigate further after the auto industry raised questions about whether all of the inflators are defective. The move Wednesday by the National...
Survivors recount 'very apocalyptic' cyclone that ripped through French territory of Mayotte
MAMOUDZOU, Mayotte (AP) — They clustered around water taps, rare sources of electricity and each other. Four days after the strongest cyclone in nearly a century ripped through the French island territory of Mayotte off the coast of Africa, survivors recalled the horror of the storm that caught...
Wisconsin police go quiet on school shooting as search for answers continues
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin police did not plan any public updates Wednesday on the extremely rare religious school shooting that killed a teacher and a student and wounded six others, a day after the city’s mayor chastised reporters and urged them to leave victims alone. ...
Global warming can't be ignored, Montana's top court says, upholding landmark climate case
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana’s Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a landmark climate ruling that said the state was violating residents’ constitutional right to a clean environment by permitting oil, gas and coal projects without regard for global warming. The justices, in a...
Latest General News
How New York prosecutors used a terrorism law in the charges against Luigi Mangione
NEW YORK (AP) — New York prosecutors are using a 9/11-era anti-terrorism law in their case against the man charged with gunning down UnitedHealthcare's CEO outside a midtown Manhattan hotel. Luigi Mangione was indicted on charges of murder as an act of terrorism, under a state law...
Man pleads guilty to stalking UConn basketball star Paige Bueckers
ROCKVILLE, Conn. (AP) — A man accused of stalking and harassing UConn basketball star Paige Bueckers and who said on social media he intended to marry her pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a stalking charge. Robert Cole Parmalee, 40, who had an engagement ring and lingerie with him...
Aaron Hernandez's brother pleads guilty to threatening a shooting at UConn
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Dennis Hernandez, the troubled brother of the late New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, pleaded guilty Wednesday to threatening to carry out a shooting at the University of Connecticut and to kill three people outside of the state, including a judge, in 2023,...
Former top aide to New York City's mayor expected in court on criminal charges, AP sources say
NEW YORK (AP) — A former top aide to New York City Mayor Eric Adams is expected in court Thursday to face corruption charges in the latest blow to an administration beset by searches, resignations and the mayor's own indictment. Ingrid Lewis-Martin, who resigned Sunday as Adams'...
Senate passes defense bill that will raise troop pay and aims to counter China's power
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate passed a defense bill Wednesday that authorizes significant pay raises for junior enlisted service members, aims to counter China's growing power and boosts overall military spending to $895 billion while also stripping coverage of transgender medical treatments for...
NJ attorney general exceeded authority by taking over Paterson police, court finds
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey's top law enforcement official overstepped his authority last year when he took control of the police force in Paterson, the state's third-largest city, soon after police there fatally shot a man barricaded in an apartment bathroom, an appeals court ruled...
Federal Reserve cuts its key rate by a quarter-point but envisions fewer reductions next year
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday by a quarter-point — its third cut this year — but also signaled that it expects to reduce rates more slowly next year than it previously envisioned, mostly because of still-elevated inflation. The...
China's getting a big electric car battery swapping boost in 2025. Would that work across the globe?
Detroit (AP) — China will soon see a massive expansion of electric vehicle battery swapping, as global battery maker CATL said Wednesday it is investing heavily in stations there next year. Battery swapping is not new — but it's had a challenging journey. Adoption of electric...
An arson attack targets a Montreal synagogue and a nearby Jewish office building is damaged
MONTREAL (AP) — A synagogue in a Montreal suburb was targeted in what police suspect was an arson attack early Wednesday, the second time the building in this Canadian city was hit by an incendiary device in little more than a year. Police said a nearby Jewish office building was...
Friend of Alexander real estate brothers surrenders in sexual assault case
MIAMI (AP) — A friend of brothers who are prominent in luxury real estate in Florida and New York and are charged with sex trafficking and assault surrendered Wednesday on an allegation that he helped two of them rape a woman nearly a decade ago. Ohad Fisherman, 39, returned early...
