Top General News
Opening statements set for Monday in Trump's hush money case after judge rejects latest bid to delay
NEW YORK (AP) — A full jury of 12 people and six alternates was seated Friday in Donald Trump’s hush money case, setting the stage for opening statements next week in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president. Hours later, an appeals court judge rejected a last-minute...
The Latest | Opening statements in Trump hush money trial set for Monday after latest appeal fails
NEW YORK (AP) — Opening statements in Donald Trump's hush money case are set to begin next week after a jury of 12 people and six alternates was seated Friday. The seating of the jury sets the stage for weeks of testimony in a case charging Trump with falsifying business records to suppress...
Israel, Iran play down apparent Israeli strike. The muted responses could calm tensions -- for now
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel and Iran on Friday both played down an apparent Israeli airstrike near a major air base and nuclear site in central Iran, signaling the two bitter enemies are ready to prevent their latest eruption of violence from escalating into a full-blown regional war. ...
Ukraine, Israel aid advances in rare House vote as Democrats help Republicans push it forward
WASHINGTON (AP) — With rare bipartisan momentum, the House pushed ahead Friday on a foreign aid package of $95 billion for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and humanitarian support as a robust coalition of lawmakers helped it clear a procedural hurdle to reach final votes this weekend. Friday’s vote...
Biden administration restricts oil and gas leasing in 13 million acres of Alaska's petroleum reserve
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Biden administration said Friday it will restrict new oil and gas leasing on 13 million acres (5.3 million hectares) of a federal petroleum reserve in Alaska to help protect wildlife such as caribou and polar bears as the Arctic continues to warm. The...
Emergency rooms refused to treat pregnant women, leaving one to miscarry in a lobby restroom
WASHINGTON (AP) — One woman miscarried in the lobby restroom of a Texas emergency room as front desk staff refused to check her in. Another woman learned that her fetus had no heartbeat at a Florida hospital, the day after a security guard turned her away from the facility. And in North Carolina,...
BNSF Railway says it didn't know about asbestos that's killed hundreds in Montana town
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — BNSF Railway attorneys are expected to argue before jurors Friday that the railroad should not be held liable for the lung cancer deaths of two former residents of an asbestos-contaminated Montana town, one of the deadliest sites in the federal Superfund pollution program. ...
Chicago's response to migrant influx stirs longstanding frustrations among Black residents
CHICAGO (AP) — The closure of Wadsworth Elementary School in 2013 was a blow to residents of the majority-Black neighborhood it served, symbolizing a city indifferent to their interests. So when the city reopened Wadsworth last year to shelter hundreds of migrants without seeking...
Not a toddler, not a parent, but still love 'Bluey'? You're not alone
PHOENIX (AP) — A small blue dog with an Australian accent has captured the hearts of people across the world. She's the title character of “Bluey,” a kids' program consisting of seven-minute episodes that have enraptured children and adults alike. This week's release of its...
The NBA playoffs are finally here. And as LeBron James says, 'it's a sprint now'
There’s a 64-win team in Boston that ran away with the league’s best record. The defending champions in Denver, a group that won 57 games. A fearless young bunch in Oklahoma City, whose No. 1 seed was no fluke. A trio of Villanova alums in New York, who turned the Knicks into a real contender....
Latest General News
The Latest | Opening statements in Trump hush money trial set for Monday after latest appeal fails
NEW YORK (AP) — Opening statements in Donald Trump's hush money case are set to begin next week after a jury of 12 people and six alternates was seated Friday. The seating of the jury sets the stage for weeks of testimony in a case charging Trump with falsifying business records to suppress...
Worker electrocuted while doing maintenance on utility pole in upstate New York
BERNE, N.Y. (AP) — A man working on a utility pole was electrocuted early Friday when low-hanging wires made contact with the basket of his truck, according to police. The cable company worker was doing routine maintenance in rural Berne, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) west of...
Choctaw artist Jeffrey Gibson confronts history at US pavilion as its first solo Indigenous artist
VENICE, Italy (AP) — Jeffrey Gibson’s takeover of the U.S. pavilion for this year’s Venice Biennale contemporary art show is a celebration of color, pattern and craft, which is immediately evident on approaching the bright red facade decorated by a colorful clash of geometry and a foreground...
Iowa lawmakers approve bill just in time to increase compensation for Boy Scout abuse victims
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa men who were victims of child sexual molestation while they were in the Boy Scouts of America could get higher legal compensation under a bill approved Friday by lawmakers and expected to be signed by the governor, just before the deadline to do so will expire. ...
New York closing in on $237B state budget with plans on housing, migrants, bootleg pot shops
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York state lawmakers are on the verge of passing a $237 billion budget that includes sweeping plans to build housing, shutter unlicensed cannabis storefronts and help manage the city's migrant crisis. The raft of proposals is expected to pass through the...
Federal officials are investigating a Rockies coach's cockpit visit during a United flight
DENVER (AP) — Federal transportation officials are investigating an unauthorized inflight cockpit visit by a coach for the Colorado Rockies baseball team during a United Airlines charter flight last week from Denver to Toronto. Video surfaced this week that appears to show Rockies...
A convicted rapist is charged with murder in the killing of a Connecticut visiting nurse
A convicted rapist was charged with murder and attempted sexual assault Friday in the killing of a visiting nurse at a Connecticut halfway house for sex offenders in October — a crime that spurred calls for better safety measures for home health care workers. Authorities added the...
National Guard delays Alaska staffing changes that threatened national security, civilian rescues
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Air National Guard has delayed its plan to downgrade the status of about 80 members of its Alaska unit, a move that would have threatened national security and civilian rescues in the nation’s most remote state. The Alaska Air National Guard confirmed...
Man dies in fire under Atlantic City pier near homeless encampment
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A man died in a fire under an Atlantic City pier near a homeless encampment, authorities said. The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office said Friday that Bruce Eder, 67, died in a fire that began Thursday evening under the Central Pier at the boardwalk and...
Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department' is here. Is it poetry? This is what experts say
NEW YORK (AP) — Taylor Swift has released her 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” But just how poetic is it? Is it even possible to close read lyrics like poems, divorced from their source material? The Associated Press spoke to four experts to...
