Top General News

Jury selection in Trump hush money trial faces pivotal stretch as former president returns to court

Apr. 18, 2024 00:11 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jury selection in the hush money trial of Donald Trump enters a pivotal and potentially final stretch Thursday as lawyers look to round out the panel of New Yorkers that will decide the first-ever criminal case against a former president. Seven jurors have been...

The Latest | Netanyahu says Israel will decide how to respond as Iran warns against retaliation

Apr. 17, 2024 23:05 PM EDT

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would decide whether and how to respond to Iran’s major air assault earlier this week, brushing off calls for restraint from close allies. Israel has vowed to respond to Iran’s unprecedented attack, leaving the region bracing for...

Israelis grapple with how to celebrate Passover, a holiday about freedom, while many remain captive

Apr. 18, 2024 00:29 AM EDT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Every year, Alon Gat’s mother led the family's Passover celebration of the liberation of the ancient Israelites from Egypt thousands of years ago. But this year, Gat is struggling with how to reconcile a holiday commemorating freedom after his mother was slain and other family...

Once a fringe Indian ideology, Hindu nationalism is now mainstream, thanks to Modi's decade in power

Apr. 18, 2024 00:24 AM EDT

AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — Hindu nationalism, once a fringe ideology in India, is now mainstream. Nobody has done more to advance this cause than Prime Minister Narendra Modi, one of India’s most beloved and polarizing political leaders. And no entity has had more influence on his...

Climate change concerns grow, but few think Biden's climate law will help, AP-NORC poll finds

Apr. 18, 2024 00:04 AM EDT

Like many Americans, Ron Theusch is getting more worried about climate change. A resident of Alden, Minnesota, Theusch has noticed increasingly dry and mild winters punctuated by short periods of severe cold — symptoms of a warming planet. As he thinks about that,...

Lawyers for Nassar assault survivors have reached $100M deal with Justice Department, AP source says

Apr. 17, 2024 19:02 PM EDT

The U.S. Justice Department has agreed to pay approximately $100 million to settle claims with about 100 people who say they were sexually assaulted by sports doctor Larry Nassar, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The deal has...

What's inside the $95 billion House package focused on aiding Ukraine and Israel

Apr. 17, 2024 18:53 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Mike Johnson has unveiled a long-awaited package of bills that will provide military aid to Ukraine and Israel, replenish U.S. weapons systems and give humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza. The package totals $95.3 billion in spending, which...

Democrats clear path to bring proposed repeal of Arizona’s near-total abortion ban to a vote

Apr. 17, 2024 19:53 PM EDT

PHOENIX (AP) — Democrats in the Arizona Senate cleared a path to bring a proposed repeal of the state’s near-total ban on abortions to a vote after the state’s highest court concluded the law can be enforced and the state House blocked efforts to undo the long-dormant statute. ...

25 years after Columbine, trauma shadows survivors of the school shooting

Apr. 17, 2024 22:56 PM EDT

DENVER (AP) — Hours after she escaped the Columbine High School shooting, 14-year-old Missy Mendo slept between her parents in bed, still wearing the shoes she had on when she fled her math class. She wanted to be ready to run. Twenty-five years later, and with Mendo now a mother...

Tsunami alert after a volcano in Indonesia has several big eruptions and thousands are told to leave

Apr. 17, 2024 22:44 PM EDT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian authorities issued a tsunami alert Wednesday after eruptions at Ruang mountain sent ash thousands of feet high. Officials ordered more than 11,000 people to leave the area. The volcano on the northern side of Sulawesi island had at least five...

Latest General News

Croatia's ruling conservatives win parliamentary vote, but cannot rule alone

Apr. 18, 2024 00:44 AM EDT

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatia 's governing conservatives convincingly won a highly contested parliamentary election Wednesday, but will still need support from far-right groups to stay in power, according to the official vote count. The election followed a campaign that centered...

Prominent figure in German far-right party going on trial over alleged use of Nazi slogan

Apr. 18, 2024 00:33 AM EDT

HALLE, Germany (AP) — One of the most prominent figures in the far-right Alternative for Germany party is going on trial Thursday on charges of twice using a Nazi slogan, months before a regional election in which he is running to become his state's governor. Björn Höcke, 52, is...

Panama's presidential frontrunner skips third and final debate ahead of May 5 election

Apr. 18, 2024 00:31 AM EDT

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Six of the eight candidates vying to be Panama’s next president laid out their plans to generate jobs and to manage the country’s water crisis in their final debate Wednesday night before the country’s May 5 election. Former government minister José Raúl...

Israelis grapple with how to celebrate Passover, a holiday about freedom, while many remain captive

Apr. 18, 2024 00:29 AM EDT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Every year, Alon Gat’s mother led the family's Passover celebration of the liberation of the ancient Israelites from Egypt thousands of years ago. But this year, Gat is struggling with how to reconcile a holiday commemorating freedom after his mother was slain and other family...

New Black congressional district in Louisiana bows to politics, not race, backers say

Apr. 18, 2024 00:25 AM EDT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Politics and race are both factors in a pending court challenge of Louisiana's new congressional maps. How much weight each carries is a major question before three federal judges whose ruling could affect the balance of power in the next Congress. At issue is a...

Once a fringe Indian ideology, Hindu nationalism is now mainstream, thanks to Modi's decade in power

Apr. 18, 2024 00:24 AM EDT

AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — Hindu nationalism, once a fringe ideology in India, is now mainstream. Nobody has done more to advance this cause than Prime Minister Narendra Modi, one of India’s most beloved and polarizing political leaders. And no entity has had more influence on his...

Closing arguments set in case against Arizona rancher charged in fatal shooting of unarmed migrant

Apr. 18, 2024 00:22 AM EDT

NOGALES, Ariz. (AP) — Closing arguments are expected Thursday in the trial against an Arizona rancher charged with fatally shooting an unarmed migrant on his property near the U.S.-Mexico border last year. George Alan Kelly, 75, was charged with second-degree murder in the January...

South Carolina making progress to get more women in General Assembly and leadership roles

Apr. 18, 2024 00:21 AM EDT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — At first glance, the all-male South Carolina Senate subcommittee deciding whether to approve a proposal to remove the sales tax from feminine hygiene products was a reminder that as recently as 2012 the state had no women in its Senate. But progress is being...

Congress moving swiftly on bipartisan action to punish Iran after revenge attack on Israel

Apr. 18, 2024 00:18 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Iran's attack against Israel over the weekend has spurred a flurry of bipartisan legislative action in Congress, uniting lawmakers against the country even as the risk of a larger regional war looms. Several measures introduced and passed in the House and Senate...

Stock market today: Asian shares gain despite Wall Street's tech-led retreat

Apr. 18, 2024 00:12 AM EDT

Asian shares advanced on Thursday even after sinking technology stocks sent Wall Street lower in the S&P 500's worse losing streak since the start of the year. U.S. futures were lower, while oil prices gained. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 climbed 0.3% to 38,090.87 and the...