Top General News
Final jurors seated for Trump's hush money case, with opening statements set for Monday
NEW YORK (AP) — The final jurors were seated Friday in Donald Trump’s hush money trial, and an appellate judge rejected the former president’s latest bid to halt the case as a hectic day in court set the stage for opening statements to begin Monday. The panel of New Yorkers who...
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
Kansas has a new anti-DEI law, but the governor has vetoed bills on abortion and even police dogs
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas' Democratic governor on Friday vetoed proposed tax breaks for anti-abortion counseling centers while allowing restrictions on college diversity initiatives approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature to become law without her signature. Gov. Laura...
A new, stable fiscal forecast for Kansas reinforces the dynamics of a debate over tax cuts
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The picture for tax cuts in Kansas and the next state budget remained stable Friday with the release of a new fiscal forecast that reinforced the dynamics of a conflict over proposed tax cuts between Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and the Republican-controlled Legislature. ...
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...
Tennessee Volkswagen workers vote on union membership in test of UAW's plan to expand its ranks
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — The United Auto Workers’ ambitious drive to expand its reach to nonunion factories across the South and elsewhere is facing a key test Friday night as workers at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, finish voting on whether to join the union. ...
West Virginia will not face $465M COVID education funds clawback after feds OK waiver, governor says
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Gov. Jim Justice announced Friday that West Virginia will not face a clawback of $465 million in COVID-19 money from the U.S. Department of Education, alleviating concerns raised by state lawmakers during the final days of the legislative session in March. ...
Idaho group says it is exploring a ballot initiative for abortion rights and reproductive care
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A new Idaho organization says it will ask voters to restore abortion access and other reproductive health care rights in the state after lawmakers let a second legislative session end without modifying strict abortion bans that have been blamed for a recent exodus of health...
Five shot at high school student gathering in Maryland park
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — Five young people were shot Friday afternoon when gunfire broke out during a high school “senior skip day” gathering in a park in Greenbelt, a Maryland suburb of Washington, D.C., according to police. The victims were hospitalized, with one in critical...
Guest lineups for the Sunday news shows
WASHINGTON (AP) — ABC’s “This Week” — Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Ro Khanna, D-Calif.; retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. ___ NBC's “Meet the Press” — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. ___ CBS’...
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...
2 mayoral candidates killed in Mexico, bringing the number slain so far to 17
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Two mayoral candidates in Mexico were found dead Friday, bringing to 17 the number of contenders slain in the lead-up to the June 2 election. One candidate was killed Friday in the northern Mexico border state of Tamaulipas. Noé Ramos Ferretiz was running for a...
