Top General News

Final jurors seated for Trump's hush money case, with opening statements set for Monday

Apr. 19, 2024 20:36 PM EDT

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

Apr. 19, 2024 18:00 PM EDT

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

Apr. 19, 2024 19:58 PM EDT

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

Apr. 19, 2024 14:17 PM EDT

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...

Tennessee Volkswagen employees overwhelmingly vote to join United Auto Workers union

Apr. 19, 2024 23:44 PM EDT

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — Employees at a Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, overwhelmingly voted to join the United Auto Workers union Friday in a historic first test of the UAW’s renewed effort to organize nonunion factories. The union wound up getting 2,628 votes, or...

Biden administration restricts oil and gas leasing in 13 million acres of Alaska's petroleum reserve

Apr. 19, 2024 15:57 PM EDT

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

Apr. 19, 2024 16:42 PM EDT

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

Apr. 19, 2024 20:10 PM EDT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — BNSF Railway attorneys told a Montana jury 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

Apr. 19, 2024 16:30 PM EDT

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

Apr. 19, 2024 14:11 PM EDT

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...

Latest General News

Theater Review: 'Stereophonic' is a brilliant 'Behind the Music' play on Broadway

Apr. 20, 2024 00:03 AM EDT

It's July 1976 in a Northern California recording studio and the rock ‘n’ roll band cutting their latest album is exhausted and wary. The coffee machine is broken. Never mind, there's always cocaine — and heaps of it. “That’s not the same thing,” one of the musicians...

Today in History: April 20, 2 students kill 12 at Columbine High School

Apr. 20, 2024 00:03 AM EDT

Today is Saturday, April 20, the 111th day of 2024. There are 255 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On April 20, 1999, the Columbine High School massacre took place in Colorado as two students shot and killed 12 classmates and one teacher before...

Tennessee Volkswagen employees overwhelmingly vote to join United Auto Workers union

Apr. 19, 2024 23:44 PM EDT

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — Employees at a Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, overwhelmingly voted to join the United Auto Workers union Friday in a historic first test of the UAW’s renewed effort to organize nonunion factories. The union wound up getting 2,628 votes, or...

Panama Papers trial's public portion comes to an unexpectedly speedy end

Apr. 19, 2024 23:28 PM EDT

PANAMA CITY (AP) — The public portion of a trial of more than two-dozen associates accused of helping some of the world’s richest people hide their wealth came to an unexpectedly speedy conclusion Friday when a Panamanian judge said she would take the two weeks of trial arguments and testimony...

Tennessee Volkswagen employees vote to join United Auto Workers union, boosting its drive to organize nonunion plants

Apr. 19, 2024 23:21 PM EDT
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Volkswagen employees vote to join United Auto Workers union, boosting its drive to organize nonunion plants.

Sudan's horrific war is being fueled by weapons from foreign supporters of rival generals, UN says

Apr. 19, 2024 23:13 PM EDT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The year-old war in Sudan between rival generals vying for power has sparked “a crisis of epic proportions” fueled by weapons from foreign supporters who continue to flout U.N. sanctions aimed at helping end the conflict, the U.N. political chief said Friday. ...

A Nigerian chess champion plays the royal game for 58 hours — a new global chess record

Apr. 19, 2024 22:47 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — A Nigerian chess champion and child education advocate has played chess nonstop for 58 hours in New York City’s Times Square to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon. Tunde Onakoya, 29, hopes to raise $1 million for children's education...

Oklahoma City bombing still 'heavy in our hearts' on 29th anniversary, federal official says

Apr. 19, 2024 22:44 PM EDT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Federal officials are resolved never to allow a terrorist attack like the Oklahoma City bombing happen again, Deputy Homeland Security Adviser Caitlin Durkovich told survivors and loved ones of the 168 people killed in the April 19, 1995, bombing Friday. ...

USC cancels graduation keynote by filmmaker amid controversy over decision to drop student's speech

Apr. 19, 2024 22:43 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The University of Southern California further shook up its commencement plans Friday, announcing the cancelation of a keynote speech by filmmaker Jon M. Chu just days after making the controversial choice to disallow the student valedictorian from speaking. The...

Mexican families searching for missing relatives unite to draw attention to their plight

Apr. 19, 2024 22:36 PM EDT

TEPOTZOTLAN, Mexico (AP) — Dozens of women and men searched a garbage dump outside Mexico’s capital Friday looking for signs of missing loved ones, working without the protection of authorities as part of a nationwide effort to raise the profile of those who risk their lives to find others. ...