Top General News

Dueling protesters clash at UCLA hours after police clear pro-Palestinian demonstration at Columbia

May. 01, 2024 12:01 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dueling groups of protesters clashed overnight at the University of California, Los Angeles, shoving, kicking and beating each other with sticks after pro-Israel demonstrators tried to pull down barricades surrounding a pro-Palestinian encampment. Hours earlier, police burst...

The Latest | Pro-Palestinian protesters arrested at 2 Arizona campuses

May. 01, 2024 11:40 AM EDT

Police at two campuses in Arizona have cleared out encampments and arrested pro-Palestinian protesters. Several people were arrested by police in riot gear early Wednesday at the University of Arizona in Tucson after President Robert Robbins directed school officials to...

Student protests take over some campuses. At others, attention is elsewhere

May. 01, 2024 11:23 AM EDT

BOSTON (AP) — Boston College students held a protest rally against the Israel-Hamas war last week. Bullhorns were banned, lest the noise disturb studying for finals. Tents weren't allowed. Students who'd been arrested at other Boston campus protests were barred. After an allotted...

Blinken urges Israel and Hamas to move ahead with a cease-fire deal and says 'the time is now'

May. 01, 2024 07:35 AM EDT

JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli leaders on Wednesday in his push for a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, saying “the time is now” for an agreement that would free hostages and bring a pause in the nearly seven months of war in Gaza. ...

Trump returns to his campaign facing a warning of jail time if he violates a trial gag order

May. 01, 2024 11:04 AM EDT

WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — Donald Trump on Wednesday is using a one-day break from his hush money trial to rally voters in the battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan, a day after he was held in contempt of court and threatened with jail time for violating a gag order. His remarks...

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene vows to force a vote next week on ousting House Speaker Mike Johnson

May. 01, 2024 11:19 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said Wednesday she would call a vote next week on ousting House Speaker Mike Johnson, forcing her colleagues to choose sides in a difficult showdown after Democratic leaders announced they would provide the votes to save the Republican...

Florida's 6-week abortion ban takes effect as doctors worry women will lose access to health care

May. 01, 2024 11:05 AM EDT

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — Florida's ban on most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, before many women even know they are pregnant, went into effect Wednesday, and some doctors are concerned that women in the state will no longer have access to needed health care. Dr. Leah...

United Methodists repeal longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy

May. 01, 2024 12:05 PM EDT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — United Methodist delegates repealed their church’s longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy with no debate on Wednesday, removing a rule forbidding “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” from being ordained or appointed as ministers. Delegates voted 692-51 at...

News organizations have trust issues as they gear up to cover another election, a poll finds

May. 01, 2024 07:54 AM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Even as many Americans say they learn about the 2024 election campaign from national news outlets, a disquieting poll reveals some serious trust issues. About half of Americans, 53%, say they are extremely or very concerned that news organizations will report...

The botched FAFSA rollout leaves students in limbo. Some wonder if their college dreams will survive

May. 01, 2024 08:37 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The last thing standing between Ashnaelle Bijoux and her college dream is the FAFSA form — a financial aid application that's supposed to help students go to college, but is blocking her instead. She has tried to submit it over and over. Every time, it fails to go through. ...

Latest General News

United Methodists repeal longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy

May. 01, 2024 12:05 PM EDT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — United Methodist delegates repealed their church’s longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy with no debate on Wednesday, removing a rule forbidding “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” from being ordained or appointed as ministers. Delegates voted 692-51 at...

Police fatally shoot a man who sliced an officer's face during a scuffle

May. 01, 2024 12:05 PM EDT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A police officer fatally shot a knife-wielding man Wednesday after he cut an officer in the face during a scuffle in central Indiana, police said. Three officers responded to a call at about 6 a.m. from a woman who said the man arrived at her apartment to visit...

Greece boosts special firefighting units to cope with its growing heat risk

May. 01, 2024 12:04 PM EDT

KRYO PIGADI, Greece (AP) — Skimming over miles of hills blackened by wildfires west of Athens, Fire Lt. Col. Ioannis Kolovos readies his elite fire crew crouched inside a helicopter. The 10-member group from the 1st Wildfire Special Operation Unit bristles with tools needed to hold...

Dueling protesters clash at UCLA hours after police clear pro-Palestinian demonstration at Columbia

May. 01, 2024 12:01 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dueling groups of protesters clashed overnight at the University of California, Los Angeles, shoving, kicking and beating each other with sticks after pro-Israel demonstrators tried to pull down barricades surrounding a pro-Palestinian encampment. Hours earlier, police burst...

Trump awarded 36 million more Trump Media shares worth $1.8 billion after hitting price benchmarks

May. 01, 2024 11:47 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has secured an additional $1.8 billion worth of shares in Trump Media, according to a regulatory filing this week. Based on the company's stock hitting certain price benchmarks, Trump was awarded an additional 36 million shares in the...

St. Louis school district will pay families to drive kids to school amid bus driver shortage

May. 01, 2024 11:46 AM EDT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis' school district is offering to pay some families to drive their kids to school as part of an effort to offset a shortage of bus drivers. “We are excited to announce a new set of programs aimed at addressing the current challenges in transportation...

The Latest | Pro-Palestinian protesters arrested at 2 Arizona campuses

May. 01, 2024 11:40 AM EDT

Police at two campuses in Arizona have cleared out encampments and arrested pro-Palestinian protesters. Several people were arrested by police in riot gear early Wednesday at the University of Arizona in Tucson after President Robert Robbins directed school officials to...

Former students of the for-profit Art Institutes are approved for $6 billion in loan cancellation

May. 01, 2024 11:38 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Wednesday said it will cancel $6 billion in student loans for people who attended the Art Institutes, a system of for-profit colleges that closed the last of its campuses in 2023 amid accusations of fraud. Saying the chain lured...

The Latest | In Israel, Blinken pushes Hamas to agree on Gaza cease-fire deal

May. 01, 2024 11:36 AM EDT

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel on Wednesday to press for a cease-fire deal in the Israel-Hamas war, saying “ the time is now ” and warning that Hamas would bear the blame for any failure to reach an agreement to halt the war in Gaza. Blinken greeted the...

No criminal charges after 4 newborn bodies found in a freezer

May. 01, 2024 11:26 AM EDT

BOSTON (AP) — A prosecutor in Massachusetts won't seek criminal charges against anyone, two years after four newborns were found in a freezer in a South Boston apartment. The bodies of the two boys and two girls, likely born many years ago, were found in shoe boxes wrapped in...