Top General News

Biden and Trump, trading barbs, agree to 2 presidential debates, in June and September

May. 15, 2024 16:17 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on Wednesday agreed to hold two campaign debates — the first on June 27 hosted by CNN and the second on Sept. 10 hosted by ABC — setting the stage for their first presidential face-off to play out in just over a month. ...

Slovakia's populist prime minister shot in assassination attempt, shocking Europe before elections

May. 15, 2024 16:18 PM EDT

BANSKA BYSTRICA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s populist prime minister, Robert Fico, was shot multiple times and gravely wounded Wednesday while greeting supporters at an event in an attempted assassination that shocked the small country and reverberated across Europe weeks before an election. ...

Russia's Putin arrives in China for state visit in a show of unity between the authoritarian allies

May. 15, 2024 17:02 PM EDT

BEIJING (AP) — Russia’s President Vladimir Putin landed Thursday in Beijing for a two-day state visit to China, in a show of unity between the authoritarian allies as Moscow presses forward with a new offensive in Ukraine. Putin’s visit comes as Russia has become more...

Supreme Court orders Louisiana to use congressional map with additional Black district in 2024 vote

May. 15, 2024 17:40 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered Louisiana to hold congressional elections in 2024 using a House map with a second mostly Black district, despite a lower-court ruling that called the map an illegal racial gerrymander. The order allows the use of a map that...

The jurors in Trump's hush money trial are getting a front row seat to history -- most of the time

May. 15, 2024 12:38 PM EDT

A gag order. The House Speaker turning up outside court. Angry denouncements of the judge overseeing the case. Some of the most explosive moments in Donald Trump's hush money trial have played out for most of the world to see — except for the people who are actually deciding his...

Netanyahu fends off criticism at home and abroad over his lack of a postwar plan for Gaza

May. 15, 2024 16:15 PM EDT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday fended off criticism that he is not planning for a postwar reality in the Gaza Strip, saying it was impossible to prepare for any scenario in the embattled Palestinian enclave until Hamas is defeated. Netanyahu...

Reported sex assaults in the US military have dropped. That reverses what had been a growing problem

May. 15, 2024 18:16 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of reported sexual assaults across the military decreased last year, and a confidential survey found a 19% drop in the number of service members who said they had experienced some type of unwanted sexual contact, according to new figures obtained by The Associated...

Driver said he smoked pot oil, took medication before Florida crash that killed 8 Mexican workers

May. 15, 2024 17:15 PM EDT

OCALA, Fla. (AP) — A man with a long record of dangerous driving told investigators he smoked marijuana oil and took prescription drugs hours before he sideswiped a bus, killing eight Mexican farmworkers and injuring dozens more, according to an arrest report unsealed Wednesday. ...

Fewer US overdose deaths were reported last year, but experts are still cautious

May. 15, 2024 12:58 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — The number of U.S. fatal overdoses fell last year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data posted Wednesday. Agency officials noted the data is provisional and could change after more analysis, but that they still expect a drop when the final...

This, too, could pass: Christian group's rule keeping beaches closed on Sunday mornings may end

May. 15, 2024 15:25 PM EDT

OCEAN GROVE, N.J. (AP) — In this seaside community that calls itself “God's Square Mile at the Jersey Shore,” all the land is owned by a religious group that has for generations enforced an 11th Commandment: Thou shalt stay off the beach on Sunday morning. But there are signs...

Latest General News

Why the speech by Kansas City Chiefs kicker was embraced at Benedictine College's commencement

May. 15, 2024 18:17 PM EDT

Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker may have stirred controversy in some quarters for his proclamations of conservative politics and Catholicism on Saturday, but he received a standing ovation from graduates and other attendees of the May 11 commencement ceremony at Benedictine College in...

Reported sex assaults in the US military have dropped. That reverses what had been a growing problem

May. 15, 2024 18:16 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of reported sexual assaults across the military decreased last year, and a confidential survey found a 19% drop in the number of service members who said they had experienced some type of unwanted sexual contact, according to new figures obtained by The Associated...

US border arrests fall in April, bucking usual spring increase as Mexico steps up enforcement

May. 15, 2024 18:12 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Arrests for illegally crossing the U.S. border from Mexico fell more than 6% in April to the fourth lowest month of the Biden administration, authorities said Wednesday, bucking the usual spring increase. U.S. officials have largely attributed the decline to more...

Brazilian dance craze created by young people in Rio’s favelas is declared cultural heritage

May. 15, 2024 18:12 PM EDT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — It all started with nifty leg movements, strong steps backwards and forwards, paced to Brazilian funk music. Then it adopted moves from break dancing, samba, capoeira, frevo — whatever was around. The passinho, a dance style created in the 2000s by kids in...

Indigenous consultant accuses NHL's Blackhawks of fraud, sexual harassment

May. 15, 2024 17:56 PM EDT

CHICAGO (AP) — A consultant the Chicago Blackhawks hired to improve relationships with American Indian tribes has filed a lawsuit accusing the team, its charity foundation and its CEO of fraud, breach of contract and sexual harassment. Nina Sanders filed the civil action late...

West Virginia GOP Senate president, doctor who opposed drawing back vaccine laws ousted in election

May. 15, 2024 18:05 PM EDT

CHARLESTON, W.Va (AP) — West Virginia Republican voters ousted the state Senate president during Tuesday's primary elections, as well as an incumbent doctor who drew fire for breaking with his party over school vaccination policy. In the state's eastern panhandle, U.S. Army...

VP Harris was gifted tickets to one of the summer's hottest shows by the artist herself: Beyoncé

May. 15, 2024 18:04 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris was gifted tickets to one of last summer's hottest concerts by the artist herself: Beyoncé. She also attended college football's HBCU Celebration Bowl, where her alma mater Howard University played Florida A&M, courtesy of ESPN, according to...

7 postal workers charged with mail theft from Rhode Island distribution hub

May. 15, 2024 18:04 PM EDT

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Federal prosecutors charged seven postal workers with stealing mail — targeting brightly colored cards that might contain checks or gift cards — as part of mail theft ring, officials said Wednesday. A supervisor and six workers collaborated to remove...

Now armed with AI, America's adversaries will try to influence election, security officials warn

May. 15, 2024 17:59 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — America's foreign adversaries will again seek to influence the upcoming U.S. elections, top security officials warned members of the Senate Wednesday, harnessing the latest innovations in artificial intelligence to spread online disinformation, mislead voters and undermine trust...

Justice Department to investigate Kentucky's juvenile jails after use of force, isolation complaints

May. 15, 2024 17:59 PM EDT

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Federal investigators will examine conditions in Kentucky's youth detention centers and whether the state has done enough to protect juveniles housed there, the U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday. The federal investigation follows a Kentucky auditor's...