Top General News

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. ...

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. ...

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...

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...

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...

What is the celebrity 'blockout' over the war in Gaza?

May. 15, 2024 13:53 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Some social media users are calling out celebrities for what they say is inaction in the face of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza — and they've taken to a “blockout” to pressure the stars to take a stand. For the blockout, users put a block on seeing any and all...

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...

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. ...

Stock market today: Wall Street rallies to records after inflation slows

May. 15, 2024 17:15 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Hopes that inflation is finally heading back in the right direction swept through Wall Street Wednesday and ignited a record-setting rally for U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 jumped 1.2% to top its prior high set a month and a half ago. The Nasdaq composite added 1.4%...

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 17:24 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...

Texas man accused of killing New Mexico women and kidnapping an infant faces federal charge

May. 15, 2024 17:24 PM EDT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A Texas man accused of fatally shooting two New Mexico women and taking one of their children and seriously injuring another is now facing a federal kidnapping charge. Alek Isaiah Collins, 26, appeared Tuesday before a federal judge in Abilene, Texas. He...

Angie Harmon is suing Instacart and a former shopper who shot and killed her dog, Oliver

May. 15, 2024 17:23 PM EDT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Actor Angie Harmon has filed a lawsuit against Instacart and one of its former shoppers who fatally shot her dog in March while delivering groceries at her North Carolina home. The lawsuit filed late last week in Mecklenburg County seeks to hold the shopper...

State Department removes Cuba from short list of countries deemed uncooperative on counterterrorism

May. 15, 2024 17:23 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken removed Cuba Wednesday from the State Department's short list of countries that it deems less than fully cooperative against violent groups. In a statement, the State Department said Blinken had found that Cuban and U.S. law...

Supreme Court orders Louisiana to hold House elections in 2024 using a map with an additional Black majority district

May. 15, 2024 17:19 PM EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court orders Louisiana to hold House elections in 2024 using a map with an additional Black majority district.

Canadians are hopeful shifting winds may push wildfire away from the oil sands hub of Fort McMurray

May. 15, 2024 17:16 PM EDT

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Favorable winds are expected to push an “out of control” wildfire away from Canada’s oil sands hub of Fort McMurray, Alberta, officials said Wednesday, a day after thousands were evacuated. Wildfire season has started early in Canada this year with...

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

May. 15, 2024 17:16 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. ...

Stock market today: Wall Street rallies to records after inflation slows

May. 15, 2024 17:15 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Hopes that inflation is finally heading back in the right direction swept through Wall Street Wednesday and ignited a record-setting rally for U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 jumped 1.2% to top its prior high set a month and a half ago. The Nasdaq composite added 1.4%...

"Raise the Age" juvenile justice reforms altered by North Carolina Senate

May. 15, 2024 17:15 PM EDT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — More youths accused of serious crimes in North Carolina would be automatically tried in adult court in legislation that advanced through the state Senate on Wednesday. The measure approved 41-4 reworks some of the bipartisan juvenile justice reforms approved...