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...

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

May. 01, 2024 12:19 PM 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 12:45 PM EDT

JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli leaders 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. ...

Paul Auster, prolific and experimental man of letters and filmmaker, dies at 77

May. 01, 2024 11:10 AM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Paul Auster, a prolific, prize-winning man of letters and filmmaker known for such inventive narratives and meta-narratives as “The New York Trilogy” and “4 3 2 1,” has died at age 77. Auster's death was confirmed Wednesday by his literary representatives,...

Latest General News

The Latest | 4 officers injured removing protesters at University of Wisconsin in Madison

May. 01, 2024 12:49 PM EDT

Campus police spokesperson Marc Lovicott said four officers were injured Wednesday as police tried to remove protesters’ tents from a central square at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Lovicott said a state trooper was hit in the head with a skateboard and three sheriff’s...

Sentencing postponed for Minnesota man who regrets joining Islamic State group

May. 01, 2024 12:47 PM EDT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota man who once fought for the Islamic State group in Syria but now expresses remorse for joining a “death cult” and has been cooperating with federal authorities will have to wait to learn how much prison time he faces after his sentencing hearing set for...

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

May. 01, 2024 12:45 PM EDT

JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli leaders 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. ...

Alabama committee advances ban on LGBTQ+ pride flags in classrooms

May. 01, 2024 12:45 PM EDT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers advanced a bill Wednesday that would ban teachers from displaying LGBTQ+ pride flags on public school property and extend the state’s ban on teacher-led discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity. The Senate Education Policy...

George W. Bush's portraits of veterans are heading to Disney World

May. 01, 2024 12:42 PM EDT

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Walt Disney World will host dozens of portraits of service members and veterans from the nation's Painter-in-Chief. The George W. Bush Institute will loan the 60 color portraits by the former U.S. president to the Florida theme park resort. The...

Tennis legend Boris Becker discharged from bankruptcy court in England

May. 01, 2024 12:35 PM EDT

LONDON (AP) — German tennis legend Boris Becker was discharged from bankruptcy court in London after a judge found Wednesday he had done “all that he reasonably could do” to repay creditors tens of millions of pounds. Becker fell far short of repaying his creditors nearly 50...

Ford recalls Maverick pickups in US because tail lights can go dark, increasing the risk of a crash

May. 01, 2024 12:34 PM EDT

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Ford is recalling nearly 243,000 Maverick small pickup trucks in the U.S. because the tail lights may not illuminate. The company says a computer can falsely detect too much current on one or both of the tail lamps, causing them to stay dark while the trucks...

Tourists evacuated from Kenya’s Maasai Mara reserve amid flooding and heavy rains

May. 01, 2024 12:32 PM EDT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Tourists were evacuated by air from Kenya's Maasai Mara national reserve Wednesday after more than a dozen hotels, lodges and camps were flooded as heavy rains continue to batter the country. Tourist accommodation facilities were submerged after a river...

Mexican volunteer searchers say they've found a clandestine crematorium in Mexico City

May. 01, 2024 12:32 PM EDT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Volunteer searchers said they have found a clandestine crematorium on the edge of Mexico City. It's the first time in recent memory that anyone claimed to have found such a body disposal site in the capital. In northern Mexico, drug cartels often use drums...

Dozens of arrests. Scuffles in Parliament. Chaos around Georgia's so-called 'Russian law' continues

May. 01, 2024 12:31 PM EDT

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Dozens of people have been arrested in Georgia, and an opposition leader was seen bandaged and bruised, after police overnight used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the latest protest outside Parliament against a bill accused of limiting media freedom. ...