Top General News
UCLA cancels classes after violence erupts on campus over the war in Gaza
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
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'
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
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
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
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
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — United Methodist delegates repealed their church’s longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy with no debate on Wednesday, removing a rule forbidding “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” from being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...
This Texas veterinarian helped crack the mystery of bird flu in cows
The first calls that Dr. Barb Petersen received in early March were from dairy owners worried about crows, pigeons and other birds dying on their Texas farms. Then came word that barn cats — half of them on one farm — had died suddenly. Within days, the Amarillo veterinarian was...
Rollout of transgender bathroom law sows confusion among Utah public school families
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah public schools have been rushing to prepare students and teachers as the state starts cracking down Wednesday on any school found not enforcing new bathroom restrictions for transgender people. Residents and visitors are required under state law to use...
News organizations have trust issues as they gear up to cover another election, a poll finds
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...
Latest General News
Stock market today: Wall Street rallies after Federal Reserve chair says rate hikes are unlikely
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are rallying Wednesday after the head of the Federal Reserve said its next move on interest rates is unlikely to be a hike, even as inflation has remained stubbornly higher than hoped this year. The S&P 500 was up 1% in afternoon trading after the...
Testimony ends in a trial over New Hampshire's accountability for youth center abuse
BRENTWOOD, N.H. (AP) — Jurors who will decide whether to hold New Hampshire accountable for abuse at its youth detention center heard from the final witness in a landmark trial Wednesday: a psychiatrist who said the plaintiff has bipolar disorder, not post-traumatic stress disorder. ...
Arizona's Democratic leaders make final push to repeal 19th century abortion ban
PHOENIX (AP) — Democrats in the Arizona Legislature are expected to make a final push Wednesday to repeal the state’s long-dormant ban on nearly all abortions, which a court said can be enforced. Fourteen Democrats in the Senate are hoping to pick up at least two Republican votes...
Active shooter 'neutralized' outside Wisconsin school, officials say, amid reports of shots, panic
MOUNT HOREB, Wis. (AP) — Witnesses described children fleeing amid the sound of gunshots near a Wisconsin middle school where authorities said an active shooter was “neutralized” outside the building Wednesday. There were no reported injuries to those inside the school. ...
United Methodists repeal longstanding ban on LGBTQ clergy
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...
Mexican volunteer searchers say they've found a clandestine crematorium in Mexico City
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...
Prosecutors seek September retrial for Harvey Weinstein after rape conviction was tossed
NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors asked for a September retrial for Harvey Weinstein during a hearing at a Manhattan courthouse Wednesday, the disgraced movie mogul's first appearance since his 2020 rape conviction was overturned by an appeals court last week. Weinstein, wearing a navy...
Florida's 6-week abortion ban takes effect as doctors worry women will lose access to health care
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...
Federal Reserve says interest rates will stay at two-decade high until inflation further cools
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday emphasized that inflation has remained stubbornly high in recent months and said it doesn’t plan to cut interest rates until it has “greater confidence” that price increases are slowing sustainably to its 2% target. The Fed...
Lawsuit against Meta asks if Facebook users have right to control their feeds using external tools
AP Technology Writer (AP) — Do social media users have the right to control what they see — or don't see — on their feeds? A lawsuit filed against Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. is arguing that a federal law often used to shield internet companies from liability also...
