Top General News

Kevin McCarthy was booted as House speaker two months ago. Now he's leaving Congress by year's end

Dec. 06, 2023 14:20 PM EST

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two months after his historic ouster as U.S. House speaker, Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy said Wednesday that he is resigning and will leave Congress by the end of the year. His announcement capped a stunning end to a House career for the onetime deli counter...

Heavy fighting in Gaza halts most aid delivery and leaves civilians with few places to seek safety

Dec. 06, 2023 14:32 PM EST

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Intense fighting blocked relief workers from distributing food, water and medicine across most of the Gaza Strip, deepening the humanitarian crisis as Israeli forces battled Hamas militants Wednesday in a ground offensive that has brought some of the devastation...

A narrowing Republican presidential field will debate with just six weeks before the Iowa caucuses

Dec. 06, 2023 00:04 AM EST

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — The shrinking field of Republican presidential hopefuls will gather on a debate stage Wednesday for the fourth time this year, running out of time to shake up a race that's been dominated by former President Donald Trump. Four candidates will be on stage at...

Norman Lear, producer of TV's 'All in the Family' and influential liberal advocate, has died at 101

Dec. 06, 2023 14:16 PM EST

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Norman Lear, the writer, director and producer who revolutionized prime time television with "All in the Family," “The Jeffersons” and “Maude,” propelling political and social turmoil into the once-insulated world of TV sitcoms, has died. He was 101. Lear...

Trump tells supporters, 'Guard the vote.' Here’s the phrase's backstory and why it's raising concern

Dec. 06, 2023 14:40 PM EST

Former President Donald Trump is urging supporters to “guard the vote” during next year's election, a phrase that has set off alarm bells among pro-democracy advocates who say it signals permission to take extreme measures that could intimidate voters and threaten election workers. ...

Fake Donald Trump electors settle civil lawsuit in Wisconsin, agree that President Biden won

Dec. 06, 2023 13:34 PM EST

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Ten Republicans who posed as fake electors for former President Donald Trump in Wisconsin and filed paperwork falsely saying he had won the battleground state have settled a civil lawsuit and admitted their actions were part of an effort to overturn President Joe Biden's...

Washington's center of gravity on immigration has shifted to the right. Can the parties make a deal?

Dec. 06, 2023 13:53 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — It was a decade ago that Capitol Hill was consumed by an urgency to overhaul the nation’s immigration system, fueled in no small part by Republicans who felt a political imperative to make inroads with minority voters by embracing more generous policies. But...

US announces new weapons aid for Ukraine as Congress is stalled on more funding

Dec. 06, 2023 14:44 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is sending a $175 million package of military aid to Ukraine, including guided missiles for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), anti-armor systems and high-speed anti-radiation missiles, the Pentagon and State Department announced on Wednesday. ...

The West has sanctioned Russia's rich. But is that really punishing Putin and helping Ukraine?

Dec. 06, 2023 01:11 AM EST

VERONA, Italy (AP) — Sitting on a terrace in Verona as the bells toll at a nearby medieval church, Igor Makarov sips coffee as he describes his life as a billionaire under Western sanctions. Most of his fortune earned doing business in Russia and the former Soviet Union is frozen,...

2023 (Taylor's Version): The year in pop culture

Dec. 06, 2023 11:56 AM EST

In weather terminology, they call it “rapid intensification” — the process by which a storm strengthens dramatically in a short period. In pop culture terminology, they call it Taylor Swift. It’s not like Swift didn’t have big – huge! – years before this....

Latest General News

New director gets final approval to lead Ohio's revamped education department

Dec. 06, 2023 14:50 PM EST

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio's recently revamped education department has a new director, approved by the Republican-majority Senate on Wednesday. Steve Dackin, who will head the new Department of Education and Workforce, was already appointed by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine earlier...

Republicans threaten contempt proceedings if Hunter Biden refuses to appear for deposition

Dec. 06, 2023 14:50 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are warning Hunter Biden that they will move to hold him in contempt of Congress if he doesn’t appear this month for a closed-door deposition, raising the stakes in the growing standoff over testimony from President Joe Biden's son. Hunter...

How to watch the fourth Republican presidential debate and what to look for

Dec. 06, 2023 14:47 PM EST

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The number of candidates on stage is shrinking, but the fundamentals of Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate may be familiar to anyone who has watched the previous three meetings. No one has yet emerged as the clear Republican alternative to former...

US announces new weapons aid for Ukraine as Congress is stalled on more funding

Dec. 06, 2023 14:44 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is sending a $175 million package of military aid to Ukraine, including guided missiles for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), anti-armor systems and high-speed anti-radiation missiles, the Pentagon and State Department announced on Wednesday. ...

Republican prosecutor will appeal judge's ruling invalidating Wisconsin's 174-year-old abortion ban

Dec. 06, 2023 14:43 PM EST

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Republican prosecutor said Wednesday that he plans to appeal a court ruling that Wisconsin law permits abortions, the first step toward a potential showdown in the state Supreme Court over abortion rights. Sheboygan County District Attorney Joel Urmanski...

52 sea turtles experiencing 'cold stun' in New England flown to rehab in Florida

Dec. 06, 2023 14:43 PM EST

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Fifty-two endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtles suffering from “cold stun” are rehabbing at four facilities in Florida after a flight on a private plane from the New England Aquarium in Massachusetts. The turtles arrived in Tampa on Tuesday, and 16 were...

Trump tells supporters, 'Guard the vote.' Here’s the phrase's backstory and why it's raising concern

Dec. 06, 2023 14:40 PM EST

Former President Donald Trump is urging supporters to “guard the vote” during next year's election, a phrase that has set off alarm bells among pro-democracy advocates who say it signals permission to take extreme measures that could intimidate voters and threaten election workers. ...

The UK plans to ignore part of its human rights law to revive a Rwanda asylum plan

Dec. 06, 2023 14:34 PM EST

LONDON (AP) — The U.K. government triggered criticism from opponents and division inside the governing Conservatives on Wednesday with a bill that will let it ignore a part of the country's human rights law in order to send asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda. The...

Heavy fighting in Gaza halts most aid delivery and leaves civilians with few places to seek safety

Dec. 06, 2023 14:32 PM EST

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Intense fighting blocked relief workers from distributing food, water and medicine across most of the Gaza Strip, deepening the humanitarian crisis as Israeli forces battled Hamas militants Wednesday in a ground offensive that has brought some of the devastation...

McDonald's burger empire set for unprecedented growth over the next 4 years with 10,000 new stores

Dec. 06, 2023 14:30 PM EST

McDonald’s expects to open nearly 10,000 restaurants over the next four years, a pace of growth that would be unprecedented even for the world's largest burger chain. At an investor update Wednesday, the Chicago burger giant said it aims to have 50,000 restaurants in operation...