Author: The Associated Press

Small Minnesota Town Will Be Without Police After Chief And Officers Resign, Citing Low Pay

GOODHUE, Minn. (AP) — A small Minnesota town will soon be without a police department, an exodus spurred by low pay for the chief and his officers. Goodhue Police Chief Josh Smith and one other officer are still on the force, but only until their resignations become official on Aug. 23, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. Smith submitted his resignation at a…

President Biden Travels To Battleground Wisconsin To Talk About The Economy A Week Before GOP Debate

MILWAUKEE (AP) — In a show of preemptive counter-programming, President Joe Biden on Tuesday traveled to Wisconsin to highlight his economic policies in a state critical to his reelection fortunes, just a week before Republicans descend on Milwaukee for the party’s first presidential debate. His arrival in Milwaukee comes on the eve of the anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, major economic legislation that he signed into…

Trump Indicted For Efforts To Overturn 2020 Presidential Election In Georgia

ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia grand jury that has been investigating former President Donald Trump over his efforts to undo that state’s 2020 election results arrived at a frenzied conclusion late Monday, returning indictments even as prosecutors offered no clarity about who had been charged and for what. The existence of indictments became apparent around 9 p.m., when the Fulton…

Hawaii’s Governor Warns That Scores More People Could Be Found Dead Following Wildfires On Maui

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Hawaii’s governor warned that scores more people could be found dead following ferocious wildfires on Maui, as search and rescue crews scoured neighborhoods street by street and prepared to comb through buildings charred by flames that galloped a mile a minute. The blazes, which consumed most of the historic town of Lahaina, are already the deadliest in…

Biden Will Ask Congress For $13B To Support Ukraine And $12B For Disaster Fund, An AP Source Says

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday will ask Congress to provide more than $13 billion in emergency aid to Ukraine, another massive infusion of cash as the Russian invasion wears on and Ukraine pushes a counteroffensive against the Kremlin’s deeply entrenched forces, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The last such request from the White House, made in November,…

At Least 36 Killed On Maui As Fires Burn Through Hawaii And Thousands Race To Escape

WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) — Wildfires fueled by a dry summer and strong winds from a passing hurricane killed 36 people and destroyed hundreds of homes and other buildings on the Hawaiian island of Maui, in the deadliest blaze in the U.S. in years. Rescuers searched Thursday through the leveled, ashen homes and businesses of Lahaina, which dates to the 1700s, is the biggest…

Supreme Court Reinstates Regulation Of Ghost Guns, Firearms Without Serial Numbers

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is reinstating a regulation aimed at reining in the proliferation of ghost guns, firearms without serial numbers that have been turning up at crime scenes across the nation in increasing numbers. The court on Tuesday voted 5-4 to put on hold a ruling from a federal judge in Texas that invalidated the Biden administration’s regulation of ghost gun…

The Mega Millions Jackpot Has Soared To $1.55 Billion. Here’s How Hard It Is To Win

NEW YORK (AP) — There’s no shaking it. Your chances of winning the lottery are extremely slim. After no big winner Friday night, the Mega Millions jackpot climbed to an estimated $1.55 billion. If someone wins it all on Tuesday, when the next Mega Millions drawing takes place, the prize would one of the largest in U.S. lottery history. But don’t plan on…

Trump Pleads Not Guilty To Federal Charges That He Tried To Overturn The 2020 Election

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Thursday to trying to overturn the results of his 2020 presidential election loss, answering for the first time to federal charges that accuse him of orchestrating a brazen and ultimately failed attempt to block the peaceful transfer of presidential power. Trump appeared before a magistrate judge in Washington’s federal courthouse two days after being…

IRS Aims To Go Paperless By 2025 As Part Of Its Campaign To Conquer Mountains Of Paperwork

(AP) — Most taxpayers will be able to digitally submit a slew of tax documents and other communications to the IRS next filing season as the agency aims to go completely paperless by 2025. The effort to reduce the exorbitant load of paperwork that has plagued the agency — dubbed the “paperless processing initiative” — was announced Wednesday by Treasury Secretary Janet…

Trump Charged By Justice Department For Efforts To Overturn His 2020 Presidential Election Loss

(AP) — Donald Trump was charged Tuesday in a Justice Department investigation into his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, a frantic but ultimately failed endeavor that culminated in the violent riot by his supporters at the U.S. Capitol. The indictment, the third criminal case brought against the former president as he seeks to reclaim the White…

Two Tribal Nations To Open Minnesota’s First Legal Recreational Marijuana Dispensaries

WHITE EARTH, Minn. (AP) — At least two tribal nations are expected to open Minnesota’s first recreational marijuana dispensaries in August as recreational marijuana becomes legal to possess and grow in the state on Tuesday. Following a council vote on Friday, the White Earth Nation in northwestern Minnesota legalized recreational cannabis and will begin selling it sometime in the first…

Brain Fog And Other Long COVID Symptoms Are The Focus Of New Small Treatment Studies

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Institutes of Health is beginning a handful of studies to test possible treatments for long COVID, an anxiously awaited step in U.S. efforts against the mysterious condition that afflicts millions. Monday’s announcement from the NIH’s $1.15 billion RECOVER project comes amid frustration from patients who’ve struggled for months or even years with sometimes-disabling health problems — with…

First US Nuclear Reactor Built From Scratch In Decades Enters Commercial Operation In Georgia

ATLANTA (AP) — A new reactor at a nuclear power plant in Georgia has entered commercial operation, becoming the first new American reactor built from scratch in decades. Georgia Power Co. announced Monday that Unit 3 at Plant Vogtle, southeast of Augusta, has completed testing and is now sending power to the grid reliably. At its full output of 1,100 megawatts…

Supreme Court’s Student Loan Decision Will Lower US Deficit According To New White House Projection

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruling that upended President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive student loan debt changed his budget math, modestly lowering the projected deficit for this year, his budget office reported Friday. The White House expects to pare back $259 billion in spending that otherwise would have gone to erasing student loans. This contributed to lowering expected red ink…

A Meat Allergy Caused By Tick Spit Is Getting More Common, CDC Says

NEW YORK (AP) — More than 100,000 people in the U.S. have become allergic to red meat since 2010 because of a weird syndrome triggered by tick bites, according to a government report released Thursday. But health officials believe many more have the problem and don’t know it. A second report estimated that as many as 450,000 Americans have developed…

Trump Lawyers Meet With Jack Smith’s Team Ahead Of Possible 2020 Election Indictment, AP Source Says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers for Donald Trump were meeting Thursday with members of special counsel Jack Smith’s team ahead of a potential indictment over the former president’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to a person familiar with the matter. The meeting included Trump lawyer John Lauro, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of…

Sinéad O’Connor, Gifted And Provocative Irish Singer, Dies At 56

LONDON (AP) — Sinéad O’Connor, the gifted Irish singer-songwriter who became a superstar in her mid-20s but was known as much for her private struggles and provocative actions as for her fierce and expressive music, has died at 56. “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested…

US To Send Up To $400 Million In Military Aid To Ukraine

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is sending up to $400 million in additional military aid to Ukraine, including a variety of munitions for advanced air defense systems and a number of small, surveillance Hornet drones, the Pentagon announced Tuesday, as attacks in the war escalated to include strikes in Moscow and Crimea. The package includes an array of ammunition — ranging…

Wisconsin Drops Lawsuit Challenging Trump-Era Border Wall Funding

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin is dropping out of two multistate lawsuits that challenged former President Donald Trump’s decision to divert billions of dollars to fund a wall across the southern U.S. border. Lawmakers in Wisconsin granted the state Justice Department permission to exit the lawsuits on Tuesday. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, had jointed other states in…

UPS Reaches Tentative Contract With 340,000 Unionized Workers Potentially Dodging Calamitous Strike

NEW YORK (AP) — UPS has reached a contract agreement with its 340,000-person strong union Tuesday, averting a strike that had the potential to disrupt logistics nationwide for businesses and households alike. The agreement was announced after UPS and the Teamsters came back to the negotiating table Tuesday to talk over remaining sticking points in the largest private-sector contract in…

UPS Strike Looms: Workers On The Brink, Here’s What You Need To Know

NEW YORK (AP) – The clock is ticking. As the deadline to reach a new contract nears, a potential UPS strike feels closer than ever. Negotiations broke down earlier this month and unionized workers have been holding rallies and practice pickets across the country. The Teamsters, which represent more than half of the company’s workforce, will resume talks with UPS on Tuesday. That leaves less than…

Man Who Ambushed Fargo Officers Searched Online For ‘Kill Fast’ And For Crowded Area Events, AG Says

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — The man who shot three Fargo police officers and a civilian, killing one of the officers before an officer killed him, searched the internet for terms including “explosive ammo” and “kill fast,” as well as for what crowded area events might be happening in and around North Dakota’s largest city, authorities said Friday. Mohamad Barakat, 37,…

Tony Bennett, Masterful Stylist Of American Musical Standards, Dies At 96

NEW YORK (AP) — Tony Bennett, the eminent and timeless stylist whose devotion to classic American songs and knack for creating new standards such as “I Left My Heart In San Francisco” graced a decades long career that brought him admirers from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga, died Friday. He was 96, just two weeks short of his birthday. Publicist Sylvia…

The Wait Is Over As Powerball Finally Has A Winner For Its Jackpot Worth Over $1 Billion

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A winning ticket has been sold in California for the Powerball jackpot worth an estimated $1.08 billion, the sixth largest in U.S. history and the third largest in the history of the game. The winning numbers for Wednesday night’s drawing were: white balls 7, 10, 11, 13, 24 and red Powerball 24. The California Lottery said on Twitter that the…

Fargo Police Officer Justified In Using Deadly Force Against Gunman, State Attorney General Says

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — The man who shot Fargo police officers — one fatally — last week had 1,800 rounds, multiple guns and a homemade hand grenade in his vehicle, officials said Wednesday. Mohamad Barakat, 37, opened fired on officers while they were responding to a traffic wreck Friday in south Fargo, authorities said. Officer Jake Wallin was killed, and…

Floods Wash Away Children, Scorching Heat Envelopes The West As Wildfire Smoke Overtakes Northern US

WASHINGTON CROSSING, Pa. (AP) — Emergency crews in suburban Philadelphia intensified their search Monday for a missing 9-month-old boy and his 2-year-old sister who were swept away in a family car when torrential rains flooded a roadway. While the East Coast grappled with the aftermath of downpours that closed roads and rendered the water supply undrinkable in places, the West…

Second Alzheimer’s Drug In The Pipeline Promises To Slow Worsening But With Safety Concern

WASHINGTON (AP) — Another experimental Alzheimer’s drug can modestly slow patients’ inevitable worsening — by about four to seven months, researchers reported Monday. Eli Lilly and Co. is seeking Food and Drug Administration approval of donanemab. If cleared, it would be only the second Alzheimer’s treatment convincingly shown to delay the mind-robbing disease — after the recently approved Leqembi from Japanese drugmaker…

No Fingerprints, DNA Sample Or Leads From Cocaine Found At The White House, The Secret Service Says

WASHINGTON (AP) — No fingerprints or DNA turned up on the baggie of cocaine found in a lobby at the White House last week despite a sophisticated FBI crime lab analysis, and surveillance footage of the area didn’t identify a suspect, according to a summary of the Secret Service investigation obtained by The Associated Press. There are no leads on who brought…

Powerball Jackpot Climbs To $875 Million For Saturday After No Winner In Latest Drawing

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Powerball jackpot soared to an estimated $875 million after no winning ticket was sold for the latest drawing. No ticket for Wednesday’s $750 million jackpot matched the white balls 23, 35, 45, 66, 67 and red Powerball 20. The new jackpot for Saturday’s drawing is the third highest in the history of the game. Ticket buyers have a…

First Over-The-Counter Birth Control Pill Gets FDA Approval

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials have approved the first over-the-counter birth control pill, which will let American women and girls buy contraceptive medication from the same aisle as aspirin and eyedrops. The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it cleared Perrigo’s once-a-day Opill to be sold without a prescription, making it the first such medication to be moved out from behind the…

EPA Moves To Reduce Childhood Exposure To Lead-Based Paint Dust

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Wednesday moved to reduce children’s exposure to lead, proposing stricter limits on dust from lead-based paint in older homes and child-care facilities. Declaring that “there is no safe level of lead,” the administration estimates that the proposed rule would reduce lead exposure for approximately 250,000 to 500,000 children under the age of six…

Man Gets Lengthy Sentence For Fatal Shooting Of Minnesota Girl Who Was Jumping On Trampoline

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A man was sentenced Tuesday to more than 37 years in prison for fatally shooting a 9-year-old Minnesota girl as she was jumping on a trampoline with friends. D’Pree Shareef Robinson, 20, pleaded guilty in March to second-degree murder in the 2021 death of Trinity Ottoson-Smith, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. He later tried unsuccessfully to withdraw the guilty…

Wisconsin School District Can’t Restrict Bathrooms For Transgender Student, Federal Judge Says

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal judge has blocked a Wisconsin school district from requiring transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that match the sex they were assigned at birth while a lawsuit plays out against the school. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman said Thursday that the Mukwonago Area School District must allow a transgender student to use…

Solar Storm Thursday Expected To Make Northern Lights Visible In 17 States

A solar storm forecast for Thursday is expected to give skygazers in 17 American states a chance to glimpse the Northern Lights, the colorful sky show that happens when solar wind hits the atmosphere. Northern Lights, also known as aurora borealis, are most often seen in Alaska, Canada and Scandinavia, but an 11-year solar cycle that’s expected to peak in…

Powerball Jackpot Reaches $650 Million

(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) An estimated $650 million jackpot will be at stake for the next Powerball drawing after no winning ticket was sold for the Saturday drawing. The new jackpot for Monday’s drawing is the ninth-highest in the history of the game. The Powerball jackpot rolled over after no one matched all six numbers drawn — white balls 7, 23,…

Wis. Gov. Tony Evers Scales Back Republican Tax Cut, Signs State Budget

(Steve Apps/Wisconsin State Journal via AP, File) MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed off on a two-year spending plan Wednesday after dramatically scaling back the size of a Republican income tax cut that would have moved the state closer to a flat rate. Evers, a Democrat, also used his partial veto power to increase funding for K-12…

Alleged Killer of 5 In Philadelphia Shooting Had No Connection With Victims

2-year-old and 13-year-old boys also wounded.

Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A 40-year-old man with a rifle, a pistol, extra magazines, a police scanner and a bulletproof vest fatally shot four men in a Philadelphia neighborhood and chased and killed a fifth man inside a house, police said. A 2-year-old boy and a 13-year-old were also wounded in the Monday night violence that made the working-class…

Minnesota College Tuition Program Has North Dakota Worried

Concern is that Minnesota students may stay in home state.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota higher education officials are deeply worried about losing students and revenue in 2024 when neighboring Minnesota makes public college and university tuition free for thousands of residents. Officials estimate around 15,000 to 20,000 Minnesota students a year will use the free North Star Promise program, and North Dakota education officials are projecting an $8.4…

Rain Fails To Quell Canadian Wildfires; More Smoky Haze On The Way

AP TORONTO (AP) — Canadian wildfires will send worsening smoky air across the country and neighboring United States in coming days after recent heavy rains failed to fall in areas of Quebec where the fires are most active, officials said Wednesday. Drifting smoke from the wildfires has lowered curtains of haze on broad swaths of Canada and the United States,…

The Titan Implosion Will Be Investigated By An International Group Of Agencies

(AP) — An international group of agencies is investigating what may have caused the Titan submersible to implode while carrying five people to the Titanic wreckage, and U.S. maritime officials say they’ll issue a report aimed at improving the safety of submersibles worldwide. Investigators from the U.S., Canada, France and the United Kingdom are working closely together on the probe of the June…

High-Speed Internet Is A Necessity, President Biden Says, Pledging All US Will Have Access By 2030

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday said that high-speed internet is no longer a luxury but an “absolute necessity,” as he pledged that every household in the nation would have access by 2030 using cables made in the U.S. “These investments will help all Americans,” he said. “We’re not going to leave anyone behind.” Biden announced that more…

Biden Will Sign An Order Seeking To Protect Birth Control Access A Year After Roe Was Overturned

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is banking on reproductive rights to be a galvanizing issue for voters in the 2024 election as he collects three top-level endorsements, hosts a rally and issues an executive order seeking to bolster access to contraception as the nation marks a year since the Supreme Court decision overturning federal abortion protections. Biden and Vice President…

The Pilot And 4 Passengers Of The Titan Submersible Are Dead, US Coast Guard Says

(AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard says a missing submersible imploded near the wreckage of the Titanic, killing all five people on board. Coast Guard officials said during a news conference Thursday that they’ve notified the families of the crew of the Titan, which has been missing for several days. Debris found during the search for the vessel “is consistent…

Wisconsin Assembly To Vote On Allowing Pharmacists To Prescribe Birth Control

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Assembly on Wednesday is expected to pass a Republican-authored, bipartisan bill opposed by anti-abortion groups that would allow pharmacists to prescribe and dispense birth control. The GOP-controlled Assembly passed the measure with broad bipartisan support last session, but it died in the Senate. Its sponsor, Republican Rep. Joel Kitchens, has said he’s optimistic it…

Underwater Noises Heard In Desperate Search For Submersible Missing With 5 Aboard Near Titanic

(AP) — A Canadian military surveillance aircraft detected underwater noises as a massive operation searched early Wednesday in a remote part of the North Atlantic for a submersible that vanished while taking five people down to the wreck of the Titanic. A statement from the U.S. Coast Guard did not elaborate on what rescuers believed the noises could be, though it offered a…

In Race Against Clock, Expanding Fleet Of Ships Searches For Sub Lost Near Titanic Wreck

(AP) — In a race against the clock on the high seas, an expanding international armada of ships and airplanes searched Tuesday for a submersible that vanished in the North Atlantic while taking five people down to the wreck of the Titanic. U.S. Coast Guard officials said the search covered 10,000 square miles (26,000 square kilometers) but turned up no sign…