Author: The Associated Press

Senate Passes $1.7 Trillion Bill To Fund Gov’t, Aid Ukraine

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate passed a massive $1.7 trillion spending bill Thursday that finances federal agencies through September and provides another large round of aid to Ukraine one day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s dramatic address to a joint meeting of Congress. The bill, which runs for 4,155 pages, includes about $772.5 billion for domestic programs and $858 billion…

Zelenskyy’s Surprise Visit To DC Was Months In The Making

WASHINGTON (AP) — The idea of a daring wartime trip by Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington had percolated for some time before the surprise visit was revealed just hours ahead of the Ukrainian president’s arrival. During an October summit in Zagreb, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi discussed with her counterpart in the Ukrainian parliament the prospect of Zelenskyy addressing the U.S. Congress. Biden administration officials…

Biden Tells Zelenskyy: ‘It’s An Honor To Be By Your Side’

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid a defiant wartime visit to Washington on Wednesday to thank U.S. leaders and “ordinary Americans” for their support in fighting off Russia’s invasion and to press for continued aid in the brutal months to come. President Joe Biden and Congress responded with billions in new assistance and a pledge to help Ukraine…

As Flu Rages, US Releases Medicine From National Stockpile

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Wednesday it will release doses of prescription flu medicine from the Strategic National Stockpile to states as flu-sickened patients continue to flock to hospitals and doctors’ offices around the country. This year’s flu season has hit hard and early. Some people are even noticing bare shelves at pharmacies and grocery stores when they make a…

US Sending Patriots To Ukraine Under $1.85B Aid Package

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it will provide $1.85 billion in military aid to Ukraine, rolling out funding for a Patriot missile battery as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is arriving in Washington for his first known trip out of his country since Russia invaded in February. The White House announcement came just hours before Zelenskyy was expected to arrive. The…

Postal Service Pledges Move To All-Electric Delivery Fleet

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a major boost for President Joe Biden’s pledge to eliminate gas-powered vehicles from the sprawling federal fleet, the Postal Service said Tuesday it will sharply increase the number of electric-powered delivery trucks — and will go all-electric for new purchases starting in 2026. The post office said it is spending nearly $10 billion to electrify its…

GOP’s Usual Embrace Of Trump Muted After Criminal Referral

NEW YORK (AP) — The Republican Party quickly and forcefully rallied behind Donald Trump in the hours after federal agents seized classified documents from his Florida estate this summer. Four months later, that sense of intensity and urgency was missing — at least for now — after the Jan. 6 House committee voted to recommend the Justice Department bring criminal charges against him. Leading…

US Homeless Numbers Stay About The Same As Before Pandemic

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration announced Monday that it is ramping up efforts to help house people now sleeping on sidewalks and in tents and cars as a new federal report confirms what’s obvious to people in many cities: Homelessness is persisting despite increased local efforts. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said that in…

Jan. 6 Panel Pushes Trump’s Prosecution In Forceful Finish

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Jan. 6 committee is wrapping up its investigation of the violent 2021 U.S. Capitol insurrection, with lawmakers expected to cap one of the most exhaustive and aggressive congressional probes in memory with an extraordinary recommendation: The Justice Department should consider criminal charges against former President Donald Trump. At a final meeting on Monday, the panel’s seven Democrats and two Republicans…

11 People Seriously Injured Amid Turbulence On Hawaii Flight

HONOLULU (AP) — Nearly a dozen people were seriously injured when a flight to Hawaii was rocked by severe turbulence on Sunday about 30 minutes outside Honolulu, an emergency response agency said. Eleven people on the Hawaiian Airlines flight from Phoenix were taken to multiple emergency rooms in serious condition, and nine others were transported in stable condition, the Honolulu…

ALS Patients Contend With $158K Price Tag On New Drug

WASHINGTON (AP) — For two years, Becky Mourey pushed the Food and Drug Administration to approve an experimental drug for her Lou Gehrig’s disease. She went to members of Congress and health regulators to make the case for Relyvrio, until patient-advocates finally prevailed. In September, Relyvrio became only the third drug approved in the U.S. for ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, an…

Messi Wins World Cup, Argentina Beats France On Penalties

LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — Lionel Messi, wearing a black Qatari robe over his blue-and-white Argentina shirt, kissed the World Cup, shuffled toward his teammates and hoisted the golden trophy high in the air. It was an iconic sight that finally — definitively — places the soccer superstar in the pantheon of the game’s greatest players. Messi’s once-in-a-generation career is complete: He is…

Fed Set To Extend Inflation Fight With 7th Rate Hike Of 2022

WASHINGTON (AP) — After four straight three-quarter-point interest rate hikes, the Federal Reserve is set to announce a smaller half-point increase in its key rate Wednesday, a first step toward dialing back its efforts to combat inflation. At the same time, the Fed is expected to signal that it plans more hikes next year than it had previously forecast to try to…

Sandy Hook Anniversary: Biden Cites ‘Societal Guilt’ On Guns

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday said the U.S. “should have societal guilt” for the slow pace of action on restricting access to firearms as he marked the 10th anniversary of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Twenty students and six teachers died in the massacre at the Newtown, Connecticut, school which shocked the nation. Biden was using…

US Storm Brings Tornadoes, Blizzard-Like Conditions; 2 Dead

DALLAS (AP) — A destructive storm marched across the United States, spawning tornadoes that touched down in parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, where the deaths of a young boy and his mother were reported, and it delivered blizzard-like conditions to the Great Plains and threatened more severe weather Wednesday in the South. In northern Louisiana, the boy was found…

Biden Signs Gay Marriage Bill At White House Ceremony

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed gay marriage legislation into law Tuesday before a crowd of thousands, a ceremony that reflected growing acceptance of same-sex unions. “This law and the love it defends strike a blow against hate in all its forms,” Biden said on the South Lawn of the White House. “And that’s why this law matters to every single…

FTX’s Bankman-Fried Charged By US For ‘Scheme’ To Defraud

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. government charged Samuel Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, with a host of financial crimes on Tuesday, alleging he intentionally deceived customers and investors to enrich himself and others, while playing a central role in the company’s multibillion-dollar collapse. Federal prosecutors say that beginning in 2019 Bankman-Fried devised “a scheme…

US Poised To Approve Patriot Missile Battery For Ukraine

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is poised to approve sending a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine, finally agreeing to an urgent request from Ukrainian leaders desperate for more robust weapons to shoot down incoming Russian attacks, U.S. officials said Tuesday. The approval is likely to come later this week and could be announced as early as Thursday, said three officials, who spoke…

Fusion Breakthrough Could Be Climate, Energy Game-Changer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm announced a “major scientific breakthrough” Tuesday in the decades-long quest to harness fusion, the energy that powers the sun and stars. Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California for the first time produced more energy in a fusion reaction than was used to ignite it, something called net energy gain, the Energy Department…

US Inflation Slowed Sharply To 7.1% Over Past 12 Months

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation in the United States slowed again last month in the latest sign that price increases are cooling despite the pressures they continue to inflict on American households. Consumer prices rose 7.1% in November from a year ago, the government said Tuesday. That was down sharply from 7.7% in October and a recent peak of 9.1% in June. It…

2nd Oath Keepers Jan. 6 Sedition Trial To Get Underway

WASHINGTON (AP) — After securing seditious conspiracy convictions against two leaders of the Oath Keepers, the Justice Department will begin Monday to try to make its Capitol riot case against four others affiliated with the far-right extremist group. Openings statements are expected in Washington’s federal court less than two weeks after Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers, and Kelly Meggs,…

Prosecutors: Murdaugh Killed Family To Gain Pity, Distract

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A judge will determine whether evidence of disbarred South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh’s alleged financial crimes are admissible in an upcoming double-murder trial that has drawn worldwide attention for its bizarre twists. Prosecutors recently said that Murdaugh killed his wife and youngest son last year to gain sympathy and distract others from his damning financial crimes….

Bomb Threat Disrupts Patti LaBelle Concert In Wisconsin

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (AP) — Patti LaBelle was abruptly rushed off stage just a couple of songs into her Christmas concert in Milwaukee after a bomb threat forced authorities to evacuate the theater. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that video from the Riverside Theater on Saturday night shows what appears to be two security officers interrupting the 78-year-old LaBelle as she chats with…

US Soccer Journalist Grant Wahl Dies at World Cup

Career work includes reporting on some of the biggest stories in the sport and helping to grow its popularity

LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) – Grant Wahl, an American journalist who helped grow the popularity of soccer in the U.S. and reported on some of the biggest stories in the sport, dies while covering a World Cup match between Argentina and the Netherlands. He was 49. The organizing committee said Wahl received immediate emergency medical treatment on site, which continued as…

Wisconsin Postal Worked Killed

Mail carrier killed while delivering mail in Milwaukee

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Police in Wisconsin are searching for the shooter who killed a U.S. Postal Service employee as he was delivering mail. The shooting happened in Milwaukee just before 6 p.m. Friday on the city’s north side. The Milwaukee Police Department said the 44-year-old mail carrier was pronounced dead at the scene. He had worked for the Postal Service…

Putin Says More US-Russian Prisoner Exchanges Are Possible

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that more U.S.-Russian prisoner exchanges are possible if Moscow and Washington find a compromise. Putin spoke a day after Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout was swapped for WNBA star and two-time Olympian Brittney Griner. Asked after a summit in Kyrgyzstan whether other prisoners could be swapped, Putin replied that “everything is possible,”…

Officer Who Kneeled On George Floyd’s Back Faces Sentencing

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The former Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on George Floyd’s back while another officer kneeled on the Black man’s neck is expected to be sentenced Friday to 3 1/2 years in prison for manslaughter. J. Alexander Kueng pleaded guilty in October to a state count of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. The plea came on the same day jury selection was…

Brittney Griner Back Home In US After Russian Prisoner Swap

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Brittney Griner returned to the United States early Friday, nearly 10 months after the basketball star’s detention in Russia made her the most high-profile American jailed abroad and set off a political firestorm. Griner’s status as an openly gay Black woman, her prominence in women’s basketball and her imprisonment in a country where authorities have been hostile to…

FDA Clears Updated COVID-19 Vaccines For Kids Under Age 5

(AP) — U.S. regulators on Thursday cleared doses of the updated COVID-19 vaccines for children younger than age 5. The Food and Drug Administration’s decision aims to better protect the littlest kids amid an uptick in COVID-19 cases around the country — at a time when children’s hospitals already are packed with tots suffering from other respiratory illnesses including the…

Family Of American Prisoner Paul Whelan Backs Griner Deal

(AP) — The family of an American detained in Russia for nearly four years said Thursday that the Biden administration “made the right decision” by agreeing to a prisoner exchange that freed WNBA star Brittney Griner, but relatives are “devastated” that Paul Whelan remains behind. Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive, has been jailed since December 2018 on espionage charges…

WNBA Star Griner Freed In Swap For Russian Arms Dealer Bout

WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia freed WNBA star Brittney Griner on Thursday in a dramatic high-level prisoner exchange, as the U.S. released notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. The swap, at a time of heightened tensions over Ukraine, achieved a top goal for President Joe Biden, but carried a heavy price — and left behind an American jailed for nearly four…

Bill Protecting Same-Sex, Interracial Unions Clears Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House gave final approval Thursday to legislation protecting same-sex marriages, a monumental step in a decades-long battle for nationwide recognition of those unions that reflects a stark turnaround in societal attitudes. President Joe Biden is expected to promptly sign the measure, which requires all states to recognize same-sex marriages. It is a relief for hundreds of…

Juul Reaches Settlements Covering Thousands Of Lawsuits

(AP) — Embattled vaping company Juul Labs has reached settlements covering thousands of lawsuits over its e-cigarettes, which in recent years became a scourge in schools and communities nationwide. Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but Juul said that it has secured an equity investment to fund it. Buffeted by lawsuits, Juul announced hundreds of layoffs last month…

Justices Skeptical Of Elections Case That Could Alter Voting

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed skeptical of making a broad ruling that would leave state legislatures virtually unchecked in making rules for congressional and presidential elections. In nearly three hours of arguments, liberal and conservative justices appeared to take issue with the main thrust of a challenge asking them to essentially eliminate the power of state courts to strike…

US To Boost Natural Gas Exports To UK In Energy Partnership

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States will increase exports of liquefied natural gas to Britain under a new agreement calling for the two countries to work together to boost energy security and drive down prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the agreement Wednesday as part of a larger effort to reduce…

Democratic Sen. Warnock Wins Georgia Runoff Against Walker

ATLANTA (AP) — Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock defeated Republican challenger Herschel Walker in a Georgia runoff election Tuesday, ensuring Democrats an outright majority in the Senate for the rest of President Joe Biden’s term and helping cap an underwhelming midterm cycle for the GOP in the last major vote of the year. With Warnock’s second runoff victory in as many years, Democrats…

Jan. 6 Committee To Issue Criminal Referrals, Chairman Says

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol will make criminal referrals to the Justice Department as it wraps up its probe and looks to publish a final report by the end of the year, the panel’s chairman said Tuesday. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., told reporters that the committee has decided to issue the referrals…

Trump Organization Convicted In Executive Tax Dodge Scheme

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s company was convicted of tax fraud on Tuesday in a case brought by the Manhattan District Attorney, a significant repudiation of financial practices at the former president’s business. A jury found two corporate entities at the Trump Organization guilty on all 17 counts, including conspiracy charges and falsifying business records. The verdict came on…

Biden’s Efforts To Protect Abortion Access Hit Roadblocks

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is still actively searching for ways to safeguard abortion access for millions of women, even as it bumps up against a complex web of strict new state laws enacted in the months after the Supreme Court stripped the constitutional right. Looking to seize on momentum following a midterm election where voters widely rebuked tougher abortion restrictions, there’s a renewed push…

Hand-Counts Find No Problems With Minnesota Vote Tabulators

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Election officials said they found no problems with vote-counting machines in Minnesota when they conducted a series of hand counts to verify that the machines accurately reflected how people voted. Minnesota has required all counties to hand-count ballots in a few randomly chosen precincts since 2006. During the hand count, election judges make sure their…

Trump Faces Peril In Docs Probe After Decades Of Scrutiny

WASHINGTON (AP) — As a businessman and president, Donald Trump faced a litany of lawsuits and criminal investigations yet emerged from the legal scrutiny time and again with his public and political standing largely intact. But he’s perhaps never confronted a probe as perilous as the Mar-a-Lago investigation, an inquiry focused on the potential mishandling of top-secret documents. The sense of vulnerability has…

Pfizer Asks FDA To Clear Updated COVID Shot For Kids Under 5

(AP) — Pfizer is asking U.S. regulators to authorize its updated COVID-19 vaccine for children under age 5 — not as a booster but part of their initial shots. Children ages 6 months through 4 years already are supposed to get three extra-small doses of the original Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine — each a tenth of the amount adults receive —…

Supreme Court Taking Up Clash Of Religion And Gay Rights

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is hearing the case Monday of a Christian graphic artist who objects to designing wedding websites for gay couples, a dispute that’s the latest clash of religion and gay rights to land at the highest court. The designer and her supporters say that ruling against her would force artists — from painters and photographers to writers and musicians…

FBI Director Raises National Security Concerns About TikTok

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Chris Wray is raising national security concerns about TikTok, warning Friday that control of the popular video sharing app is in the hands of a Chinese government “that doesn’t share our values.” Wray said the FBI was concerned that the Chinese had the ability to control the app’s recommendation algorithm, “which allows them to manipulate…

U.S. Eliminated in First Round of World Cup Knock-Outs

Players and coaches hope their performance encourages soccer spectatorship back home

DOHA, Qatar — Heartbreak for Team USA fans at the World Cup. The U.S. Men’s Team now heading home after they were defeated by the Netherlands in the first knock-out round of the World Cup today. The U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team’s time in Doha, Qatar for the 2022 World Cup officially coming to an end after today’s 3-1 loss…

Biden Sees Economy Avoiding Recession, But Risks Remain

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden assured Americans on Friday that the U.S. economy is chugging along in the holiday season, but the very strength of a new jobs report showed that high inflation remains a recession threat. At the White House, the president signed an emergency bill to avert a rail strike that he said could have caused 765,000 job losses…