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…
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…
(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…
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…
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — One day in the 1970s, Paul Fleisher and his wife were walking through a department store parking lot when they noticed a group of people looking at them. Fleisher, who is white, and his wife, who is Black, were used to “the look.” But this time it was more intense. “There was this white family who…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
(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 —…
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell in morning trading on Wall Street Monday and bond yields rose as investors face a mostly quiet week that will be capped by a closely watched update on inflation. The S&P 500 fell 1.1% as of 10:20 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 288 points, or 0.8%, to 34,141 and the Nasdaq…
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…
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…
PARADISE, Texas (AP) — A 7-year-old Texas girl has been found dead, two days after being reported missing, and a FedEx delivery driver arrested in her death, authorities said. The body of Athena Strand was found Friday and Tanner Lynn Horner, 31, was arrested on kidnapping and murder charges after confessing to killing the girl and telling authorities where to…
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…
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…
(AP) — Infowars host Alex Jones filed for personal bankruptcy protection in Texas on Friday as he faces nearly $1.5 billion in court judgments over conspiracy theories he spread about the Sandy Hook school massacre. Jones filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in bankruptcy court in Houston. His filing lists $1 billion to $10 billion in liabilities owed to 50 to…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s employers kept hiring briskly in November despite high inflation and a slow-growing economy — a sign of resilience in the face of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes. The economy added 263,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate stayed 3.7%, still near a 53-year low, the Labor Department said Friday. November’s job growth dipped only slightly from October’s 284,000 gain….
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed a bill Friday to avert a freight rail strike that he said could have plunged the U.S. into a catastrophic recession. At the White House, Biden signed a measure passed Thursday by the Senate and Wednesday by the House. It binds rail companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached between the railroads…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday said the Biden administration program to cancel student loans will remain blocked for now, but the justices agreed to take up the case in late winter. The court’s decision to hear arguments relatively quickly means it is likely to determine whether the widespread loan cancellations are legal by late June. That’s about two months…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy would face a severe economic shock if senators don’t pass legislation this week to avert a freight rail worker strike. That’s the message the Biden administration is delivering personally to Democratic senators in a closed-door session Thursday. The House acted soon after a request from President Joe Biden and on Wednesday passed legislation that would bind…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presidents Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron are celebrating the long-standing U.S.-French relationship, but these are friends with differences. The French leader is using his visit to Washington to sharply criticize aspects of his ally’s signature climate law as a bad deal for Europe. Biden was set to honor Macron with the first state dinner of his presidency on Thursday evening. First, the presidents…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House moved urgently to head off the looming nationwide rail strike on Wednesday, passing a bill that would bind companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached in September but rejected by some of the 12 unions involved. The measure passed by a vote of 290-137 and now heads to the Senate. If…
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon said Wednesday it had its biggest ever Thanksgiving holiday shopping weekend, aided by a record number of consumers looking for deals online amid high inflation. The e-commerce company does not typically share how much it earns during its sales events and did not disclose its overall revenue from the weekend. It said in a news…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate passed bipartisan legislation Tuesday to protect same-sex marriages, an extraordinary sign of shifting national politics on the issue and a measure of relief for the hundreds of thousands of same-sex couples who have married since the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision that legalized gay marriage nationwide. The bill, which would ensure that same-sex and interracial marriages…
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Christian Pulisic scored while crashing headfirst into the goalkeeper in the 38th minute and the United States advanced to the knockout round of the World Cup with a 1-0 win over Iran on Tuesday in a politically charged rematch of their famous meeting a quarter-century ago. Pulisic sprawled on the field and was lying in the…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate will vote Tuesday on bipartisan legislation to protect same-sex and interracial marriages, moving Congress closer to passing the landmark bill and ensuring that such unions are enshrined in federal law. The expected passage of the legislation with support from both parties is an extraordinary sign of the shifting politics on the issue and a measure…
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A Walmart employee who survived last week’s mass shooting at a store in Virginia has filed a $50 million lawsuit against the company for allegedly continuing to employ the shooter — a store supervisor — “who had known propensities for violence, threats and strange behavior.” The lawsuit, which appears to be the first to stem from the shooting,…
(AP) — U.S. consumer confidence fell for the second straight month in November amid ongoing high inflation, rising interest rates, and layoffs in the tech sector. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to 100.2 this month, down from 102.2 in October. November’s figure is the lowest since July, and likely reflected an uptick in gas prices…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is taking up a dispute over a blocked Biden administration policy that would prioritize deportation of people in the country illegally who pose the greatest public safety risk. Republican-led states sued and won a nationwide court order that is meant to limit immigration officers’ discretion in deciding whom to deport. The justices are hearing arguments in the case…
HONOLULU (AP) — The world’s largest active volcano spewed some ash and lava Monday and officials said that Mauna Loa wasn’t threatening communities on Hawaii’s Big Island but people should be prepared for worse. The U.S. Geological Survey warned the island’s 200,000 residents that an eruption “can be very dynamic, and the location and advance of lava flows can change rapidly.” The…
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The white gunman who massacred 10 Black shoppers and workers at a Buffalo supermarket pleaded guilty Monday to murder and hate-motivated terrorism charges, guaranteeing he will spend the rest of his life in prison. Payton Gendron, 19, entered the plea Monday in a courthouse roughly two miles from the grocery store where he used a semiautomatic rifle and…
SHANGHAI (AP) — Barely a month after granting himself new powers as China’s potential leader for life, Xi Jinping is facing a wave of public anger of the kind not seen for decades, sparked by his “zero COVID” strategy that will soon enter its fourth year. Demonstrators poured into the streets over the weekend in cities including Shanghai and Beijing, criticizing the…
NEW YORK (AP) — Days after flocking to stores on Black Friday, consumers are turning online for Cyber Monday to score more discounts on gifts and other items that have ballooned in price because of high inflation. Cyber Monday is expected to remain the year’s biggest online shopping day and rake in up to $11.6 billion in sales, according to…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is strengthening U.S. policy aimed at stemming sexual violence in war conflict zones, elevating the problem — increasingly documented in Ukraine and elsewhere — to the level of a possible serious human rights abuse that triggers sanctions and other actions against foreign perpetrators. Biden, a Democrat, on Monday will sign a presidential memorandum that seeks to combat the…
Courtesy: AP LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Thanksgiving afternoon game between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys set the mark for the most-watched NFL regular-season game on record. The Cowboys 28-20 victory on Fox averaged 42 million viewers, according to Nielsen, surpassing the 41.55 million average for the Dec. 3, 1990, Monday night game between the Giants and San Francisco…
NANTUCKET, Mass. (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday delivered at least half a dozen pies to Massachusetts firefighters during a Thanksgiving Day show of appreciation and his toddler grandson walked away with a red fire hat topping his blond curls. “Oh wow,” Biden was heard to say upon seeing Beau Biden, who is nearly 3, emerge from the headquarters building wearing…
NEW YORK (AP) — While Black Friday will mark a return to familiar holiday shopping patterns, uncertainty still remains. The U.S. job market remains strong, consumer spending is resilient and inflation has been slowing. But elevated prices for food, rent, gasoline and other household costs have taken a toll on shoppers. As a result, many are reluctant to spend unless…
NEW YORK (AP) — The mass shooting Wednesday at a Walmart in Virginia was only the latest example of a workplace shooting perpetrated by an employee. But while many companies provide active shooting training, experts say there is much less focus on how to prevent workplace violence, particularly how to identify and address worrisome behavior among employees. Workers far too often don’t…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Democrats hope to use their newfound political control in some states to guarantee that women have access to abortion, while some GOP strongholds may temper their efforts to deepen restrictions after poorer-than-expected results in the midterms. Even after their gains this month, Democrats lack the power to codify abortion rights into federal law. That puts the abortion debate squarely on the…
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) — A Walmart manager opened fire on fellow employees in the break room of a Virginia store, killing six people in the country’s second high-profile mass shooting in four days, police and a witness said Wednesday. The gunman, who apparently shot himself, was dead when police found him, Chesapeake Police Chief Mark G. Solesky said. There was…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that his administration will extend a pause on federal student loan payments while the White House fights a legal battle to save his plan to cancel portions of the debt. “It isn’t fair to ask tens of millions of borrowers eligible for relief to resume their student debt payments while the courts consider…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for the imminent handover of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns to a congressional committee after a three-year legal fight. The court, without comment, rejected Trump’s plea for an order that would have prevented the Treasury Department from giving six years of tax returns for Trump and some of his businesses…
(AP) — Americans who got the updated COVID-19 booster shots are better protected against symptomatic infection than those who haven’t — at least for now, U.S. health officials said Tuesday. Updated boosters rolled out by Pfizer and rival Moderna in September have been a hard sell for vaccine-weary Americans. Only about 13% of U.S. adults so far have gotten a…
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — When army veteran Rich Fierro realized a gunman was spraying bullets inside the club where he had gathered with friends and family, instincts from his military training immediately kicked in. First, he ducked to avoid any potential incoming fire, then he moved to try to disarm the shooter. “It’s the reflex. Go! Go to the…
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — American consumers and nearly every industry will be affected if freight trains grind to a halt next month. One of the biggest rail unions rejected its deal Monday, joining three others that have failed to approve contracts over concerns about demanding schedules and the lack of paid sick time. That raises the risk of a strike, which could start as…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden continued a 75-year tradition Monday and pardoned a pair of Thanksgiving turkeys named after his favorite flavor of ice cream while cracking jokes about his political party’s better-than-expected performance in this month’s midterm elections. “The votes are in, they’ve been counted and verified,” Biden said as he welcomed Chocolate and Chip before hundreds of people gathered on…
