WASHINGTON (AP) — Defying anxiety about a possible recession and raging inflation, America’s employers added a stunning 528,000 jobs last month, restoring all the jobs lost in the coronavirus recession. Unemployment fell to 3.5%, lowest since the pandemic struck in early 2020. July’s job creation was 130,000 more than those produced in June, and the most since February. The red-hot…
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas jury on Thursday ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay more than $4 million in compensatory damages to the parents of a 6-year-old boy who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, marking the first time the Infowars host has been held financially liable for repeatedly claiming the deadliest school shooting in…
STILLWATER, Minn. (AP) — Hundreds of people gathered at a Minnesota golf course at dusk to remember a 17-year-old boy who was fatally stabbed during a recreational tubing trip on a Wisconsin river. Family and friends said Isaac Schuman loved many things, including golf. Many who came for Wednesday’s candlelight vigil at Oak Glen Golf Course in Stillwater wore orange, the teen’s…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. will declare a public health emergency to bolster the federal response to the monkeypoxoutbreak that has infected more than 6,600 Americans, two people familiar with the matter said Thursday. The announcement will free up federal money and other resources to fight the virus, which may cause fever, body aches, chills, fatigue and pimple-like bumps on many parts…
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department announced civil rights charges Thursday against four Louisville police officers over the drug raid that led to the death of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman whose fatal shooting contributed to the racial justice protests that rocked the U.S. in the spring and summer of 2020. The charges are another effort to hold law…
KHIMKI, Russia (AP) — U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner was convicted Thursday in Russia of drug possession and sentenced to nine years in prison following a politically charged trial that came amid soaring tensions between Moscow and Washington over Ukraine and could lead to a high-stakes prisoner exchange between the two world powers. The 31-year-old Griner, a two-time U.S. Olympic…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators moved toward what was expected to be an overwhelming, bipartisan vote Wednesday approving NATO membership for Finland and Sweden, calling expansion of the Western defensive bloc a “slam-dunk” for U.S. national security and a day of reckoning for Russian President Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine. Senators invited the ambassadors of the two Nordic nations…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order aimed in part at making it easier for women seeking abortions to travel between states to obtain access to the procedure. More specifically, one of the directives Biden will issue will allow states that have not outlawed abortion to apply for specific Medicaid waivers that would, in effect, help them treat women…
BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP) — The woman who was in Daunte Wright’s vehicle when he was fatally shot by police in a Minneapolis suburb last year is suing the city and the former officer who killed him. The lawsuit says passenger Alayna Albrecht-Payton, 21, of St. Paul, was physically injured when Wright’s vehicle crashed into another SUV after Kim Potter…
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan late Tuesday, becoming the highest-ranking American official in 25 years to visit the self-ruled island claimed by China, which quickly announced that it would conduct military maneuvers in retaliation for her presence. Pelosi arrived aboard a U.S. Air Force passenger jet and was greeted on the tarmac at…
WASHINGTON (AP) — American employers posted fewer job openings in June as the economy contends with raging inflation and rising interest rates. Job openings fell to a still-high 10.7 million in June from 11.3 million in May, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Job openings, which never exceeded 8 million in a month before last year, had topped 11 million every…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden announced Monday that al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Kabul, an operation he said delivered justice and hopefully “one more measure of closure” to families of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. The president said in an evening address from the White House that…
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Texas man convicted of storming the U.S. Capitol with a holstered handgun, helmet and body armor was sentenced Monday to more than seven years in prison, the longest sentence imposed so far among hundreds of Capitol riot cases. Prosecutors said Guy Reffitt told fellow members of the Texas Three Percenters militia group that he planned to drag House Speaker…
AITKIN, Minn. (AP) — A trial in Minnesota is expected to decide whether a woman’s human rights were violated when a pharmacist denied her request in 2019 to fill a prescription for emergency contraception. Andrea Anderson, a mother of five from McGregor, sued under the Minnesota Human Rights Act after the pharmacist, based on his religious beliefs, refused to accommodate…
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The first ship carrying Ukrainian grain set out Monday from the port of Odesa under an internationally brokered deal to unblock the embattled country’s agricultural exports and ease a growing global food crisis. The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni sounded its horn as it slowly departed with over 26,000 tons of corn destined for Lebanon. “The…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Three former Minneapolis police officers went before a federal judge during the last week to be sentenced for violating George Floyd’s civil rights, and for each man, U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson handed out penalties well below what prosecutors sought and below federal guidelines. Tou Thao, who held back concerned bystanders as Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck, got…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Attorney General Keith Ellison said Thursday that he won’t appeal a ruling that struck down most of Minnesota’s restrictions on abortion as unconstitutional, saying the state has already spent enough time and money on the case and is unlikely to win an appeal anyway. Ellison, a Democrat who supports abortion rights, called his decision “in the public interest and…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy shrank from April through June for a second straight quarter, contracting at a 0.9% annual pace and raising fears that the nation may be approaching a recession. The decline that the Commerce Department reported Thursday in the gross domestic product — the broadest gauge of the economy — followed a 1.6% annual drop from January…
WASHINGTON (AP) — A bill designed to encourage more semiconductor companies to build chip plants in the United States passed the Senate on Wednesday as lawmakers raced to finish work on a key priority of the Biden administration. The $280 billion measure, which awaits a House vote, includes federal grants and tax breaks for companies that construct their chip facilities in the U.S. The legislation also…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its benchmark interest rate by a hefty three-quarters of a point for a second straight time in its most aggressive drive in three decades to tame high inflation. The Fed’s move will raise its key rate, which affects many consumer and business loans, to a range of 2.25% to 2.5%, its…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The last two former Minneapolis police officers who were convicted of violating George Floyd’s civil rights during his May 2020 killing were sentenced Wednesday in federal court to three and 3 1/2 years — penalties that a judge said reflected their level of culpability in a case that sparked worldwide protests as part of a…
WASHINGTON (AP) — After isolating for five days with mild symptoms, President Joe Biden tested negative for COVID-19 and swiftly arranged a Rose Garden appearance on Wednesday to talk about his bout with a virus that has killed millions of people around the world and disrupted daily life for more than two years. Biden planned to discuss his infection and his administration’s progress against the…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The last two former Minneapolis police officers to be sentenced in federal court for violating George Floyd’s civil rights are scheduled to learn their penalties Wednesday, which could set in motion another round of plea deal discussions in state court over a killing that sparked a reckoning on racial injustice. J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao were…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is returning to Washington on Tuesday for the first time since leaving office, delivering a speech hours after his Vice President Mike Pence, a potential 2024 rival, exhorted Republicans to stop looking backward. Trump’s appearance in the nation’s capital — his first trip back since Jan. 20, 2021, when President Joe Biden was sworn into office despite Trump’s…
(AP) — Choco Taco, a favored poolside treat for generations, will soon be no more after owner and ice cream maker Klondike decided to discontinue the summer treat. “Over the past 2 years, we have experienced an unprecedented spike in demand across our portfolio and have had to make very tough decisions to ensure availability of our full portfolio nationwide,”…
CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline plunged 32 cents over the past two weeks to $4.54 per gallon. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday that the continued decline comes as crude oil costs also fall. “Further drops at the pump are likely as the wholesale gasoline price cuts continue making their…
WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Joe Biden continues to recover from his coronavirus infection, the White House plans to hold a summit on Tuesday to discuss developing a new generation of vaccines that could more effectively guard against contagious variants. The summit, which involves top administration officials, scientists and pharmaceutical executives, comes as the country faces a surge of infections from BA.5, a…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Tom Nelson, a candidate who tried to position himself as the most progressive in Wisconsin’s Democratic primary race for U.S. Senate, announced Monday he dropped out of the contest to face Republican incumbent Ron Johnson in November. Nelson, the Outagamie County executive, threw his support to Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who is in a tight race with…
LONDON (AP) — The expanding monkeypox outbreak in more than 70 countries is an “extraordinary” situation that qualifies as a global emergency, the World Health Organization chief said Saturday, a declaration that could spur further investment in treating the once-rare disease and worsen the scramble for scarce vaccines. A global emergency is WHO’s highest level of alert but the designation does not necessarily…
A clinic escort outside WE Health Clinic in Duluth, Minn., awaits the arrival of patients, Thursday, July 7, 2022. The clinic escorts protect patients from protesters as they approach and enter the clinic. (AP Photo/Derek Montgomery) DULUTH, Minn. (AP) – Inside northern Minnesota’s only abortion clinic in Duluth, patients from Wisconsin and Texas sit among Minnesotans. They are the leading…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House announced Friday that the U.S. is sending an additional $270 million in security assistance to Ukraine, a package that will include additional medium range rocket systems and tactical drones. The latest tranche brings the total U.S. security assistance committed to Ukraine by the Biden administration to $8.2 billion, and is being paid for through $40 billion in…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump was convicted on Friday of contempt charges for defying a congressional subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Bannon, 68, was convicted after a four-day trial in federal court in Washington on two counts: one for refusing to appear for…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court won’t allow the Biden administration to implement a policy that prioritizes deportation of people in the country illegally who pose the greatest public safety risk. The court’s order Thursday leaves the policy frozen nationwide for now. The vote was 5-4 with conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett joining liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown…
WASHINGTON (AP) — For more than a year, President Joe Biden’s ability to avoid the coronavirus seemed to defy the odds. When he finally did test positive, the White House was ready. It set out to turn the diagnosis into a “teachable moment” and dispel any notion of a crisis. “The president does what every other person in America does every day, which is he…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Jan. 6 committee is headed back to prime time for its eighth hearing — potentially the final time this summer that lawmakers will lay out evidence about the U.S. Capitol insurrection and President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat. Thursday’s hearing is expected to focus on what Trump was doing in the White House as the…
NEW YORK (AP) — An unvaccinated young adult from New York recently contracted polio, the first U.S. case in nearly a decade, health officials said Thursday. Officials said the patient, who lives in Rockland County, had developed paralysis. The person developed symptoms a month ago and did not recently travel outside the country, county health officials said. It appears the…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The right to use contraceptives would be inscribed into law under a measure that Democrats pushed through the House on Thursday, their latest campaign-season response to concerns a conservative Supreme Court that already erased federal abortion rights could go further. The House’s 228-195 roll call was largely along party lines and sent the measure to the Senate, where its…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Former Minneapolis police Officer Thomas Lane has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison on a federal civil rights charge for his role in the killing of George Floyd. U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson sentenced Lane on Thursday for his February conviction of depriving Floyd of medical care as he lay dying under Officer…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Former Minneapolis police Officer Thomas Lane is hoping for a sentence Thursday that could let him go free after as little as two years in prison for his role in the killing of George Floyd. His attorney, Earl Gray, has argued that the rookie was the least culpable of the four officers involved in Floyd’s death under…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, underscoring the persistence of the highly contagious virus as new variants challenge the nation’s efforts to resume normalcy after two and a half years of pandemic disruptions. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Biden was experiencing “mild symptoms” and has begun taking Paxlovid, an antiviral drug…
SOMERSET, Mass. (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced modest new steps to combat climate change and promised more robust action to come, saying, “This is an emergency and I will look at it that way.” The president stopped short, though, of declaring a formal climate emergency, which Democrats and environmental groups have been seeking after an influential Democratic senator quashed hopes for…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced a renewed push to protect same-sex marriage in federal law on Wednesday after a surprising number of House Republicans helped pass landmark legislation in that chamber. Some GOP senators are already signaling support. The legislation started as an election-season political effort to confront the new Supreme Court majority after the court overturned abortion access…
MINNESOTA (AP) — Minnesota state government employees who are unvaccinated for COVID-19 are no longer required to take weekly tests for the virus in order to stay in the workplace. The requirement that went into effect in September 2021 meant thousands of employees took tests each week. Those that didn’t comply were subjected to suspensions or other discipline. A state…
(AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed for the fifth consecutive month in June as higher mortgage rates and rising prices kept many home hunters on the sidelines. Existing home sales fell 5.4% last month from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.12 million, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. That’s lower than what economists…
BOULDER CITY, Nev. (AP) — A transformer exploded Tuesday at Hoover Dam, producing a cloud of thick, black smoke and flames that were quickly extinguished. No one was hurt and electricity continued to flow from one of the nation’s largest hydroelectric facilities, authorities said. “There is no risk to the power grid,” according to Jacklynn L. Gould, the federal Bureau…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Filmmaker Steven Spielberg, the most commercially successful director of all time, donated $20,000 to Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ reelection campaign, a tally released Tuesday showed. Spielberg and his wife, actress Kate Capshaw, were among 31 people who gave Evers the maximum $20,000 donation allowed under law, according information from the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Those 31…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House Jan. 6 committee, has tested positive for COVID-19, but the panel will still hold its prime-time hearing on Thursday, according to a spokesman for the panel. Thompson, D-Miss., announced Tuesday that he tested positive for the virus on Monday and is experiencing mild symptoms. Thompson, 74, said he will be isolating for…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House overwhelmingly approved legislation Tuesday to protect same-sex and interracial marriages amid concerns that the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade abortion access could jeopardize other rights criticized by many conservative Americans. The vote was 267-157, with dozens of Republican joining Democrats for passage. With a robust but lopsided debate, Democrats argued intensely in favor of…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Two former White House aides are expected to testify at the House Jan. 6 committee’s prime-time hearing Thursday as the panel examines what Donald Trump was doing as his supporters broke into the Capitol, according to a person familiar with the plans. Matthew Pottinger, former deputy national security adviser, and Sarah Matthews, a former press aide, are expected to…
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A former Minneapolis police officer who is one of four ex-officers convicted of violating George Floyd’s civil rights is scheduled to be sentenced this week. Prosecutors have asked a federal judge to sentence Thomas Lane to between 5 1/4 to 6 1/2 years in prison on Thursday for his role in the restraint that killed Floyd…
