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Young activists take on a government agency in a Florida climate lawsuit
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A group of young people in Florida say they believe the state’s continued reliance on fossil fuels is a violation of their constitutional rights and are suing the state agency that regulates public utilities in the…
Trump hosts Apple CEO at Mar-a-Lago as big tech leaders continue outreach to president-elect
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Donald Trump hosted Apple CEO Tim Cook for a Friday evening dinner at the president-elect's Mar-a-Lago resort, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to comment publicly.
Cook is…
SpaceX wants to make Starbase a new Texas city. Here’s how it could happen
South Texas residents living on SpaceX property have formally petitioned Cameron County to become an incorporated city. The process would require an election to determine whether the area can become a recognized city. The property is…
Court denies TikTok’s request to halt enforcement of potential US ban until Supreme Court review
A federal appeals court on Friday left in place a mid-January deadline in a federal law requiring TikTok to be sold or face a ban in the United States, rejecting a request made by the company to halt enforcement until the Supreme Court…
US jury finds Vegas police fabricated evidence in 2001 killing, awards $34M to exonerated woman
A federal jury in Las Vegas has awarded more than $34 million to a woman who served more than 15 years in prison for a 2001 killing she did not commit. Kristin Lobato was arrested at age 18 and wrongly convicted twice. She is now 41 and…
Mysterious googly eyes go viral after appearing on public art in Oregon
Googly eyes have been appearing on sculptures around the central Oregon city of Bend. It has delighted many residents and sparked a viral sensation covered widely by news outlets and featured on a popular late-night talk show. On social…
NY police force strip searched nearly everyone it arrested, DOJ says
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. (AP) — A suburban New York police department routinely violated residents' civil rights, including making illegal arrests and using unnecessary strip and cavity searches, according to a new U.S. Department of Justice…
Biden’s commutation in ‘kids for cash’ scandal angers some Pennsylvania families
A judge who helped orchestrate one of the worst judicial scandals in U.S.history — a scheme to send children to for-profit jails in exchange for kickbacks — was among the 1,500 people whose sentences were commuted by President Joe Biden…
Unique among ‘Person of the Year’ designees, Donald Trump gets a fact-check from Time magazine
Time magazine gave Donald Trump something it has never done for a Person of the Year designee: a lengthy fact-check of claims he made in an accompanying interview.
The fact-check accompanies a transcript of what the president-elect told the…
Capitol rioter who tried to join Russian army is sentenced to prison for probation violation
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Dallas man who tried to fly overseas to join the Russian military and fight against Ukraine was sentenced on Friday to six months in prison for violating the terms of his probation for storming the U.S. Capitol four…
Drones, planes or UFOs? Americans abuzz over mysterious New Jersey sightings
CHATHAM, N.J. (AP) — That buzzing coming out of New Jersey? It's unclear if it's drones or something else, but for sure the nighttime sightings are producing tons of talk, a raft of conspiracy theories and craned necks looking skyward.…
Kay Patterson, who rose from janitor at segregated South Carolina capitol to state senator, dies
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Former South Carolina Sen. Kay Patterson, who rose from cleaning offices at the segregated Statehouse to serving as a state legislator for over 30 years died Friday. He was 93.
The South Carolina Democratic Party…
Trump’s lawyers rebuff DA’s idea for upholding his hush money conviction, calling it ‘absurd’
NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers urged a judge again Friday to throw out his hush money conviction, balking at the prosecution’s suggestion of preserving the verdict by treating the case the way some courts do when a…
Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump wants to turn the lights out on daylight saving time.
In a post on his social media site Friday, Trump said his party would try to end the practice when he returns to office.
“The Republican…
FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup
Social media users are misrepresenting a report by the Justice Department inspector general’s office, falsely claiming that it’s proof the FBI orchestrated the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Claims spreading online focus on the report’s…
OpenAI’s legal battle with Elon Musk reveals internal turmoil over avoiding AI ‘dictatorship’
A 7-year-old rivalry between tech leaders Elon Musk and Sam Altman over who should run OpenAI and best avoid an artificial intelligence ‘dictatorship’ is now heading to a federal judge. The development comes as Musk seeks to halt the…
Supreme Court will hear Catholic charitable group’s plea to be free from Wisconsin unemployment tax
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday said it would take up a new religious rights case over whether a Catholic charitable organization must pay Wisconsin's employment tax.
The justices will review a divided state Supreme Court…
Texas’ abortion pill lawsuit against New York doctor marks new challenge to interstate telemedicine
Texas has sued a New York doctor for prescribing abortion pills to a Texas woman via telemedicine. It appears to be the first challenge in the U.S. to a state shield law that's intended to protect prescribers in Democratic-controlled states…
US military flies American released from Syrian prison to Jordan, officials say
The U.S. military has brought an American who was imprisoned in Syria for seven months out of the country. That's according to two U.S. officials, who said Friday that Travis Timmerman has been flown to Jordan on a U.S. military helicopter.…
New Jersey governor wants more federal resources for probe into drone sightings
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has asked the Biden administration to put more resources into the ongoing investigation of mysterious drone sightings being reported in the state and other parts of the region. Murphy, a Democrat, made the…
Missouri governor and St. Louis County executive name appointees for same prosecutor job
CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — When the elected prosecutor in Missouri's largest county leaves his job for a seat in Congress next month, an appointed replacement will take his spot. The question is: Which one?
Democratic St. Louis County Executive…
Jill Biden tells military children at Marine Corps Reserve toy drive to remember that they are loved
WASHINGTON (AP) — Less than 10 minutes was all it took for a large pile of toys donated by the White House staff to disappear as Jill Biden and children from military families sorted them into boxes as part of the annual Marine Corps…
Oklahoma panel rejects man’s plea for mercy, paves the way for final US execution of 2024
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma panel on Friday rejected a plea for clemency for a man convicted of torturing and killing a 10-year-old girl as part of a cannibalistic fantasy, paving the way for him to become the 25th and final person…
Judge rejects an attempt by Trump campaign lawyer to invalidate guilty plea in Georgia election case
ATLANTA (AP) — The judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and others on Friday rejected an attempt by former Trump campaign lawyer Kenneth Chesebro to invalidate his guilty plea.
Chesebro, Trump and 17…
A man has pleaded guilty to the death of a 5-year-old girl living in their Kansas homeless camp
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A man who lived in a makeshift camp with a homeless 5-year-old Kansas girl and her father pleaded guilty Friday to first-degree murder and rape in connection with the child’s death.
Mickel Cherry’s plea in Shawnee County…
Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for 2 Venezuelan men accused of killing Texas girl
HOUSTON (AP) — Prosecutors in Texas announced Friday that they will seek the death penalty against two Venezuelan men who are accused of killing a 12-year-old Houston girl after they had entered the U.S. illegally.
The death of Jocelyn…
Feds propose protection for giant salamanders devastated by Hurricane Helene
You never forget your first time seeing a giant salamander, according to Andy Hill.
He was a teenager, standing thigh-high in the Watauga River outside Boone, North Carolina, casting a line on an early fall day when he saw his first…
OpenAI’s Altman will donate $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is planning to make a $1 million personal donation to President-Elect Donald Trump’s inauguration fund, joining a number of tech companies and executives who are working to improve their relationships the incoming…
Federal judge denies Alexander brother bail on sex charges, saying real estate star is a flight risk
A federal judge has ordered that a prominent real estate broker be held without bond on sexual assault and trafficking charges. The judge says Tal Alexander is a flight risk as she rejected his family’s pledge of $115 million in real estate…
Musk says US is demanding he pay penalty over disclosures of his Twitter stock purchases
DETROIT (AP) — Elon Musk says the Securities and Exchange Commission wants him to pay a penalty or face charges involving what he disclosed — or failed to disclose — about his purchases of Twitter stock before he bought the social media…
Woman who falsely accused Duke lacrosse players of rape in 2006 publicly admits she lied
The woman who in 2006 falsely accused three Duke University lacrosse players of raping her has admitted publicly for the first time that she made up the story. The accusations made national headlines at the time, stirring tensions about…
After UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killing, San Francisco police gave FBI tip about suspect’s identity
The day after a masked gunman killed the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in New York City, police in San Francisco gave the FBI a potentially valuable tip about the identity of the suspect. He looked like a man who had been reported missing to them…
UN human rights office in Venezuela partially resumes work months after government shut it down
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The U.N. office on human rights in Venezuela partially resumed operations in recent weeks, the agency's chief said Friday, months after the government of President Nicolás Maduro expelled its staff for allegedly…
McKinsey & Company agrees to pay $650M for helping Purdue Pharma boost opioid sales
McKinsey & Company consulting firm has agreed to pay $650 million to settle a federal investigation into its work for opioids manufacturer Purdue Pharma, according to court papers filed in Virginia. McKinsey has also entered into a…
Veteran Daniel Penny, acquitted in NYC subway chokehold, will join Trump’s suite at football game
A military veteran who choked an agitated New York subway rider and was acquitted of homicide this week has been invited by Vice President-elect JD Vance to join Donald Trump’s suite at the Army-Navy football game on Saturday. Daniel Penny…
Bird strike disables a jetliner engine and forces an emergency landing at JFK airport
Authorities say a bird strike involving an American Airlines jetliner disabled one of the plane’s two engines shortly after takeoff from New York’s LaGuardia Airport. The plane was forced to turn around and land at John F. Kennedy…
Bank groups sue the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over a proposed cap on overdraft fees
Some banks and banking trade groups are suing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over a finalized rule that limits overdraft fees banks can charge.
The rule is part of President Joe Biden administration's campaign to reduce junk fees…
US updates a science and technology pact with China to reflect growing rivalry and security threats
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has updated a decades-old science and technology agreement with China to reflect their growing rivalry for technological dominance. The new agreement, signed Friday in Beijing after many months of negotiations,…
Two Virginia women who came to Congress on a mission prepare to leave at a critical moment
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Reps. Abigail Spanberger and Jennifer Wexton roared into Washington six years ago as part of a record wave of women vying for House seats, many on a mission to push back against the politics of Donald Trump.
“We…
Traffic blockades held throughout Serbia against populist government over roof collapse tragedy
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Residents throughout Serbia stopped in silence for 15 minutes on Friday as part of persistent anti-government protests following the collapse last month of a concrete canopy in the country's north that killed 15…
About 3 in 10 are highly confident in Trump on Cabinet, spending or military oversight: AP-NORC poll
Americans may have elected Donald Trump to a second term in November, but that doesn’t mean they have high confidence in his ability to choose well-qualified people for his Cabinet or effectively manage government spending, the military and…
A nonprofit leader, a social worker: Here are the stories of the people on Biden’s clemency list
Among the roughly 1,500 people whose sentences were commuted or who were pardoned by President Joe Biden are a nonprofit leader who supports at-risk youth, a social worker who fosters animals and a counselor and recovery coach. One woman…
Stanley recalls millions of travel mugs over concerns the lids might fall off, causing burns
Stanley is recalling approximately 2.6 million of its switchback and trigger action stainless steel travel mugs sold in the U.S. because of a potential burn hazard. The company said that the mug’s lid threads can shrink when exposed to heat…
