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Jury considers charges against man in killing of Ole Miss student popular in local LGBTQ+ community
A judge twice urged jurors to keep deliberating Wednesday in the trial of a man charged in the killing of a University of Mississippi student who was well-known in the local LGBTQ+ community.
Sheldon “Timothy” Herrington Jr., 24, is charged…
Sheriff in Georgia promises to pay security company $1.4 million after jail walkouts
ATLANTA (AP) — The Fulton County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday it will send about $1.4 million in electronic payments to a private security company by the end of the week that pulled its staff from the local jail in Georgia.
New…
Court hears arguments in challenge to Louisiana law meant to give police 25-foot ‘buffer zone’
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A federal judge heard arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by media outlets challenging a new Louisiana law that makes it a crime to approach within 25 feet (nearly 8 meters) of a working police officer after being…
Florida lawmakers propose rolling back gun control laws passed after Parkland shooting
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Republican state lawmakers in Florida have filed two bills that would roll back gun control measures passed in the wake of the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
Even with a…
Hannah Kobayashi, missing Hawaii woman whose disappearance prompted a massive search, is found safe
Hannah Kobayashi has been found safe. That’s according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Kobayashi vanished last month in Los Angeles. The missing Hawaii woman's disappearance prompted a massive search and a missing persons…
Can ordinary citizens solve our toughest problems?
Research shows Americans are frustrated with what they perceive as aloofness and gridlock within civic institutions. Citizen assemblies may be able to help. The groups which have direct involvement in decision-making can help “overcome…
Hegseth meets with moderate Sen. Collins as he lobbies for key votes in the Senate
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Defense Department, said he had a “wonderful conversation” with Maine Sen. Susan Collins on Wednesday as he pushed to win enough votes for confirmation. He…
Republican protests in close North Carolina races dismissed by elections board
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina's elections board dismissed formal protests Wednesday by several Republican candidates who trailed narrowly in their races last month and had questioned well over 60,000 ballots cast this fall.
The State…
Arizona AG sues Saudi firm over ‘excessive’ groundwater pumping, saying it’s a public nuisance
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced Wednesday she's suing a Saudi Arabian agribusiness for allegedly violating a public nuisance law, contending that its groundwater pumping threatens the public health, safety and…
Biden says healthy women help US prosperity as he highlights White House initiative on their health
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he is “so proud” that a women's health research initiative he launched last year at his wife's urging has already invested nearly $1 billion because a healthy female population…
Attorneys for man accused in Trump assassination attempt seek lengthy trial delay
FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — Attorneys for a man accused of attempting to assassinate President-elect Donald Trump in September asked a federal judge on Wednesday to delay his trial until next December as they need more time to review the…
Democratic senators urge Biden to act on temporary protections for migrants
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic senators are urging President Joe Biden to extend temporary protections for migrants in the U.S. before he leaves office, warning that millions of people could be forced to return to unsafe countries once…
Georgia makes many more students than expected eligible for school vouchers
ATLANTA (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of students in Georgia will be eligible for $6,500 vouchers to pay for private school tuition or home-schooling expenses — far more than many legislators expected — under an expansive interpretation of…
Arguments over whether Luigi Mangione is a ‘hero’ offer a glimpse into an unusual American moment
Memes and online posts in support of 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, who's charged with killing UnitedHealthcare's CEO, have mushroomed online. Some cast Mangione as a hero. That's too far, says Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a rising Democrat…
FBI Director Wray says he intends to resign at the end of Biden’s term in January
FBI Director Christopher Wray says he plans to resign at the end of President Joe Biden’s term in January. The announcement Wednesday comes a week and a half after President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate loyalist…
Apple’s latest iPhones get the gift of more AI as holiday shopping season heats up
Apple is pumping more artificial intelligence into the latest iPhones during the holiday shopping season. It comes in the form of a free software update that includes a feature that enables users to create customized emojis within a matter…
David Bonderman, co-founder of private equity firm TPG and co-owner of Seattle Kraken, dies at 82
David Bonderman, who managed money for one of the richest families in Texas, helped create one of the giants of the private-equity business and pushed to bring professional hockey to Seattle, died Wednesday. He was 82.
Bonderman's death…
The Trump and Biden teams insist they’re working hand in glove on foreign crises
President-elect Donald Trump doesn’t think much of Joe Biden’s foreign policy record. He frequently casts the outgoing Democratic president as a feckless leader who shredded American credibility around the world during his four-year term.…
Montana Supreme Court upholds lower court ruling that allows gender-affirming care for minors
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A Montana law banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors will remain temporarily blocked, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, after justices unanimously agreed with a lower court judge who found…
Homeland Security shares new details of mysterious drone flights over New Jersey, lawmaker says
A New Jersey lawmaker from part of the state where several mysterious drones have been spotted in recent week says the devices appear to avoid detection by traditional methods. Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia was among state officials who met…
Investigation into Indiana house fire that killed 6 siblings fails to determine what caused blaze
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — An investigation into a northern Indiana house fire that killed six siblings in January failed to determine what caused the deadly blaze, although electrical items were identified as “potential ignition sources,” the…
Luxury real estate brokers charged in federal indictment with sex trafficking in NYC
NEW YORK (AP) — Two luxury real estate brokers and their brother have been charged with luring, drugging and violently raping dozens of women over more than a decade, according to a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday in Manhattan.
State…
House approves $895B defense bill with military pay raise, ban on transgender care for minors
The House has passed a measure that authorizes a 1% increase in spending this fiscal year and a double-digit pay raise for about half of the enlisted service members in the military. The bill approved Wednesday is traditionally a bipartisan…
Donald Trump will ring the New York Stock Exchange bell as he’s named Time’s Person of the Year
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump used his image as a successful New York businessman to become a celebrity, a reality television star and eventually the president. Now he will get to revel in one of the most visible symbols of success in the…
NYC has scores of small, specialized or quirky museums. Here are some highlights
New York can be a magical place for museumgoers. It can also be overwhelming and overcrowded at times, especially at the biggest, most famous museums.
Luckily, the city has scores of great museums to choose from: Everything from small and…
Blinken faces GOP critics in Congress who say Afghanistan withdrawal ‘lit the world on fire’
WASHINGTON (AP) — Under fire from congressional Republicans about one of the darkest moments of Joe Biden’s presidency, Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the administration’s handling of the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from…
Google forges ahead with its next generation of AI technology while fending off a breakup threat
Google has unleashed another wave of artificial intelligence. It's designed to tackle more of the work and thinking done by humans as it tries to stay on technology’s cutting edge while also trying to fend off regulatory threats to it…
Supreme Court allows investors’ class action to proceed against microchip company Nvidia
The Supreme Court is allowing a class-action lawsuit that accuses Nvidia of misleading investors about its past dependence on selling computer chips for the mining of volatile cryptocurrency to proceed. The court’s decision Wednesday comes…
The burial site of the people Andrew Jackson enslaved was lost. The Hermitage says it is found
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — At least 26 enslaved people died on the Tennessee plantation of President Andrew Jackson between 1804 and the end of the Civil War in 1865. Where they were laid to rest is knowledge that had been lost to time.
But…
The Latest: Gun on suspect matches shell casings found at the crime scene, per NYPD commissioner
The gun found on the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson matches shell casings found at the crime scene, New York’s police commissioner said Wednesday. Commissioner Jessica Tisch also said lab results matched…
Albertsons sues Kroger for failing to win approval of their proposed supermarket merger
Kroger and Albertsons’ plan for the largest U.S. supermarket merger in history has crumbled. The two companies have accused each other of not doing enough to push their proposed alliance through, and Albertsons pulled out of the $24.6…
Scholz sets Germany on course for an early election as he requests a confidence vote next week
BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Olaf Scholz formally set Germany on course for an early election Wednesday by requesting a confidence vote in parliament next week.
Five weeks after his three-party governing coalition collapsed in a dispute over…
Stop & Shop is using grocery store kiosks to make digital-only deals available to more customers
Regional supermarket chain Stop & Shop said Wednesday that it would install kiosks in all of its U.S. stores to make digital-only coupons more accessible to customers.
Stop & Shop, which operates in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New…
Secretary of State Blinken is returning to the Mideast in his latest diplomatic foray
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken is returning to the Middle East this week on his 12th visit since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last year but his first since the ouster of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The upheaval in…
Edmunds: The best midsize SUVs for families in 2025
Along with smartphones and streaming subscriptions, the three-row SUV is now a staple of American family life. And since nearly every automaker sells one, choosing the right one can feel overwhelming. Some buyers will want the best fuel…
Macy’s tightens financial controls after employee covered up what became a $151 million mistake
NEW YORK (AP) — Macy's said Wednesday that it has tightened internal financial accounting measures after completing a probe of a rogue employee who hid $151 million in delivery expenses over a span of nearly three years.
A probe into the…
Only about 2 in 10 Americans approve of Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter, an AP-NORC poll finds
Only about 2 in 10 Americans approve of President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter after earlier promising he'd do no such thing. That's according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The…
India’s new central bank governor takes over as economic growth slows and inflation rises
NEW DELHI (AP) — India got a new central bank governor on Wednesday as the country’s economic growth slows and inflation surges.
Sanjay Malhotra, a career civil servant, was appointed to a three-year term as head of the Reserve Bank of…
What happens next with Alex Jones’ Infowars? No certainty yet after sale to The Onion is rejected
Lawyers in the Alex Jones bankruptcy case are now in discussions on what could happen next after a federal judge in Texas rejected the auction sale of Jones’ Infowars to The Onion satirical news outlet. The next steps remained unclear…
Atmospheric river brings weather whiplash to East Coast as bomb cyclone develops
The East Coast is experiencing a whiplash-inducing stretch of winter weather. That's due in part to an atmospheric river and developing bomb cyclone. The storm is bringing heavy rain and fierce winds to many areas until Wednesday night, and…
Gun found on suspect in killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO matches shell casings at scene, police say
New York City’s police commissioner says the gun found on the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO matches shell casings found at the crime scene. Commissioner Jessica Tisch also said Wednesday that lab results matched suspect…
US inflation ticked up last month as some price pressures remain persistent
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fueled by pricier used cars, hotel rooms and groceries, inflation in the United States moved slightly higher last month in the latest sign that some price pressures remain elevated.
Consumer prices rose 2.7% in November…
Stock market today: Wall Street gets back to climbing, and the Nasdaq tops 20,000
Wall Street got back to climbing after the latest update on inflation appeared to clear the way for more help for the economy from the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 gained 0.8% Wednesday to break a two-day losing streak and finished just…
