Month: May 2024

By TOM KRISHER, JOSH FUNK and MARCIA DUNN Associated Press A powerful solar storm put on an amazing skyward light show across the globe overnight but has caused what appeared to be only minor disruptions to the electric power grid, communications and satellite positioning systems. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said extreme geomagnetic

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press First lady Jill Biden is telling graduates of an Arizona community college to tune out the people who tell them what they can’t do. Biden is delivering the commencement address Saturday at Mesa Community College. The first lady is sharing how her high school guidance counselor told her she wasn’t

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (AP) — Minnesota officially unfurled its new state flag atop the capitol for the first time Saturday on statehood day. The new flag and accompanying state seal were adopted to replace an old design that Native Americans said reminded them of painful memories of conquest and displacement. The new symbols eliminate an

By BRIAN WITTE Associated Press ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland Democrats are trying to decide which Senate candidate is best positioned to beat Republican Larry Hogan, a popular former governor. The leading choices for voters Tuesday in the crowded Democratic field are David Trone, who’s in his third term in Congress, and Prince George’s County

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — President Joe Biden is running for reelection on a record and an agenda, and it’s often Donald Trump’s that he’s citing. In recent appearances around the country, Biden has been reminding voters about Trump’s presidency and highlighting his Republican opponent’s latest campaign statements. Biden

By SOPHENG CHEANG and GRANT PECK Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — The leader of a recently formed Cambodian opposition party has been charged with inciting social disorder in the third major legal action this month targeting critics of the government of Prime Minister Hun Manet. The lawyer for Sun Chanthy of the Nation

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s military and allied armed groups have staved off an attack by a paramilitary group and Arab militias on a major city in the western region of Darfur. The attack on Friday was the latest by the Arab-dominated Rapid Support Forces against el-Fasher, the provincial capital of

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s hard-liners have won most of the remaining seats in an election run-off to give them full control over the country’s parliament, authorities say. They did not give details of the turnout. The result, and that of the previous vote in March, gives hard-liners 233 of the 290 seats

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Donald Trump is known for leveling constant and often personal attacks on top rivals such as Joe Biden. Lately, he’s increasingly taking that same approach against independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. This past week, Trump posted a video online where he called Kennedy “fake,”

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press FORT LIBERTY, N.C. (AP) — U.S. special operations commanders are having to do more with less and they’re learning from the war in Ukraine, That means juggling how to add more high-tech experts to their teams while still cutting their overall forces by about 5,000 troops over the next

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press MALMO, Sweden (AP) — A Dutch public broadcaster has reacted angrily after the Netherlands’ contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest was dramatically expelled from the competition hours before Saturday’s final. Organizers say Swedish police are investigating a complaint made by a female member of the production crew about Joost Klein. They said

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has visited the country’s border with Belarus and stressed that Poland will do more to strengthen security along its entire eastern frontier. It is also the European Union’s external border with the autocratic state, and Tusk said he believed the bloc

By GRAHAM LEE BREWER Associated Press Many college and city leaders have blamed outside organizers for recent protests at universities around the country against U.S. support of Israel’s war in Gaza. On Wednesday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said “outside agitators” working to “radicalize our children” were leading students to use extreme tactics. At

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces began a renewed ground assault in Ukraine’s northeast, killing and injuring several people and forcing more than 1,700 civilians to evacuate from the Kharkiv region, officials said Saturday. Artillery, mortar, and aerial bombardments hit more than 30 different towns and villages, leaving at least three people dead and five

The Associated Press With a majority of Americans preferring to live in  their own homes as long as possible, experts stress the importance of modifications to keep dwellings safe and accessible. The National Institute on Aging and AARP offer free room-by-room guides with practical suggestions for older adults living independently. They include having at least

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Living at home as long as possible is preferred by a vast majority of adults over 50. But the real estate market and inflation has made doing so less of a choice. Locked into low mortgage rates too good to give up, some baby boomers

By RAHIM FAIEZ Assocaited Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Flash floods from seasonal rains in Afghanistan have killed hundreds of people and injured a “substantial number,” a Taliban official said, without giving exact figures. The floods hit mostly the northern region of the country. The province of Baghlan bore the brunt of the deluges Friday with

By TOM ODULA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Winnie Makinda says she is facing the worst crisis and lowest moment of her life because of the Kenyan government’s response to floods that devastated her poor community in the capital of Nairobi. The floods and mudslides swept away people and inundated homes, killing at least

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press MALMO, Sweden (AP) — It’s time for many people to don sequins and spangles — and for others to pick up protest banners and Palestinian flags — for Saturday’s final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest. The competition that pits nations against one another for pop music glory is reaching

By WAFAA SHURAFA and SAM MEDNICK and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel ordered new evacuations in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah as it prepared to expand its operation saying it was also moving into an area in northern Gaza where Hamas has regrouped. Fighting is escalating across the enclave with

By JAMES BROOKS Associated Press COPENHAGEN (AP) — A Danish Michelin-starred chef has teamed up with the Florida-based startup Space Perspective to take fine-dining to our upper atmosphere in late 2025. Six guests are set to ascend to the stratosphere, where they will enjoy an immersive dining experience served up by chef Rasmus Munk. The

By ANNA FURMAN Associated Press Over the past two decades, Gee’s Bend quilts have captured the public’s imagination with their kaleidoscopic colors and their daring geometric patterns. Direct descendants of slaves in rural Alabama managed to cultivate a groundbreaking art practice while facing oppression, geographic isolation and intense material constraints. As of this year, their

By TED SHAFFREY Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The women’s section of Rikers Island is getting a redesigned and more kid-friendly visitation room ahead of Mother’s Day. Prison officials say a colorful, interactive play room will improve bonding between jailed mothers and their children. The visitation hub was designed and installed by the Children’s

By JEFF McMURRAY Associated Press Smarter vehicles could mean some of the most dramatic changes for the traditional traffic signal since the yellow light was added more than a century ago. Researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of Michigan are testing how to tap into the new technology found in the U.S.

By JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — To the casual viewer, competing at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show might look as simple as getting a dog, grooming it and leading it around a ring. But there’s a lot more involved in reaching and exhibiting at the most prestigious canine event in the

By KIM CHANDLER and TOM KRISHER Associated Press TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — After 20 years at the Mercedes-Benz factory in Alabama, Brett Garrard said he is “not falling for the lies anymore” and will vote for a union. The company has repeatedly promised to improve pay and conditions, but Garrard said those promises have not

By ALMA SOLÍS Associated Press PANAMA CITY (AP) — Panama is on the verge of a dramatic change to its immigration policy that could reverberate from the dense Darien jungle to the U.S. border. President-elect José Raúl Mulino says he will shut down a migration route used by more than 500,000 people last year. Until

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The alleged sexual encounter at the center of Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial got a graphic airing in court this past week as porn actor Stormy Daniels shared her account before a rapt jury. Daniels’ testimony about her time with Trump was by far the most

By STEVE PEOPLES and MIKE CATALINI Associated Press TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Donald Trump is heading to the Jersey Shore after a long week in court. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee expects to draw what his campaign is calling a “mega crowd” to a Saturday evening rally in the southern New Jersey resort town of

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A promising start has given way to challenging political realities for supporters of a bipartisan commission to tackle the federal government’s growing debt challenges. House Speaker Mike Johnson lauded the idea of establishing such a commission on his first day in office. Then, a House panel passed

By MAURICIO SAVARESE and ELÉONORE HUGHES Associated Press ELDORADO DO SUL, Brazil (AP) — More heavy rain is forecast for Brazil’s already flooded Rio Grande do Sul state, where many of those remaining are poor people with limited ability to move to less dangerous areas. Nearly 6 inches of rain could fall over the weekend,

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s youngest son, Barron Trump, won’t be serving as a Florida delegate to the Republican National Convention after all. The office of his mother, Melania Trump, said Friday that, “While Barron is honored to have been chosen as a delegate by the Florida

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s ruling party presidential candidate slipped up during a campaign speech Friday and said President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was motivated by “personal ambition,” but later acknowledged the phrase could have been misinterpreted. The phrase is used in Mexico to describe a desire for personal economic gain. Former Mexico City Mayor

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised another test firing of a new multiple rocket launch system the country plans to deploy to its forces starting this year as it bolsters its lineup of weapons targeting South Korean population centers. State media said Friday’s test

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Somalia is asking the United Nations to terminate its political mission in the country, which has been assisting the government to bring peace and stability in the face of attacks by the al-Qaida-linked extremist group al-Shabab. In a letter to the Security Council and Secretary-General

By AUDREY McAVOY Associated Press PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — The families of five Hawaii men who served in a unit of Japanese-language linguists during World War II received posthumous Purple Heart medals on behalf of their loved ones on Friday, nearly eight decades after the soldiers died in a plane crash in the final

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — Honolulu has agreed to approve or deny applications to carry guns in public within four months of submission in response to a lawsuit by residents who complained of delays of up to a year. The federal lawsuit filed in March alleged that making applicants wait so

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A statue of the late Rev. Billy Graham set to stand inside the U.S. Capitol to represent North Carolina will be unveiled next week in a ceremony. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association says House Speaker Mike Johnson, other congressional members and the family of the Charlotte-born evangelist are expected to attend

By PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press EAST MEADOW, N.Y. (AP) — A New York judge has struck down a Long Island county’s order banning female transgender athletes after a local women’s roller derby league challenged it. Judge Francis Ricigliano ruled Friday that Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman didn’t have the authority to issue his February executive

By The Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Entertainment broadcaster Sam Rubin has died at age 64. The Los Angeles news station KTLA says in a statement that its beloved anchor and reporter died on Friday. No cause was released. Rubin had worked for the station since 1991 and was on a first-name basis with

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Gov. Mike Dunleavy has issued a state disaster declaration for southwest Alaska communities that have experienced flooding due to the spring breakup of river ice and snowmelt. The Anchorage Daily News reports that water surrounded some homes in low-lying areas of the regional hub of Bethel, while much of Kwethluk was

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press FAIRHOPE, Ala. (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has told attendees at a judicial conference that he and his wife have faced “nastiness and lies” over the last several years. He also decried Washington, D.C., as a “hideous place.” Thomas was the closing speaker at the 11th Circuit Judicial

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer Sean “Diddy” Combs is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that he and two other men raped a 17-year-old girl in a New York recording studio in 2003. The federal court filing Friday is the latest piece of pushback against a series of lawsuits and a criminal

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s Republican Party has removed one of its officers after a judge found he voted illegally nine times after moving to the state. Party Chairman Josh McKoon says the state Republican Committee voted 146-24 on Friday to remove Brian K. Pritchard. Georgia is among states where supporters

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge in Texas temporarily halted a plan by the Biden administration to lower late fees on credit cards to $8 that was slated to go into effect next week. The temporary injunction imposed by Judge Mark Pittman in the Northern District of Texas