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FILE - A train transports freight on a common carrier line near Price, Utah, July 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

Supreme Court scales back a key environmental law in a ruling that could speed development projects

May 29, 2025

The Supreme Court has backed a multibillion-dollar oil railroad expansion in Utah in a ruling that scales back a key environmental law and could speed development projects around the country. The ruling Thursday involves the Uinta Basin Railway, a proposed 88-mile expansion that would connect oil and gas producers to the broader rail network and allow them to access larger markets. In their 8-0 decision, the justices endorsed a limited interpretation of a key environmental law. Justice Neil Gorsuch didn’t participate in the case. The Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision and restored a critical approval from regulators. But the project could face additional legal and regulatory hurdles.

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FILE - This photo shows the entrance of the Honolulu Police Department in Honolulu, Hawaii, on March 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Marina Riker, File)

A lawsuit says Honolulu police are arresting people for impaired driving even when they are sober

May 29, 2025

The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii has filed a lawsuit alleging Honolulu police officers are arresting sober drivers in an overzealous focus on making drunk-driving arrests. The lawsuit says Honolulu officers have arrested “scores” of drivers who show no outward signs of impairment, perform well on field sobriety tests and whose breath tests often show no alcohol. ACLU Hawaii says officers are focusing on arrests even if they don’t result in convictions in an attempt to show they are protecting the public and to use arrest numbers to gain federal funding. In response, Honolulu police said they are reviewing all impaired driving arrests dating to 2021.

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This May 24, 2025, photo shows Kell Morris, upper right in a brown hat, trapped under a 700 pound rock near Seward, Alaska. (Jason Harrington/Seward Fire Department via AP)

A 700-pound boulder pins Alaska man face-down in a glacier creek for three hours

May 29, 2025

An Alaska man escaped unscathed after being trapped by a 700-pound boulder for three hours during a hike in a remote area last weekend. Kell Morris’ wife held his head above water to prevent him from drowning. It took seven firefighters and inflatable air bags to lift the boulder off him as he drifted in and out of consciousness. The accident happened near Seward as he was walking on the bank of a glacier creek, and the whole slide slid out from under him, like an avalanche of rocks. He was airlifted out and taken to a hospital for observation. He and his wife plan to go hiking this weekend — on established trails.

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FILE - The Boeing logo is displayed at the company's factory, Sept. 24, 2024, in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)

US formally moves to dismiss prosecution against Boeing and asks judge to cancel trial over crashes

May 29, 2025

The U.S. Justice Department has formally moved to dismiss a criminal fraud charge against Boeing and asked a judge to cancel an upcoming trial connected to two plane crashes that killed 346 people. The Justice Department filed the dismissal documents on Thursday. Documents filed last week said the Justice Department and Boeing had reached an agreement that will require the company to pay and invest more than $1.1 billion in return for dropping the criminal case. The deal will allow the company to avoid criminal prosecution for allegedly misleading U.S. regulators about the 737 Max jetliner before the crashes. A judge will decide whether to accept the dismissal motion.

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President Donald Trump waves as he departs the White House, Friday, May 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Trump’s big plans on trade and more run up against laws of political gravity, separation of powers

May 29, 2025

President Donald Trump’s big plans on trade, deportations and more are running up against the laws of political gravity and the separation of powers. On Wednesday, a New York court rejected the legal foundation of Trump’s most sweeping tariffs. The setback fit a broader pattern for a president who has advanced an extraordinarily expansive views of executive power. Federal courts have called out the lack of due process in some of Trump’s deportation efforts. His efforts to humble Harvard University and cut the federal workforce have encountered legal obstacles as well. The Trump White House insists it will prevail in the end.

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FILE - The exterior view of a CVS branch is shown on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez,File)

CVS and Express Scripts sue Arkansas over restriction on pharmacy benefit managers

May 29, 2025

CVS and Express Scripts are asking a federal judge to block an Arkansas law prohibiting pharmacy benefit managers from owning or operating pharmacies in the state. The lawsuits are challenging the first such restrictions enacted by a state on PBMs, which run prescription drug coverage for big clients that include health insurers and employers that provide coverage. Supporters of Arkansas law say it’s needed to protect independent pharmacies that are being closed because of PBMs. The lawsuits call Arkansas’ law unconstitutional and say it could have devastating impacts on access to medications.

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People stop on a trail facing downtown Oakland, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Berkeley, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

US supercomputer named after Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna to power AI and scientific research

May 29, 2025

A new supercomputer named after a winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry will help power artificial intelligence technology and scientific discoveries from a perch in the hills above the University of California, Berkeley, federal officials said Thursday. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright is scheduled to announce the project Thursday alongside executives from computer maker Dell Technologies and chipmaker Nvidia. The new computing system at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will be called Doudna after Berkeley professor and biochemist Jennifer Doudna, who won a Nobel in 2020 for her work on the gene-editing technology CRISPR. It’s due to switch on next year.

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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks as Education Secretary Linda McMahon listens during a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission Event in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

White House acknowledges problems in RFK Jr.’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ report

May 29, 2025

The White House will fix errors in a much-anticipated federal government report spearheaded by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which decried America’s food supply, pesticides and prescription drugs. Kennedy’s wide-ranging “Make America Healthy Again” report, released last week, cited hundreds of studies, but a closer look by the news organization NOTUS found that some of those studies did not actually exist. Asked about the report’s problems, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the report will be updated.

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The U.S. Department of Justice logo is seen on a podium before a press conference with Attorney General Pam Bondi, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at the Justice Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

US government employee charged with trying to give classified information to a foreign government

May 29, 2025

An information technology specialist for the Defense Intelligence Agency has been charged with attempting to transmit classified information to a representative of a foreign government. That’s according to the Justice Department, which announced the arrest Thursday of 28-year-old Nathan Vilas Laatsch. Prosecutors say was arrested at a public park in Virginia where he had arranged to deposit sensitive records to a person he thought was an official of a foreign government but who was actually an undercover FBI agent. The identity of the country Laatsch thought he was in communication with was not disclosed but the Justice Department described it as a friendly, or allied, nation. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.

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Krome Detention Center officers man an entrance gate as people hold a vigil outside to recognize those who have died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, as well as those affected by mass deportations, Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Leadership shakeups at agency tasked with carrying out Trump’s mass deportations agenda

May 29, 2025

A staff reorganization is underway at the agency carrying out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced leadership changes Tuesday at the department tasked with finding, arresting and removing immigrants who no longer have the right to be in the country as well as at the agency’s investigative division. ICE said the changes would help the agency achieve “President Trump and the American people’s mandate of arresting and deporting criminal illegal aliens and making American communities safe.” White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said earlier this week that the administration was setting a goal of 3,000 arrests by ICE each day.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies before House Committee on Appropriations subcommittee budget hearing for the Department of State and related programs on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

State Department notifies Congress of reorganization plan with bigger cuts to programs and staff

May 29, 2025

The State Department has notified Congress of an updated reorganization of the massive agency. The planned changes include cuts to programs beyond what had previously been revealed and a steeper 18% reduction of staff in the U.S. The efforts were detailed in a notification letter obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday. The changes reflect the Trump administration’s push to reshape American diplomacy and scale back the size of the federal government. The department is proposing the elimination of divisions tasked with oversight of America’s two-decade involvement in Afghanistan, including an office focused on resettling Afghan nationals who worked alongside the U.S. military.

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FILE - Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer gives a policy speech at an event, April 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says willingness to take a ‘few punches’ makes an effective leader

May 29, 2025

Democrat Gretchen Whitmer touted her accomplishments as Michigan’s governor as she passes the midpoint of her second term and is continuously floated as a potential 2028 presidential candidate. Whitmer has been criticized by some Democrats for taking a friendlier tone with President Donald Trump than in his last term and applauded by others for working across the aisle. In a speech Thursday, she suggested her willingness to work with others to get things done has made her an effective leader for the battleground state, which Trump won last fall and in 2016.

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Sexual assault suspect Ian Cleary departs from the Adams County Court House in Gettysburg, Pa., Thursday, May 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A man charged in a 2013 Pennsylvania campus sex assault hires a lawyer to review possible plea deal

May 29, 2025

An American who was extradited from France this year to face charges in a 2013 campus sexual assault case has hired a private lawyer to review a potential plea in Pennsylvania. Ian Cleary made his first in-person court appearance Thursday in Adams County, a half-mile from where the encounter occurred at Gettysburg College. Assistant Public Defender Joshua Neiderhiser says a plea had been in the works. He has been representing the 32-year-old Saratoga, California, man since he was brought back to the U.S. However, Cleary agreed after speaking with his parents to hire a lawyer to review the case, delaying a possible deal.

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FILE - Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall speaks at a press conference across the street from the Manhattan criminal court on May 13, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah, File)

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announces run for US Senate

May 29, 2025

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has announced he’s running for the U.S. Senate. He’s seeking the position being vacated by Sen. Tommy Tuberville. Tuberville is running for governor in 2026. Marshall announced his candidacy Thursday in a video that included multiple clips of him being introduced or praised by President Donald Trump. The video called Marshall the senator that “our state needs and our president can count on.” As attorney general, Marshall worked with other Republican-led states in filing lawsuits challenging multiple Biden administration policies. Marshall was first appointed as attorney general in 2017 by then-Gov. Robert Bentley. He won a full term in 2018, and was reelected in 2022.

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What to know about onetime Chicago gang leader Larry Hoover, whose federal sentence Trump commuted

May 29, 2025

One of Chicago’s most infamous gang leaders is among President Donald Trump’s most recent presidential commutations. The puzzling move raised questions about whether Larry Hoover will be freed. The 74-year-old Hoover has been serving a life sentence at the nation’s most restrictive prison in Colorado. He was first imprisoned in Illinois for a 1973 murder and decades later convicted in federal court for running a criminal enterprise while behind bars. Trump’s move commutes the federal sentence of the ex-gang leader and prison entrepreneur revered in rap lyrics. However, Hoover must still serve the remainder of his lengthy Illinois sentence.

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FILE - Shoppers walks past a Calvin Klein store at Citadel Outlets in Commerce, Calif., April 14, 2025. (AP PhotoDamian Dovarganes, file)

Already numb to tariff twists, US importers see legal decisions as another price of doing business

May 29, 2025

Businesses rattled by President Donald Trump’s on again, off again tariffs are absorbing more jolts after a U.S. appeals court temporarily blocked a federal court order that would have halted most of his taxes on foreign imports. The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled Wednesday that Trump overstepped his authority when he invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to declare a national emergency as justification for his tariffs. But on Thursday, a federal appeals court granted an emergency motion allowing the government to continue collecting tariffs while the Trump administration challenges the trade court’s decision. The owner of a kitchen and bathroom accessories company says she is “numb” from the constant flux.

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FILE - The CBS Broadcast Center is 0n 57th Street in New York City on April 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

Trump suffered ‘mental anguish’ from disputed CBS News interview with Harris, lawyer says

May 29, 2025

Donald Trump’s lawyer says that the president suffered “mental anguish” from CBS News’ editing of an interview last fall with his Democratic election opponent Kamala Harris. That argument was made in court papers opposing Paramount Global’s efforts to get Trump’s $40 billion lawsuit dismissed. Trump has claimed the interview was edited to make Harris look good, a contention that CBS and its parent company Paramount reject. Nevertheless, Paramount and Trump lawyers are engaged in settlement talks, which could lead to some trouble of its own. A press advocacy group that says it is a Paramount shareholder says it will sue if there is a settlement.

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FILE - President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

What is the Court of International Trade? And why can it strike down Trump’s tariffs?

May 29, 2025

A little-known federal court threw a giant monkey wrench into a foundational part of President Donald Trump’s economic agenda by striking down most of the sweeping tariffs he has imposed since taking office. The Court of International Trade typically deals with more obscure and highly-technical issues surrounding tariffs and trade policies. It handles trade-related disputes from all over the country, and as a result sits outside the standard federal court structure of district courts and appellate circuit courts.

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Jimmy Wayne Carwyle appears during an arraignment in Los Angeles, Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, Pool)

Judge finds man charged with stalking Jennifer Aniston is mentally incompetent to stand trial

May 29, 2025

A man charged with stalking Jennifer Aniston and crashing his car through the front gate of her home has been found mentally incompetent to stand trial. A Los Angeles County judge made the ruling at a hearing Thursday. It came after a second doctor found 48-year-old Jimmy Wayne Carwyle not mentally fit to face charges of felony stalking and vandalism. Carwyle has pleaded not guilty. He’ll now undergo more comprehensive examinations to determine how and where he’ll be held and treated, and Aniston or her lawyer will be able to speak at a hearing in June. The incompetence finding is not permanent. A standard criminal process can resume later.

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FILE - Mannequins are shown at the Victoria's Secret store in New York on Sept. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Anne D'Innocenzio, File)

Victoria’s Secret website is down in the US as the lingerie seller addresses a ‘security incident’

May 29, 2025

Victoria’s Secret has taken down its U.S. website and says some in-store services will be unavailable as it addresses a “security incident.” A message to customers remained in place of the popular lingerie brand’s normal shopping site Thursday morning, stating that the company had halted these services “as a precaution.” Victoria’s Secret did not immediately provide more details about the incident, or specify whether it was a cyber attack. It also wasn’t immediately clear when Victoria’s Secret identified the issue and began halting some of its operations. The company said it was working to fulfill orders placed before Monday and that it would be extending return windows and some direct mail coupon offers for impacted customers in the U.S.

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Leon Thomas III poses for a portrait on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Gary Gerard Hamilton)

Leon Thomas is ‘ready for the moment’ with new album ‘MUTT Deluxe: HEEL’

May 29, 2025

Alternative R&B artist Leon Thomas will release his “MUTT Deluxe: HEEL” album on Friday. Thomas earned a Grammy for co-producing SZA’s gigantic “Snooze” record and is now experiencing his own solo success. His single “MUTT,” from his 2024 critically acclaimed sophomore album of the same name, reached No. 1 on multiple Billboard charts, including Hot R&B Songs, Adult R&B airplay and R&B Streaming Songs. It also peaked at No. 13 on Billboard’s Hot 100. Once known for his role on the popular Nickelodeon series “Victorious” which included castmate Ariana Grande, the artist-producer recruited Chris Brown, Halle Bailey, Big Sean and Kehlani to appear on “HEEL.” Nine new songs have been added, both originals and remixes.

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In this image made from video, Philadelphia's Mayor Cherelle Parker, left, honors actor Quinta Brunson with a key to the city in a ceremony dedicating a mural at Brunson’s alma mater, Andrew Hamilton School, which was the inspiration for her award-winning show “Abbott Elementary” Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa)

Philadelphia honors Quinta Brunson with key, mural at alma mater that inspired ‘Abbott Elementary’

May 29, 2025

Philadelphia’s mayor has honored actor and producer Quinta Brunson with a key to the city in a ceremony dedicating a separate mural at Brunson’s alma mater, which was the inspiration for her award-winning show “Abbott Elementary.” Brunson used the ceremony held Wednesday at Andrew Hamilton School to celebrate the power of public education, teachers and music and arts education. Teacher Joyce Abbott, who inspired the name of the show’s fictional school, attended. The mural, titled Blooming Features, wraps around the school’s exterior. Created by artist Athena Scott with input from Brunson and Hamilton students and staff, it features real people from Hamilton.

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Cosmetics company E.l.f acquires Hailey Bieber’s Rhode beauty brand for $1 billion

May 29, 2025

E.l.f. Beauty has acquired Hailey Bieber’s Rhode beauty brand in a $1 billion deal. Bieber is a model and the wife of singer Justin Bieber. She launched Rhode, which is her middle name, as a skin care line in June 2022 and has since expanded the brand to include blushes, colored lip balms and lip liners. The brand is popular with young consumers and other fans of her fresh-faced, casual aesthetic. Under the terms of the agreement, Bieber will be Rhode’s chief creative officer and head of innovation, and also a strategic adviser to the combined companies.

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Special Tony for educators goes to NYC high school teacher who urges students to ‘step out the box’

May 29, 2025

The special Tony Award that honors educators is going to a New York public high school teacher who shows how theater skills can apply to a career in the arts and also far away from it. Gary Edwin Robinson says he tries to show how theater can “help develop you in whatever area you’re going into.” Robinson teaches five drama classes a day, offering an average of 95-100 students a three-year sequence of 45-minute sections. The award includes a $10,000 prize and a pair of tickets to the Tony ceremony and gala. Robinson’s students will also receive a visiting master class taught by Carnegie Mellon drama professors. The Tony Awards will be held June 8.

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FILE - An advertisement for the cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, is displayed on a building in Hong Kong on Nov. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

Crypto crime spills over from behind the screen to real-life violence

May 28, 2025

An alleged kidnapping in New York is the latest instance in which authorities say cryptocurrency-related crimes have involved real-world violence. Kidnappings for ransom in France have rattled the crypto industry there, including one where a crypto entrepreneur’s father had a finger cut off. Experts believe the increase in violence could be linked to cryptocurrencies’ surging values, violent groups adding crypto thefts to their repertoire and the ease of shielding your identity in crypto transactions. “Things that might clearly be outside of social norms in other spaces — like robbing a bank — are somehow just part of the game here,” said John Griffin, a finance professor at the University of Texas in Austin.

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FILE - A sculler rows down the Charles River near Harvard University, at rear, April 15, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Harvard holds commencement amid Trump funding cuts, threats to international students

May 28, 2025

Harvard University is holding it commencement Thursday. The nation’s oldest and wealthiest school at the forefront of legal efforts to defend higher education in America from what increasingly seem like existential threats by President Donald Trump. Other schools also face the loss of federal funding and their ability to enroll international students if they don’t agree to the Trump administration’s changing demands. But Harvard is taking the lead on defying the White House in federal court. Trump frames his pressure as a defense against antisemitism. Sustained by a $53 billion endowment, Harvard is testing whether it can be a bulwark protecting the freedom to teach and learn nationwide.

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Andreas Tompros tours his avocado farm, Ridgecrest Avocados, on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

California avocado growers say Mexican imports have helped their sales

May 28, 2025

On a hillside northwest of Los Angeles, Andreas Tompros is replanting hundreds of avocado trees. Consumption of avocados has boomed in the United States in the past two decades, and much of the demand has been met with rising imports from Mexico. California growers say these imports have wound up helping, not hurting, their crop by creating a stable supply of the fruit that has bolstered demand. Many farmers are tearing out lemon trees due to overseas competition and planting avocados instead. Growers like Tompros plan to stick with avocados even after losing their orchards to wildfires last year.

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President Donald Trump speaks during a swearing in ceremony for interim U.S. Attorney General for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

What happens to Trump’s tariffs now that a court has knocked them down?

May 28, 2025

A federal court in New York  handed President Donald Trump a big setback Wednesday, blocking his audacious plan to impose massive taxes on imports from almost every country in the world. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that Trump overstepped his authority when he invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to declare a national emergency and justify the sweeping import taxes. Here’s what to know about the decision.

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Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, center, meets with local residents in Wenden, Arizona, on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, during a tour of La Paz County to talk about groundwater. (AP Photo/Sejal Govindarao)

Arizona’s rural groundwater deal stalls as legislative session nears end

May 28, 2025

Attempts to regulate groundwater in rural Arizona have stalled in the Legislature. Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs’ office says negotiators haven’t met since early April. Hobbs backed a proposal to create rural groundwater management areas around the state. Republicans introduced their own proposal. The two sides differ on which water basins could be regulated, conservation limits and the makeup of the local councils that would oversee it all. Hobbs says she’ll take matters into her own hands if the Legislature doesn’t act before it adjourns. Republicans say a separate proposal from the Arizona Department of Water Resources to ease overpumping of a southern Arizona basin is souring talks on the legislative bills.

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A fan takes a photo with Savannah Chrisley, daughter of reality television star Todd Chrisley, after she spoke outside the Federal Prison Camp, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Pensacola, Fla. (AP Photo/Dan Anderson)

Trump issues series of pardons for politicians, a union leader and a rapper

May 28, 2025

President Donald Trump has issued a new series of pardons, awarding them to a former New York congressman, a Connecticut governor, a rapper known as “NBA YoungBoy,” a labor union leader and a onetime Army officer who flaunted safety measures during the coronavirus pandemic. Trump also commuted the sentence of Larry Hoover, a former Chicago gang leader serving a life sentence. Trump’s actions mixed his willingness to pardon high-profile Republicans and other supporters, donors and friends with the influence of Alice Marie Johnson, whom Trump recently named his pardons czar after he offered a pardon to her in 2020.

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This undated photo provided by the U.S. Air Force Academy shows cadet candidate Ava Moore. (U.S. Air Force Academy via AP)

What to know about the death of Air Force prep graduate Ava Moore in a crash on a Texas lake

May 28, 2025

Authorities say an 18-year-old woman about to begin her first year at the U.S. Air Force Academy was killed when a personal watercraft hit her kayak on a Texas lake over Memorial Day weekend. Ava Moore died following the collision on Lake Grapevine near Dallas on Sunday. Authorities said Wednesday that the woman accused of operating the personal watercraft and the man accused of driving her from the scene were arrested at a Dallas home Tuesday. Authorities say both are Venezuelans who had entered the U.S. illegally in 2023.

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Savannah Chrisley, daughter of reality television star Todd Chrisley, speaks outside the Federal Prison Camp, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Pensacola, Fla. (AP Photo/Dan Anderson)

What to know about reality TV stars Julie and Todd Chrisley, who were pardoned by Trump

May 28, 2025

Reality TV stars Julie and Todd Chrisley have been pardoned by President Donald Trump after being imprisoned on federal convictions for bank fraud and tax evasion. Todd Chrisley was released Wednesday evening from a prison in Florida, while Julie Chrisley was freed from a facility in Lexington, Kentucky. The couple is best known for the long-running TV series “Chrisley Knows Best,” which followed their family and luxurious lifestyle. Prosecutors said that lifestyle was boosted by bank fraud and hiding earnings from tax authorities. Trump signed the pardons Wednesday. They are the latest example of the president pardoning high-profile friends, supporters, donors and former staffers.

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FILE - Emil Bove, attorney for then former President Donald Trump, attends Manhattan criminal court during Trump's sentencing in the hush money case in New York, Jan. 10, 2025. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via AP, File)

Ex-Trump defense lawyer Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official, is picked to be federal judge

May 28, 2025

President Donald Trump says he’s nominating his former criminal defense lawyer Emil Bove to become a federal appeals court judge. As a high-ranking Justice Department official, Bove was behind the controversial move to drop the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams as well as some of the agency’s most scrutinized actions since Trump’s return to the White House in January. Trump has picked Bove to fill a vacancy on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears cases from Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The nomination, which is subject to Senate confirmation, comes just months into Bove’s contentious tenure at the department.

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A 4-year-old Mexican girl, who has short bowel syndrome, attends a news conference in Los Angeles, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, after her and her mother's humanitarian parole was terminated and they were ordered to self-deport. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Trump administration revokes parole of Mexican girl receiving lifesaving care in US, lawyer says

May 28, 2025

The Trump administration has revoked permission for a 4-year-old Mexican girl who receives lifesaving medical care from a California hospital to stay in the country, her family says. Lawyer Gina Amato said Wednesday the girl’s mother was notified the U.S. government was withdrawing the humanitarian parole the family received in 2023 when she brought her ailing child to the border. Since then, the girl has made it out of the hospital thanks to a treatment she receives from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Amato says the child’s doctors have said without it she could die in days.

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FILE - Former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland leaves federal appeals court in New York on March 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

Ex-Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, who resigned amid a corruption scandal, pardoned by Trump

May 28, 2025

Former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, whose promising political career was upended by a corruption scandal, has been pardoned by President Donald Trump. The Republican governor, who served from 1995 until 2004, was among a number of prominent figures the Republican president granted clemency on Wednesday. A White House official confirmed the pardon but spoke only on background to discuss matters that have not yet been made public. Rowland called it a “wonderful final resolution” in a statement to local news outlets in Connecticut. Rowland was elected governor three times before resigning amid a federal corruption investigation into gifts and favors that he accepted from state contractors.

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President Donald Trump bows his head in prayer with others, before delivering the Memorial Day Address at the 157th National Memorial Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery, Monday, May 26, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Trump pardons a labor union leader on the eve of sentencing for failing to report gifts

May 28, 2025

A labor union leader who pleaded guilty to failing to report gifts from an advertising firm has been pardoned by President Donald Trump on the eve of his sentencing. James Callahan, of Lindenhurst, New York, was general president of the International Union of Operating Engineers when he accepted — but failed to properly report — receiving at least $315,000 in tickets to sporting events and concerts and other amenities from a company that the union used to place ads. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes was scheduled to sentence Callahan on Wednesday. On Tuesday, however, Callahan’s attorneys notified the court of Trump’s pardon and asked for the hearing to be vacated.

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Fired federal tech staffers file retaliation claim to a panel whose chairwoman Trump also fired

May 28, 2025

A group of roughly 80 fired federal employees are appealing their terminations to an administrative body in charge of protecting the rights of federal employees from partisan political practices. Notably, that board’s chairwoman was also recently fired by President Donald Trump. The 18F employees, who worked on projects such as the IRS’ Direct File, filed an appeal Wednesday at the Merit Systems Protection Board against the General Services Administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. They claim that they were identified in February for a reduction-in-force because of their “perceived political affiliations or beliefs.”

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Delta flight delayed because 2 pigeons sneaked aboard a plane in Minneapolis

May 28, 2025

Two pigeons sneaked aboard a Delta Air Lines plane, delaying the flight twice. The airline confirmed that the pigeons got aboard a flight Saturday that was leaving Minneapolis for Madison, Wisconsin. Passenger Tom Caw told news outlets that the plane had to return to the gate twice because of birds flying around the cabin. He said the first bird was captured by a ground crew. The second time, a passenger stepped in. Delta says the flight was delayed a total of 56 minutes. Another Delta flight over the Memorial Day weekend was delayed when a dog in the cabin got sick.

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Cindy McPherson, with the Interfaith Movement For Human Integrity, listens to speakers during a news conference and rally by immigrant justice organizations and advocates to protest ICE arrests in San Francisco, Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Immigrant rights advocates rally against ICE courthouse arrests in San Francisco

May 28, 2025

Immigrant rights advocates rallied outside San Francisco’s immigration court to condemn the Trump administration’s latest deportation tactics. At a rally Wednesday, they also implored asylum-seekers and other migrants trying to stay in the United States to keep their court dates despite possible detention by ICE agents. Advocates say eight people were arrested in the San Francisco and Concord immigrant courthouses Tuesday. They say lawyers are on standby and volunteers are available to accompany people to their hearings. They say immigrants who skip out on hearings are often subject to a removal order and deportation. ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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FILE - Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights and Director of the U.S. Copyright Office, testifies during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property oversight hearing of the United States Copyright Office, Nov. 13, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, file)

Judge refuses to temporarily block the Trump administration from removing Copyright Office director

May 28, 2025

A federal judge has refused to temporarily block the Trump administration from removing and replacing the director of the U.S. Copyright Office. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled Wednesday that the office director, Shira Perlmutter, hasn’t met her legal burden to show how removing her from the position would cause her to suffer irreparable harm. Kelly’s refusal to issue a temporary restraining order isn’t the final word in the lawsuit that Perlmutter filed last Thursday. Perlmutter’s attorneys say she is a renowned copyright expert who also has served as Register of Copyrights since the Librarian of Congress appointed her to the job in October 2020.

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FILE - Tamara Lanier attends a news conference near the Harvard Club, on March 20, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)

Harvard agrees to relinquish early photos of enslaved people, ending a long legal battle

May 28, 2025

Harvard University will relinquish 175-year-old photographs believed to be the earliest taken of enslaved people. A lawyer says the images will be transferred to a South Carolina museum devoted to African American history with a woman who says she is one of the subjects’ descendants. The photos of the subjects identified by Tamara Lanier as her great-great-great-grandfather Renty and his daughter Delia will be transferred from the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology to the International African American Museum in South Carolina. The settlement marks the end of a 15-year battle between Lanier and the Ivy League school to release the 19th-century “daguerreotypes,” a precursor to modern-day photographs.

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President Donald Trump speaks during a swearing in ceremony for interim U.S. Attorney General for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump rejects claim he’s ‘chickening out’ on tariffs just because he keeps changing rates

May 28, 2025

President Donald Trump wants the world to know he’s no “chicken” just because he’s repeatedly backed off high tariff threats. The U.S. president’s tendency to levy extremely high import taxes and then retreat has created what’s known as the “TACO” trade. It’s an acronym coined by The Financial Times’ Robert Armstrong that stands for “Trump Always Chickens Out.” Markets generally sell off when Trump makes his tariff threats and then recover after he backs down. Trump was visibly offended when asked about the phrase Wednesday. He said it’s not “chickening out,” it’s negotiation.

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Michigan court ends effort to sue Oxford school staff over 2021 mass shooting

May 28, 2025

The Michigan Supreme Court had dismissed appeals by families of students killed or wounded at Oxford High School in 2021. The court’s brief order issued Wednesday ends efforts to hold employees partly responsible for the mass shooting. Under Michigan law, immunity is a high hurdle to overcome in lawsuits against a government body. Ethan Crumbley is serving a life prison sentence for killing four student and wounding seven other people. Oxford staff allowed him to stay in school the day of the shooting, despite his violent drawings.

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Phineas and Ferb return this summer with zany new episodes and a small change

May 28, 2025

The beloved cartoon duo Phineas and Ferb are returning for new episodes this summer after a decade away and pretty much nothing has changed. Except maybe one thing. The most observant viewers will notice Phineas’ shirt has one extra stripe. Other than a fourth stripe on Phineas’s orange-and-white T-shirt, “Phineas and Ferb” return with all the characters that Gen Z viewers so adored, including Perry the Platypus, the mad scientist Dr. Doofenshmirtz, the easily excitable older sister Candace and the bully Buford. The first two episodes air June 5 on Disney Channel and Disney XD and premiere on Disney+ the next day.

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FILE - South Dakota state Democratic Sen. Shawn Bordeaux, left, and Rep. Eric Emery hold the flag of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe on Jan. 10, 2024, at the state Capitol in Pierre, S.D. At right is South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem. (AP Photo/Jack Dura, file)

South Dakota tribe declares state of emergency over crime

May 28, 2025

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota is declaring a state of emergency on its reservation. The tribe announced the decision Tuesday. It’s contending with drug use, trafficking and gun violence on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. Members are seeking more law enforcement resources from the federal government. They currently have only a dozen officers for a space spanning almost 1 million acres across five counties. This marks the tribe’s third emergency declaration in six years and follows lawsuits against the federal government by other tribes in the Dakotas also asking for more law enforcement resources.

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Ancient DNA reveals a new group of people who lived near land bridge between the Americas

May 28, 2025

Scientists have identified a new pod of ancient people who lived near the land bridge between North America and South America. Discovered through ancient DNA, the group lived 6,000 years ago in the high plateaus of present-day Bogotá, Colombia. Scientists aren’t sure exactly where they fall in the family tree because they’re not closely related to ancient Native Americans in North America. They’re also not linked to ancient or present-day South Americans. They faded away 2,000 years ago and scientists aren’t sure why. The new study was published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.

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Andrei Kozlov, an artist who was taken hostage by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, speaks with The Associated Press during an interview Monday, May 19, 2025, at his studio in New York.

Freed from Hamas captivity, former hostage tells his story through his paintings

May 28, 2025

Taken hostage by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, Andrei Kozlov is pouring his experience in captivity onto canvas in an exhibition of paintings. The 28-year-old Russian-born Kozlov was rescued by Israeli Defense Forces last June after about eight months as a hostage. He’s at work in New York on a series of mostly acrylic depictions of his capture, captivity and release that he hopes to show this summer. The paintings focus on dark moments of Kozlov’s life and their colors frequently reflect that. But overjoyed by his freedom, the former hostage says his art is “about hope.”

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(AP Illustration / Peter Hamlin)

Planning a wedding is stressful. Couples and vendors now have to factor in tariffs

May 28, 2025

Wedding cakes, decor, attire, flowers, party favors, Champagne. There isn’t much in the wedding industry that isn’t affected by new tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. How much gets passed down to consumers is up to the vendors and the many middlemen often involved. Some wedding couples and their vendors are already feeling the sting. Wedding professionals say some sectors of the industry in the U.S. are underdeveloped and incapable of absorbing the load from tariff-heavy nations. That includes China, but also Latin American countries that provide the U.S. with the bulk of its cut flowers. Some bridal couples will go without.

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FILE - Cars are parked in front of a Macy's store at Hawthorn Mall in Vernon Hills, Ill., June 3, 2024.(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, file)

Macy’s surprises in first quarter, but cuts profit outlook as tariff costs seep in

May 28, 2025

Macy’s sales and profit slipped in its first quarter and the department store, citing more cautious customers and the impact that a trade war launched by the U.S., trimmed its profit forecast for 2025. The New York retailer, however, topped most performance expectations for the first three months of the year and maintained its annual sales forecast Wednesday. Macy’s CEO Tony Spring said that after seeing almost no price increases linked to tariffs in the first quarter, some “limited” price increases are appearing now, leading to the more cautious annual profit outlook. He said that the company is diversifying the origin of its products and will pull items when the math doesn’t work.

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This combination of photos shows Mariah Carey at the third annual Recording Academy Honors in Los Angeles on Feb. 1, 2024. left, Snoop Dogg at an appearance in Ventura, Calif on Oct. 2, 2020, center, .and Jamie Foxx at the Los Angeles premiere of "Number One on the Call Sheet," on March 12, 2025. (AP Photo)

BET Awards to honor Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, Jamie Foxx and Kirk Franklin

May 28, 2025

The BET Awards will honor four legendary performers — Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, Jamie Foxx and Kirk Franklin — with one of the show’s top honors, the Ultimate Icon Award. BET says the recipients were selected due to their impact on entertainment as well as their community impact and advocacy. Rap icon Lil Wayne, rapper GloRilla and singer Teyana Taylor will hit the BET Awards stage next month. Kendrick Lamar is the leading nominee with 10.The BET Awards will celebrate its 25th anniversary on June 9 from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The show will air at 8 p.m. EDT.

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Elon Musk looks on as President Donald Trump meets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

A judge refuses to toss states’ lawsuit against Elon Musk and DOGE

May 28, 2025

A federal judge has refused to throw out a lawsuit that accuses billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency of illegally accessing government data systems, canceling government contracts and firing federal employees. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled Tuesday that 14 states can proceed with their claims against Musk and DOGE. The states, through their attorneys general, sued in February over the defendants’ alleged constitutional violations. Chutkan agreed to dismiss President Donald Trump as a defendant in the lawsuit, but she refused to dismiss their claims against Musk and DOGE.

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FILE - An aerial view of Dingucha village in Gandhinagar, India, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki, File)

Men face prison for human smuggling after an Indian family of 4 died on the US-Canada border

May 27, 2025

Two men face sentencing in Minnesota on human smuggling charges more than three years after a family of four from India froze to death while trying to cross into the U.S. along a remote stretch of the Canadian border in a blizzard. Federal prosecutors have recommended nearly 20 years for the alleged ringleader, Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, at his sentencing Wednesday. And they’re seeking nearly 11 years for the driver who was supposed to pick them up, Steve Anthony Shand. They’ll be sentenced at the federal courthouse in the northwestern Minnesota city of Fergus Falls, where they were tried and convicted on four counts apiece in November.

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Newly appointed members of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, from left, Jeff Carmon, Francis De Luca, Stacy "Four" Eggers, Siobhan O'Duffy Millen and Bob Rucho, take their oaths of office at the Dobbs Building in Raleigh, N.C., on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 (AP Photo/Gary D. Robertson)

Trump administration sues North Carolina over its voter registration records

May 27, 2025

The Trump administration has accused North Carolina’s election board of violating federal law by failing to ensure that registration records of some applicants contained identifying numbers. It wants a judge to force board officials to create a prompt method to obtain such numbers. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division sued in federal court on Tuesday alleging violations of the Help America Vote Act. The lawsuit is about the collection of a registrant’s driver’s license number or partial Social Security number. The department says it’s carrying out a recent executive order from President Donald Trump on elections. Registrant records were also an issue in a state Supreme Court race last year.

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U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., speaks about plans to run for the governor of Alabama in 2026, Tuesday May 27, 2025 at Byron's Smokehouse in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/ John David Mercer)

US Sen. Tommy Tuberville announces 2026 bid for Alabama governor

May 27, 2025

Republican U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville says he’s running for governor of Alabama next year. His announcement on Fox News came after weeks of speculation and associates saying Tuberville planned to enter the race. The Arkansas native was the head football coach at Auburn from 1999 to 2008, where he led the team to eight consecutive bowl appearances and one Southeastern Conference championship. He also served as head coach at Mississippi, Texas Tech and the University of Cincinnati. Tuberville, a close ally of President Donald Trump, is expected to be a formidable entry in the governor’s race. Two-term Republican Gov. Kay Ivey cannot run again because of term limits.

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President Donald Trump speaks during the 157th National Memorial Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery, Monday, May 26, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Trump’s campaign against law firms dealt another setback as judge blocks executive order

May 27, 2025

President Donald Trump’s campaign against the legal profession has hit another setback as a federal judge struck down yet another executive order that sought to sanction one of the country’s most prestigious law firms. The order on Tuesday in favor of WilmerHale marks the third time this month that a federal judge in Washington has deemed Trump’s series of law firm executive orders to be unconstitutional and has permanently barred their enforcement. The ruling was similar to one from Friday by a different judge that rejected a Trump edict against the firm of Jenner & Block and another one from earlier in the month in favor of the firm Perkins Coie.

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FILE - The United States Steel logo is pictured outside the headquarters building in downtown Pittsburgh, April 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

US government to have control in Nippon Steel-U.S. Steel deal, Trump and Sen. McCormick say

May 27, 2025

U.S. Sen. David McCormick says an arrangement for Japan-based Nippon Steel to invest in U.S. Steel will guarantee an American CEO, a majority of U.S. board members and U.S. government approval over certain corporate functions. McCormick spoke Tuesday on CNBC, four days after President Donald Trump suggested that an agreement on a “partnership” was at hand to resolve Nippon Steel’s nearly $15 billion bid to buy U.S. Steel that has been blocked on national security grounds. Trump said Sunday that U.S. Steel will be “controlled by the United States.” Many aspects outlined by McCormick and Trump have been floated previously by Nippon Steel, but Nippon Steel isn’t saying if it’s agreed to this deal.

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A traveller collects a boarding pass at one of the check-in kiosks at the Southwest Airlines counter in the main terminal of Denver International Airport Friday, May 23, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

United is narrowing its check-in window for US flights. Here’s how it compares to other airlines

May 27, 2025

Stragglers beware: U.S. travelers flying with United Airlines will have to check in to domestic flights a little earlier starting next week. That is, if they’re customers only taking carry-on bags. Effective June 3, United’s “check-in cutoff” for most U.S. flights will be 45 minutes before departure. That’s the same deadline United has for passengers checking luggage at the airport but 15 minutes earlier than the current one for people without bags to check. Other U.S. and international carriers have tightened their check-in and boarding policies as part of their strategies for maintaining on-time departures, particularly amid the high demand that followed the COVID-19 pandemic.

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William Duplessie, right, is escorted out of the New York Police 13th Precinct after turning himself in on charges of kidnapping and false imprisonment, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

A second crypto investor is charged with kidnapping and torturing a man in a posh NYC townhouse

May 27, 2025

A second cryptocurrency investor has surrendered to police in the alleged kidnapping and torture of a man inside an upscale Manhattan townhouse. Authorities say the victim was beaten and held for weeks by captors seeking access to his Bitcoin password. Police say 32-year-old William Duplessie will face charges of kidnapping and false imprisonment. Another crypto investor, John Woeltz, was arrested Friday. Hours earlier, the victim fled the lavish townhouse, bloodied and barefoot. He told prosecutors his captors beat him, plied him with drugs and dangled him off a staircase, demanding access to his crypto. It wasn’t immediately clear if Duplessie had an attorney who could speak for him. Woeltz’s attorney declined to comment.

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FILE - Members of Apache and others who want to halt a massive copper mining project on federal land in Arizona gather outside the U.S. District Court, May 7, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

The Supreme Court rejects a plea to block a copper mine on land in Arizona that’s sacred to Apaches

May 27, 2025

The group Apache Stronghold is vowing to carry on the fight against a massive copper mining project on land the Apaches hold sacred, after a Supreme Court decision that is expected to let the mine proceed. On Tuesday the court rejected an appeal from Apaches who want to halt the project. The justices left in place lower court decisions allowing the transfer of land in the Tonto National Forest known as Oak Flat to Resolution Copper. The company says the ground there holds the world’s second-largest known copper deposit. Resolution Copper’s general manager says the company has made major changes to its mining plan to reduce the impact on tribes.

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District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks during an event where President Donald Trump announces that the 2027 NFL Draft will be held on the National Mall, in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, May 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

DC mayor seeks business-friendly policies to spark growth amid loss of up to 40,000 federal jobs

May 27, 2025

With the nation’s capital facing a pair of overlapping budget crises, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has unveiled a budget proposal that bets heavily on business-friendly policies designed to boost investment and move the city away from dependence on a dwindling number of federal jobs. In the short term, Bowser’s team has been scrambling to fill an immediate budget shortfall that was essentially created by the U.S. Congress. In the longer term, her government faces an estimated $1 billion shortfall over the next three years created by President Donald Trump’s ongoing campaign to radically shrink the federal workforce. The city’s Chief Financial Officer has estimated that 40,000 jobs for District of Columbia residents will ultimately be lost.

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Sydney Tamhnu Tran, 13, of Irvine, Calif., spells her word as she competes during the first preliminary round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Scripps National Spelling Bee guide: How to watch, who the notable spellers are, rules and prizes

May 27, 2025

The best young spellers in the English language are competing at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. The first bee was held in 1925, when the Louisville Courier-Journal invited other newspapers to host spelling bees and send their champions to Washington. The bee is now held just outside the nation’s capital, at a convention center on the banks of the Potomac River in Oxon Hill, Maryland. This is the 97th bee; it was canceled from 1943 to 1945 because of World War II and again in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Duaa Siyah Ouznali, 13, of San Diego, reacts after correctly spelling her word as she competes during the first preliminary round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

To win the Scripps National Spelling Bee, contenders must also master geography

May 27, 2025

There are times when the Scripps National Spelling Bee transforms into a geography bee. Scripps has begun relying on obscure geographical terms to winnow down the field of spellers in the later rounds. While the words are included in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged dictionary, they often don’t follow familiar roots or language patterns. That denies accomplished spellers of the tools they use to figure out how to spell words they’ve never seen before. Some spellers say the best way to deal with geographical names is just to memorize them. The National Spelling Bee began Tuesday and concludes Thursday at a convention center outside Washington.

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This image from video taken by Huntsville Police Department on May 26, 2025, shows the arrest of two New Orleans inmates who were on the run since their May 16, 2025, jailbreak. (Huntsville Police Department via AP)

New Orleans jail escapees caught following car chase in Texas; 2 inmates still on the run

May 27, 2025

Police say one of the New Orleans jail escapees who was captured on Monday was found with the help of an anonymous tip from a concerned citizen. Two others were also arrested following a car chase in Texas on Monday. Twenty-six-year-old Lenton Vanburen Jr. was found Monday evening sitting on a bench near a department store in Baton Rouge. It’s been nearly two weeks since Vanburen and nine others men broke out of a New Orleans jail after slipping out through a hole behind a toilet, scaling a fence and running for freedom. As of Tuesday morning, two of the escapees remain on the run.

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FILE - Signs, including some advising drivers of congestion pricing tolls, are displayed near the exit of the Lincoln Tunnel in New York, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Judge temporarily blocks Trump from retaliating against New York over congestion toll

May 27, 2025

A federal judge has temporarily prevented President Donald Trump from retaliating against New York over its Manhattan congestion toll. Judge Lewis Liman on Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order blocking the federal government from withholding federal funds or taking other punitive actions against the state for imposing a new toll on drivers entering the busiest part of Manhattan. The toll had been approved under former President Joe Biden, but Trump has been a vocal critic of the program. The native New Yorker’s namesake Trump Tower and other properties are within the congestion zone, which generally covers Manhattan south of Central Park.

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FILE - The Harvard University logo is displayed on a building at the school, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

How the Trump administration’s move will affect Harvard’s international students

May 27, 2025

The efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to prevent Harvard University from enrolling international students have struck at the core of the Ivy League school’s identity and unsettled current and prospect students around the world. The government last week told Harvard’s thousands of current foreign students that they must transfer to other schools or they will lose their legal permission to be in the U.S. That decision is currently on hold, a federal judge ruled Friday, pending a lawsuit. Harvard enrolls about 7,000 international students, most of them in graduate programs. Those students may now have to scramble to figure out their next steps.

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Music Review: Miley Cyrus’ ‘Something Beautiful’ is a return to form. ‘Hannah Montana’ fans, rejoice

May 27, 2025

For longtime Miley Cyrus fans, the singer’s ninth studio album is bound to live up to its name. It truly is “Something Beautiful.” In her review, The Associated Press’ Krysta Fauria says Cyrus’ new album is an eclectic tapestry of pop, rock, electronic, disco and even funk. She says the record is also a return to form for the 32-year-old singer, whose pop reputation has always been in tension with her interest in other genres. But she also demonstrates, through her electronic songs in particular, how her sound has evolved and expanded over time.

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Music Review: Virtuosic guitarist Ty Segall finds a new sweet spot on his laid-back ‘Possession’

May 27, 2025

Much of Ty Segall’s prolific career has been characterized by a sludgy intensity. But his 16th LP, “Possession,” crystalizes a new, less-aggressive era for the indie rocker, The Associated Press’ Krysta Fauria writes in her review. His signature psychedelic sound and distorted guitar solos are still there. But the songs are also restrained and refined. He trades in his additive synths for strings and horns, all while maintaining his singular garage-psych. Fauria says that on “Possession” Segall seems to have found a kind of sweet spot that balances force with restraint in this new phase of his discography.

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This undated photo provided by the Arkansas Department of Corrections Communications Department shows inmate Grant Hardin. (Arkansas Department of Corrections Communications Department via AP)

Former police chief, serving murder and rape sentences, escapes from Arkansas prison

May 27, 2025

A former police chief in Arkansas who is serving decades-long sentences for murder and rape escaped from prison. Grant Hardin, the former police chief of the tiny town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border, escaped Sunday from the North Central Unit in Calico Rock, where he has been held since 2017. Arkansas corrections officials did not provide any details about how he escaped. They did say that Hardin had disguised himself and was “wearing a makeshift outfit designed to mimic law enforcement.” Hardin is serving 30 years for the 2017 death of 59-year-old James Appleton and 50 years for the 1997 rape of an elementary school teacher in Rogers.

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Scientists date the oldest known tools made from whale bones to 20,000 years ago

May 27, 2025

Scientists have pinpointed the oldest known evidence of humans making tools from whale bone. The bones, fashioned into narrow projectiles for hunting reindeer or bison, had been uncovered in excavations dating back over a century in the Bay of Biscay near Spain and France. Technological advancements in the past decade have now made it possible to date the oldest of the tools to about 20,000 years ago. The instruments indicate that ancient humans in the area took advantage of resources near the sea for survival. The research was published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.

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FILE - Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Supreme Court rejects appeal of Massachusetts student who wanted to wear ‘only two genders’ T-shirt

May 27, 2025

The Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of a Massachusetts student who was barred from wearing a T-shirt to school proclaiming there are only two genders. The justices on Tuesday left in place a federal appeals court ruling that said it would not second-guess the decision of educators in Middleborough, Massachusetts, to not allow the T-shirt to be worn in a school environment because of a negative impact on transgender and gender-nonconforming students. Educators at the John T. Nichols Middle School barred the student from wearing the T-shirt and an altered version with the words “two genders” covered up by tape with the word “censored” written on it. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.

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D-Fend Solutions counter drone technology is demonstrated, Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in Reston, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Nets and high-tech hijackings: Anti-drone systems offer new ways to counter rising threats

May 27, 2025

Rising concerns about the misuse of drones have led to the development of new technologies designed to counter unmanned aircraft. These include systems that fire projectiles at drones, capture them with nets or jam the controller’s signals. Other technologies hack into the unmanned aircraft, allowing it to be landed safely. Cheap and easily modified, drones have been used for purposes from intelligence gathering and surveillance to sabotage and even terrorism. Members of Congress say they want to make it easier for state and local authorities to use counter-drone technology to protect critical infrastructure and public events.

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A building, currently vacant and under heavy renovation, at an address associated with a contribution to President Donald Trump, is photographed May 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Takeaways: Trump’s campaign has received scores of donations from problematic donors

May 26, 2025

When President Donald Trump directed his attorney general last month to investigate online fundraising, he cited concerns that foreigners and fraudsters were using elaborate “schemes“ and “dummy accounts” to funnel illegal contributions to politicians and causes. Instead of calling for an expansive probe, however, the president identified just one potential target: ActBlue, the Democrats’ online fundraising juggernaut. ActBlue has acknowledged receiving over 200 potentially illicit contributions last year from foreign internet addresses. Trump’s announcement also contained a glaring omission — his own political committees have received scores of contributions from potentially problematic donors.

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Park ranger Jesse Anderson speaks to visitors during a weekly carnivorous plant hike Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Carolina Beach, N.C. (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco)

Insect-eating Venus flytraps thrive in the Carolinas as hikers peek into their native ecosystem

May 26, 2025

Some of the most unique living things in the world — plants that supplement the nutrients they get from sunlight by digesting ants, flies and spiders — are only found in a small part of North and South Carolina. Venus flytraps in the wild aren’t like the human-size, ravenous and cruel Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors. Instead, they are the size of a lima bean and mean no harm to anything other than insects. Their special hairs snap their leaves together when brushed — but only twice in about 20 seconds or less to reduce the amount of false alarms by dust or rain.

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This combo from photos provided by Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office shows from left top: Dkenan Dennis, Gary C Price, Robert Moody, Kendell Myles, Corey E Boyd. Bottom from left: Lenton Vanburen Jr, Jermaine Donald, Antonine T Massey, Derrick D. Groves, and Leo Tate Sr. (Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office via AP)

3 more of the 10 escapees from a New Orleans jail are captured, leaving 2 on the run, officials say

May 26, 2025

Authorities say they’ve captured three more of the 10 escapees who broke out of a New Orleans jail, leaving two more on the run. Louisiana State Police said Monday one of the men was arrested in Baton Rouge by local police and two others were arrested in Walker County Texas by officials there. Authorities have been scouring the New Orleans area for the men after they escaped in an audacious May 16 jailbreak. City and state officials have pointed to multiple security lapses at the jail.

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An American flag is folded during the interment for World War II U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Eugene Darrigan at the cemetery behind St. Mary's church, Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. Darrigan was buried in his hometown after his remains were recovered from a World War II bomber that crashed into the water off the coast of New Guinea on March 11, 1944. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

WWII bomber crash left 11 dead and ‘non-recoverable.’ Four are finally coming home

May 25, 2025

The World War II bomber Heaven Can Wait was shot down off the Pacific island of New Guinea on March 11, 1944. All 11 men aboard were killed and their remains were presumed lost forever in the vast sea. Yet four crew members are finally coming home, beginning Memorial Day weekend. That’s thanks to a remarkable investigation that located the wreckage. A team of elite Navy divers descended deep underwater in a pressurized bell to reach the sea floor. Internment ceremonies for some of the recovered remains are happening 12 years after a relative of the bombardier on Heaven Can Wait set out to solve the mystery of where the plane went down.

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President Donald Trump walks down the stairs of Air Force One upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

President Donald Trump hints at an announcement in the ‘next two days’ on Iran nuclear talks

May 25, 2025

President Donald Trump is indicating that there has been progress with Iran on its nuclear program and hinted that an announcement could come in the “next two days.” Those remarks are notably more upbeat than those of the Omani mediator of the talks between the United States and Iran, who said on Friday that the two nations made “some but not conclusive” progress in the fifth round of negotiations in Rome. Trump told reporters on Sunday that: “We’ve had some very, very good talks with Iran.” He added: “And I don’t know if I’ll be telling you anything good or bad over the next two days, but I have a feeling I might be telling you something good.”

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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, N.J., Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Donald Trump says Russian leader Vladimir Putin ‘has gone absolutely CRAZY!’

May 25, 2025

President Donald Trump is making clear he is losing patience with Vladimir Putin, leveling some of his sharpest criticism at the Russian leader as Moscow pounds Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with drones and missiles for a third straight night. Trump wrote on social media on Sunday night that: “I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!” The U.S. president warned that if Putin wants to conquer all of Ukraine it will “lead to the downfall of Russia!” But Trump expressed frustration with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well, saying that he is “doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does.”

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FILE - Susan Brownmiller poses on the streets of lower Manhattan in New York, Oct. 18, 1975. (AP Photo/Suzanne Vlamis, File)

Susan Brownmiller, author of the landmark book on sexual assault, ‘Against Our Will,’ dies at 90

May 25, 2025

Susan Brownmiller, a prominent feminist and author of the 1960s and ’70s whose “Against Our Will” was a landmark and debated bestseller about rape, has died. She was 90. A journalist, anti-war protester and civil rights activist before joining the feminist movement in its formative years, Brownmiller was among countless women radicalized in the ‘60s and ’70s and part of the much smaller circle that included Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan and Kate Millett who helped radicalize others.  “Against Our Will,” published in 1975 and widely read and taught for decades after, documented the roots, prevalence and politics of rape.

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FILE - Activists sit in front of the U.S. Embassy branch office in Tel Aviv, Israel, during a protest, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, File)

US-German citizen is charged with trying to attack US Embassy in Tel Aviv

May 25, 2025

A dual U.S.-German citizen has been arrested on charges that he traveled to Israel and attempted to firebomb the U.S. Embassy branch office in Tel Aviv. Federal prosecutors in New York on Sunday said the man, Joseph Neumeyer, was deported from Israel and had his initial court appearance. According to a criminal complaint, the 28-year-old Neumeyer walked up to the embassy building on May 19 with a backpack containing Molotov cocktails but got into a confrontation with a guard and ran away, dropping his backpack. He was arrested at a hotel nearby. His court-appointed attorney declined to comment.

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This undated photo released by the European Space Agency shows the 35 meter-diameter deep-space dish antenna, DSA-2, in Cebreros, Spain, receiving the first signals from Venus Express. (ESA via AP)

Strauss’ ‘Blue Danube’ waltz is launching into space to mark his 200th birthday

May 25, 2025

Strauss’ “Blue Danube” waltz is heading into space this month to mark the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth. The European Space Agency’s big dish antenna in Spain will beam the waltz into the cosmos as it’s performed by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. The celestial send-off on May 31 will also celebrate the space agency’s founding 50 years ago. The radio signals will hurtle away at the speed of light. Within 23 hours, the signals will be as far from Earth as NASA’s Voyager 1, the world’s most distant spacecraft some 15 billion miles away.

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FILE - U.S. Army soldiers cross a floating bridge on the Imjin River during a joint river-crossing exercise between South Korea and the United States as a part of the Freedom Shield military exercise in Yeoncheon, South Korea, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

The US military spent $6 billion in the past 3 years to recruit and retain troops

May 25, 2025

The U.S. military spent more than $6 billion over the past three years to recruit and retain service members, in what’s been a growing campaign to counter enlistment shortfalls. The financial incentives to reenlist in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines increased dramatically from 2022 through last year, with the Navy vastly outspending the other services. The overall amount of recruiting bonuses also rose steadily, fueled by big jumps in spending by the Army and Marine Corps. The services routinely pour money into bonuses. But the totals spiked as Pentagon leaders tried to reverse falling enlistment numbers.

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FILE - People walk by the Manhattan Criminal Court building, Wednesday, May 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)

A crypto investor is charged with kidnapping and torturing a man in an NYC apartment for weeks

May 24, 2025

Officials say a cryptocurrency investor has been arrested and charged with kidnapping, assaulting and holding a man against his will for several weeks in an upscale Manhattan town house. Authorities say it was part of a scheme to get his Bitcoin password and empty his virtual wallet. Prosecutors say the 28-year-old victim escaped Friday and flagged down a traffic officer on the street for help. The investor was identified by authorities as 37-year-old John Woeltz. He was arraigned Saturday on kidnapping, assault and other charges and ordered held without bail. Police say the victim was taken to the hospital and had injuries that were consistent with his descriptions of the torture and beatings.

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FILE - The sun shines above a mural honoring George Floyd in Houston's Third Ward on Sunday, June 7, 2020. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

Cities tied to George Floyd mark the 5th anniversary of his death

May 24, 2025

Religious services, concerts and vigils are scheduled to mark the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s murder by a police officer in the cities where Floyd grew up and where he died. Events at George Floyd Square in Minneapolis include concerts and a worship service that will culminate Sunday with a candlelight vigil. Rev. Al Sharpton is to lead a memorial service with Floyd family members in Houston.

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Oliver Widger, 29-year-old Oregon man who sailed from Oregon to Hawai, arrives at the Waikiki Yacht Club, on Saturday, May 24, 2025 in Waikiki, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Michelle Bir)

An Oregon man who quit his job to set sail with his cat arrives to cheering fans in Hawaii

May 24, 2025

An Oregon man who quit his job at a tire company and liquidated his retirement savings to set sail for Hawaii with his cat reached his destination Saturday. His arrival on Oahu ended a weekslong journey that he documented for his mass of followers on social media. Oliver Widger was greeted by a throng of fans — as well as Hawaii Gov. Josh Green — at the Waikiki Yacht Club. He became an online sensation with his story, which followed a diagnosis four years ago with a syndrome that carried a risk of paralysis and made him realize he hated his job. He quit his job with the goal of buying a sailboat and sailing around the world.

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FILE - This 5-foot tall stone slab bearing the Ten Commandments stands near the Capitol in Austin, Texas, in this July 29, 2002 file photo. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck, File)

Texas is closer to putting the Ten Commandments in classrooms after a key vote

May 24, 2025

A push to put the Ten Commandments on display in all Texas public school classrooms is closer to reaching Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. The proposal cleared a major hurdle Saturday by winning preliminary approval in the state’s Republican-controlled House. The measure will likely to draw a swift legal challenge from critics who consider it a constitutional violation of the separation of church and state. A federal court last year blocked a similar law in Louisiana. The Texas plan is expected to get a final vote in the house in the next few days. The governor has indicated he will sign it.

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1 dead in New York sewage-boat explosion on Hudson River

May 24, 2025

Authorities say one man has died and another was injured after an explosion on a boat carrying raw sewage that was docked on the Hudson River in New York. The U.S. Coast Guard says the men were doing work Saturday morning involving a flame or sparks when the blast happened. Police say a 59-year-old man was declared dead at the scene, and the city Department of Environmental Protection said the man had worked for the agency for 33 years. The explosion happened on the New York City-owned Hunts Point, a boat that takes raw sewage to a treatment plant.

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FILE - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detain a person, left, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Trump administration releases people to shelters it threatened to prosecute for aiding migrants

May 24, 2025

The Trump administration has been releasing people charged with being in the country illegally to nongovernmental shelters along the U.S. border with Mexico after telling those organizations that providing migrants with temporary housing and other aid may violate a law used to prosecute smugglers. Border shelters have long provided lodging, meals and transportation to a bus station or airport. Many were rattled by a letter from the Federal Emergency Management Agency demanding information in a wide-ranging investigation into potential migrant smuggling. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has continued releasing people to at least four shelters in Texas and Arizona.

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A member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment places flags at the headstones of service members buried at Arlington National Cemetery, ahead of Memorial Day, Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

In their words: How recent presidents have honored America’s fallen on Memorial Day

May 24, 2025

From Arlington National Cemetery outside the nation’s capital to the American burial ground in Normandy, France, presidents customarily commemorate Memorial Day on hallowed ground. In somber wreath-laying ceremonies and poignant speeches, presidents remember the military members who died serving the country, even as many in the United States associate the holiday with a three-day weekend and shopping sales.

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Kentucky Democratic Party Chairman Colmon Elridge addresses a "Rural Listening Tour" gathering in Paintsville, Ky., Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Bill Barrow)

The Democrats’ path back to power might start in places like this Appalachian town

May 24, 2025

Kentucky Democrats are trying to address the party’s steep deficits in overwhelmingly white, conservative pockets of rural America. A recent “Rural Listening Tour” stop by the state party leaders in a small Appalachian town reflected that challenge. It also showed they can have a presence everywhere. A generation ago, Democrat Bill Clinton won Kentucky twice, including pluralities in Johnson County, where Donald Trump won big in 2024. The state party chair, Colmon Elridge, says he’s committed to showing up in small-town Kentucky, and he points to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear as a model for Democrats to follow nationally in connecting with rural voters.

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Interim US Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba, left, arrives to the courthouse in Newark, N.J., Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Some of Trump’s loyalty-first picks for prosecutors draw opposition from senators who can block them

May 24, 2025

Senate opposition led President Donald Trump to abandon his candidate to be the top prosecutor in the nation’s capital. But Trump is facing similar headwinds with some of his picks for U.S. attorneys elsewhere. The Republican president has put a premium on loyalty as he staffs his administration, and that can be seen as he works to name the 93 U.S. attorneys across the country. Some picks have drawn Senate pushback because of their politics and, in certain cases, lack of robust legal experience. Even though Democrats are in the minority in the Senate, they have considerable power to block Trump’s U.S. attorney nominees.

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Authorities work the scene where a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting several homes on fire and forcing evacuations along several blocks early Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego plane crash is a devastating loss to the alternative rock music community

May 23, 2025

The alternative music community is in mourning after a private jet hit a power line in foggy weather early Thursday and crashed into a San Diego neighborhood. It slammed into a home and killed multiple people on the flight. Among them was the groundbreaking music executive Dave Shapiro, a pillar of his music scene, and Daniel Williams, a former drummer for the popular Ohio metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada. Both Williams and Shapiro served as success stories for their rock music scenes, proof that these subcultural sounds had real mainstream appeal, according to members of their community.

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Former Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo sits for a portrait in Minneapolis, Minn., on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)

Ex-Minneapolis police chief recalls ‘absolutely gut-wrenching’ moment of seeing George Floyd video

May 23, 2025

Former Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo says he wishes he had moved faster to change the culture of his department before the murder of George Floyd, which happened five years ago Sunday. Arradondo, the city’s first Black police chief, told The Associated Press he also wishes he had done more to elevate the community voices demanding change. He recently published a book, “Chief Rondo: Securing Justice for the Murder of George Floyd.” He closes it with a letter to Floyd’s daughter, Gianna in which he says something she hasn’t heard from the former officers convicted in Floyd’s death: “I’m sorry.”

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President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, N.J., Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Donald Trump is set to give the commencement address to West Point graduates

May 23, 2025

President Donald Trump is delivering his first military commencement address since returning to office. The Republican president is set to speak to West Point’s graduating class on Saturday morning. Trump gave the commencement address at West Point in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The president urged the graduating cadets to “never forget” the soldiers who fought a war over slavery during his remarks, which came as the nation was reckoning with its history on race after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Trump also paid tribute to the military academy’s history and its famed graduates, including Douglas MacArthur and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

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FILE - In this Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017, photo, the remains of damaged and overturned trailers sit at the Sunshine Key RV Resort and Marina, in Big Pine Key, Fla. Monroe County is asking mobile home park owners to allow FEMA to set up temporary housing on their properties. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

What keeps the safety director of the most vulnerable spot in US up at night before hurricane season

May 23, 2025

No place is more vulnerable to hurricanes in the 50 U.S. states than the Florida Keys. The chain of islands celebrated by singer Jimmy Buffett in his odes to tropical escapism is surrounded by water. The Gulf and Atlantic Ocean are on either side of the islands that jut out 120 miles southwesterly from Florida’s mainland. Making sure that members of the Conch Republic stay safe during hurricane season is Shannon Weiner. She is the director of emergency management for Monroe County, Florida. Hurricane season starts June 1. The county has some new weapons this season, including a brand-new emergency operations center and a new seawater desalination water treatment plant.

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FILE - The United States Steel logo is pictured outside the headquarters building in downtown Pittsburgh, April 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Trump says US Steel will keep HQ in Pittsburgh in a sign he’ll approve bid by Japan-based Nippon

May 23, 2025

President Donald Trump says U.S. Steel will keep its headquarters in Pittsburgh as part of what he called a “partnership” between the American steelmaker and Japan-based Nippon Steel, which sought to buy it. Trump’s statement Friday left it vague as to whether he’s approving Nippon Steel’s bid after vowing to block it, but investors took it as a positive sign, sharply pushing up U.S. Steel’s shares. The companies issued approving statements, but didn’t describe terms of the deal. Nippon Steel’s nearly $15 billion bid to buy U.S. Steel was blocked by former President Joe Biden. One union official suggests the federal government will have a role in the company’s management going forward.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., poses for a photo in the Congressional Prayer Room at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Lisa Mascaro)

At 3 a.m. in the Capitol, the Speaker of the House pauses to share his place for prayer

May 23, 2025

Speaker Mike Johnson was rushing through the halls of the Capitol during the overnight House vote on President Donald Trump’s big tax bill. He paused for a question about his leadership style. And then he answered it with his own question: Have you seen the prayer room? He proceeded down the hall, punched in a keycode and opened up the door. “Been here a lot this week, right there on my knees,” he said. “Just praying.” The conservative Christian said he believes God has given him a chance to save the country, which he said he is trying to do. Democrats invoked the gospel, too, during debate, saying the bill’s steep cuts to Medicaid and food stamps are unconscionable.

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FILE - Bruce Springsteen performs at a campaign rally supporting Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Oct. 28, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Bruce Springsteen’s lyrical view of America has long included politics — even more so as he ages

May 23, 2025

Even as his fame and wealth have soared over the decades, Bruce Springsteen has retained the voice of the working class’ balladeer. He has often weighed in on politics — most notably when he was a regular presence on Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. This month, though, his music and public statements have ended up as particularly pointed and contentious. At a concert in Manchester, England, Springsteen denounced President Donald Trump’s politics, calling him an “unfit president” leading a “rogue government” of people who have “no concern or idea for what it means to be deeply American.” His lyrics have long reflected his politics.

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U.S. Institute of Peace employees hold an impromptu celebration on the steps of the U.S. Institute of Peace, Monday, May 19, 2025, in Washington, after federal district Judge Beryl A. Howell blocked the Trump administration from moving forward with dismantling the organization. (AP Photo/Gary Fields)

Judge denies stay request, lets ruling stand blocking DOGE efforts to shut down peace institute

May 23, 2025

A federal judge has denied the Trump administration’s request that she stay her May 19 ruling that returned control of the U.S. Institute of Peace back to its acting president and board. In a seven-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell said Friday that the government did not meet any of the four requirements for a stay, including a “strong showing” of whether its request could succeed on the merits. Howell also denied a request by the government that she approve a two-day administrative stay to allow an appeal to the appeals court for the District of Columbia

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President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, N.J., Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

White House slashing staff in major overhaul of National Security Council, officials say

May 23, 2025

President Donald Trump is ordering a major overhaul of the National Security Council that will shrink its size, lead to the ouster of some political appointees and return many career government employees back to their home agencies. That’s according to two U.S. officials and one person familiar with the reorganization who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive personnel matter. The officials say the number of staff at the NSC is expected to be significantly reduced. The shake-up is just the latest shoe to drop at the NSC, which is being dramatically made over after the ouster early this month of Trump’s national security adviser Mike Waltz. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been serving as national security adviser.

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President Donald Trump silences his phone that rang twice as he was speaking to reporters after signing executive orders regarding nuclear energy in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 23, 2025, in Washington, as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth watch. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump threatens 50% tariffs on EU and 25% penalties on smart phones as his trade war intensifies

May 23, 2025

President Donald Trump is threatening a 50% tax on all imports from the European Union as well as a 25% tariff on smartphones unless the products are made in America. The threats were delivered over social media on Friday. They reflect Trump’s ability to disrupt the global economy with a burst of typing, as well as the reality that his tariffs aren’t producing the sufficient trade deals he’s seeking or the return of domestic manufacturing he’s promised to voters.

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