State of the Union: Biden sees economic glow, GOP sees gloom
WASHINGTON — Going into Tuesday’s State of the Union address, President Joe Biden sees a nation with its future aglow. Republicans take a far bleaker view — that the country is beset by crushing debt and that Biden is largely responsible for inflation. And the GOP now holds a House...
Democrats set to shake up start of 2024 presidential primary
PHILADELPHIA — Democrats are poised to reorder their presidential primary schedule beginning next year, replacing Iowa with South Carolina in the leadoff spot as part of a major overhaul meant to empower Black and other minority voters critical to the party’s base of support. The Democratic National Committee has worked...
No storms? What hurricane hunters and forecasters do the other 6 months of year
TAMPA, Fla. — Between the hum of the plane’s engine and the blasting winds outside, Cmdr. Adam Abitbol listens to what he calls his playlist du jour. It’s sometimes made up of hip-hop. Or Indie. Or classical. But never country. This is a routine for Abitbol, who spent about 250...
50-car train derailment causes big fire, evacuations in Ohio
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — A train derailment and resulting large fire prompted an evacuation order in an Ohio village near the Pennsylvania state line on Friday night, covering the area in billows of smoke lit orange by the flames below. About 50 cars derailed in East Palestine as a train...
A surprising burst of U.S. hiring in January: 517,000 jobs
WASHINGTON — For nearly a year, the Federal Reserve has been on a mission to cool down the job market to help curb the nation’s worst inflation bout in four decades. The job market hasn’t been cooperating. Consider what happened in January: The government said Friday that employers added a...
Report: Navy ships face growing maintenance delays, costs
WASHINGTON — Navy ships are getting fewer steaming hours because of growing maintenance delays and costs, a troubling trend that comes as at time when the U.S. is struggling to keep pace with China’s growing fleet. Operating and support costs grew by about $2.5 billion across 10 ship classes while...
Biden sounds ready to seek 2nd term while rallying Democrats
PHILADELPHIA — President Joe Biden sounded like a candidate making his case for a second term Friday night as he rallied a raucous meeting of national Democrats who chanted, “Four more years!” The only thing missing was an official announcement — that’s not expected for at least several weeks. Speaking...
Feds say cyberattack caused suicide helpline’s outage
WASHINGTON — A cyberattack caused a nearly daylong outage of the nation’s new 988 mental health helpline late last year, federal officials told The Associated Press Friday. Lawmakers are now calling for the federal agency that oversees the program to prevent future attacks. “On December 1, the voice calling functionality...
Ex-prosecutor’s new book details fight over indicting Trump
NEW YORK — As the Manhattan district attorney’s office again ramps up its yearslong investigation of Donald Trump, a new book by a former prosecutor who once led the probe details just how close the former president came to getting indicted — and laments friction with the new D.A. that...
Jupiter’s moon count jumps to 92, most in solar system
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Astronomers have discovered 12 new moons around Jupiter, putting the total count at a record-breaking 92. That’s more than any other planet in our solar system. Saturn, the one-time leader, comes in a close second with 83 confirmed moons. The Jupiter moons were added recently to...
Jury clears Musk of wrongdoing related to 2018 Tesla tweets
SAN FRANCISO — A jury on Friday decided Elon Musk didn’t deceive investors with his 2018 tweets about electric automaker Tesla in a proposed deal that quickly unraveled and raised questions about whether the billionaire had misled investors. The nine-member jury reached its verdict after less that two hours of...
Biden, Cabinet visiting 20 states after State of the Union
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and his Cabinet will embark on a post-State of the Union “blitz” to at least 20 states next week to discuss his economic agenda after his Tuesday night address to Congress, the White House announced Friday. Biden is expected to devote much of his second...
Police: Bodies are those of 3 rappers missing nearly 2 weeks in Detroit area
HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. — Three bodies found in a vacant Detroit-area apartment building have been identified as those of three aspiring rappers who went missing nearly two weeks ago, police said Friday. Michigan State Police said Friday afternoon on Twitter that investigators identified the bodies as those of Armani Kelly,...
Authorities: 2 arrested in California shooting that killed 6
VISALIA, Calif. — Two gang members were arrested early Friday, one after a gunbattle, in the January massacre of six people including a baby at a central California home associated with a rival gang, the Tulare County sheriff said. Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said Noah David Beard, 25, was taken into...
Ukraine pushes to exclude Russia from 2024 Paris Olympics
KYIV, Ukraine — With next year’s Paris Olympics on the horizon and Russia’s invasion looking more like a prolonged conflict, Ukraine’s sports minister on Friday renewed a threat to boycott the games if Russia and Belarus are allowed to compete and said Kyiv would lobby other nations to join. Such...
Maid’s son tells judge Alex Murdaugh took $4M for her death
For much of disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh’s double murder trial, witnesses have talked about a generous and loving man — but prosecutors want jurors to know that same man stole over $4 million from his housekeeper’s relatives after she died at work, and killed his wife and son...
Vision loss, 1 death possibly linked to brand of artificial tears, CDC investigation shows
ATLANTA — The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating a multistate cluster of bacterial infections linked to a brand of over-the-counter eyedrops. One person has died and at least three people have suffered permanent vision loss after using preservative-free EzriCare Artificial Tears, the CDC announced in a...
Olympic flame to take seaborne journey to 2024 Paris Games
MARSEILLE, France — The Olympic flame is going for a sail. Instead of arriving overland, the symbolic flame alighting the 2024 Paris Games will take to the seas from its birthplace in Greece, arriving aboard a three-mast tall ship in the French port of Marseille. Paris organizers announced the flame’s...
Elon Musk surprise appearance as Tesla tweet trial wraps up
SAN FRANCISO — A high-profile trial focused on a 2018 tweet about the financing for a Tesla buyout that never happened drew a surprise spectator Friday — Elon Musk, the billionaire accused of misleading investors with his usage of the Twitter service he now owns. Musk, the CEO of both...
Missing Florida Lyft driver’s car found with slaying suspect
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The car owned by a missing 74-year-old Florida Lyft driver was found in North Carolina and the man who was driving it is wanted in connection with a homicide last week in southwest Florida, authorities said Friday. Lyft driver Gary Levin hasn’t been heard from since...
$700M Powerball prize latest in string of giant jackpots
DES MOINES, Iowa — No, it’s not lottery deja vu. There really is another giant lottery jackpot up for grabs Saturday night, the latest in a string of big prizes enticing players to plunk down $2 and try to beat formidable odds. This time, it’s an estimated $700 million Powerball...
New rules would limit sugar in school meals for 1st time
U.S. agriculture officials on Friday proposed new nutrition standards for school meals, including the first limits on added sugars, with a focus on sweetened foods such as cereals, yogurt, flavored milk and breakfast pastries. The plan announced by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also seeks to significantly decrease sodium in the...
Olympic bans and boycotts go back a century
Ukraine and the three Baltic countries, all former Soviet republics, moved a step closer Friday to boycott next year’s Paris Olympics because of the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes. The International Olympic Committee plans to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete as “neutral athletes” despite their invasion of Ukraine,...
Chinese balloon now over central U.S. as Blinken cancels visit
WASHINGTON — A huge, high-altitude Chinese balloon sailed across the U.S. on Friday, drawing severe Pentagon accusations of spying and sending excited or alarmed Americans outside with binoculars. Secretary of State Antony Blinken abruptly canceled a high-stakes Beijing trip aimed at easing U..S.-China tensions. The cancelation came despite China’s claim...
California weighs making flag football a school sport for girls
California officials are considering a plan to make flag football a girls high school sport amid soaring popularity of the game and a push to get more female athletes on the field. The federated council of the California Interscholastic Federation — the statewide body that governs high school athletics —...
