Key players: Who’s who at Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial
NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial shifts to opening statements today, followed by the start of witness testimony. A jury of seven men and five women, plus six alternates, was picked last week.
Earth Day: How one grocery shopper takes steps to avoid ‘pointless plastic’
ALBANY, N.Y. — Nature wraps bananas and oranges in peels. But in some modern supermarkets, they’re bagged or wrapped in plastic too.
Israeli strikes on southern Gaza city of Rafah kill 22, mostly children, as US advances aid package
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah overnight killed 22 people, including 18 children, health officials said Sunday, as the United States was on track to approve billions of dollars of additional military aid to Israel, its close ally.
Ukrainian and Western leaders laud US aid package while the Kremlin warns of ‘further ruin’
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian and Western leaders on Sunday welcomed a desperately needed aid package passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, as the Kremlin warned that passage of the bill would “further ruin” Ukraine and cause more deaths.
When it comes to government planes and political trips, who pays for a president’s campaign travel?
WASHINGTON — It’s no simple matter to move the commander in chief from point A to B, and it’s even more complicated when the president is seeking a second term.
Trump cancels rally because of weather, proving the difficulty of balancing a trial and campaign
WILMINGTON, N.C. — Donald Trump had to cancel his first planned rally since the start of his criminal hush money trial because of a storm Saturday evening in North Carolina, an added complication that highlights the difficulty the former president faces in juggling his legal troubles with his rematch against President Joe Biden.
Biden signs bill extending a key US surveillance program after divisions nearly forced it to lapse
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Saturday signed legislation reauthorizing a key U.S. surveillance law after divisions over whether the FBI should be restricted from using the program to search for Americans’ data nearly forced the statute to lapse. Barely missing its midnight deadline, the Senate had approved the bill by a 60-34 vote hours earlier with bipartisan support, extending for two years the program known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Biden thanked congressional leaders for their work.
The House passes billions in aid for Ukraine and Israel after months of struggle. Next is the Senate
WASHINGTON — The House swiftly approved $95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies in a rare Saturday session as Democrats and Republicans banded together after months of hard-right resistance over renewed American support for repelling Russia’s invasion.
About 1,300 people from Myanmar flee into Thailand after clashes broke out in a key border town
BANGKOK — About 1,300 people have fled from eastern Myanmar into Thailand, officials said Saturday, as fresh fighting erupted at a border town that has recently been captured by ethnic guerillas.
An Israeli airstrike in Gaza’s south kills at least 9 Palestinians in Rafah, including 6 children
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
The House votes for possible TikTok ban in the US, but don’t expect the app to go away anytime soon
WASHINGTON — The House passed legislation Saturday that would ban TikTok in the United States if the popular social media platform’s China-based owner doesn’t sell its stake within a year, but don’t expect the app to go away anytime soon.
NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week
A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out.
BNSF Railway says it didn’t know about asbestos that’s killed hundreds in Montana town
HELENA, Mont. — BNSF Railway attorneys told a Montana jury Friday that the railroad should not be held liable for the lung cancer deaths of two former residents of an asbestos-contaminated Montana town, one of the deadliest sites in the federal Superfund pollution program.
Mandisa, ‘American Idol’ star and Grammy winning Christian music singer, dies at 47
Mandisa, the Christian music singer who competed on “American Idol” and then pursued a Grammy Award-winning career, has died. She was 47.
Bitcoin’s latest ‘halving’ has arrived. Here’s what you need to know
NEW YORK — The “miners” who chisel bitcoins out of complex mathematics are taking a 50% pay cut — effectively reducing new production of the world’s largest cryptocurrency, again.
Ukraine, Israel aid advances in rare House vote as Democrats help Republicans push it forward
WASHINGTON — With rare bipartisan momentum, the House pushed ahead Friday on a foreign aid package of $95 billion for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and humanitarian support as a robust coalition of lawmakers helped it clear a procedural hurdle to reach final votes this weekend. Friday’s vote produced a seldom-seen outcome in the typically hyper-partisan House, with Democrats helping Republican Speaker Mike Johnson’s plan advance overwhelmingly 316-94. Final House approval could come this weekend, when the package would be sent to the Senate.
USC cancels graduation keynote by filmmaker amid controversy over decision to drop student’s speech
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The University of Southern California further shook up its commencement plans Friday, announcing the cancelation of a keynote speech by filmmaker Jon M. Chu just days after making the controversial choice to disallow the student valedictorian from speaking.
Russia pummels exhausted Ukrainian forces with smaller attacks ahead of a springtime advance
Russian troops are ramping up pressure on exhausted Ukrainian forces to prepare to seize more land this spring and summer as muddy fields dry out and allow tanks, armored vehicles and other heavy equipment to roll to key positions across the countryside.
Police responded to alarm around time of $30 million LA heist, but thieves were undetected
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Police Department responded to three separate alarms at GardaWorld’s Sylmar cash storage facility on the day that thieves stole as much $30 million from its vault during the biggest heist in the city’s history.
Final members of Trump jury chosen as trial races ahead
NEW YORK — The final jurors for Donald Trump’s criminal trial were selected Friday, with lawyers preparing to offer opening statements Monday in a landmark proceeding that was suddenly overshadowed at midday by the spectacle of a man setting himself aflame outside the courthouse.
