Trump tried to ‘corrupt’ the 2016 election, prosecutor alleges as hush money trial gets underway
NEW YORK — Donald Trump tried to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election by preventing damaging stories about his personal life from becoming public, a prosecutor told jurors Monday at the start of the former president’s historic hush money trial.
Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson pledged $10M for Maui wildfire survivors. They gave much more.
Lana Vierra misses the swing set at her Lahaina home, which was reduced to ashes in the wildfires that swept through her community last summer.
Rail spikes hammered, bullet train being built from Sin City to the City of Angels
LAS VEGAS — A $12 billion passenger bullet train linking Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area was dubbed the first true high-speed rail line in the nation on Monday, with the private company building it predicting millions of ticket-buyers will be boarding trains by 2028.
With homelessness on the rise, the Supreme Court weighs bans on sleeping outdoors
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court wrestled with major questions about the growing issue of homelessness on Monday as it considered whether cities can punish people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking.
Biden marks Earth Day by going after GOP, announcing $7 billion in federal solar power grants
TRIANGLE, Virginia — President Joe Biden marked Earth Day by announcing $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects serving 900,000-plus households in low- and middle-income communities — while criticizing Republicans who want to gut his policies to address climate change.
Israel’s military intelligence chief resigns over failure to prevent Hamas attack on Oct. 7
TEL AVIV, Israel — The head of Israeli military intelligence resigned on Monday because of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, becoming the first senior figure to step down over his role in the stunning failure to anticipate or quickly respond to the deadliest assault in Israel’s history.
Europe is the fastest-warming continent, at nearly twice the average global rate, report says
NAPLES, Italy — Europe is the fastest-warming continent and its temperatures are rising at roughly twice the global average, two top climate monitoring organizations reported Monday, warning of the consequences for human health, glacier melt and economic activity.
Pro-Palestinian protests sweep US college campuses following mass arrests at Columbia
NEW YORK — Columbia canceled in-person classes, dozens of protesters were arrested at Yale and the gates to Harvard Yard were closed to the public on Monday as some of the most prestigious U.S. universities sought to defuse campus tensions over Israel’s war with Hamas.
European nations with Patriot missiles hesitate to give the air defense systems to Ukraine
BRUSSELS — European Union countries possessing Patriot air defense systems gave no clear signal on Monday whether they might be willing to supply them to Ukraine, which is desperately seeking at least seven of the missile batteries to help fend off Russian air attacks.
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.
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 Monday, followed by the start of witness testimony. A jury of seven men and five women, plus six alternates, was picked last week.
15 people injured when tram collides with guardrail at Universal Studios theme park near Los Angeles
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. (AP) — More than a dozen people suffered mostly minor injuries when a tram used for tours crashed into a railing at Universal Studios Hollywood near Los Angeles, authorities and the company said.
Crush of lawsuits over voting in multiple states creates a shadow war for the 2024 election
CHICAGO — As President Joe Biden and Donald Trump step up their campaigning in swing states, a quieter battle is taking place in the shadows of their White House rematch.
Biden sees a $35 price cap for insulin as a pivotal campaign issue. It’s not that clear-cut
WASHINGTON — Rarely a day goes without President Joe Biden mentioning insulin prices.
Ecuadorians head to polls to toughen fight against gangs behind wave of violence
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuadorians headed to the polls Sunday in a referendum touted by the country’s fledgling leader as a way to crack down on criminal gangs behind a spiraling wave of violence.
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.
Israeli leaders criticize expected US sanctions against military unit that could further strain ties
JERUSALEM — Israeli leaders on Sunday harshly criticized an expected decision by the U.S. to impose sanctions on a unit of ultra-Orthodox soldiers in the Israeli military.
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.
Tennessee Volkswagen employees overwhelmingly vote to join United Auto Workers union
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Employees at a Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, overwhelmingly voted to join the United Auto Workers union Friday in a historic first test of the UAW’s renewed effort to organize nonunion factories.
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.