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.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
DENVER — A girl who wrote to God in her diaries, a boy with learning disabilities who was just learning to like who he was and a teen who would spend every free minute fishing were among the 13 victims of the Columbine High School shooting remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Final jurors seated for Trump’s hush money case, with opening statements set for Monday
NEW YORK — The final jurors were seated Friday in Donald Trump’s hush money trial, and an appellate judge rejected the former president’s latest bid to halt the case as a hectic day in court set the stage for opening statements to begin Monday.
Biden administration restricts oil and gas leasing in 13 million acres of Alaska’s petroleum reserve
JUNEAU, Alaska — The Biden administration said Friday it will restrict new oil and gas leasing on 13 million acres (5.3 million hectares) of a federal petroleum reserve in Alaska to help protect wildlife such as caribou and polar bears as the Arctic continues to warm.
San Francisco mayor announces the city will receive pandas from China
BEIJING (AP) — San Francisco is the latest U.S. city preparing to receive a pair of pandas from China, in a continuation of Beijing’s famed “panda diplomacy.”
Stock market today: Tumbling tech stocks drag Wall Street to the finish line of another losing week
NEW YORK — The worst week for big technology stocks since the COVID crash in 2020 dragged Wall Street on Friday across the finish line of another losing week.
Israel, Iran play down apparent Israeli strike. The muted responses could calm tensions — for now
JERUSALEM — Israel and Iran on Friday both played down an apparent Israeli airstrike near a major air base and nuclear site in central Iran, signaling the two bitter enemies are ready to prevent their latest eruption of violence from escalating into a full-blown regional war.