US National News
Sponsored by:
Airline CEOs and Transportation Secretary Buttigieg fight over regulations even after election
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg snapped back Thursday at criticism from airline executives who say the Biden administration over-regulated them, pointing out that some of those airlines are making large profits despite new…
Students can now apply for federal college aid. Officials hope for a smoother rollout this year
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal FAFSA form used to apply for college financial aid opened to high school seniors nationwide on Thursday, a year after a disastrous rollout by the Biden administration delayed the application for months.
After…
Jussie Smollett’s conviction in 2019 attack on himself is overturned
The Illinois Supreme Court has overturned actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction on charges that he staged a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019 and lied to Chicago police. The state’s highest court ruled Thursday on Smollett’s…
US home sales rose in October, notching their first annual gain in more than 3 years
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in October, the first annual gain in more than three years, with home shoppers encouraged by easing rates and a pickup in properties on the market.
Existing home sales rose…
The FBI and DHS leaders won’t testify publicly about national security threats before the Senate
The leaders of the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have declined to testify publicly at a scheduled Senate hearing on global national security threats. It's a break from precedent following years of open testimony before the…
US towns plunge into debates about fluoride in water
NEW YORK (AP) — For about 50 years, adding cavity-preventing fluoride to drinking water was a popular public health measure in Yorktown, a leafy town north of New York City.
But in September, the town’s supervisor used his emergency powers…
St. Louis was once known as Mound City for its many Native American mounds. Just one remains
ST. LOUIS (AP) — What is now St. Louis was once home to more than 100 mounds constructed by Native Americans — so many that St. Louis was once known as “Mound City.” Settlers tore most of them down, and just one remains.
Now, that last…
Kenya cancels airport and energy deals with Adani group after the US indicts the Indian tycoon
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s president said Thursday that he has cancelled multimillion-dollar airport expansion and energy deals with Indian tycoon Gautam Adani after U.S. bribery and fraud indictments against one of Asia's richest men.…
Number of women who are state lawmakers inches up to a record high
Women will for the first time make up a majority of state legislators in Colorado and New Mexico next year, but at least 13 states saw losses in female representation after the November election, according to a count released Thursday by…
US applications for jobless benefits fall to 213,000, remaining near 7-month lows
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell again last week, remaining near seven-month lows.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claim applications fell by 6,000 to 213,000 for the week of Nov. 16.…
Bitcoin is at the doorstep of $100,000 as post-election rally rolls on
Bitcoin is jumping again, rising above $98,000 for the first time Thursday. The cryptocurrency has been shattering records almost daily since the U.S. presidential election, and has rocketed more than 40% higher in just two weeks. It's now…
$344 for a coffee? Scottish farm is selling UK’s most expensive cup
A Scottish dairy is making the audacious bid to sell what it’s calling Britain's most expensive cup of coffee. For the equivalent of $344, an investor in the farm gets a flat white. That's a double shot of espresso topped with a layer of…
One Tech Tip: How to get started with Bluesky
LONDON (AP) — Looking for a new social media platform because X, Threads and Mastodon just aren't cutting it? You could try Bluesky.
People seeking to avoid chaos, noise and political bluster in the aftermath of the U.S. elections are…
Shares in India’s Adani Group plunge 20% after US bribery, fraud indictments
One of Asia’s richest men, controversial Indian tycoon Gautam Adani, is again in the spotlight. His companies’ stocks plunged up to 20% on Thursday after he was indicted by U.S. prosecutors on charges he duped investors in a massive solar…
Federal Reserve’s likely slowdown in rate cuts could disappoint borrowers
Just a few weeks ago, the path ahead for the Federal Reserve looked straightforward: With inflation cooling and the job market slowing, the Fed appeared on track to steadily cut interest rates. In September, its officials predicted they…
Lawsuit against troopers who investigated 11-year-old in murder case nears trial
More than six years after he was exonerated based on insufficient evidence, a man who was charged as an 11-year-old with shooting his father's pregnant fiancee to death wants a federal jury to make the Pennsylvania State Police pay for the…
Alabama to use nitrogen gas to execute man for 1994 slaying of hitchhiker
An Alabama prisoner convicted of the 1994 murder of a female hitchhiker is slated Thursday to become the third person executed by nitrogen gas.
Carey Dale Grayson, 50, was one of four teenagers convicted of killing Vickie Deblieux, 37, who…
A draft deal on climate money for developing world is silent on how much as UN summit nears end
A new draft text released early Thursday which will form the basis of any deal reached at United Nations climate talks on money for developing countries to transition to clean energy and adapt to climate change left out a crucial sticking…
Trump’s incoming chief of staff is a former lobbyist. She’ll face a raft of special interests
As Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House, his election victory is likely to embolden those who think they can get his ear. There's the prospect that his second administration could face many of the same perils as his first,…
Stock market today: Most of Wall Street climbs as Nvidia swings, bitcoin rises and Alphabet sinks
Most U.S. stocks are rising Thursday after more companies said they’re making fatter profits than expected. Market superstar Nvidia also topped forecasts, but Wall Street’s ambivalence on Thursday about whether the heavyweight’s report was…
US regulators seek to break up Google, forcing Chrome sale as part of monopoly punishment
U.S. regulators want a federal judge to break up Google to prevent the company from continuing to squash competition through its dominant search engine after a court found it had maintained an abusive monopoly over the past decade. The…
Percival Everett and Jason De León win National Book Awards
Percival Everett’s “James” has won the National Book Award for fiction. The book is a daring reworking of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” For nonfiction, Jason De León’s “Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human…
Feds outline ‘necessary steps’ for Colorado River agreement by 2026 but no recommendation yet
Federal water officials have made public what they call “necessary steps” for the seven states and multiple tribes that rely on the Colorado River to meet an August 2026 deadline for deciding how to manage the waterway in the future.…
Judge keeps death penalty a possibility for man charged in killings of 4 Idaho students
A judge has ruled that the death penalty will remain a possibility for a man charged with murder in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students. KBOI-TV reports Judge Steven Hippler in his Wednesday order was not swayed by…
Trump-backed Republican Nick Begich beats Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola for Alaska’s only House seat
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Republican Nick Begich has won Alaska’s U.S. House race, defeating Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola to claim the seat once held by his grandfather.
Begich was among the opponents Peltola defeated during her special and…
Class action lawsuit on AI-related discrimination reaches final settlement
Mary Louis' excitement to move into an apartment in Massachusetts in the spring of 2021 turned to dismay when Louis, a Black woman, received an email saying that a “third-party service” had denied her tenancy.
That third-party service…
Philadelphia loses lawsuit that sought greater power for the city to regulate firearms
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Philadelphia cannot impose stricter firearms regulations than are allowed by state law, Pennsylvania's Democratic-majority state Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday, a blow to city leaders looking for ways to…
Nearly $100 million awarded to the family of a man fatally shot in his apartment by an officer
DALLAS (AP) — The family of a man shot and killed by a Dallas police officer who said she mistook his apartment for her own was awarded nearly $100 million Wednesday in a federal civil trial.
The jury found after a three-day trial that…
The FBI arrested a man who’s been charged with planning an attack on the New York Stock Exchange
A Florida man was arrested Wednesday and charged with a plot to “reboot” the U.S. government by planting a bomb at the New York Stock Exchange this week and detonating it with a remote-controlled device, according to the FBI.
Harun…
Despite slowing sales, automakers are expanding electric vehicle models, including family haulers
Even though sales of electric vehicles aren’t growing as fast as in past years and President-elect Donald Trump may ditch tax credits for EV buyers, automakers are moving ahead with new models that should appeal to mainstream buyers. Family…
Human smuggling trial witness says he was separated from a family hours before they froze to death
FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (AP) — An Indian national who survived a treacherous trek across the U.S.-Canada border in blizzard conditions testified Wednesday that he got separated from a family of four shortly before they froze to death.
Yash…
New study shows voting for Native Americans is harder than ever
A study of access to polls during elections has found systemic barriers to voting on tribal lands contribute to substantial disparities in turnout. Released Tuesday by the Brennan Center for Justice, the study examines 21 states with…
Senate rejects effort from Bernie Sanders to block some weapons for Israel over Gaza deaths
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Wednesday rejected attempts by Sen. Bernie Sanders Wednesday to block sales of offensive weapons to Israel for its war in Gaza over mounting civilian deaths there.
The Vermont lawmaker and a small group of…
Tennessee to count provisional ballots by people convicted of felonies who had rights in limbo
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee will count the provisional ballots cast by six people convicted of felonies who had their voting rights recently restored under judges' rulings, but had been placed in limbo after state officials filed a…
Faulty fentanyl tests spurred NYC’s push to ban mail on Rikers Island
NEW YORK (AP) — In 2022, New York City’s jails commissioner, Louis Molina, issued a dire warning to local lawmakers: fentanyl was pouring into Rikers Island through the mail, he said, spurring an overdose crisis among the jail's detainees…
Nvidia is Wall Street’s most valuable company. How it got there, by the numbers
Nvidia has once again turned out quarterly results that exceeded Wall Street's forecasts. The company has seen soaring demand for its semiconductors, which are used to power artificial intelligence applications.
Revenue nearly doubled in…
Biden has become notably quiet after the 2024 election and Democrats’ loss
At a delicate moment in the U.S. and for the world, President Joe Biden has been notably quiet lately. That silence may be leaving a vacuum. But Biden's public reticence also underscores a new reality: America and the rest of the world is…
Donald Trump’s latest branded venture is guitars that cost up to $10,000
Following up the Bibles, sneakers, watches, photo books and cryptocurrency ventures launched during his third White House campaign, President-elect Donald Trump has apparently signed onto a line of guitars. Trump posted to Truth Social on…
Trump-nominated judge says blanket pardons for Capitol rioters would be ‘beyond frustrating’
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge who was nominated by Donald Trump says it would be “beyond frustrating and disappointing” if the president-elect hands out mass pardons to rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol after the 2020 election, a…
North Carolina Republicans push through bill weakening incoming governor and attorney general
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republican legislators gave final approval Wednesday to a series of political power moves that would weaken the incoming governor and other Democratic elected officials in the ninth-largest state. They're…
As US ramps up nuclear power, fuel supplier plans to enrich more uranium domestically
A supplier of fuel for nuclear power plants has announced a $60 million expansion in Tennessee, promising more manufacturing of high-tech centrifuges there to enrich uranium. The expansion by Centrus Energy at its massive facility in Oak…
Archegos hedge fund founder Bill Hwang gets 18 years in prison for massive fraud
NEW YORK (AP) — The founder of Archegos Capital Management, a hedge fund, was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Wednesday for securities and market manipulation fraud in a scheme that prosecutors said cost global investment banks billions…
US charges tycoon Gautam Adani with defrauding investors, hiding plan to bribe Indian officials
Indian businessman Gautam Adani, one of the world’s richest people, has been indicted in the U.S. on charges he duped investors in a massive solar energy project in India by concealing that it was being facilitated by an alleged bribery…
