Trump chooses Herschel Walker as U.S. ambassador to Bahamas
WASHINGTON — Herschel Walker, the football legend who unsuccessfully ran for a U.S. Senate seat in Georgia, has been chosen by President-elect Donald Trump to be ambassador to the Bahamas. Trump made the announcement Tuesday in a post on Truth Social, his social media website. He described Walker as “a...
AP photographers capture stunning scenes of nature and wildlife in 2024
An insect hovers near flowers decorating the area around the holy remains of the patron saint of the Romanian capital Bucharest. A municipal worker in Montenegro holds owlets rescued from a fallen tree after a powerful storm in Podgorica. A herd of deer cross a road in a bucolic scene...
Shooting in Madison is the latest carnage at a U.S. school or college over the past 25 years
Hundreds of people in the U.S. have died in shootings over the past 25 years in places like offices, stores and theaters, but the carnage perhaps hits hardest when it happens in schools and colleges. In those cases, the victims are children who still have some of their baby teeth,...
Police chief says motive for Wisconsin school shooting was a ‘combination of factors’
MADISON, Wis. — The motive for a shooting that killed a teacher and a student and wounded others at a Wisconsin school appears to be a “combination of factors,” a police chief said Tuesday as he appealed to the public to share what they might know about the 15-year-old girl...
Congress unveils funding deal with more than $100 billion in disaster aid
WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders have unveiled a stopgap spending bill that will keep the federal government funded through March 14 and provide more than $100 billion in emergency aid to help states and local communities recover from Hurricanes Helene and Milton and other natural disasters. The measure would prevent a...
Emotional reunion awaits anti-whaling activist Paul Watson after his sudden release in GreenlandVideo
LONDON — Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson was freed from prison in Greenland on Tuesday after five months in custody, and will not be extradited to Japan where he is wanted on charges of obstructing a whaling ship. Watson is planning to return home to be reunited with his family during...
Suspect in Gilgo Beach serial killings charged in the death of 7th womanVideo
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — The New York architect facing murder charges in a string of deaths known as the Gilgo Beach killings was charged on Tuesday in the death of a seventh woman. Rex Heuermann pleaded not guilty to killing Valerie Mack, whose remains were first found on Long Island in...
After investigating Jan. 6, House GOP sides with Trump and goes after Liz Cheney
WASHINGTON — Wrapping up their investigation on the Jan. 6 2021 Capitol attack, House Republicans have concluded it’s former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney who should be prosecuted for probing what happened when then-President Donald Trump sent his mob of supporters as Congress was certifying the 2020 election. The findings issued...
Damaged Russian ships spilled an estimated 3,700 tons of oil in Kerch Strait, state media saysVideo
MOSCOW — An estimated 3,700 tons of low-grade fuel oil had spilled into the Kerch Strait after two Russian ships were seriously damaged by stormy weather, Russian state media reported. The two ships, the Volgoneft 239 and the Volgoneft 212, were transporting roughly 9,200 tons of mazut, a heavy, low-quality...
Rep. Victoria Spartz won’t caucus with GOP, narrowing Republican margin in House
A maverick Republican congresswoman says she won’t caucus with the party, narrowing the already slim GOP margin in the House of Representatives to as little as just one vote and potentially making it more difficult to enact President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda. Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Indiana, tweeted that she will focus...
Trump sues Des Moines Register, pollster for ‘election interference’ after inaccurate poll
President-elect Donald Trump sued the Des Moines Register and its pollster for “brazen election interference” in publishing a survey the weekend before the election that showed Democrat Kamala Harris with a surprising lead of three percentage points in the state. The Register’s parent Gannett Co. on Tuesday dismissed the lawsuit...
Digital authorization required for Americans to travel to U.K. in 2025
Planning a trip to the United Kingdom in 2025? If so, you’ll need more than just a passport. Starting Jan. 8, American citizens will need to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorization in order to enter the U.K., Time Magazine reported. “U.S. citizens transiting through or traveling to the United...
Democrats pick Gerry Connolly for Oversight post, rejecting Ocasio-Cortez bid
WASHINGTON — House Democrats on Tuesday picked 74-year-old Rep. Gerry Connolly to lead the party next year atop an influential congressional committee, pushing aside growing calls for generational change in leadership ahead of a second term for Donald Trump. In a closed-door meeting, the majority of the caucus voted for...
Prosecutors charge suspect with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO as an act of terrorismVideo
NEW YORK — The man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO has been charged with murder as an act of terrorism, prosecutors said Tuesday as they worked to bring him to a New York court from from a Pennsylvania jail. Luigi Mangione already was charged with murder in the Dec. 4...
The winter solstice is almost here, the Northern Hemisphere’s darkest day
The winter solstice is Saturday, bringing the shortest day and longest night of the year to the Northern Hemisphere — ideal conditions for holiday lights and warm blankets. For those who would rather have more sunlight, you can try to make your way to the Southern Hemisphere, where it is...
What does Big Tech hope to gain from warming up to Trump?
NEW YORK — In a string of visits, dinners, calls, monetary pledges and social media overtures, big tech chiefs — including Apple’s Tim Cook, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos — have joined a parade of business and world leaders in trying to improve their standing...
Archivist says Equal Rights Amendment can’t be certified as Democrats push Biden to recognize it
WASHINGTON — In a rare joint statement, the archivist and deputy archivist of the United States said Tuesday that the 1970s-era Equal Rights Amendment cannot be certified without further action by Congress or the courts, as Democrats press President Joe Biden to act unilaterally on its ratification before he leaves...
About 3 dozen high-rise buildings in South Florida are sinking
SUNNY ISLES BEACH, Fla. — Almost three dozen high-rise condos and luxury hotels along the beach in South Florida are sinking or settling in unexpected ways, in some cases because of nearby construction, according to a new study. The 35 buildings surveyed along an almost 12-mile stretch from Miami Beach...
Lawsuit claims Pa. jail retaliated against inmates by confiscating toilet paper and soap, cutting power and heat
A Pennsylvania jail retaliated against inmates suspected of smoking synthetic marijuana by punishing entire cell blocks — confiscating legal paperwork, withholding necessities like toilet paper, soap and warm clothing, and cutting power and heat, inmates allege in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday. Top jail officials waged an escalating, monthlong campaign...
Lawsuit accuses State Dept. of creating loopholes for Israel on military aid and human rights
WASHINGTON — The State Department has carved out loopholes for Israel that give the close American ally a pass on U.S. law that restricts aid to foreign militaries over human rights abuses, a lawsuit from a group of Palestinians in Gaza and American relatives asserts Tuesday. Former State Department officials...
Judge allows testing of tissue samples from George Floyd as officer who killed him seeks new trial
MINNEAPOLIS — A judge has granted permission to lawyers for Derek Chauvin to have samples from George Floyd examined as part of the former Minneapolis police officer’s efforts to challenge his conviction on a federal civil rights charge stemming from Floyd’s death in 2020. U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson agreed...
Israel’s Netanyahu tours buffer zone inside Syria
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu entered Syrian territory on Tuesday during a security tour of the buffer zone seized by Israel in the days since the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad. It was apparently the first time a sitting Israeli leader entered Syrian territory. Israel seized a...
Analysis: Americans are getting paid to play in the Ryder Cup, now the pressure is on to win
Bringing the Ryder Cup to notoriously nasty Bethpage Black already was cause for concern. Imagine the most passionate, patriotic event in golf played before a flag-waving crowd that once harassed Sergio Garcia so badly he pointed at them with the wrong finger. This could make the 1999 matches outside Boston...
Biden calls for ban on congressional stock trading
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden endorsed a ban on congressional stock trading in an interview that’s being released this week, belatedly weighing in on an issue that has been debated on Capitol Hill for years. “Nobody in the Congress should be able to make money in the stock market while...
Most U.S. teens are abstaining from drinking, smoking and marijuana, survey says
NEW YORK — Teen drug use hasn’t rebounded from its drop during the early years of the covid-19 pandemic, according to the results from a large annual national survey released Tuesday. About two-thirds of 12th graders this year said they hadn’t used alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes or e-cigarettes in the previous...
