Former New Jersey acting governor Richard Codey dies at 79
TRENTON, N.J. — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state’s history, died Sunday. He was 79. Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press. “Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at...
Erich von Däniken, Swiss writer who spawned alien archaeology, dies at 90
BERLIN — Erich von Däniken, the Swiss author whose bestselling books about the extraterrestrial origins of ancient civilizations brought him fame among paranormal enthusiasts and scorn from the scientific community, has died. He was 90. Von Däniken’s representatives announced on his website on Sunday that he had died the previous...
Google teams up with Walmart and other retailers to enable shopping within Gemini AI chatbot
NEW YORK — Google said Sunday that it is expanding the shopping features in its AI chatbot by teaming up with Walmart, Shopify, Wayfair and other big retailers to turn the Gemini app into a virtual merchant as well as an assistant. An instant checkout function will allow customers to...
Suspect arrested after a fire damages a historic Mississippi synagogue
A person was taken into custody late Saturday after a fire ripped through a synagogue in Mississippi, heavily damaging the historic house of worship in what authorities say was an act of arson. No congregants were injured in the blaze, which broke out at the Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson,...
U.S. launches new retaliatory strikes against IS in Syria after deadly ambush
WASHINGTON — The U.S. has launched another round of retaliatory strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria following last month’s ambush that killed two U.S. soldiers and one American civilian interpreter in the country. The large-scale strikes, conducted by the U.S. alongside partner forces, occurred around 12:30 p.m. ET...
Transgender teen athlete in a Supreme Court fight knows the upcoming sports season could be her last
WASHINGTON — Becky Pepper-Jackson finished third in the discus throw in West Virginia last year though she was in just her first year of high school. Now a 15-year-old sophomore, Pepper-Jackson is aware that her upcoming season could be her last. West Virginia has banned transgender girls like Pepper-Jackson from...
A $400,000 payout after Maduro’s capture is putting prediction markets in the spotlight
Prediction markets let people wager on anything from a basketball game to the outcome of a presidential election — and recently, the downfall of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The latter is drawing renewed scrutiny into this murky world of speculative, 24/7 transactions. Last week, an anonymous trader pocketed more...
Hamas says it will dissolve its Gaza government when new Palestinian body takes over
CAIRO — Hamas said Sunday it will dissolve its existing government in Gaza once a Palestinian technocratic leadership committee takes over the territory, as mandated under the U.S.-brokered peace plan. But the group gave no specifics on when the change will occur. Hamas and the rival Palestinian Authority, the Palestinians’...
Death toll from protests in Iran hits at least 544, activists say, as Trump says Iran wants to talk
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that Iran proposed negotiations after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown targeting demonstrators there, a move coming as activists said the death toll in protests rose to at least 544. Trump and his national...
Democrats look for leader to emerge, a focus on platform issues ahead of midterms
Former President Bill Clinton once said that when it comes to elections, Democrats want to fall in love and Republicans just fall in line. In 2024, after former President Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race 3½ months before Election Day, Democrats appeared to just fall apart, according to political...
U.S. launches new retaliatory strikes against ISIS in Syria after deadly ambush
WASHINGTON — The U.S. has launched another round of retaliatory strikes against the Islamic State in Syria following last month’s ambush that killed two U.S. soldiers and one American civilian interpreter in the country. The large-scale strikes, conducted by the U.S. alongside partner forces, occurred around 12:30 p.m., according to...
Filipino rescuers detect ‘signs of life’ in garbage avalanche that killed 4 and left dozens missing
MANILA, Philippines — Rescuers detected signs of life in an avalanche of garbage that killed at least four workers and left more than 30 others missing Thursday in a central Philippines landfill and plan to intensify search efforts, an official said Saturday. Twelve workers have been rescued with injuries from...
6 people killed in Mississippi rampage, including 7-year-old girl
WEST POINT, Miss. — A 24-year-old Mississippi man killed six people — his father, brother, uncle, 7-year-old cousin, a church pastor and the pastor’s brother — at three locations during a Friday night rampage in a rural area, authorities said. Daricka M. Moore was arrested at a police roadblock in...
Congress is debating the possible consequences for ICE and even Noem after Renee Good’s killing
WASHINGTON — The killing of a Minnesota woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer is reverberating across Capitol Hill where Democrats, and certain Republicans, are vowing an assertive response as President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation operations spark protests nationwide. Lawmakers are demanding a range of actions, from a full...
Anti-ICE protesters assemble across U.S. after shootings in Minneapolis and Portland, Oregon
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota leaders urged protesters to remain peaceful Saturday as people gathered nationwide to decry the fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis and the shooting of two protesters in Portland, Oregon. On Friday night, a protest outside a Minneapolis hotel that attracted about...
Rioter convicted for carrying Pelosi’s podium seeks Florida county office
BRADENTON, Fla. — A Florida man who grabbed then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s podium and posed for photographs with it during the U.S. Capitol riot is running for county office. Adam Johnson filed to run as a Republican for an at-large seat on the Manatee County Commission on Tuesday. That was...
Protests in Iran near 2-week mark as authorities intensify crackdown on demonstrators
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Protests sweeping across Iran neared the two-week mark Saturday, with the country’s government acknowledging the ongoing demonstrations despite an intensifying crackdown and as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world. With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut...
Greenland’s party leaders firmly reject Trump’s push for U.S. control of the island
NUUK, Greenland — Greenland’s party leaders have rejected President Donald Trump’s repeated calls for the U.S. to take control of the island, saying that Greenland’s future must be decided by its people. “We don’t want to be Americans, we don’t want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,” Greenland...
Fight for the Right: Is the MAGA movement the future of the GOP?
Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series examining the changing face of the country’s two major political parties. As former U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney prepared to step away from office in December 2024, he told reporters, “I’m a narrow slice, if you will, of what we used...
Fractures are starting to show in Trump’s GOP at the start of this election year
WASHINGTON — For House Republicans, the political year started with a pep rally of sorts as President Donald Trump gathered them at Washington’s Kennedy Center for a stemwinder of a speech. But by the time lawmakers had completed their first week of work this midterm election year, fractures in the...
Heritage Foundation calls on U.S. to prioritize marriage and family in new report
The Heritage Foundation think tank is urging the federal government “to save and restore the American family,” kicking off the midterm election year with a call for conservatives to focus on domestic issues. Among its recommendations? A “marriage bootcamp,” designed to prepare cohabitating couples for marriage; a “universal day of...
New video of fatal Minnesota ICE shooting, from officer’s perspective, brings fresh scrutiny
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota prosecutor on Friday called on the public to share with investigators any recordings and evidence connected to the fatal shooting of Renee Good as a new video emerged showing the final moments of her encounter with an immigration officer. The Minneapolis killing and a separate shooting...
Judge blocks Trump’s elections order in lawsuit by vote-by-mail states Oregon and Washington
SEATTLE — A federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from enforcing most of his executive order on elections against the vote-by-mail states Washington and Oregon, in the latest blow to Trump’s efforts to require documentary proof of citizenship to vote and to require that all ballots be...
Judge says Trump administration can’t block child care, other program money for 5 states for now
A federal judge ruled Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration cannot block federal money for child care subsidies and other programs aimed at supporting low-income families with children from flowing to five Democratic-led states for now. The states of California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York argued that a policy...
Some flu measures decline, but it’s not clear this severe season has peaked
NEW YORK — U.S. flu infections showed signs of a slight decline last week, but health officials say it is not clear that this severe flu season has peaked. New government data posted Friday — for flu activity through last week — showed declines in medical office visits due to...
