Nervous about falling behind the GOP, Democrats are wrestling with how to use AI
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s campaign and Democratic candidates are in a fevered race with Republicans over who can best exploit the potential of artificial intelligence, a technology that could transform American elections — and perhaps threaten democracy itself. Still smarting from being outmaneuvered on social media by Donald Trump...
Brad Parscale helped Trump win in 2016 using Facebook ads. Now he’s back, and an AI evangelist
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Donald Trump’s former campaign manager looked squarely into the camera and promised his viewers they were about to witness a bold new era in politics. “You’re going to see some of the most amazing new technology in artificial intelligence that’s going to replace polling in the...
5 years after a federal lawsuit, North Carolina voter ID trial is set to begin
RALEIGH, N.C. — A federal lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s photo voter identification law is set to go to trial Monday, with arguments expected to focus on whether the requirement unlawfully discriminates against Black and Hispanic citizens or serves legitimate state interests to boost public confidence in elections. The non-jury trial...
Germany recalls its ambassador in Russia for a week in protest over a hacker attack
BERLIN — Germany said Monday it recalled its ambassador to Russia for a week of consultations in Berlin following an alleged hacker attack on Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s party. Germany last week accused Russian military agents of hacking into the top echelons of Scholz’s Social Democrats’ party and other sensitive government...
Experts say there is no evidence of avian flu strain in Pennsylvania
A strain of avian flu that has infected cattle elsewhere in the United States hasn’t been found in Pennsylvania. But even if it does arrive locally, experts said it won’t affect the meat or milk supply and will likely only cause a cold for cattle. “It poses no issue in...
2 women found dead and 5-year-old girl critically injured in New Mexico park, police say
CLOVIS, N.M. — Two women were found dead and a 5-year-old girl critically injured at a park near Clovis, New Mexico, authorities said Sunday. Meanwhile, police said they are searching for an abducted 10-month-old girl, who is the daughter of one of the victims. No suspect has been identified yet...
As storms moves across Texas, 1 child dies after being swept away in floodwatersVideo
HOUSTON — Storms in Texas brought additional rain Sunday to the already saturated Houston area where hundreds of people have been rescued from flooded homes and roads, while to the north in the Fort Worth area, a child died after being swept away when the car he was traveling in...
Driver dies after crashing into a security barrier around White House complex, authorities say
WASHINGTON — A driver died after a vehicle crashed into an outer perimeter gate of the White House complex, and the incident late Saturday was being investigated as a traffic crash, police said. President Joe Biden was spending the weekend in Delaware, and the Secret Service said there was no...
$400 million boost in federal funds for security at places of worship
NEW YORK — A $400 million increase in federal funding is available for security in places of worship, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Sunday. The boost in money comes as concerns rise over threats against Jewish and Muslim communities, fueled in part by the Israel-Hamas war. Places like synagogues...
Mexican authorities say thieves killed 2 Australians and an American to steal their truck
MEXICO CITY — Thieves apparently killed two Australians and an American on a surfing trip to Mexico in order to steal their truck because they wanted the tires, authorities said Sunday. Baja California state prosecutors released grisly details of the slayings, but have not yet officially confirmed the identification of...
Trump says Biden is running a ‘Gestapo’ administration. It’s his latest reference to Nazi Germany
ATLANTA — Donald Trump told Republican donors at his Florida resort this weekend that President Joe Biden is running a “Gestapo administration,” the latest example of the former president employing the language of Nazi Germany in his campaign rhetoric. The remarks Saturday at Mar-a-Lago were described by people who attended...
King Charles III’s openness about cancer has helped him connect with people in year after coronation
LONDON — King Charles III’s decision to be open about his cancer diagnosis has helped the new monarch connect with the people of Britain and strengthened the monarchy in the year since his dazzling coronation at Westminster Abbey. Charles has used his illness to highlight the need for early diagnosis...
What a judge’s gag order on Trump means in his hush money case
NEW YORK — Virtually every day of his hush money criminal trial, former President Donald Trump talks about how he can’t talk about the case. A gag order bars Trump from commenting publicly on witnesses, jurors and some others connected to the matter. The New York judge already has found...
Pro-Palestinian protesters at USC comply with school order to leave their encampment
Protesters left a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Southern California early Sunday after they were surrounded by police and told they could face arrest if they didn’t go. The move, days before commencement events are set to begin on the Los Angeles campus, came after the university said campus...
Ukraine marks its 3rd Easter at war as it comes under fire from Russian drones and troops
KYIV, Ukraine — As Ukraine marked its third Easter at war, Russia on Sunday launched a barrage of drones concentrated in Ukraine’s east, wounding more than a dozen people, and claimed its troops took control of a village they had been targeting. Ukraine’s air force said that Russia had launched...
Hamas says latest cease-fire talks have ended. Israel vows military operation in ‘very near future’
JERUSALEM — The latest round of Gaza cease-fire talks ended in Cairo after “in-depth and serious discussions,” the Hamas militant group said Sunday, reiterating key demands that Israel again rejected. After earlier signs of progress, the outlook appeared to dim as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to resist international pressure...
Panamanians vote in election dominated by former president who was barred from running
PANAMA CITY — Panamanians began voting Sunday in an election that has been consumed by unfolding drama surrounding the country’s former president, even though he is not on the ballot. Before the sweltering sun set in, voters in the normally sleepy Central American nation lined up outside of polling stations,...
Israel orders Al Jazeera to close local operation as Qatar mediates Hamas cease-fire negotiations
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel ordered the local offices of Qatar’s Al Jazeera satellite news network to close Sunday, escalating a long-running feud between the broadcaster and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-line government as Doha-mediated cease-fire negotiations with Hamas hang in the balance. The extraordinary order, which includes confiscating broadcast...
Southern Brazil hit by worst floods in more than 80 years
SAO PAULO — Heavy rains in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul killed 39 people, with another 68 still missing, the state civil defense agency said Friday, as record-breaking floods devastated cities and forced thousands to leave their homes. It was the fourth such environmental disaster in...
There’s progress reported in Gaza truce talks, but Israel downplays chances of ending war with Hamas
TEL AVIV, Israel — A delegation of the Palestinian militant group Hamas was in Cairo on Saturday as Egyptian state media reported “noticeable progress” in cease-fire talks with Israel, though an Israeli official downplayed the prospects for a full end to the war in Gaza. Pressure has mounted to reach...
Biden and Trump offer worlds-apart contrasts on issues in 2024’s rare contest between 2 presidents
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden and Donald Trump are two presidents with unfinished business and an itch to get it done. Their track records and plans on abortion, immigration, taxes, wars abroad — you name it — leave no doubt that the man voters choose in November will seek to shape...
Senate races are roiled by campus protests over the war in Gaza as campaign rhetoric sharpens
HARRISBURG — The student protest movement disrupting university campuses, classes and graduation ceremonies over the war in Gaza is also roiling Senate contests across the nation as Democrats tread cautiously over an internal divide and Republicans play up their rivals’ disagreements. The political impact of the protests on the White...
A group of Republicans has united to defend the legitimacy of U.S. elections and those who run them
ATLANTA — It was Election Day last November, and one of Georgia’s top election officials saw that reports of a voting machine problem in an eastern Pennsylvania county were gaining traction online. So Gabriel Sterling, a Republican who had defended the 2020 election in Georgia amid an onslaught of threats,...
As the U.S. moves to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, could more states legalize it?
As the U.S. government moves toward reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug, there may be little immediate impact in the dozen states that have not already legalized cannabis for widespread medical or recreational use by adults. But advocates for marijuana legalization hope a federal regulatory shift could eventually change...
Houston braces for flooding to worsen in wake of storms
HOUSTON — The Houston area was under threat of worsening flood conditions Saturday, a day after heavy storms slammed the region and authorities warned those in low-lying areas to evacuate ahead of an expected “catastrophic” surge of water. A flood watch remained in effect through Sunday afternoon as forecasters predicted...
