32 dead as tornadoes torment from Arkansas to DelawareVideo
WYNNE, Ark. — Residents across a wide swath of the U.S. raced Sunday to assess the destruction from fierce storms that spawned possibly dozens of tornadoes from the South and the Midwest into the Northeast, killing at least 32 people. The storms tore a path through the Arkansas capital and...
Ex-Arkansas GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson is running for president
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Asa Hutchinson, who recently completed two terms as Arkansas governor, said Sunday he will seek the Republican presidential nomination, positioning himself as an alternative to Donald Trump just days after the former president was indicted by a grand jury in New York. Hutchinson said Trump should...
After Nashville, Congress confronts limits of new gun law
WASHINGTON — Nine months ago, President Joe Biden signed a sweeping bipartisan gun law, the most significant legislative response to gun violence in decades. “Lives will be saved,” he said at the White House. The law has already prevented some potentially dangerous people from owning guns. Yet since that signing...
Biden and his 2024 campaign: Waiting for some big decisions
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has all but announced he’s running for reelection, but key questions about the 2024 campaign are unresolved: Who will manage it? Where will it be based? When will he finally make it official? Advisers have long said he planned to wait until after March, when...
Tornadoes kill at least 11 across U.S. Midwest and South
WYNNE, Ark. — Tornadoes that tore through parts of the South and Midwest killed at least 11 people, collapsed the roof of a packed theater during a heavy metal concert in Illinois, and left small towns and big cities throughout the region bewildered Saturday by the damage. Possibly dozens of...
Trump facing at least 1 felony charge in NY case
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, in the indictment handed down by a Manhattan grand jury, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Friday. He will be formally arrested and arraigned...
Worries grow that Trump indictment will eclipse other probes
WASHINGTON — The indictment against former President Donald Trump involving a 2016 hush money payment is raising concerns that it could undermine public confidence in what democracy experts view as far more important investigations. Trump is facing multiple investigations related to his refusal to accept his 2020 loss to Democrat...
Trump indictment throws 2024 race into uncharted territory
NEW YORK — The historic indictment of former President Donald Trump thrust the 2024 presidential election into uncharted territory, raising the remarkable prospect that the leading contender for the Republican nomination will seek the White House while also facing trial for criminal charges in New York. In an acknowledgment of...
Fiery derailments renew Americans’ focus on railroad safety
OMAHA, Neb. — Americans are renewing their focus on railroad safety after a string of recent derailments, especially two fiery ones involving hazardous chemicals in Ohio and Minnesota that prompted evacuations. Federal regulators and members of Congress are urging railroads to do more to prevent derailments. They want standards for...
Fetterman released from Walter Reed, home in Braddock
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman was released Friday from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after being treated for clinical depression. Dr. David Williamson, Walter Reed’s neuropsychiatry chief and medical director, said Fetterman’s depression is now in remission. Fetterman is back home in Braddock. “I’m excited to be the father and...
TikTok top attorney reiterates safety measures for users
SAN FRANCISCO — The top attorney for TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance said Friday the Biden administration hasn’t given any feedback to the company since TikTok’s CEO testified in Congress last week. During a panel conversation at a conference in San Francisco that featured top government officials, tech...
Mourners gather for 1st Nashville school shooting funeral
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Family and friends of Evelyn Dieckhaus, one of three children who were killed in a school shooting in Nashville this week, remembered her Friday as a “shining light” and said farewell to a girl who loved art, music, animals and snuggling with her older sister on the...
Tornadoes slam Arkansas, shredding rooftops and tossing cars
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A tornado raced through Little Rock and surrounding areas Friday, splintering homes, overturning vehicles and tossing trees and debris on roadways as people raced for shelter. There were reports of at least one dead and two dozen or more hurt, some critically. Another tornado hit the...
Transgender Day of Visibility rallies held amid backlash
MONTPELIER, Vt. — Thousands of people rallied across the country Friday as part of a Transgender Day of Visibility in support of the rights of transgender people and their resilience amid what many denounced as an increasingly hostile environment. Supporters of transgender rights converged on statehouses nationwide, at the Capitol...
Court: 2018 Musk tweet unlawfully threatened UAW efforts
NEW ORLEANS — A 2018 Twitter post by Tesla CEO Elon Musk unlawfully threatened Tesla employees with the loss of stock options if they decided to be represented by a union, a federal appeals court ruled Friday. The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of...
Alex Murdaugh to be kept in protective custody in prison
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina prison officials have decided to keep former attorney and convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh in a special protective unit as he begins serving his life sentence for killing his wife and son. Mental health and prison experts determined that Murdaugh should be kept in protective custody...
Campaign finance, lobbying reform still receiving little attention in Pa. legislature
This story first appeared in The Investigator, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA featuring the best investigative and accountability journalism from across Pennsylvania. Sign up for free here. HARRISBURG — As lawmakers gathered in Harrisburg this week for another round of budget hearings, both legislative chambers got the chance to...
Pa. factory explosion survivor, on fire, fell into chocolate vat
A woman pulled alive from the rubble of a Pennsylvania chocolate factory after an explosion that killed seven co-workers says flames had engulfed the building, and her arm, when the floor gave way beneath her. That might have been the end, if she hadn’t fallen into a vat of liquid...
Biden’s strategy on Trump’s indictment: No comment
WASHINGTON — Does President Joe Biden have any reaction to the indictment of former President Donald Trump? Is he concerned about possible protests or that the unprecedented indictment could further divide the nation? What does the indictment mean for the rule of law in the United States? Biden’s answer on...
Owners of big cat refuge from ‘Tiger King’ selling property
TAMPA, Fla.— The owners of a Florida-based sanctuary made famous by the Netflix docuseries, ” Tiger King, ” say they plan to move most of their big cats to an Arkansas facility and eventually sell their 67-acre property. Howard Baskin wrote in a post on Big Cat Rescue’s website that...
N.Y. patient’s ambulance joyride ends when police spike tires
TARRYTOWN, N.Y. — A patient stole the ambulance that had taken him to a New York City hospital and took it on a 25-mile joyride that ended when state police used a spike strip to stop him, authorities said. The incident unfolded early Thursday after a 47-year-old man was taken...
Trump to be arraigned Tuesday to face N.Y. indictment
NEW YORK — Former President Donald Trump will be arraigned Tuesday after his indictment in New York City, court officials said Friday, his formal surrender and arrest presenting the historic, shocking scene of a former U.S. commander in chief forced to stand before a judge. While Trump and his lawyers...
Italy temporarily blocks ChatGPT over privacy concerns
ROME — Italy is temporarily blocking the artificial intelligence software ChatGPT in the wake of a data breach as it investigates a possible violation of stringent European Union data protection rules, the government’s privacy watchdog said Friday. The Italian Data Protection Authority said it was taking provisional action “until ChatGPT...
Stampede at food distribution center kills 11 in Pakistan
KARACHI, Pakistan — At least 11 women and children were killed in a deadly stampede at a Ramadan food and cash distribution center in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi on Friday, police and rescue officials said, as the country struggles with surging food prices. The stampede happened when hundreds...
Republicans show widespread support for Trump amid indictment
In the hours since the news broke that former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a New York state grand jury, top Republicans lawmakers took to social media quickly showing their support for the former president. Trump was indicted Thursday on charges involving payments made during his 2016 presidential...
