SpaceX launches its biggest, most beefed-up Starship yet on a test flight
SpaceX launched its biggest, most powerful Starship yet on a test flight Friday, an upgraded version that NASA is counting on to land astronauts on the moon. The redesigned mega rocket made its debut two days after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced he’s taking the company public. It blasted off...
Trump veers off-topic during speech in New York that was supposed to be on the economy
SUFFERN, New York — President Donald Trump, from a toss-up congressional district in New York on Friday, began testing his midterm message that was ostensibly on the economy. But he veered off-topic right from the start, going off on tangents about voter identification, crime in cities, transgender women in sports...
Judge dismisses human smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A human smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose mistaken deportation helped galvanize opposition to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, was thrown out Friday. Abrego Garcia’s deportation to El Salvador last year became an embarrassment for Trump officials when they were ordered to return him to the...
Cuba tells its citizens to prepare for war as U.S. targets Castro
MEXICO CITY — In recent days, the U.S. Navy stationed an aircraft carrier off the coast of Cuba, the White House expanded sanctions on Havana’s leaders and federal prosecutors charged former Cuban President Raúl Castro with murder. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to reporters, said what to many is...
Tulsi Gabbard resigns as director of national intelligence, citing her husband’s health
WASHINGTON — Tulsi Gabbard resigned as President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence on Friday, saying she needed to step away as her husband battles cancer. She is the fourth Cabinet official to depart during Trump’s second term. “Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026,” Gabbard wrote...
FDA staff blindsided by move allowing more e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches onto U.S. market
WASHINGTON — Senior officials in the Food and Drug Administration’s tobacco center were blindsided by a recent decision that opens the door to allowing more unauthorized electronic cigarettes and nicotine pouches onto the U.S. market, The Associated Press has learned. The guidelines, posted online earlier this month before former FDA...
Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon kill 10, including paramedics and a child, officials say
BEIRUT — Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon Friday killed 10 people, including six paramedics and a Syrian girl, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said, the latest in near-daily attacks from both sides that have not stopped despite the fragile, U.S.-brokered ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war. The first strike hit the village of...
Rare public appearances, low profile mark Raúl Castro’s life since stepping down as Cuba’s president
HAVANA — Former President Raúl Castro was last seen surrounded by tens of thousands of people attending a state-organized rally for International Workers’ Day along Havana’s famed seawall. The 94-year-old stood tall and unwavering under a warming sun, even as some people nearby fainted before the May 1 event began....
Warsh is sworn in as the Fed chair after Trump’s bid for greater control over the independent bank
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday oversaw the White House swearing-in of the new Federal Reserve chair and said he would like Kevin Warsh’s help in stimulating the economy even as he tried to emphasize that the nation’s central bank would remain independent. Trump spent months criticizing Warsh’s predecessor,...
U.S. says ‘slight progress’ in Iran talks amid uncertainty about whether war will resume
TEL AVIV, Israel — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday there was “slight progress” during talks with Iran amid uncertainty about whether a deal will be reached or war will resume. He spoke days after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was holding off on a military strike...
An all-female Senate delegation is heading to the Arctic to reassure U.S. allies
WASHINGTON — Seeking to reassure U.S. allies, a bipartisan group of senators is departing for a tour of Arctic nations. And this time they’re leaving the men behind. From the eight senators to their staff and military liaison officers, the group will be entirely women as they pay diplomatic visits...
WHO chief says Ebola outbreak in Congo is ‘spreading rapidly’ and upgrades risk assessment
GENEVA — The head of the World Health Organization said Friday that the Ebola outbreak in Congo is “spreading rapidly” and now poses a “very high” risk at the national level. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the U.N. health agency was revising upward to “very high” its assessment of...
The game’s afoot as armchair detectives mark Sherlock Holmes DayVideo
SCHATTENHALB, Switzerland — From 221B Baker Street in central London to a cliffside waterfall in the Swiss Alps, generations of armchair detectives are celebrating International Sherlock Holmes Day on Friday. Fans will mark Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ‘s birthday in tribute to the author and his most famous character whose...
Older AC and fridge chemicals amp up climate change. Trump just rolled back limits on them
President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that grocery stories and air conditioning companies will be allowed to keep using high-polluting refrigerants for longer than they would have under a law he signed during his first administration. “This was a tremendous burden, a tremendous cost,” said Trump, surrounded in the Oval...
Matthew Perry’s family trusted his assistant to help keep him sober. He instead helped him overdose
LOS ANGELES — Matthew Perry paid Kenneth Iwamasa $150,000 a year to be his live-in personal assistant. His role for the “Friends” star would expand to drug messenger, addiction enabler and de facto doctor, according to court filings. Iwamasa injected Perry with the doses of ketamine that would prove fatal...
Taiwan’s government says U.S. hasn’t notified it of any pause in a planned $14 billion arms sale
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan hasn’t been notified of any pause in a planned $14 billion U.S. arms sale to the self-governing island, a government official said Friday, after the acting U.S. Navy secretary told a Senate committee in Washington that some foreign military sales were being delayed to ensure...
Florida biologist fired over Charlie Kirk post after his death wins $485,000 settlement
Florida officials will pay nearly half a million dollars to a biologist who was fired by a state agency for criticizing conservative activist Charlie Kirk on social media after his death. The state’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission fired biologist Brittney Brown in September after she reposted a meme on...
NATO allies bewildered by Trump’s about-face on U.S. troop moves in Europe
HELSINGBORG, Sweden — NATO allies and defense officials expressed bewilderment Friday at President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland just weeks after ordering the same number of forces pulled out of Europe. The apparent change of mind came after weeks of statements from Trump...
Trump immunity from IRS audit shocks experts, who warn it could undermine trust in tax system
NEW YORK — Remember Donald Trump’s response in the 2016 presidential debate, when Hillary Clinton blasted him for paying virtually no federal taxes? “That makes me smart,” Trump said. By that logic, Trump is looking smarter than ever now. On Tuesday, the Internal Revenue Service agreed to drop all pending...
Colorado Democrats censure governor for conspiracy theorist sentence commutation
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Colorado Democrats voted overwhelmingly to censure one of their own, Gov. Jared Polis, for commuting the prison sentence of Tina Peters, the election conspiracy theorist who amplified President Donald Trump’s baseless claims that mass fraud caused his 2020 election loss. About 90% of the state party’s...
Judge dismisses charges against ex-administrator accused after Virginia student shot teacher
A Virginia judge on Thursday dismissed all charges against a former school administrator accused of ignoring repeated warnings that a 6-year-old had a gun hours before a teacher was shot. Acting on a defense motion, Circuit Judge Rebecca Robinson issued the ruling on the fourth day of the trial of...
Trump says he’s sending 5,000 more troops to Poland, stirring confusion about U.S. presence in Europe
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday said the U.S. will send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, stirring confusion following weeks of changing statements from Trump and his administration about reducing — not increasing — the American military footprint in Europe. The Trump administration has said it was reducing...
Rubio doubtful of diplomacy with Cuba as Trump raises new threat of military actionVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and America’s top diplomat on Thursday again raised the specter of U.S. military intervention in Cuba, a renewed threat that takes on greater weight a day after the administration announced criminal charges against the island’s former leader, Raúl Castro. Trump said previous U.S. presidents have...
Republicans call off vote on Iran war resolution that was on the verge of passing
WASHINGTON — Republicans struggled Thursday to find the votes to dismiss legislation that would compel President Donald Trump to withdraw from the war with Iran, delaying planned votes on the matter into June. The House had scheduled a vote on a war powers resolution, brought by Democrats, that would rein...
Trump calls off AI executive order over concern it could weaken U.S. tech edge
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump called off plans to sign a new executive order on artificial intelligence hours before an expected White House ceremony Thursday because he said he was worried the measure could dull America’s edge on AI technology. Trump said he was postponing the Oval Office event with...
