U.S./World category, Page 7
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani wants to crack down on ‘bad landlords’ — but he has to find them
NEW YORK — On a recent weeknight, three tenants of an aging Bronx building were trading apartment horror stories inside a packed ballroom lined with city bureaucrats. The occasion was the third in a series of “rental rip-off hearings,” a new forum launched by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani for...
Trump budget seeks $1.5T in defense spending alongside cuts in domestic programs
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has proposed boosting defense spending to $1.5 trillion in his 2027 budget released Friday, the largest such request in decades, reflecting his emphasis on U.S. military investments over domestic programs. The sizable increase for the Pentagon, some 44%, had been telegraphed by the Republican president...
2 U.S. aircraft shot down as war in Iran escalates with at least 1 crew member missing
WASHINGTON — Two U.S. military planes were shot down in separate incidents on Friday, and while one crew member was rescued in Iran, the whereabouts of at least one other was unknown — marking a dramatic escalation since the war began nearly five weeks ago. It was the first time...
A look at how the Epstein files dogged Pam Bondi’s time as attorney general
NEW YORK — After Pam Bondi became U.S. attorney general last year, conservative influencers, online sleuths and others who wanted the government to disclose all it knew about Jeffrey Epstein thought they might have a champion in the Department of Justice. So did Jess Michaels, one of the legions of...
Trump offers murky path forward for Republicans as Iran war clouds midterm elections
NEW YORK — This is not the run up to the midterm elections that Republicans wanted. A year and a half after winning the White House by promising to lower costs and end wars, Donald Trump is a wartime president overseeing surging energy costs and an escalating overseas conflict that...
Cuba pardons 2,010 people as the U.S. pressures the island’s government
HAVANA — The Cuban government said Thursday it would release 2,010 prisoners in a move that comes while the Trump administration puts extreme pressure on the island’s government with a suffocating oil blockade. The announcement said the pardons were a “humanitarian gesture” in connection with Holy Week and didn’t mention...
Artemis II astronauts rocket toward the moon after spending a day around Earth
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s Artemis II astronauts fired their engines and blazed toward the moon Thursday night, breaking free of the chains that have trapped humanity in shallow laps around Earth in the decades since Apollo. The so-called translunar ignition came 25 hours after liftoff, putting the three Americans...
Trump unveils 100% tariff on some patented drugs on ‘Liberation Day’ anniversary
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that could slap long-threatened pharmaceutical tariffs of up to 100% on some patented drugs from companies that don’t reach deals with his administration in the coming months. Companies that have signed a “most favored nation” pricing deal and are...
Hegseth asks the Army’s top uniformed officer to step down while U.S. wages war against Iran
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has asked the Army’s top uniformed officer, Gen. Randy George, to step down, the Pentagon said Thursday, as the United States wages a war against Iran. A Pentagon official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, confirmed that George has...
Macron voices European frustration with Trump for criticizing NATO
Mounting European frustration with President Donald Trump, and defiance of his wishes on the war with Iran, bubbled over Thursday, when President Emmanuel Macron lashed out at the American leader for his shifting war goals and his undermining of the NATO alliance. “When we’re serious, we don’t say the opposite...
Dizzying U.S. fuel prices are determined by factors largely outside of a gas station’s control
DES MOINES, Iowa — The near-daily changes in U.S. gas prices are dizzying for drivers, who are left feeling frustrated and cash-strapped by the highest fuel costs since 2022. With the Iran war pushing up prices worldwide, the U.S. average for a gallon of gas topped $4 on Tuesday, according...
University of Wisconsin president refuses to leave after being told to resign or be fired
MADISON, Wis. — The president of the 25-campus Universities of Wisconsin said in a letter obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday that he’s been told to either resign or be fired, but has been given no reason and won’t step aside from the 165,000-student system. Jay Rothman, president of...
Pam Bondi, a Trump loyalist who oversaw Justice Department upheaval, is out as his attorney general
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that Pam Bondi is out as his attorney general, ending the contentious tenure of a loyalist who upended the Justice Department’s culture of independence from the White House, oversaw large-scale firings of career employees and moved aggressively to investigate the Republican president’s perceived...
Moscow plans to send 2nd oil tanker to Cuba, Russian energy minister says
Keyword-slug: AP-EU-Russia-Cuba-Oil MOSCOW — Russia plans to send a second oil tanker to Cuba, the country’s Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilyov said on Thursday. The announcement comes just two days after sanctioned Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin docked at the Cuban port of Matanzas laden with 730,000 barrels of oil, marking the...
Machete-wielding man attacks Ugandan nursery school, killing 4 children
KAMPALA, Uganda — A man killed four children in a machete attack inside a nursery school in the Ugandan capital of Kampala on Thursday, police said. The man gained access to the Gaba Early Childhood Development Program in Kampala by disguising himself as a parent, the Daily Monitor newspaper reported....
Tesla sales rise as $4-a-gallon gas revives interest in EVs
Tesla sold slightly more cars in the first three months of 2026 than a year earlier, the company said Thursday, a sign that rising gasoline prices as a result of the war with Iran may be prompting more consumers to choose electric vehicles. Tesla said it delivered 358,023 vehicles globally...
Former UPMC doctor accused of trying to kill wife says he acted in self-defense
Gerhardt Konig told a Hawaii jury this week he was devastated when he discovered messages that seemed to show his wife was having an affair with a colleague. The former UPMC anesthesiologist, who used to live in Mt. Lebanon, is facing attempted murder charges. His wife, Arielle Konig, last week...
U.K. gathers more than 40 countries to plot ways of reopening the Strait of Hormuz
LONDON — Britain accused Iran on Thursday of holding the world’s economy hostage as diplomats from more than 40 countries held talks on ways to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route that has been choked off by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. The U.S. is not attending...
Californians say democracy is in peril, state should enact voting rights protections, poll shows
LOS ANGELES — Strong majorities of California voters believe American democracy is under attack and, in the wake of U.S. Supreme Court rulings narrowing federal protections, support enacting a new state Voting Rights Act to prohibit discrimination and efforts to suppress the ability to cast a ballot, a new poll...
Eggs for Easter cost much less in the U.S. than last year
U.S. egg prices have fallen 60% from last year’s record highs, making it easier for consumers to fill their Easter baskets and Passover Seder plates. Bird flu was to blame for elevated retail prices during the first five months of 2025, and the course of the highly contagious disease is...
No sign of war winding down in Mideast as Friday dawns with attacks across region
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — There was little sign Friday of the war in the Mideast winding down as Israel said it faced incoming fire from Iran, Kuwait and Bahrain reported being under attack, and Iran said eight people were killed while celebrating the close of Persian new year near...
Trump’s White House ballroom gets final approval days after a judge ordered a halt to construction
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom won final approval from a key agency on Thursday, despite a federal judge recently ordering a halt to construction unless Congress allows what would be the biggest structural change to the American landmark in more than 70 years. The 12-member National Capital...
Pakistan says a new round of peace talks with Afghanistan is underway in China after deadly fighting
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan on Thursday confirmed it was holding peace talks with Afghanistan’s Taliban government in China, where Beijing is mediating to broker a lasting ceasefire after weeks of fighting that have killed hundreds, disrupting trade and cross-border travel. The confirmation of the new round of talks came a day...
Trump uses Iran war address to urge an increasingly skeptical electorate to give him a bit more time
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump used his first major address since launching his war in Iran to assure Americans that all of his military objectives will be completed “shortly” and urge an increasingly skeptical electorate to give him a little bit more time. Trump in his Wednesday evening speech dialed...
It’s International Fact-Checking Day. Refresh your AI identification skills
Artificial intelligence-generated content is everywhere these days, making it increasingly difficult to separate fact from fiction, particularly when it comes to breaking news. Look no further than the Iran war. Since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, researchers have identified an unprecedented number of false and misleading...
