AP-National

By JOSH FUNK Associated Press Days before the National Transportation Safety Board is set to explain why first responders were wrong to blow open five tank cars and burn the toxic chemical inside after the East Palestine derailment, Norfolk Southern said Friday it plans to lead an industrywide effort to improve the way those decisions

By KATHLEEN FOODY Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Facial recognition startup Clearview AI has reached a settlement in a lawsuit alleging its massive photographic collection of faces violated the subjects’ privacy rights. Attorneys estimate the deal could be worth more than $50 million. Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman, of the Northern District of Illinois, gave preliminary

By MELISSA GOLDIN and ALI SWENSON Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Republicans have shared a spate of lightly altered and out-of-context videos to fuel a narrative that President Joe Biden is mentally and physically unfit for office. It’s long been standard practice in politics to spin real moments to make an opponent look bad.

By ANITA SNOW Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — At least six people have died from heat-related causes this year so far in sizzling metro Phoenix, where the temperatures this week hit 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 Celsius), Arizona’s Maricopa Department of Public Health reported this week. Another 87 deaths are under investigation for possible heat-related causes

CENTERVILLE, S.D. (AP) — A former law officer who once served as a tiny South Dakota town’s mayor has pleaded not guilty in a three-person killing. The Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports 64-year-old Jay Ostrem on Thursday pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity to three counts of first-degree murder, three counts

By REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Homeland Security Department said Friday that the agency tasked with responding to disasters across the country is prepared as it goes into what is expected to be an intense hurricane and wildfire season but he’s concerned about looming budget shortfalls. As parts of

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press CHAPIN, S.C. (AP) — The president of the Teamsters Union is set to speak at next month’s Republican National Convention, as Donald Trump angles to chip away at President Joe Biden’s support among the blue-collar workers who are expected to play a major role in the general election, particularly in

By JIM VERTUNO Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas medical panel has approved guidance for doctors working under one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans. But the panel refused to list specific exceptions to the law, which doctors have complained is dangerously unclear. The Texas Medical Board’s decision Friday came weeks after

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press The leaders of a conservative California county that tried to hand-count ballots in response to unfounded claims of fraud have hired a new registrar of voters with no experience running elections. The Shasta County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 on Wednesday to give the job to attorney Tom Toller, a

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — A’ja Wilson leads Caitlin Clark by just over a thousand votes in early fan voting for the WNBA All-Star Game, the league announced Friday. Clark’s Indiana teammate Aliyah Boston is third, about 40,000 votes behind the leaders. Wilson is having an incredible season, averaging 27.9

By CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Los Angeles Olympics are heading to Oklahoma, about 1,300 miles east of the host city. In an effort to maximize existing facilities and keep costs down, softball and canoe slalom will be held in Oklahoma’s capital city during the 2028 Games, Los Angeles organizers

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has ruled against a California woman who said her rights were violated after federal officials refused to allow her husband into the country, in part, because of the way his tattoos were interpreted. The 6-3 decision along ideological lines found that citizens don’t have

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Friday toured the home of assassinated civil rights leader Medgar Evers in Mississippi’s capital city, saying afterward that transportation is important to securing equity and justice in the United States. “Disparities in access to transportation affect everything else — education,

By JEFF MARTIN Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — By the time fishermen spotted the first head bobbing above the water, the 38 dogs were exhausted and struggling to stay alive. The hound dogs had plunged into a large Mississippi lake while chasing a deer, a diversion during a fox hunt. Bob Gist, who was fishing

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Dozens of Columbia University students who were arrested for occupying a campus building as part of a pro-Palestinian protest will have their criminal charges dropped. At a hearing in Manhattan criminal court, prosecutors said they would not pursue criminal charges for 31 of the 46 people

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republican legislative leaders are appealing portions of a federal judge’s order this month that blocked several state laws that restrict how abortion pills can be dispensed. Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore filed a notice Thursday to seek a review by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court

By JONEL ALECCIA AP Health Writer A new study finds the popular obesity drug Zepbound may help treat sleep apnea, a dangerous disorder in which people struggle to breathe during sleep. The research found that people who took tirzepatide reduced the number of episodes per hour in which their breathing slowed or stopped completely while

By KEN MILLER Associated Press Capital murder charges have been filed against two men in the strangulation death of a 12-year-old Houston girl. Her body was found in a creek after she snuck out of her home to walk to a convenience store. Court documents show Johan Jose Rangel Martinez and Franklin Jose Pena Ramos

By KAITLYN HUAMANI Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Taylor Wily, a former sumo wrestler who became known for his role as confidential informant Kamekona Tupuola on both “Hawaii Five-0” and “Magnum P.I,” has died, his friend and a “Hawaii Five-0” producer both said Friday. He was 56. “Hawaii Five-0” executive producer Peter M. Lenkov

By ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A shooter who opened fire Friday at a grocery store in Arkansas left the store and parked cars riddled with bullet holes as bystanders ducked for cover both indoors and in the parking lot, killing 3 people and wounding 10 others, authorities said. The wounded