AP-National

By HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — U.S. authorities have accused another sanitation company of illegally hiring at least two dozen children to clean dangerous meat processing facilities, the latest example of illegal child labor that officials say is increasingly common. The Labor Department asked a federal judge for an injunction to

King Charles III said he had been reduced to tears by the messages he has received from people since his cancer diagnosis, as he held his weekly audience with the prime minister for the first time since stepping away from public duties to focus on his treatment. Charles also met Wednesday with the Privy Council

By NICK PERRY Associated Press A police detective says he was unnerved to find a U.S. Army rocket launcher when searching a suspicious truck for drugs in central Massachusetts. Det. Alex Sinni of the Sutton Police Department told The Associated Press on Wednesday that his first concern after finding the M190 launcher beneath the backseat

By SOPHIA TAREEN Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is outlining a $52.7 billion state spending plan with more money for the migrant crisis, education and quantum computing. But the second-term Democrat has also proposed several new taxes, including more than doubling a sports betting tax. Pritzker characterized the proposed budget for

By SAM METZ Associated Press RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Spain’s prime minister has visited Morocco as the two nations reckon with a spike in migration to the Canary Islands and a Europe-wide debate and protests about agricultural regulations and imports. The neighboring countries maintain close business and political ties as Moroccans make up the single

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Harvard University has condemned what it called a “flagrantly antisemitic cartoon” posted on social media by student and faculty groups that advocate for Palestinian liberation. Harvard’s Undergraduate Palestinian Solidarity Committee took responsibility, apologizing for what it acknowledged is an antisemitic trope and blaming it on ignorance and

By LAURA UNGAR AP Science Writer Alabama lawmakers and Gov. Kay Ivey have agreed to protect in vitro fertilization providers from legal liability. The Alabama Supreme Court ruled last month that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law and touched off immediate backlash. Many doctors and patients are concerned about ripple effects across

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Gay rights advocates pushed back Wednesday against a Republican-sponsored measure to broaden Kentucky’s religious freedom law, claiming it threatens to undermine community-level “fairness ordinances” meant to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination. The measure, House Bill 47, won approval from the House Judiciary Committee, but some supporters

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama’s largest hospital paused in vitro fertilization treatments Wednesday as providers and patients across the state scrambled to assess the impact of a court ruling that said frozen embryos are the legal equivalent of children. The University of Alabama at Birmingham health system said in a

By KATHY McCORMACK Associated Press CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A jury has begun deliberations in the case of a New Hampshire man charged with second-degree murder in the death of  his 5-year-old daughter. Adam Montgomery said last year that he loves Harmony Montgomery unconditionally and did not cause her death. His attorneys acknowledged his guilt

By DÁNICA COTO Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — An attorney for Haitian President Jovenel Moïse’s widow, who was indicted in his assassination, says he believes the accusations against her are politically motivated. The U.S.-based attorney says he was surprised by media reports this week detailing the indictments against Martine Moïse and dozens

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appears skeptical of the federal government’s argument that the Environmental Protection Agency should be allowed to continue enforcing its anti-air-pollution rule in 11 states. The government made its arguments Wednesday before the court. The “good neighbor” rule is intended to restrict smokestack

By TERRY SPENCER Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The collapse of a sand hole that killed a 7-year-old Indiana girl who was digging with her brother on a Florida beach is an underrecognized danger that kills and injures several children a year around the country. Sloan Mattingly died Tuesday afternoon at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea’s beach

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press The 88-year-old mother of Connecticut mother-of-five Jennifer Dulos has testified at a murder conspiracy trial that she has not seen or communicated with her daughter since she disappeared and was presumed by police to be murdered in 2019. Gloria Farber took the stand Wednesday in Stamford, Connecticut, in the trial

By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s governor has rolled out legislation she says will prevent dangerous people from possessing weapons and strengthen mental health services to help prevent future tragedies like the Lewiston mass shooting that shook the state. Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, called for changes in January in a

By FRANK BAJAK and DAKE KANG Associated Press Chinese police are investigating an unauthorized and highly unusual online dump of documents from a private security contractor linked to the nation’s top policing agency and other parts of its government — a trove that catalogs apparent hacking activity and tools to spy on both Chinese and

By JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee free-market nonprofit group has joined the ranks of groups challenging a new Biden administration labor rule that changes the criteria for classifying workers as independent contractors or employees. The Beacon Center of Tennessee filed its federal lawsuit Wednesday in Nashville on behalf of two

SEATTLE (AP) — Boeing said Wednesday that the head of its 737 jetliner program is leaving the company in an executive shake-up weeks after a door panel blew out on a flight over Oregon, renewing questions about safety at the company. Boeing announced that Ed Clark, who had been with the company for nearly 18

By JOSEPH KRAUSS Associated Press From the earliest days of the Israel-Hamas war, the United States and much of the international community have pressed Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. But as the fighting rages on with no end in sight, the humanitarian catastrophe there has only worsened. United Nations agencies

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials acknowledged at their most recent meeting in January that there had been “significant progress” in reducing inflation. But some of the policymakers expressed concern that strong growth in spending and hiring could disrupt that progress. In minutes from the January 30-31 meeting, most