AP-National

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — As Donald Trump’s two main Republican rivals slugged it out Wednesday on an Iowa debate stage, the former president appeared across town on a Fox News Channel town hall in a counterprogramming move where few discouraging words were heard. Trump walked onstage to cheers and

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States, Ukraine and six allies are accusing Russia of using North Korean ballistic missiles and launchers in recent devastating aerial attacks against Ukraine, in violation of U.N. sanctions. Their joint statement issued Wednesday ahead of a Security Council meeting on Ukraine cited the

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Authorities in the northern Mexico border state of Sonora say a local Cucapah Indigenous leader, Aronia Wilson, has been found dead. Known in Mexico as Cucapahs, members of the Cocopah Tribe also live across the border in Arizona, near Yuma. Sonora state prosecutors said Wednesday they are questioning a person of

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press There were only two Republicans on the presidential debate stage Wednesday, as former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis met for the highest-stake faceoff yet just five days before the nominating process formally starts with Iowa’s caucuses. Haley and DeSantis’ spirited debate came in the shadow

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin judge has suspended charges against defrocked Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who is accused of sexually assaulting a boy in the 1970s. The judge ruled Wednesday that McCarrick is incompetent for trial because of dementia. Court records show the decision will be reviewed at the end of the year.

By DIDI TANG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says it will send an unofficial delegation comprised of former senior officials to Taiwan shortly after the self-governed island holds an election for a new president this weekend. The move carries the risk of upsetting Beijing in an already-fragile bilateral relationship. A senior administration

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York building officials have issued emergency work orders to stabilize buildings around a historic Brooklyn synagogue where a secret tunnel was revealed earlier this week. The city’s investigation into the extent of damage at the headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic Jewish movement in Crown Heights

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A federal lawsuit alleges that the bodies of two men who died while incarcerated in Alabama prisons were missing organs when returned to their families. Brandon Clay Dotson died in a state prison in November. His family filed a federal lawsuit last month against the Alabama Department of Corrections. The suit

LABELLE, Fla. (AP) — Wildlife officials have reported the first endangered Florida panther death of 2024. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says the 1-year-old male was found dead Tuesday from an apparent vehicle strike on a rural road north of LaBelle in Hendry County. A total of 13 Florida panthers were reported killed

By JAMES POLLARD Associated Press/Report for America COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A bill banning transgender medical care for minors is heading to the South Carolina House floor. Republicans are moving the ban in the first days of the 2024 legislation session. The proposal bars health professionals from performing gender transition surgery, prescribing puberty-blocking drugs or

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly renewed her call to expand Medicaid and countered an anticipated single-rate flat income tax for individuals with a plan that would instead cut taxes by doing things like accelerating the phasing out of the state’s sales tax on groceries. Kelly said in her annual State of

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly renewed her call to expand Medicaid and countered an anticipated single-rate flat income tax for individuals with a plan that would instead cut taxes by doing things like accelerating the phasing out of the state’s sales tax on groceries. Kelly said in her annual State of

By SOPHIE AUSTIN and JANIE HAR Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has released his proposed budget for the upcoming year. He has set out to close a projected $37.9 billion budget deficit. He proposes to tap into the state’s reserves, make cuts to housing and climate programs and delay some

By JOHN ZENOR AP Sports Writer Nick Saban’s coaching reign has come to an end. His dominance over college football, however, will forever linger in lore. Saban, who won seven national championships — more than any major college football coach — and turned Alabama back into a national powerhouse that shattered an Associated Press poll

By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Pete Carroll’s mantra was “always compete,” — it was the title of a book, after all. And he did right up to the point where the ownership of the Seattle Seahawks decided it was time for a new voice to be in charge following 14

By OHAD ZWIGENBERG Associated Press KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli military says it has found evidence that hostages were present in a tunnel in the Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, which has become the focus of Israel’s ground offensive. The military on Wednesday showed the tunnel to journalists who were escorted

By RANDALL CHASE Associated Press DOVER, Del. (AP) — A judge has rejected several claims lodged by Delaware’s attorney general in a lawsuit alleging that the fossil fuel industry has downplayed the risks of climate change. Tuesday’s ruling significantly narrows the scope of the suit, which seeks to hold the industry liable for the effects

By ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — After months of campaigning, the Republican candidates vying to unseat President Joe Biden in November will face their first formal test at the ballot box in the Iowa caucuses on Monday. The Hawkeye state once again kicks off the presidential primary season, at least on the Republican

By BRIAN WITTE Associated Press ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A federal appeals court has directed a lower federal court to consider the merits of a challenge to Maryland’s first-in-the-nation digital advertising tax on First Amendment grounds. But in the decision released Wednesday the panel of judges agreed with the lower court’s decision to dismiss three

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland’s elections administrator says No Labels, a political group laying the groundwork for a possible third-party presidential ticket, has reached the required signature threshold to become a political party in Maryland. Jared DeMarinis said Wednesday that the state has verified the more than 10,000 signatures of registered voters in Maryland that