AP-National

By MAYSOON KHAN Associated Press/Report for America ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Pregnant people in New York would have 40 hours of paid leave to attend prenatal medical appointments under a new proposal by Gov. Kathy Hochul. The Democrat’s plan to expand the state’s paid family leave policy was announced Thursday. It would need to be

NEW YORK (AP) — A U.S. labor agency has accused SpaceX of unlawfully firing employees who penned an open letter critical of CEO Elon Musk and creating an impression that worker activities were under surveillance by the rocket ship company. A Los Angeles-based regional director for the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday filed a

By MICHAEL GOLDBERG Associated Press JACKSON, Miss (AP) — Government buildings in several states were evacuated Thursday following bomb threats, causing brief disruptions for the second day in a row in some places. The Mississippi Capitol and courthouses in Arkansas and Montana were evacuated, but no explosives were immediately found, and the buildings were reopened

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — China and India scored moon landings, while Russia, Japan and Israel ended up in the lunar trash heap. Now two private companies are hustling to get the U.S. back in the game, more than five decades after the Apollo program ended. It’s part of

By COLLEEN LONG and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russia has acquired ballistic missiles from North Korea and is seeking close-range ballistic missiles from Iran as Moscow struggles to replenish arms for its war with Ukraine. White House National Security Council spokesman John

By The Associated Press Russia’s Defense Ministry says air defenses shot down 10 Ukrainian air-launched missiles over the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula and 10 over the Russian city of Belgorod. The report Thursday comes as both sides in the war continue long-range strikes while their front-line forces remain largely deadlocked. On Wednesday night, officials said Russia

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Nikki Haley’s rivals for the Republican presidential nomination are ratcheting up their attacks on her as Iowa’s first-in-the-nation voting draws closer. The barbed news releases, attack ads and amped up back-and-forth come as the former South Carolina governor and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis battle for a distant

By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Officials in St. Petersburg, Florida, want to make it clear that their city is the current and future home of the Tampa Bay Rays as negotiations continue on a proposed new $1.3 billion ballpark. The Rays oppose changing the team name to the St. Petersburg

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — A judge in Oregon has rejected a U.S. Department of Justice request to dismiss a 2015 lawsuit brought by young people that alleges the federal government knew the dangers posed by carbon pollution but that it has continued through policies and subsidies to support the fossil fuel industry. An attorney representing

By LARRY NEUMEISTER and MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A new batch of unsealed documents pertaining to Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of teenage girls was released Thursday, adding several hundred pages to a trove of information detailing how the financier leveraged connections to the rich, powerful and famous to recruit his

By GERALD IMRAY Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Oscar Pistorius is due to be released from prison Friday to live under strict conditions at a family home having served nearly nine years of a murder sentence for the shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. The double-amputee Olympic runner from South Africa is

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Tennis Association has retained two lawyers at a Washington-based firm to review its safeguarding policies and procedures to protect players from sexual misconduct and other abuse. The head of the organization that runs the U.S. Open and oversees the sport in the United States revealed the review in an

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed a decree that speeds up a path to Russian citizenship for foreigners who enlist in the country’s military amid the 22-month-old war in Ukraine. The move comes as Moscow is trying to replenish its troops in Ukraine by various methods,

DETROIT (AP) — A second bridge connecting Detroit and Canada over the Detroit River won’t open for travel until fall 2025, months later than anticipated. Officials said Thursday that the timetable has been affected by construction disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Gordie Howe International Bridge project began in 2018 and was scheduled to

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer The NBA fined the Brooklyn Nets $100,000 on Thursday, marking the first time a team was sanctioned for violating the league’s player participation policy that went into effect this season. The Nets held out four rotation players — starters Spencer Dinwiddie, Nic Claxton and Cam Johnson, along with key

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — As the Biden administration grapples with an increasingly tense and unstable situation in the Middle East, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to the region this weekend for the fourth time in three months on a tour expected to focus largely on easing resurgent fears

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus has signed a new law that gives him lifelong immunity from criminal prosecution and prevents opposition leaders living abroad from running in future presidential elections. The law theoretically applies to any former president and members of his or her family. In

By RONALD BLUM AP Sports Writer NEW YORK (AP) — MetLife Stadium officials plan to remove 1,740 seats to widen the field for World Cup matches as they hope to host the 2026 final. The stadium will retain a narrower surface for this year’s Copa América. The stadium in suburban East Rutherford, New Jersey, is

By FREIDA FRISARO and ALANIS THAMES Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Fire officials say a child playing with a cigarette lighter started a fire at the $6.9 million home owned by Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill. Davie Fire Marshal Robert Taylor tells The Associated Press that the fire was accidental. He did not

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate edged higher this week, ending a nine-week slide that gave prospective homebuyers some breathing room after home loan borrowing soared to the highest level in more than two decades. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage inched up to