AP National News

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Three women who claim Cuba Gooding Jr. sexually abused them — including one upset she never got her day in court when Gooding resolved criminal charges without trial or jail — can testify at a federal civil trial next week to support a woman’s claim that

By DAVID SHARP Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A frantic 911 call to report at least one person had been fatally shot led law enforcement to discover four bodies at a home in Maine and eventually to arrest a man who fired at vehicles on a nearby highway. That’s according to heavily redacted transcripts

By ZEKE MILLER and CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden planned to highlight a “crisis averted” in his inaugural speech to the nation from the Oval Office Friday evening, as he prepared to sign a budget agreement that eliminates the potential for a first-ever government default that would have sent shock

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama now has an official state cookie: the Yellowhammer Cookie. Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday signed legislation naming the confection created by a Montgomery fourth-grader as the official state cookie. Students at Montgomery’s Trinity Presbyterian School came up with the idea of a state cookie. WSFA-TV reports fourth-grader Mary Claire Cook

By MEG KINNARD and MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is wrapping up his first tour of early voting states as a presidential candidate, showcasing his personal side in South Carolina with a lighthearted sit-down with his wife and an emotional moment with a military spouse. DeSantis, whose

By ANITA SNOW Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Retired Phoenix Police Capt. Carroll Cooley, the arresting officer in the landmark case partially responsible for the Supreme Court’s Miranda rights ruling that requires suspects be read their rights, has died, the department confirmed Friday. He was 87. Phoenix police said in a brief statement that Cooley

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ and MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly four years after Jeffrey Epstein’s death, thousands of pages of records obtained by The Associated Press are shedding new light on the financier’s time behind bars and a frantic response by federal corrections officials to his death. The documents, including emails

By MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The Biden administration is withdrawing hundreds of square miles in New Mexico from oil and gas production for the next 20 years on the outskirts of Chaco Culture National Historical Park that tribal communities consider sacred. The action Friday by Secretary of the Interior Deb

By ED WHITE Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — A man who spent nearly 21 years in prison for the deaths of two Michigan hunters has filed a lawsuit seeking $1 million for wrongful convictions. Jeff Titus filed the suit Friday, just a day after a prosecutor dropped murder charges against him and ruled out a

By SCOTT SONNER Associated Press RENO, Nev. (AP) — A Utah-based bus company says the state of Nevada has “declared war” on its interstate travel services, seized one of its commercial vans and falsely accused it of operating unsafe vehicles. Nevada transportation officials argue the Salt Lake Express is engaged in an illegal scheme to

By CARLOS VALDEZ and PAOLA FLORES Associated Press LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Catholic devotees in Bolivia are preparing for one of the country’s biggest religious celebrations this weekend at a time when the church in this Andean country has been rocked by an increasing number of sex abuse scandals. The faithful who are gearing

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s lawyers are demanding that the judge in his New York City criminal case step aside, echoing the former president’s complaints that he’s “a Trump-hating judge” with a family full of “Trump haters.” Trump’s lawyers said Friday that Judge Juan Manuel Merchan has shown

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press A building under construction near the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, partially collapsed Friday when a concrete pour went awry, injuring eight people including two critically, city officials said, adding there were no fatalities. City firefighters and other authorities were called to Lafayette Street shortly after 12:30

By SUSIE BLANN and MATTHEW LEE Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that the United States and its allies should not support a cease-fire or peace talks to end the war in Ukraine until Kyiv gains strength and can negotiate on its own terms. As an anticipated

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press A building under construction near the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven partially collapsed Friday when a concrete pour went awry, injuring seven people including two critically, city officials said, adding there were no fatalities. City firefighters and other authorities were called to Lafayette Street shortly after 12:30 p.m.

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are rushing higher Friday after a strong report on the U.S. job market suggested a recession may not be as close as Wall Street had feared. The S&P 500 was 1.6% higher in late trading, the latest surge in a rally that’s propelled it

By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — A judge has granted bond for three activists involved in supporting the protest against a planned police and fire training center in Atlanta that opponents have derisively dubbed “Cop City.” Adele MacLean, Marlon Scott Kautz, and Savannah Patterson were arrested Wednesday on charges of charities fraud and

By JOHN FLESHER AP Environmental Writer TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Three chemical companies said Friday they had reached a $1.18 billion deal to resolve complaints of polluting many U.S. drinking water systems with potentially harmful compounds known as PFAS. DuPont de Nemours Inc., The Chemours Co. and Corteva Inc. said they would establish a