AP National News

By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Scores of people, including at least a dozen dressed in drag, showed up late Friday for a committee hearing on a Nebraska bill that would criminalize exposing anyone 18 or younger to a drag show. The bill’s main sponsor, Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil, said

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — When an Iranian drone struck a U.S. base in northeastern Syria, killing a contractor and wounding several U.S. troops, it was just the latest in a growing number of attacks on American forces in Syria. But its lethality was rare. In most recent cases, no U.S.

By JIM MUSTIAN and JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — After nearly two years and at least $1.4 million spent, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Friday released an external review of its overseas operations that barely mentions recent corruption scandals and offers recommendations that critics dismissed as overly vague. Much of the

By MALLIKA SEN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — It was the stuff of novels: For years, a con artist plagued the publishing industry, impersonating editors and agents to pull off hundreds of literary heists. But the manuscripts obtained from high-profile authors were never resold or leaked, rendering the thefts all the more perplexing. Thursday’s

By The Associated Press GROVESPRING, Mo (AP) — A car was swept away and two passengers drowned early Friday in Missouri during torrential rains that were part of a severe weather system roaring across parts of the Midwest and South. The accident happened just after midnight in a sparsely populated area of southwestern Missouri. Authorities

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A powdery substance was found Friday with a threatening letter in a mailroom at the offices of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the latest security scare as the prosecutor weighs a potential historic indictment of former President Donald Trump, authorities said. New York City police

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press Writer OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A spiritual adviser to several Oklahoma death row inmates is suing the state’s Department of Corrections for defamation. In the federal lawsuit filed Friday in Oklahoma City, the Rev. Jeff Hood of Arkansas is seeking $10 million in damages. The lawsuit alleges the agency and

By TRISHA AHMED and MATTHEW DALY Associated Press MONTICELLO, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota utility has begun shutting down a nuclear power plant near Minneapolis after failing to stop the release of radioactive material. Officials say it is not dangerous, but nearby residents are concerned. Xcel Energy started shutting down the plant in Monticello on

By CARA ANNA and IGNATIUS SSUUNA Associated Press KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Rwanda’s government has commuted the 25-year sentence of Paul Rusesabagina, who inspired the film “Hotel Rwanda” for saving hundreds of countrymen from genocide but was convicted of terrorism offenses years later in a widely criticized trial. Government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo told The Associated

By JAMIE STENGLE Associated Press A student group at a university in the Texas Panhandle said in a federal lawsuit filed Friday that the school’s president violated their constitutional right to free speech when he canceled their planned drag show. Walter Wendler, president of West Texas A&M University in Canyon, located just south of Amarillo,

By SAM METZ Associated Press PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Gwyneth Paltrow insisted Friday on the witness stand that a 2016 ski collision at an upscale Utah ski resort wasn’t her fault, claiming it began when the man suing her ran into her from behind. The actor-turned-lifestyle influencer testified that the crash shocked her —

By TERRY TANG Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Years ago, skateboarding was branded as a hobby for rebels or stoners in city streets, schoolyards and back alleys. Those days are long gone. Skateboarding, which has Native Hawaiian roots connected to surfing, no longer is on the fringes. It became an Olympic sport in 2020. There

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Reese Witherspoon and her husband say they are divorcing after nearly 12 years of marriage. The actor-producer and her husband, Hollywood agent Jim Toth, announced their breakup Friday in a joint statement on Instagram. Their wedding anniversary is Sunday. “It is with a great deal of care and consideration that we

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida charter school principal has been forced to resign after a parent complained sixth graders were exposed to pornography during a lesson on Renaissance art that included Michelangelo’s “David” sculpture. The Tallahassee Democrat reported that the principal, Hope Carrasquilla, of Tallahassee Classical School resigned this week after an ultimatum from

By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN Associated Press United Nations (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says humanity’s survival depends on how people manage water. He was speaking Friday at the end of a three-day conference on global water resources during which developing nations made urgent calls for help with cleaner drinking water and better sanitation. Guterres said:

By ALEX DANIELS of The Chronicle of Philanthropy Chronicle of Philanthropy Alberto Ibargüen announced Friday that he was stepping down as the leader of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, ending a run as the grantmaker’s president that began in the George W. Bush administration. With about $3 billion in assets, Knight is

By STAN CHOE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers A late-afternoon turnaround on Wall Street left stocks higher Friday as the market shook off a weak start amid worries about banks on both sides of the Atlantic. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% after slipping for most of the morning. The benchmark index marked its second

By SCOTT SONNER Associated Press RENO, Nev. (AP) — The developer of a planned Nevada geothermal power plant says it intends to sue U.S wildlife officials to try to overturn the endangered species listing of a toad that lives in adjacent wetlands. The move could end up pitting two Biden administration agencies against each other

By JIM MUSTIAN and JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — After nearly two years and at least $1.4 million spent, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Friday released an external review of its overseas operations that gave short shrift to recent corruption scandals and offered a series of recommendations that critics dismissed as

By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press Federal authorities expect to return a 13-year-old boy’s remains to his Native American tribe in South Dakota this fall. The Friday statement comes days after the tribe wrote to urge a faster return of the child. The boy died at a federal boarding school for Indigenous children in 1879. The