AP National News

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — New Pentagon data shows that reported sexual assaults at the U.S. military academies dropped in 2024 for the second year in a row. It marks a sharp turnaround from an alarming surge two years ago that triggered sweeping reviews and an overhaul in leadership. The decline in reports was mirrored

AP Science Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Neanderthals and humans likely mixed and mingled during a narrow time frame 45,000 years ago, scientists reported Thursday. Researchers analyzed ancient genes to pinpoint the time period, which is slightly more recent than previous estimates for the mating. Modern humans emerged in Africa hundreds of thousands of years

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Here is a timeline of events that began with the death of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was killed by police in her home in Louisville, Kentucky: — March 13, 2020: Officers serving a narcotics warrant fatally shoot Taylor in her home. — March 13, hours later: Police announce the

AP Business Writer The first guest invited to ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange in 1956 wasn’t a company executive, a politician or a well-known celebrity. It was a 10-year-old boy, Leonard Ross, who received the honor by winning a television quiz show.Since then, business titans, political giants and global film stars

Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The wife of a Wisconsin kayaker who faked his own drowning so he could leave her and their children and meet a woman in Eastern Europe filed court documents Thursday seeking to end their marriage. Online court records indicate Emily Borgwardt filed a petition in Dodge County Circuit Court

Associated Press FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts man shimmied down the chimney. But he wasn’t filling up stockings. Fall River police say the man fled from detectives onto a rooftop by channeling “the essence of the seasonal icon” but ended up getting wedged inside a chimney Tuesday night. Body cam video from the

Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Up to $60,000 in reward money from the FBI and the New York Police Department’s Crime Stoppers program was offered for tips leading to a break in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. But although police and prosecutors moved quickly to arrest and charge 26-year-old Luigi Mangione in

Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarusian authorities have arrested seven journalists who worked for an independent regional news outlet, the latest move in a sweeping crackdown on dissent and freedom of speech by the country’s authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. The Belarusian Association of Journalists said on Thursday that the journalists who worked for Intex-Press

Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas police say they found Raiders football player Charles Snowden passed out behind the wheel of a Jeep Cherokee atop a retaining wall before his arrest on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence of alcohol. A report says Snowden’s blood-alcohol content tested at more than twice

CHICAGO (AP) — A jury has awarded nearly $80 million to the family of a 10-year-old Chicago girl who was killed during a police chase and crash in 2020. The city of Chicago had acknowledged liability in the death of Da’Karia Spicer. The only issue for the jury was the financial award. Da’Karia was in

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest chess world champion Thursday after beating the defending champion Ding Liren of China in the final match of their series in Singapore. Dommaraju, 18, secured 7.5 points against 6.5 of his Chinese rival in the contest, surpassing the achievement of Russia’s Garry Kasparov who

Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Lawyers for Alex Murdaugh are taking two paths to appeal his murder convictions for killing his wife and son. They say in their appeal this week to the South Carolina Supreme Court that a court clerk pushed a guilty verdict to jurors to sell books. And they say the

AP Business Writer The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. has eased for the third week in a row. That’s a welcome trend for prospective homebuyers during what’s typically a less competitive time of the year for the housing market. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate dropped to 6.6%

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is still suffering from the effects of a fall in the Senate earlier this week and is missing votes on Thursday due to leg stiffness, according to his office. McConnell fell outside a Senate party luncheon on Tuesday and sprained his wrist and cut his

AP Technology Writer Nearly half of American teenagers say they are online “constantly” despite concerns about the effects of social media and smartphones on their mental health, according to a new report published Thursday by the Pew Research Center. As in past years, YouTube was the single most popular platform teenagers used — 90% said

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A Supreme Court prosecutor in Greece has launched an emergency inquiry into the alleged beating and sexual assault of a 16-year-old Egyptian boy at a camp for migrants outside Athens. Four other individuals housed at the facility aged 16-21 and also all Egyptian have been arrested on charges of sexual assault

GEORGETOWN, Ky. (AP) — Toyota said Thursday it will build a new paint facility as part of a $922 million investment at its factory complex in Georgetown, Kentucky, making it the second big addition announced this year at the automaker’s largest global manufacturing plant. In February, the company said it would invest $1.3 billion at