AP National News

Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — When Nicolas Cage first read the script for “Longlegs” and considered the part of the titular occultist serial killer, he knew exactly from whom he would draw inspiration for the role: his mother. He said witnessing her struggle with mental illness throughout his life was something he needed to

Associated Press HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Two organizations that gathered voter signatures to qualify proposed constitutional amendments for the Montana ballot have filed a lawsuit alleging that the secretary of state changed the rules about whose signatures may be accepted after the signatures were gathered and while county election officials were verifying them. District Court

ALGONA, Iowa (AP) — Jurors on Thursday convicted an Iowa man of first-degree murder in the shooting death of a police officer who was trying to arrest him. Kyle Ricke, 43, faces life in prison for the murder of 33-year-old Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram, the Des Moines Register reported. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug.

Associated Press A statewide referendum vote is set in South Dakota for the Nov. 5 general election on a so-called “landowner bill of rights” related to a controversial carbon dioxide pipeline project proposed for the Midwest. Secretary of State Monae Johnson’s office validated the referendum petition on Wednesday. The referendum targets the law sponsored by

PHOENIX (AP) — Former child actor Benji Gregory has died in central Arizona at age 46. Gregory played the young boy on the 1980s television sitcom “ALF,” about a hairy alien life form. Medical examiner records show he died in metro Phoenix on June 13. Gregory’s legal name was Benjamin Gregory Hertzberg. The cause of

Officials in Athens say a Greek coast guard vessel has been involved in a minor collision with a Turkish fishing boat in Greek waters off a tiny Aegean Sea islet rock. A coast guard statement says nobody was injured in the incident off Greece’s Zourafa in the northeastern Aegean, and neither vessel appeared to have

Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Officials say people in the southeast Caribbean urgently need food, water and shelter nearly two weeks after Hurricane Beryl crushed the region as a Category 4 storm. The U.N. and the prime ministers of Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines pleaded Thursday for at least $9

Associated Press RENO, Nev. (AP) — Two top officials in Nevada are asking the state Supreme Court to step into a fray over a vote earlier this week by Washoe County commissioners not to certify recount results in two local races. Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar and Attorney General Aaron Ford filed a petition with

Associated Press ROME (AP) — An influential Catholic charitable organization says it will cover up mosaics made by a famous ex-Jesuit artist accused of abusing women. The Knights of Columbus said it would place fabric over the mosaics at its shrine in Washington, and at the chapel of its headquarters in New Haven, Connecticut. It

Legal Affairs Writer PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A U.S. appeals court in Philadelphia has ruled that some college athletes may qualify as employees under federal wage-and-hour laws. The court says a test should be developed to differentiate students who play college sports for fun from those whose effort “crosses the legal line into work” that benefits

Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Tommy Robinson of Arkansas has died at age 82. A county coroner said Robinson died Wednesday night at a hospital after a brief illness. Robison served three terms in the U.S. House representing Arkansas’ 2nd District. He gained national attention from his time as Pulaski

MIAMI (AP) — South Florida prosecutors dropped the computer hacking charge Thursday against an OnlyFans model accused of fatally stabbing her boyfriend in a Miami condo in 2022. Court records show that the charge against 29-year-old Courtney Clenney was dropped after a circuit judge ruled last month that the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office violated attorney-client

Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A partnership that proposed an offshore wind farm in New Jersey last year but was not selected by state utility regulators to move forward with it is trying again. Community Offshore Wind submitted a bid Wednesday to build a wind farm off the state’s southern coast. It would

Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — National Republicans are poised to support “universal school choice” as part of the policy platform they adopt at next week’s convention in Milwaukee, a goal supporters see as the culmination of decades advocating for parents’ autonomy to pick their children’s schools. To opponents, it’s a thinly veiled blueprint for

Associated Press READING, Pa. (AP) — A former Philadelphia labor leader who once wielded clout in state and local politics has been sentenced to 6 years in prison for bribery and theft. John Dougherty was convicted of bribing a City Council member and embezzling nearly $600,000 from the powerful electricians’ union. Known as “Johnny Doc,”

Associated Press Utah’s Supreme Court has ruled in favor of opponents of redistricting that carved up Democratic-leaning Salt Lake County among four congressional districts that have since elected Republicans by wide margins. The 5-0 ruling Thursday won’t affect elections this year. The Supreme Court sent the case back to a lower court to revisit the