National News

MINNEAPOLIS -- Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across America again Sunday, with peaceful demonstrations against police killings of black people overshadowed by unrest that quickly ravaged parts of cities from Pennsylvania to California...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- SpaceX delivered two astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA on Sunday, following up a historic liftoff with an equally smooth docking in yet another first for Elon Musk's company. With test pilots Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken poised to take over manual control if necessary, the SpaceX Dragon capsule pulled up to the station and docked automatically, no assistance needed. ...

Today is Monday, June 1, the 153rd day of 2020. There are 213 days left in the year. Today's Highlights in History: On June 1, 1939, Lou Nova defeated Max Baer at Yankee Stadium in the first U.S. televised heavyweight prizefight. On this date: In 1813, the mortally wounded commander of the USS Chesapeake, Capt. James Lawrence, gave the order, "Don't give up the ship" during a losing battle with the British frigate HMS Shannon in the War of 1812...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A rocket ship built by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company thundered away from Earth with two Americans on Saturday, ushering in a new era in commercial space travel and putting the United States back in the business of launching astronauts into orbit from home soil for the first time in nearly a decade...

Today is Sunday, May 31, the 152nd day of 2020. There are 214 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On May 31, 1921, a race riot erupted in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as white mobs began looting and leveling the affluent black district of Greenwood over reports a black man had assaulted a white woman in an elevator; hundreds are believed to have died...

Today is Saturday, May 30, the 151st day of 2020. There are 215 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On May 30, 1989, student protesters in Beijing erected a "Goddess of Democracy" statue in Tiananmen Square (the statue was destroyed in the Chinese government's crackdown)...

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump escalated his war on Twitter and other social media companies Thursday, signing an executive order challenging the lawsuit protections that have served as a bedrock for unfettered speech on the internet. Announced with fanfare, the president's action yet appeared to be more about politics than substance. He aims to rally supporters after he lashed out at Twitter for applying fact checks to two of his tweets...

WASHINGTON -- An estimated 2.1 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week despite the gradual reopening of businesses around the country, bringing the running total since the coronavirus shutdowns took hold in mid-March to about 41 million, the government said Thursday...

NEW YORK -- The relationship between faith and science has faced its share of strain during the coronavirus pandemic -- but for some scientists leading the nation's response, the two have worked in concert. National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins founded a nonprofit focused on "the harmony between science and biblical faith." Anthony Fauci, NIH's senior infectious disease specialist, has said he isn't active in organized religion but credited his Jesuit schooling with burnishing the values that drive his public service.. ...

WASHINGTON -- Democrats on Thursday pulled legislation from the House floor to extend FBI surveillance authorities after President Donald Trump and Republicans turned against the measure and ensured its defeat. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there instead should be a new round of negotiations with the Senate over the expired powers the FBI considers vital in fighting terrorism...

Like dozens of other veteran spellers in their final year of eligibility, Anson Cook had big plans for this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee, which was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The 13-year-old eighth-grader from Potomac, Maryland, was a two-time participant in the bee, and last year he finished in a tie for 41st. His objective was to make it into the top 12 or so who participate in the prime-time, ESPN-televised finals...

BLAINE, Wash. (AP) -- Alec de Rham sat with his back against a stone obelisk marked "International Boundary" as he and his wife visited with a daughter they hadn't seen in 10 weeks. Hannah Smith took a bus and a bicycle from Vancouver, British Columbia, to the border to meet her "main person," Jabree Robinson, of Bellingham, Washington...

Today is Friday, May 29, the 150th day of 2020. There are 216 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On May 29, 1988, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev opened their historic summit in Moscow. On this date: In 1765, Patrick Henry denounced the Stamp Act before Virginia's House of Burgesses...

Today is Thursday, May 28, the 149th day of 2020. There are 217 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On May 28, 1912, the Senate Commerce Committee issued its report on the Titanic disaster that cited a "state of absolute unpreparedness," improperly tested safety equipment and an "indifference to danger" as some of the causes of an "unnecessary tragedy."...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- President Donald Trump's demand for a full-capacity Republican convention in August is putting pressure on North Carolina health officials -- and local Republicans -- as coronavirus cases surge in the host county and statewide. Democratic Gov. ...

For the first time, Twitter has flagged some of President Donald Trump's tweets with a fact-check warning. On Tuesday, Twitter added a warning phrase to two Trump tweets calling mail-in ballots "fraudulent" and predicted "mail boxes will be robbed," among other things. Under the tweets, there is now a link reading "Get the facts about mail-in ballots" that guides users to a Twitter "moments" page with fact checks and news stories about Trump's unsubstantiated claims...

Mister Rogers would have liked it: a day to be extra kind to your neighbors. The day was Friday -- Pennsylvania's second annual 1-4-3 Day, an occasion when state officials encourage people to share their acts of kindness and gratitude. This year, a focus was first responders and essential workers who are at high-risk of contagion during the coronavirus pandemic...

Today is Wednesday, May 27, the 148th day of 2020. There are 218 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On May 27, 1935, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, unanimously struck down the National Industrial Recovery Act, a key component of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal" legislative program...

BILLINGS, Mont. -- Americans settled for small processions and online tributes instead of parades Monday as they observed Memorial Day in the shadow of the pandemic, which forced communities to honor the nation's military dead with modest, more subdued ceremonies that also remembered those lost to the coronavirus...

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- States are spending billions of dollars stocking up on medical supplies such as masks and breathing machines during the coronavirus pandemic. But more than two months into the buying binge, many aren't sharing details about how much they're spending, what they're getting for their money or which companies they're paying...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- It's back to the future as NASA astronauts launch again from the U.S. -- aboard a retro-style "Right Stuff" capsule. Make no mistake: This is not your father's -- or grandfather's -- capsule. SpaceX's Dragon crew capsule outshines NASA's old Apollo spacecraft in virtually every way. The Dragon's clean lines and minimalist interior, with touchscreens instead of a mess of switches and knobs, make even the space shuttles seem yesteryear...

JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday pledged to annex parts of the occupied West Bank in the coming months, vowing to move ahead with the explosive plan despite a growing chorus of condemnations by key allies. The Palestinians, with wide international backing, seek the entire West Bank as the heartland of a future independent state. Annexing large chunks of this territory would all but destroy the faint remaining hopes of a two-state solution...

LONDON -- British leader Boris Johnson's powerful chief aide insisted Monday he wouldn't resign for driving the length of England while the country was under strict lockdown -- a trip he made without informing the prime minister first. The government is facing a tide of anger from politicians and the public over the revelation Dominic Cummings traveled more than 250 miles from London to his parents' home in Durham, northeast England at the end of March...

Today is Tuesday, May 26, the 147th day of 2020. There are 219 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On May 26, 1981, 14 people were killed when a Marine jet crashed onto the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz off Florida...

Today is Monday, May 25, the 146th day of 2020. There are 220 days left in the year. This is Memorial Day. Today's Highlight in History: On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy told Congress: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth."...

Today is Sunday, May 24, the 145th day of 2020. There are 221 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On May 24, 1844, Samuel F.B. Morse transmitted the message "What hath God wrought" from Washington to Baltimore as he formally opened America's first telegraph line...

WASHINGTON -- FBI director Christopher Wray has ordered an internal review into possible misconduct in the investigation of former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn, the bureau said Friday. The after-action review will examine whether any employees engaged in misconduct during the course of the investigation and evaluate whether any improvements in FBI policies and procedures need to be made...

WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. -- More Central Michigan riverside residents evacuated their homes Friday after being overwhelmed by flooding from two failed dams that submerged communities further upstream earlier this week, authorities said. About a dozen people who live near the Tittabawassee River in Spaulding Township have evacuated, but some in the community refused to leave their homes despite warnings, Fire Chief Tom Fortier said Friday morning...

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump said Friday he has deemed churches and other houses of worship "essential" and called on governors across the country to allow them to reopen this weekend, even as some parts of the nation remain under coronavirus lockdown...

Today is Saturday, May 23, the 144th day of 2020. There are 222 days left in the year. Today[[OpenSingle]]s Highlight in History: On May 23, 1984, Surgeon General C. Everett Koop issued a report saying there was [[""]]very solid[[""]] evidence linking cigarette smoke to lung disease in non-smokers...

Growing numbers of U.S. colleges are pledging to reopen this fall, with dramatic changes to campus life to keep the coronavirus at bay. Big lectures will be a thing of the past. Dorms will will be nowhere near capacity. Students will face mandatory virus testing. And at some smaller schools, students may be barred from leaving campus...

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump said Thursday that Russian violations make it untenable for the U.S. to stay in a treaty that permits 30-plus nations to conduct observation flights over each other's territory, but he hinted it's possible the U.S. will reconsider the decision...

WASHINGTON -- The Senate on Thursday confirmed Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe as director of national intelligence, installing a new head of the nation's intelligence agencies at a time when President Donald Trump has ousted multiple officials. Ratcliffe seemed unlikely to get the position when he was nominated in February, as he had already been nominated for the job last year and then withdrew after Republicans questioned his experience. ...

NEW YORK -- President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, was released from federal prison Thursday to serve the remainder of his sentence at home because of the coronavirus pandemic. Wearing a surgical mask and a baseball cap, Cohen arrived at his Manhattan apartment building at around 10:40 a.m. after his release from FCI Otisville in New York...

WASHINGTON -- The Senate considers itself world's greatest deliberative body, but it's debating almost anything but the coronavirus as Americans confront a crisis unlike any in modern history. It's as if the challenge has created a split screen in the Senate. On one side is a Senate clamoring for a quick response to the outbreak. On the other is the wait-and-see Senate hitting pause on swift action and carrying on with nonpandemic business...

MISSION, Kan. -- Teacher Tabatha Rosproy's preschool class met inside a nursing and retirement home in rural Kansas, forming a bond with residents that continued even when social distancing requirements due to the coronavirus pandemic forced her classroom to close down...

WASHINGTON -- Signs of renewed activity are surfacing across the country as states gradually reopen economies and some businesses call a portion of their laid-off staffers back to work. Yet with millions more Americans seeking unemployment aid last week, the U.S. job market remains as bleak as it's been in decades...

MIDLAND, Mich. -- It could be days before the full scope of damage from flooding in Central Michigan that submerged houses, washed out roads and threatened a Superfund site is apparent, authorities warned Thursday, as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer expressed hope the president will soon sign a federal emergency declaration...

NEW DELHI -- At first, the kitchen at the Bangla Sahib Gurdwara cooked 40,000 meals each day for the hungry who live on the streets of India's capital city, or who have lost their livelihoods to the coronavirus lockdown. But the need was greater than that. So workers at the golden-domed temple in central New Delhi made 80,000 meals daily. Then 100,000. Soon, they expect to be making 300,000 -- all provided free to the growing ranks of the unfortunate...

Today is Friday, May 22, the 143rd day of 2020. There are 223 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On May 22, 1968, the nuclear-powered submarine USS Scorpion, with 99 men aboard, sank in the Atlantic Ocean. (The remains of the sub were later found on the ocean floor 400 miles southwest of the Azores.)...

MIDLAND, Mich. -- Floodwaters have overtaken dams and forced the evacuation of about 10,000 people from communities in central Michigan, where the governor warned Dow Chemical Co.'s hometown could end up under 9 feet of water by Wednesday evening and said the state will investigate the dam operators...

WASHINGTON -- A Senate committee has voted to issue a subpoena as part of its investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden's son, a move that met immediate opposition from Democrats who said the panel should be focused on overseeing the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic...

Today is Thursday, May 21, the 142nd day of 2020. There are 224 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On May 21, 1927, Charles A. Lindbergh landed his Spirit of St. Louis monoplane near Paris, completing the first solo airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean in 33 1/2 hours...

WASHINGTON -- Making himself an example for using a malaria drug against the coronavirus, President Donald Trump sent the White House scrambling Tuesday to defend his decision amid medical concerns the unproven treatment could spark misuse of a medication with potentially fatal side effects...

LOS ANGELES -- California Republicans have been waiting for a turning point, and some think it's finally arrived. The party of Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan has been fading in California for years: Democrats control every statewide office, dominate the Legislature and hold all but eight of the state's 53 U.S. House seats. The GOP's deficit in voter registrations: 4.4 million...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Public health officials in at least two-thirds of U.S. states are sharing the addresses of people who have the coronavirus with first responders. Supporters say the measure is designed to protect those on the front line, but it's sparked concerns of profiling in minority communities already mistrustful of law enforcement...

Google says it will no longer build custom artificial intelligence tools for speeding up oil and gas extraction, separating itself from cloud computing rivals Microsoft and Amazon. A statement from the company Tuesday followed a Greenpeace report that documents how the three tech giants are using AI and computing power to help oil companies find and access oil and gas deposits in the U.S. and around the world...

GENEVA -- U.S. President Donald Trump's attacks on the World Health Organization are hurting its ability to protect global health, medical experts said Tuesday, as many WHO member states rallied around the U.N. health agency -- even as they urged a look into its coordination of the global response to the coronavirus ...

AYIA NAPA, Cyprus -- The Mediterranean resort town of Ayia Napa is known for its boisterous parties. Each summer, thousands of young foreign tourists pack the dance floors of its nightlife district after a day at the beach. But the pandemic silenced the exuberant Napa Strip district as the island nation of Cyprus went into a lockdown to halt the spread of the coronavirus. ...

KABUL, Afghanistan -- The United Nations on Tuesday called for an immediate reduction of violence in Afghanistan, warning that civilian casualties at the hands of both the Taliban and Afghan security forces are on the increase. The U.N. mission also expressed concern about stepped-up attacks and brutality of the Islamic State group...