AP National News

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — The first Black mayor of North Carolina’s third largest city has died. Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan announced that Yvonne Johnson died Wednesday at age 82. Johnson served on the city council for nearly 30 years in two stints, the last of which ended at her death. She was elected mayor in

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The House shut down Democrats’ efforts Thursday to release the long-awaited ethics report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, pushing the fate of any resolution to the yearslong investigation of sexual misconduct allegations into further uncertainty. The nearly party-line votes came after Democrats had been pressing for the findings to be

AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The inspiration for Kate Hamill’s latest play came from across centuries and the planet. The actor-playwright was honeymooning in Italy in 2020 when she walked into the Uffizi museum in Florence and spotted a painting by pioneering Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi created around 1620. The art immediately stirred

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Looking to tweak some traditional cocktails to make them more festive for the holidays? Here are some suggestions from the pros. For a Christmas-y version of an Old-Fashioned, the London speakeasy Archive and Myth switches out the sugar for a chestnut liqueur. Instead of standard bitters they use walnut bitters

AP Sports Writer DENVER (AP) — Jeremy Bloom is taking over as the CEO of X Games. The ex-Olympic freestyle skier and Colorado football player will lead the annual summer and winter events as it transitions into a new, team-friendly format in addition to individual awards. In June, X Games unveiled a style change starting

Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Fans in Missouri will be able to bet on sports next year under a ballot measure that narrowly won approval. State election officials on Thursday certified that the sports betting initiative passed with 50.05% support in the November election. Betting won’t begin immediately. The Missouri Gaming Commission said

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal Bureau of Prisons is permanently closing its “rape club” women’s prison in California and will idle six facilities in a sweeping realignment after years of abuse, decay and mismanagement, The Associated Press has learned. The agency informed employees and Congress on Thursday that it plans to shutter the

AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — Olympic leaders are “very confident and relaxed” about working with the incoming Trump administration ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games, outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach said Thursday. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has talked up his own role helping get the games for LA in 2017, though a

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Billionaire Elon Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy spent several hours Thursday swapping ideas with lawmakers about President-elect Donald Trump’sDOGE initiative to dismantle parts of the federal government. Meeting behind closed doors at the Capitol, Musk told the mostly Republican lawmakers they would be keeping a “naughty and nice” list

AP Sports Writer AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas officials say their investigation into the bottle-throwing incident that disrupted the Texas-Georgia game in October could not identify anyone responsible and that no one has been caught or punished. The disruption drew a harsh rebuke and a fine from the Southeastern Conference, which also ordered the school

AP Music Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Ten of the best songs of the year, as determined by Associated Press Music Writer Maria Sherman, in no particular order. “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Shaboozey It is not only the biggest song of the year, but one of the longest-reigning No. 1s of all time, as far

Associated Press Three days after a Pennsylvania woman searching for her cat disappeared at the chasm of a three-story deep sinkhole, the digging crews were back at it Thursday, hoping for a miracle but expecting to recover her remains. The scope of the effort was scaled down after authorities concluded 64-year-old Elizabeth Pollard is not

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo’s parliament speaker has ejected several lawmakers of the ethnic Serb minority from the chamber because of their several recent absences. The move could spark new frictions in the tense relations with neighboring Serbia. Speaker Glauk Konjufca on Thursday accused the nine Srpska List party lawmakers of being provocative and misusing

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia’s top military officer called his U.S. counterpart to give advance warning of Russia’s drills in the Mediterranean Sea. It’s rare contact amid high tensions between Moscow and Washington. The Russian Defense Ministry says Gen. Valery Gerasimov reached out to Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,

Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Officials say a Pakistani court has indicted imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan and dozens of his associates on charges of inciting people to attack military and government installations last year. Khan’s party say he pleaded not guilty when the charges were read out to him in court. Khan and the

Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — More than two dozen historic prints that depict Native American life and culture on the Upper Missouri River nearly 200 years ago will soon be more accessible to the public, thanks to a donation. The State Historical Society of North Dakota recently acquired 26 aquatints produced from 1839 to