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By PETER SMITH Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — United Methodist delegates on Thursday removed a 52-year-old declaration from their official social teachings that deemed “the practice of homosexuality … incompatible with Christian teaching” — part of a wider series of historic reversals of the denomination’s longstanding disapproval of LGBTQ activity. The historic vote came
Continue ReadingBy MICHAEL R. SISAK, PHILIP MARCELO, ERIC TUCKER and JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Jurors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump heard a recording Thursday of him discussing with his then-lawyer and personal fixer a plan to purchase the silence of a Playboy model who has said she had an
Continue ReadingBy STEFANIE DAZIO and AMY TAXIN Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge in Los Angeles on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain to four years in prison and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel. The Sept. 2, 2019, blaze was
Continue ReadingBy MICHAEL GOLDBERG Associated Press/Report for America JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi judge granted a request Thursday by the widow of a deceased man who vanished under mysterious circumstances to set standards for a future independent autopsy of her late husband’s body. Hinds County Chancery Judge Dewayne Thomas formalized through a court order comments
Continue ReadingBy SUSAN HAIGH and PAT EATON-ROBB Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The major traffic artery linking New England with New York will be closed in Connecticut for days after a tanker fire damaged a bridge over Interstate 95, Gov. Ned Lamont said Thursday. The tanker truck filled with gasoline burst into flames in a
Continue ReadingBy STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks climbed Thursday to trim the majority of their losses for the week. The S&P 500 rose 45.81 points, or 0.9%, to 5,064.20 a day after swinging sharply when the Federal Reserve said it’s likely delaying cuts to interest rates but not planning to
Continue ReadingBy MATT OTT and PAUL HARLOFF Associated Press Sony Pictures and the private equity firm Apollo Global Management have expressed interest in buying Paramount Global for $26 billion, according to a person familiar with the details. Sony would be the majority shareholder and Apollo would have a minority stake, according to the person, who requested
Continue ReadingBy COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press A wave of student protests has spread across U.S. campuses over the last two weeks, led by students who have pitched tents or occupied buildings in protest of the Israel-Hamas war. It started April 18 when police moved to break up an encampment at Columbia University in New York City.
Continue ReadingBy KEN MILLER and VALERIE GONZALES Associated Press Torrential rain is causing flooding in the Houston area. Officials on Thursday ordered some residents along a river to leave and are telling others they may wind up stranded. Of particular concern is an area along the San Jacinto River. It’s expected to keep rising as more
Continue ReadingNEW YORK (AP) — Billie Jean King’s $5,000 check sure went a long way for women’s sports. King used the money from a sportswoman of the year award to launch the Women’s Sports Foundation in 1974. Since then, the foundation has invested more than $100 million to help girls and women gain opportunities and equity
Continue ReadingBy MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — New government data suggests U.S. maternal deaths have fallen back to pre-pandemic levels. About 680 women died last year during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth. That’s down from 817 deaths in 2022. COVID-19 seems to be the main explanation for the improvement: Far fewer death
Continue ReadingNEW YORK (AP) — Witness testimony in Donald Trump’s hush money trial has adjourned following hours of testimony from lawyer Keith Davidson and later testimony from forensic analyst Douglas Daul. Thursday’s proceedings began with a contempt hearing over whether Trump again violated his gag order. The judge did not immediately rule. Prosecutors say Trump and
Continue ReadingBy CORA LEWIS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s decision Wednesday to keep its benchmark rate at a two-decade high should have ripple effects across the economy. Mortgage rates, credit card rates, and auto loan rates will all likely maintain their highs, with consequences for consumer spending. The Fed has indicated it
Continue ReadingBy ANITA SNOW and MORGAN LEE Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has relegated a Civil War-era ban on most abortions to the past by signing a bill Thursday to repeal it. Hobbs says the move is just the beginning of a fight to protect reproductive health care in Arizona. The
Continue ReadingBy BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Gov. Andy Beshear is predicting that his recent economic development trip to Germany and Switzerland will reap more business investments in Kentucky. He says the Kentucky delegation met last week with leaders of companies already established in the state. And he says they cultivated ties with
Continue ReadingBy JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona’s 1864 abortion ban will soon be gone from the state’s law books, but not from the campaign trail. Even as Gov. Katie Hobbs on Thursday signed a repeal of the law — one day after the state Senate passed it — Democrats running in the
Continue ReadingBy REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The judge overseeing a pivotal antitrust trial focused on whether Google is stifling competition and innovation repeatedly indicated Thursday that he believes it would be difficult for a formidable rival search engine to emerge. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta went back and forth with Google’s lead litigator,
Continue ReadingBy KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers gave final approval to legislation to ensure President Joe Biden will appear on the state’s November ballot. The House of Representatives voted 93-0 for the legislation. Gov. Kay Ivey signed the measure into law. Alabama has one of the earliest candidate certification deadlines in the
Continue ReadingBy RYAN PEARSON, JULIE WATSON and CHRISTOPHER L. KELLER Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police have arrested more than 2,000 people during pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses across the United States in recent weeks, according to an Associated Press tally Thursday. Demonstrations and arrests have occurred in almost every corner of the nation. In
Continue ReadingBy SAMY MAGDY and DREW CALLISTER Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Israel and Hamas appear to be seriously negotiating an end to the war in Gaza and the return of Israeli hostages. A leaked truce proposal hints at compromises by both sides after months of stalemated talks. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week
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