AP National News

VENTURA, Calif. (AP) — A man once briefly married to Britney Spears has been convicted of aggravated trespassing and battery at the pop star’s June wedding. Jason Alexander, 40, pleaded no contest to the two misdemeanor counts in a California court, prosecutors in Ventura County announced Thursday. The Ventura County judge sentenced him to the

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The flagship climate change and health care bill passed by Democrats and soon to be signed by President Joe Biden will bring U.S. taxpayers one step closer to a government-operated electronic free-file tax return system. It’s something lawmakers and advocates have been seeking for years. For many

BANGKOK (AP) — The Chinese air force is sending fighter jets and bombers to Thailand for a joint exercise with the Thai military on Sunday. The training will include air support, strikes on ground targets and small- and large-scale troop deployment, the Chinese Defense Ministry said in a statement posted on its website. China’s expanding

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, STEFANIE DAZIO and JULIE WATSON Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — In the six years since he resettled in the United States from Afghanistan, the primary suspect in the slayings of four Muslim men in Albuquerque has been arrested several times for domestic violence and captured on camera slashing the tires

By YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese weather officials say Tropical Storm Meari is unleashing heavy rains on the main island of Honshu as it heads northward toward the capital, Tokyo. The Japan Meteorological Agency said Saturday that Meari made landfall in Shizuoka, southwest of Tokyo, bringing sudden heavy rains and blasting winds,

BY SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer Talk about hot nights, America got some for the history books last month. The continental United States in July set a record for overnight warmth, providing little relief from the day’s sizzling heat for people, animals, plants and the electric grid, meteorologists said. The average low temperature for the

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A federal jury awarded Republican Roy Moore $8.2 million in damages Friday after finding a Democratic-aligned super PAC defamed him in a TV ad recounting sexual misconduct accusations during his failed 2017 U.S. Senate bid in Alabama. Jurors found the Senate Majority PAC made false and

By The Associated Press This week’s new entertainment releases include fresh music from Demi Lovato, a documentary about Princess Diana that uses only archival footage and the “Game of Thrones” prequel finally arrives on HBO. The high-stakes drama is off the court in “Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers,” a 10-part docuseries on

PERRIS, Calif. (AP) — A section of a major Southern California freeway was shut down and 170 homes were under evacuation orders Friday as a chemical reaction inside a railroad tank car threatened to cause an explosion, authorities said. The tank car was parked on a spur off a main rail line along Interstate 215

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department has weighed in on a civil lawsuit against two conservative political operatives accused of using robocalls to dissuade Black voters from taking part in the 2020 election. The Manhattan federal court filing Friday said lawyers for conservative operatives Jacob Wohl and Jack

ORION TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A sheriff says a 48-year-old man has been charged with open murder in connection with a fatal assault at the General Motors assembly plant in Orion Township. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said Friday that a magistrate authorized a warrant charging the suspect with a crime that could result in

By STEVE PEOPLES and GENE J. PUSKAR Associated Press ERIE, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman acknowledged he was lucky to be alive as he officially returned to the campaign trail Friday, more than 90 days after the Democrat suffered a stroke that threatened his life and political prospects in one of the

By GABE STERN Associated Press/Report For America RENO, Nev. (AP) — As officials in some parts of rural Nevada vow to bypass voting machines in favor of hand counting ballots this November, the Nevada secretary of state’s office is proposing statewide rules that would specify how to do it, including requiring bipartisan vote counters, room

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — The biggest investment ever in the U.S. to fight climate change. A hard-fought cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for people in the Medicare program. A new corporate minimum tax to ensure big businesses pay their share. And billions leftover to pay down federal deficits. All

By JULIE WATSON Associated Press SAN DIEGO (AP) — A federal judge sentenced a San Diego man to 18 years in prison Friday for piloting a small vessel overloaded with 32 migrants that smashed apart in powerful surf off San Diego’s coast last year, killing three people. U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino called it