Arizona indicts 18 in case over 2020 election in Arizona, including Giuliani and Meadows
PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona grand jury has indicted former President Donald Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows, lawyer Rudy Giuliani and 16 others for their efforts to use so-called fake electors to try to overturn Trump’s loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. The indictment released Wednesday names 11 Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring that Trump won Arizona in 2020. It also says there are seven other defendants whose names were not immediately released because they had not yet been served with the charges. Trump is described as an unindicted co-conspirator. Trump has argued that he can’t be prosecuted for acts he committed while serving as president.
Dozens arrested on California campus after students in Texas detained as Gaza war protests persist
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Police began peacefully arresting pro-Palestinian student protesters at the University of Southern California Wednesday evening without incident. A few dozen students had locked arms at the center of campus, and surrendered one by to to officers. The arrests arrived hours after police at a Texas university aggressively took 34 demonstrators. It was the latest clash between law enforcement and those protesting the Israel-Hamas war on campuses nationwide. The actions across the U.S. came after Columbia University averted another confrontation between students and police earlier in the day.
Key moments in the Supreme Court's latest abortion case that could change how women get care
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s unclear exactly where the Supreme Court will land after hearing arguments about Idaho's abortion ban. But the Biden administration is facing a tough road in persuading the court to rule against Idaho. The court had earlier allowed Idaho’s ban to be fully enforced while litigation continues. That means at least five members of the court voted to put on hold a lower court’s ruling that the federal law overrides Idaho’s abortion ban in medical emergency. Six conservative justices all have cast votes to limit abortion access, including five who voted less than two years ago to overturn Roe v. Wade.
To pass Ukraine aid, 'Reagan Republican' leaders in Congress navigated a party transformed by Trump
WASHINGTON (AP) — Providing Ukraine with weapons and other U.S. aid as it fends off a Russian invasion is rooted in the earliest and most formative political memories of the two top Republicans in Congress. But the all-out effort to get the package through Congress left House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell struggling with an entirely new generation of the Republican Party shaped by Donald Trump. Throughout the six-month debate in Congress, both lawmakers had to expend significant political standing and depend on Democratic support to gain passage. The $95 billion package also sends support to Israel, Taiwan and humanitarian missions.
What to know in the Supreme Court case about immunity for former President Trump
WASHINGTON (AP) — The core issue being debated before the Supreme Court on Thursday boils down to whether a former president is immune from prosecution for actions taken while in office. Never before has a former president faced criminal charges, so the court hasn’t had occasion to take up the question of whether the president’s unique role means he should be shielded from prosecution. Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers say presidents would be unable to function in office if they knew their actions in office could lead to criminal charges. Prosecutors say the lack of previous criminal charges “underscores the unprecedented nature” of what the Republican ex-president is accused of.
Russia vetoes a UN resolution calling for the prevention of a dangerous nuclear arms race in space
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia has vetoed a U.N. resolution sponsored by the United States and Japan calling on all nations to prevent a dangerous nuclear arms race in outer space, calling it “a dirty spectacle” that cherry picks weapons of mass destruction from all other weapons that should also be banned. The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 13 in favor, Russia opposed and China abstaining. The resolution would have called on all countries not to develop or deploy nuclear arms or other weapons of mass destruction in space, as banned under a 1967 international treaty that included the U.S. and Russia, and to agree to the need to verify compliance. The U.S. and Russian ambassador traded accusations on space weapons.
Blinken, in Shanghai, begins expected contentious talks with Chinese officials
SHANGHAI (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has opened his first full day of meetings in China by talking with local government officials in Shanghai. Blinken discussed local and regional issues with the Chinese Communist Party secretary of Shanghai on Thursday. He also planned to speak to students and business leaders before heading to Beijing for what likely contentious talks with national officials. Blinken arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday shortly before President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion foreign aid package that has several elements likely to anger the Chinese, including $8 billion to counter China’s growing aggressiveness toward Taiwan and in the South China Sea. It also seeks to force TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the social media platform.
How US changes to 'noncompete' agreements and overtime pay could affect workers
NEW YORK (AP) — For millions of American workers, the government took two actions this week that could bestow potentially far-reaching benefits. In one move, the Federal Trade Commission voted to ban noncompete agreements, which bar millions of workers from leaving their employers to join a competitor or start a rival business for a specific period of time. The FTC’s move would mean that such employees could apply for jobs they weren’t previously eligible to seek. In a second move, the Biden administration finalized a rule that will make millions more salaried workers eligible for overtime pay. The rule significantly raises the salary level that workers could earn and still qualify for overtime. What exactly would these rules mean for America’s workers?
Relatives of those who died waiting for livers at now halted Houston transplant program seek answers
DALLAS (AP) — Several relatives of patients who died while awaiting a new liver say they want to know if their loved ones were wrongfully denied a transplant by a Houston doctor accused of manipulating a hospital waitlist. Officials at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center have said they are investigating after finding that a doctor had made “inappropriate changes” in the national database for people awaiting liver transplants. Earlier this month, the hospital halted its liver and kidney programs. The relatives spoke at a news conference Wednesday. The news conference was held by attorneys who have filed for temporary restraining order to prevent Dr. Steve Bynon from deleting or destroying evidence. Bynon did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Australia and New Zealand honor their war dead with dawn services on Anzac Day
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of people have gathered across Australia and New Zealand for dawn services and street marches to commemorate their war dead on Anzac Day.New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon attended a dawn service in his country’s largest city, Auckland, on Thursday. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saw the sun rise at a World War II memorial in the wilds of Australia’s nearest neighbor, Papua New Guinea. April 25 is the date in 1915 when the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed on the beaches of Gallipoli in Turkey in an ill-fated campaign that was the soldiers’ first combat of World War I.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
