Kennedy Center officials were long aware of serious structural issues that they cited as new problems after the abrupt decision to close the performing arts venue this month, a group of former employees allege in a letter to Congress. The center’s executive director and chief operating officer, Matt Floca, did not treat the roofing issues […]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday lifted restrictions on a controversial federal voter database before November’s elections, granting President Donald Trump a temporary win in his aggressive campaign against noncitizen voting. The court’s three liberal-leaning justices publicly dissented from the decision. The emergency order allows states, for now, to use the Trump […]

The white Nissan pickup was left on a street in west Phoenix. In the trunk were a tile saw, boxes of ceramic tile and an open bag of adhesive. Ramón Barraza, the man who drove it, never returned for it. It was 7 a.m. when Barraza left the apartment he shared with his girlfriend near […]

Starbucks plans to close 250 North American stores later this week. It is the second big round of store closures under Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, who joined the company in 2024. Last September, Starbucks closed 627 stores in North America and Europe. In a letter to employees, Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams […]

Gov. JB Pritzker is setting up a new group within state government to explore more regulations for artificial intelligence as calls grow across the country for new restrictions. Pritzker signed an executive order on Tuesday to establish an AI Cabinet made up of experts and representatives from several state agencies. The unpaid group, which will […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI said Wednesday it was investigating a criminal hacking group’s claims that it had stolen “very sensitive data” belonging to thousands of agents and applicants and that it had compromised the bureau’s jobs website. “The FBI is aware of a cyber-criminal enterprise group claiming a compromise of the FBIJobs.gov portal and […]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration’s whole-of-government effort to find and prosecute noncitizens illegally on state voter rolls has resulted in about 1,600 voter fraud cases that have led to 160 arrests, Homeland Security Investigations senior official Matthew Millhollin said in a press briefing Tuesday. The numbers unveiled just six weeks before Election Day […]

Foster children without placements are no longer sleeping in government offices or hotels thanks in part to a new residential program launched by the Department of Human Services last month to help temporarily house and rehabilitate the most difficult-to-place youth. The issue of kids sleeping in offices and hotels has plagued the department for years […]

CHICAGO (AP) — A third beluga has died at a Chicago aquarium after being rescued this summer from a shuttered Canadian marine park in a complex international operation that moved 30 whales to aquariums in the U.S. and Spain. Osiris, a 26-year-old female whale, died on Monday, Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium said in a statement. The […]

HENRICO, Va. (AP) — In-person voting for this year’s midterm elections began Friday, ushering in the final six weeks for Americans to decide which party they trust to lead Congress through a cost-of-living crisis, a prolonged war in Iran and other pressing issues. Election administrators say they are prepared and confident the vote will be […]

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s attorney general said Thursday that the Department of Homeland Security may have violated several state laws after a whistleblower accused its employees of misrepresenting themselves on voter lookup tools to hunt for noncitizen voters. In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, Attorney General Jay Jones demanded that DHS confirm […]

Newly obtained data on the unprecedented surge of border crossings over the past decade is shedding light on who entered the U.S. and where they went. Here is some information on the crossings, the data on 4.5 million migrants, and how The Associated Press obtained and analyzed it. Millions of migrants crossed the border from […]