Author: Associated Press

By  THALIA BEATY Americans gave $4 billion to nonprofits on GivingTuesday in 2025, an increase from the $3.6 billion they gave in 2024, according to estimates from the nonprofit GivingTuesday. More people also volunteered their time on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving this year, which fell on Dec.…

By  STAN CHOE NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose near their record levels on Wednesday as mixed data on the economy kept alive hopes that a cut to interest rates is coming soon. The S&P 500 gained 0.3% and pulled…

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Steve Cropper, the lean, soulful guitarist and songwriter who helped anchor the celebrated Memphis backing band Booker T. and the M.G.’s at Stax Records and co-wrote the classics “Green Onions,” "(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the…

By  MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER NEW YORK (AP) — One of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell ‘s most vocal accusers urged judges on Wednesday to grant the Justice Department’s request to unseal records from their federal sex trafficking cases, saying “only transparency is likely to…

By  LISA MASCARO WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon knew there were survivors after a September attack on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea and the U.S. military still carried out a follow-up strike, according to two people familiar with the matter.…

By  BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI A monkey who spent several days on the lam after escaping from a truck that crashed on a rural Mississippi highway earlier this year now has a permanent home at a New Jersey wildlife refuge. Forrest, a young…

By  DARLENE SUPERVILLE WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s decision to build a big ballroom where the East Wing once stood has significantly altered the visitor experience at the White House. Tourists enter through a different door now, and the tour is shorter because there…

By  MATTHEW DALY and ALEXA ST. JOHN WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is expected to announce a proposal Wednesday to weaken vehicle mileage rules for the auto industry, loosening regulatory pressure on automakers to control pollution from gasoline-powered cars and trucks, according to several people familiar…

By  MICHELLE CHAPMAN There is a recall for more than 260,000 cases of shredded cheese sold in 31 states and Puerto Rico because of the potential for metal fragment contamination, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA said…

By  JEFFREY COLLINS A deadly UPS cargo plane crash in Kentucky stemmed from corporate choices that favored profits over safety, according to a lawyer who filed two wrongful death lawsuits Wednesday, which allege the company kept flying older aircraft without increasing maintenance beyond…

By  WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS NEW YORK (AP) — The end of 2025 is almost upon us. And it’s time to unpack Spotify Wrapped. On Wednesday, the music streaming giant delivered its annual recap — giving its hundreds of millions of users worldwide a look at…

By  ANDREW DALTON LOS ANGELES (AP) — A doctor who pleaded guilty to selling ketamine to Matthew Perry in the weeks before the “Friends” star’s overdose death is set to be the first of five people sentenced in the case on Wednesday. Perry’s family and…

By  STAN CHOE NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market held steady on Tuesday as both bond yields and bitcoin stabilized. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% following its first loss in six days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 185 points, or 0.4%,…

By  THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Talks between Russia and the U.S. on ending the nearly four-year war in Ukraine were constructive, but much work remains, Yuri Ushakov, a senior adviser to President Vladimir Putin, told reporters on Wednesday. Putin met U.S. President Donald Trump’s…

By  KONSTANTIN TOROPIN WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday cited the “fog of war” in defending a follow-up strike on an alleged drug-carrying boat in the Caribbean Sea in early September. During a Cabinet meeting at the White House,…

By  DAVID BAUDER Outlets that reach millions of news consumers are being denied access to rare briefings by Pentagon officials this week — sessions that are being held instead for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s hand-picked media organizations. It’s not as if there’s little…

By  GEOFF MULVIHILL and DARLENE SUPERVILLE WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration said Tuesday that it will move to withhold SNAP food aid from recipients in most Democratic-controlled states starting next week unless they provide information about those receiving the assistance. Agriculture…

By  MICHAEL KUNZELMAN WASHINGTON (AP) — A man accused of shooting two National Guard troops near the White House pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to murder and assault charges during his first appearance before a judge via video from a hospital…

By  PATRICK WHITTLE PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The Northeast saw its first major winter snowstorm arrive on Tuesday just as the Midwest began to escape snow and ice that snarled travel after the Thanksgiving holiday. Some parts of northern New England were expecting up to…

By  JENNIFER PELTZ NEW YORK (AP) — A Pennsylvania police officer testified Tuesday about confronting Luigi Mangione during an intense manhunt last year for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer. As soon as Mangione doffed his medical mask at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania,…

By  AAMER MADHANI and REGINA GARCIA CANO WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House said Monday that a Navy admiral acted “within his authority and the law” when he ordered a second, follow-up strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea in a September…

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A telescope in Chile has captured a stunning new picture of a grand and graceful cosmic butterfly. The National Science Foundation’s NoirLab released the picture Wednesday. Snapped last month by the Gemini South telescope, the…

By  DEREK GATOPOULOS and PETROS GIANNAKOURIS ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece (AP) — The Olympic flame began its journey Wednesday to the Milan Cortina Winter Games — missing a little of its usual magic. Bad weather lashing western Greece forced organizers to move the torch-lighting…

By  ED WHITE A Michigan veterinarian was sentenced to 10 days in jail Monday for refusing to return a dog to a homeless man after finding the ailing pit bull mix tied to a truck. Amanda Hergenreder’s lawyer asked for 120 hours of…

By  JACK BROOK A copy of the first Superman issue, unearthed by three brothers cleaning out their late mother’s attic, netted $9.12 million this month at a Texas auction house which says it is the most expensive comic book ever sold.…

By  KIRSTEN GRIESHABER BERLIN (AP) — Traditional Christmas markets are opening across Germany on Monday, drawing revelers to their wooden stands with mulled wine, grilled sausages, potato pancakes or caramelized apples. Security has been stepped up, with memories of two deadly attacks on Christmas markets still fresh…

BANGKOK (AP) — A woman in Thailand shocked temple staff when she started moving in her coffin after being brought in for cremation. Wat Rat Prakhong Tham, a Buddhist temple in the province of Nonthaburi on the outskirts of Bangkok, posted…

By  DEREK GATOPOULOS and LEFTERIS PITARAKIS ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece (AP) — At a temple in Ancient Olympia, a flame is drawn from the sun to begin its journey to the Winter Games. The choreographed ceremony inspired by ancient Greece is designed to link…

By  MARK SCOLFORO MIFFLINBURG, Pa. (AP) — Christmas went on the auction block this week in Pennsylvania farm country, and there was no shortage of bidders. About 50,000 Christmas trees and enough wreaths, crafts and other seasonal items to fill an…

By  MARCIA DUNN CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Scientists have detected what they believe to be lightning on Mars by eavesdropping on the whirling wind recorded by NASA’s Perseverance rover. The crackling of electrical discharges was captured by a microphone on…

By  HALLIE GOLDEN and MATTHEW DALY WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Park Service said Tuesday it is going to start charging the millions of international tourists who visit U.S. parks each year an extra $100 to enter some of the most popular sites,…

JERUSALEM (AP) — Fire teams on Monday rescued a teenager who was stuck dangling for seven hours from a crane hanging 36 stories above Jerusalem. The 15-year-old boy told rescue teams that he had climbed up the crane around midnight because…

By  JAMES POLLARD NEW YORK (AP) — One of the most storied American philanthropies is teaming up with the internet’s biggest creator to instill young people with a concern for what they call the world’s “most vulnerable” populations. Beast Philanthropy, the…

By  KRISTIN M. HALL CHRISTIANA, Tenn. (AP) — At the start of a busy holiday week filled with hours of travel, Jordan Gullotta went to a place that has given her comfort and a sense of peace. At The Gentle Barn, an…

By  SAFIYAH RIDDLE Burt Meyer, who invented toys like Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robots, Lite-Brite and MouseTrap in the 1960s that delighted generations of children, has died. He was 99. Meyer’s creations arrived in the postwar boom, when plastic molding and mass production transformed…

WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Melania Trump welcomed this year’s Christmas tree to the White House on Monday. The tree, which came from Korson’s Tree Farms in Michigan, was delivered in a green horse-drawn carriage driven by three men wearing top hats. “It’s a beautiful…

By  HALLIE GOLDEN and THOMAS PEIPERT ERIE, Colo. (AP) — “Gus” the turkey has been spending Thanksgiving week much differently than millions of other unlucky gobblers across the U.S. As he trots in a sprawling animal sanctuary on the Colorado plains, he is stopped every…

By  SOPHIE BATES FLOWOOD, Miss. (AP) — They’re both round, orange and probably bad for your health, but which is the better Thanksgiving dessert: pumpkin or sweet potato pie? For most people, the answer likely depends on where they’re from. The two Thanksgiving favorites have…

By  ALEX VEIGA U.S. stocks closed broadly higher Wednesday, extending Wall Street’s recent winning streak to a fourth straight day. The S&P 500 rose 0.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7% and the Nasdaq composite added 0.8%. Solid gains for technology companies…

By  ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and GARY FIELDS WASHINGTON (AP) — Two West Virginia National Guard members who deployed to the nation’s capital were shot Wednesday just blocks from the White House in a brazen act of violence. FBI Director Kash Patel and Washington…

By  KATE BRUMBACK ATLANTA (AP) — A judge on Wednesday dismissed the Georgia election interference case against President Donald Trump and others after the prosecutor who took over the case said he would not pursue the charges, ending the last effort to punish the president…