NEW YORK — New prosecution witnesses at former President Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial Friday further undercut the former president’s denials about paying hush money to a former porn star and then falsifying records to cover up their sexual affair. One of the new witnesses was Rhona Graff, Trump’s ... Read More

LANSING, Mich. — The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the state of Michigan $159 million in bipartisan infrastructure law funding to help lower the cost of community and rooftop solar installations for thousands of low-income households. In announcing receipt of the funds, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Michigan is committed to a clean energy future ... Read More

WASHINGTON — It’s back to the future for the nation’s internet service providers, as net neutrality makes a comeback thanks to a 3-2 vote Thursday by the Federal Communications Commission. The “new” rules governing net neutrality are largely the same as those originally adopted by the FCC in 2015.  Now, as ... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — This spring, NBC News, The New York Times and National Public Radio have each dealt with turmoil for essentially the same reason: journalists taking the critical gaze they deploy to cover the world and turning it inward at their own employers. Whistleblowing isn’t unique to any industry. Yet ... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans’ majority could tighten by another vote after Tuesday’s special congressional election in Buffalo — at least, temporarily. Voters are choosing a replacement for Democrat Brian Higgins, a longtime House member who cited the “slow and frustrating” pace of Congress before resigning in February. Democrats have a ... Read More

Poultry producers will be required to bring salmonella bacteria in certain chicken products to very low levels to help prevent food poisoning under a final rule issued Friday by U.S. agriculture officials. When the regulation takes effect in 2025, salmonella will be considered an adulterant — a contaminant that can cause ... Read More

WASHINGTON — They banged on pots. They banged on pans. They raised their voices and even jingled a few tambourines.  All in the hope of making their opinions plain to the nine justices assembled inside to hear the most consequential and final case of the current term — the one that will decide ... Read More

WASHINGTON — Comments from Supreme Court justices Thursday indicated former President Donald Trump is likely to face criminal and civil charges despite his claim of immunity while he was president. Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election led to felony charges against him that include obstructing an official proceeding and conspiracy to ... Read More

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 roles in an attempt to overturn Trump’s loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 election. The indictment released Wednesday names 11 Republicans who ... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Coal-fired power plants would be forced to capture smokestack emissions or shut down under a rule issued Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency. New limits on greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric plants are the Biden administration’s most ambitious effort yet to roll back planet-warming pollution from the ... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — Ever since college, Brad Jobling struggled with his weight, fluctuating between a low of 155 pounds when he was in his 30s to as high as 220. He spent a decade tracking calories on WeightWatchers, but the pounds he dropped always crept back onto his 5-foot-5-inch frame. A little over ... Read More

WASHINGTON — Even years after the fact, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden recalled the moment with a sense of astonished disbelief. Biden was second lady, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, at the time, and Maria Shriver was the first lady of California.  Both were attending a meeting on Alzheimer’s ... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration approved Pivya (pivmecillinam) tablets for the treatment of female adults with uncomplicated urinary tract infections.  “Uncomplicated UTIs are a very common condition impacting women and one of the most frequent reasons for antibiotic use,” said Dr. Peter Kim, M.S., director of the Division of ... Read More

Nearly everyone has an opinion on whether the United States should force a TikTok ban over national security concerns. Voters support a ban, Trump opposes a ban and Biden just signed Congress’ divestment bill. Everyone from security hawks to tech experts to “... Read More

NEWARK, N.J. — Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-N.J., the former city council president who succeeded his father in the House and represented his district for more than a decade, died Wednesday morning. Payne’s death was confirmed by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy who said in a statement, “Tammy and I ... Read More

WASHINGTON — Three Madonna fans are suing the singer for her late arrival and quality of her performance in December in Washington, D.C. The lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeks class action certification. If the court certifies the class action lawsuit, it would authorize ... Read More

NEW ORLEANS — The Biden administration will hold up to a dozen offshore wind energy lease sales through 2028, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced Wednesday morning. In remarks at the International Partnering Forum conference in New Orleans, Haaland said the prospective sales, which will be overseen by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, will ... Read More

TRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey appeals court on Tuesday upheld state siting requirements for new solar projects that seek to encourage clean energy development while also preserving its quickly diminishing agricultural lands. The underlying dispute in the case stemmed from a Feb. 17, 2023, decision by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, ... Read More

BEIJING (AP) — As auto giant Volkswagen AG races to catch up with upstart Chinese competitors, it has drivers like 26-year-old Ren Yiling in mind. She is young and wants to play video games in her car. The digital features of her Zeekr 001, a European-designed electric car from China’s ... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Forget about red hot. A new color-coded heat warning system relies on magenta to alert Americans to the most dangerous conditions they may see this summer. The National Weather Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday — Earth Day — presented a new online heat risk system that [&... Read More

A conservative quest to limit diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives is gaining momentum in state capitals and college governing boards, with officials in about one-third of the states now taking some sort of action against it. Tennessee became the latest when the Republican governor this week signed legislation that would prohibit banks ... Read More

NEW YORK — Attorney arguments before a New York judge Tuesday indicated a likelihood former President Donald Trump will face sanctions for violating a court order to stop his public criticisms of the judge, witnesses and prosecutors in his criminal trial. A worst case scenario would be that Trump faces both jail and ... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 on Tuesday to ban noncompete agreements, a decades-old vehicle that has prevented untold millions of employees from working for a competitor or starting their own competing businesses after leaving a job. The agency’s proposed final rule is scheduled to go into effect 120 days after ... Read More

QUEENS, New York — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday attended a groundbreaking event for a solar plus storage project at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens. The solar carport canopy will be New York state’s largest onsite solar plus storage project to date. The carport will generate around 12 MW ... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Tuesday set out a new national goal for conserving and restoring the United States’ freshwater resources, including 8 million acres of wetlands and 100,000 miles of rivers and streams. Officials unveiled the plan as state, tribal and local leaders from across the country convened at the White House for [&... Read More

WASHINGTON — A new study conducted by researchers at the National Institutes of Health found clinicians frequently continue to treat antibiotic-resistant infections with older generic antibiotics considered to be less effective and less safe than newer ones. Researchers examined the factors influencing doctors’ preference for older versus newer antibiotics in an effort to ... Read More

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A new Idaho organization says it will ask voters to restore abortion access and other reproductive health care rights in the state after lawmakers let a second legislative session end without modifying strict abortion bans that have been blamed for a recent exodus of health care ... Read More

DALLAS (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is dropping a request for a Seattle hospital to hand over records regarding gender-affirming treatment potentially given to children from Texas as part of a lawsuit settlement announced Monday. Seattle Children’s Hospital filed the lawsuit against Paxton’s ... Read More

MIAMI (AP) — The social media company founded by former President Donald Trump applied for a business visa program that he sought to restrict during his administration and which many of his allies want him to curtail in a potential second term. Trump Media & Technology Group, the company ... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Department of Energy’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office said Monday it is developing a new competition focusing on the deployment of clean hydrogen projects across the country. Called the Equitable and Clean Opportunities for Hydrogen Deployment Prize and shortened to the “Eco-H2 Prize,” the competition is currently being ... Read More