National News

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Doug Jones said Alabama’s soybean farmers and automobile manufacturers are “scared to death” over President Donald Trump’s tariff wars, but he cautioned Democrats from spending too much time attacking the president as the party tries to win back heartland voters ahead of the 2020 presidential election. In an Associated Press interview, […]

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Former Obama housing chief Julian Castro says he’s taking a step toward a possible White House campaign in 2020 by forming a presidential exploratory committee. The Texas Democrat tells The Associated Press that he will announce a decision Jan. 12. The move Wednesday gives the 44-year-old former San Antonio mayor an […]

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks couldn’t hang on to a big gain Wednesday, but they still finished broadly higher as technology and health care companies rose. That helped reverse some of the market’s big losses from the week before. Stocks initially rallied after the Wall Street Journal reported that China’s government could make changes […]

ZGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatia says a deal to buy 12 used F-16 jets from Israel worth $500 million could be in jeopardy if the US does not approve of the sale. The tentative deal to buy the upgraded F-16 Barak fighter jets from Israel was made earlier this year pending a U.S. approval allowing […]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Latest on the commission that is investigating the Florida high school massacre (all times local): 6:10 p.m. The panel investigating the Florida high school massacre is recommending that teachers who volunteer and undergo extensive background checks and training be allowed to carry concealed guns on campus to stop future shootings. […]

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The parents of an unarmed black teenager who was fatally shot by an East Pittsburgh police officer as he fled a traffic stop are suing the officer’s former employer– the University of Pittsburgh– for failing to properly discipline him or record performance issues in his personnel file. In the lawsuit filed Monday […]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on the sentencing of Michael Cohen, a former lawyer for President Donald Trump (all times local): 2:15 p.m. The U.S. attorney’s office in New York says it won’t prosecute the National Enquirer’s parent company over its efforts to suppress an embarrassing story about Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential […]

IONIA, Mich. (AP) — A company has removed Chinese-made office furniture it delivered to a Michigan courthouse following a six-month legal battle with officials who wanted American-made products. The (Greenville) Daily News reports that Custom Office Systems removed the unwanted desks — many of them faulty — on Monday from the Ionia County Courthouse. The […]

BALTIMORE (AP) — A clash of seasonings is looming in federal court, as Maryland’s Old Bay seeks to protect its trademark in a lawsuit against another spice blend, New Bae. The Daily Record reports Old Bay maker McCormick & Co. sued this week to stop Pittsburgh-based Primal Palate from using the “New Bae” name. The […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — A media reports suggest Beijing is scrapping its “Made in China” industrial policy criticized by the Trump administration in favor of one that allows greater access for foreign companies. The Wall Street Journal said Wednesday that the revised plan would play down China’s bid to dominate manufacturing, and allow more outside competition. […]

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. (AP) — A NASA official who oversaw a nearly $200 million contract at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia has pleaded guilty to receiving kickbacks and stealing government funds. News outlets report 53-year-old Steven Kremer pleaded guilty Tuesday to the $37,000 scheme on Tuesday, after resigning in May. According to court filings, […]

MARIETTA, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say a North Carolina grandmother was killed and two grandchildren injured when they were attacked by four Rottweilers owned by the woman’s brother. Citing a Tuesday statement from the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office, news outlets report that 73-year-old Esta Currier died after the Monday afternoon attack. The 7-year-old and 9-year-old […]

DECATUR, Ala. (AP) — A federal judge says a blogger can sue an Alabama sheriff for allegedly trying to silence her criticism of the officer. The Decatur Daily reports that U.S. District Judge Madeline Haikala ruled that Morgan County Sheriff Ana Franklin is not immune from a lawsuit filed by online critic Glenda Lockhart. Lockhart […]

DETROIT (AP) — A 12-year-old Michigan boy who’d been working odd jobs to raise money for a gravestone for his best friend is getting some help. Funeral home owner David Techner decided to donate a headstone after reading The Detroit News’ story about Kaleb Klakulak, who had been best friends with Kenneth “K.J.” Gross since […]

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina social club’s decision to deny membership to a doctor who would have been its first black member has prompted several local groups to cut ties with it. Military veteran and doctor Melvin Brown was the only one denied membership to the Charleston Rifle Club in October, The Post […]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A jury has rejected a mental incompetence claim from a man accused of shooting and decapitating his grandmother and her husband at an in-home day care in Oklahoma City. The criminal case against 23-year-old Quinton Laster has been on hold for more than two years because of questions over his mental […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — At an Oval Office gathering earlier this year, President Donald Trump began touting his administration’s new real estate investment program, which offers massive tax breaks to developers who invest in downtrodden American communities. He then turned to one of the plan’s strongest supporters. “Ivanka, would you like to say something?” Trump asked […]

HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — An organizer of protests following the shooting of a black man by an Alabama police officer last month has been arrested on protest-related charges. News outlets reported 25-year-old Carlos Chaverest Jr. was arrested Tuesday night when he and about three dozen people showed up at the Hoover Public Safety Center. Chaverst […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer prices were unchanged in November, the best performance since prices actually fell eight months ago. The docile inflation reading reflected a big drop in the cost of gasoline and other energy products. The Labor Department said Wednesday that the unchanged inflation reading last month followed a 0.3 percent jump in […]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — State officials are estimating that Floridians had more than $4.2 billion in insured losses from Hurricane Michael. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation said that as of last week, insurers had handled more than 131,000 claims in Florida, about two-thirds of them involving residential properties. More than half have been paid, […]