WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has pardoned his son, Hunter. That spares the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions and reverses the president's past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency for the benefit of his family. The Democratic president had previously said he would …

TYRE, Lebanon (AP) — A ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah appears to be holding as residents in cars heaped with belongings streamed back toward southern Lebanon. Many are ignoring warnings from the Israeli and Lebanese military that they stay away. If it holds, the ceasefire would bring an end to nearly 14 months of…

Travelers are on their way toward Thanksgiving Day destinations, but weather could cause issues in parts of the country. WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of obese Americans would be eligible to have popular weight-loss drugs like Wegovy or Ozempic covered by Medicare or Medicaid under a new rule the Biden administration proposed Tuesday morning. DAKAR, S…

DALLAS (AP) — The Thanksgiving travel rush is expected to be bigger than ever this year. AAA predicts that nearly 80 million people in the U.S. will venture at least 50 miles from home between Tuesday and next Monday — most of them by car. Thanksgiving Day falling so late this year has altered traditional travel patterns. At airports, the Transport…

Each week Hot off the Wire looks at a variety of stories in business, science, health and more. This week's headlines include: Airports ready for holiday crowds. Starting a small business is hard. Exiting can be even harder, but planning early is the key. McDonald's to expand US value menu as fast food chains battle for bargain seekers. Has a waltz…

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has named Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, to be U.S. attorney general just hours after his other choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name. Bondi is a longtime Trump ally and was one of his lawyers during his first impeachment trial. She’s been a vocal critic of the criminal cases agains…

THE HAGUE (AP) — The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and Hamas officials, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity over actions taken during their 13-month war in Gaza and the October 2023 attack on Israel respectively. SANTA CRUZ, Cali…

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The U.S. and some other Western embassies in Kyiv are staying closed Wednesday for security reasons, with the American delegation saying it had received a warning of a potentially significant Russian air attack on the Ukrainian capital. The precautionary step came after Russian officials promised a response to President Joe Bid…

The Russian Defense Ministry says that Ukraine fired six U.S.-made ATACMS missiles at Russia’s Bryansk region. The statement on Tuesday came days after President Joe Biden eased restrictions on Ukrainian use of American-made weapons in the war. President Vladimir Putin has signed a revised nuclear doctrine declaring that a conventional attack on Ru…

Spirit Airlines has filed for bankruptcy protection and will attempt to reboot as it struggles to recover from the pandemic-caused swoon in travel and a failed attempt to sell the airline to JetBlue. Spirit is the biggest U.S. budget airline. President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied missiles to strike deeper inside Russia. Bi…

Each week Hot off the Wire looks at a variety of stories in business, science, health and more. This week's headlines include: Small businesses can capitalize on Small Business Saturday with some planning. Here are new guidelines for preventing stroke, the nation's 4th biggest killer. Trump won more young voters, but many don't agree with him on is…

NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump says he will nominate anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to serve as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Trump also announced Thursday that he has chosen Doug Collins, a former congressman from Georgia, to run the Department of Veterans Affairs, and said he was nominating N…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have won enough seats to control the U.S. House, completing the party’s sweep into power and securing their hold on U.S. government alongside President-elect Donald Trump. A House Republican victory in Arizona, alongside a win in slow-counting California earlier Wednesday, gave the GOP the 218 House victories that make…

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has stunned the Pentagon and the broader defense world by nominating Fox News host Pete Hegseth to be defense secretary. Trump has picked someone who's largely inexperienced and untested on the global stage to take over the world’s largest and most powerful military. Trump will meet with President Joe …

President-elect Donald Trump is starting to fill key posts in his second administration, putting an emphasis so far on aides and allies who were his strongest backers during the 2024 campaign. Among his picks are Susie Wiles for chief of staff, Elise Stefanik for United Nations ambassador, and Tom Homan and Stephen Miller for a pair of roles that w…

POMPTON LAKES, N.J. (AP) — Fire crews on both coasts of the U.S. are battling wildfires, including one in New York and New Jersey that killed a parks employee. In Southern California, crews northwest of Los Angeles made progress Sunday against a fire that prompted thousands of residents to flee and destroyed more than 130 structures. NEW YORK (AP) …

Each week Hot off the Wire looks at a variety of stories in business, science, health and more. This week's headlines include: Many retailers offer 'returnless refunds.' Just don't expect them to talk much about it. Don't wait for a holiday surge. Now is a good time to get your flu and COVID-19 vaccines. The story of how Trump went from diminished …

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has named Susie Wiles, the manager of his victorious campaign, as his White House chief of staff. She would be the first woman to hold the influential role. Wiles is widely credited within and outside Trump’s inner circle for running what was, by far, his most disciplined and well-executed campaign. AM…

Donald Trump looks ahead to his second stint in the Oval Office with a potentially unified government behind him as the Senate has already returned to Republican control and and the House closes in on remaining in GOP hands. Federal Reserve officials are poised Thursday to reduce their key interest rate for a second straight time, responding to a s…

Get a recap of Tuesday's election results that are lead by former President Donald Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. Republicans also captured the Senate and could make it a trifecta if they secure the House of Representatives. In other news: The FBI says there are disinformation videos impersonating the FBI. Economy ranked as a to…

Election Day is here. Voters are gearing up to head to the polls to cast their ballots for either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris in one of the nation’s most historic presidential races. They’ll also be determining which party will control the House and Senate. Seven states will likely determine the winner. SEATTLE (AP) — A strike by 33,000 Boeing fa…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Election Day marks the final chapter in one of the most bewildering, unpredictable and consequential sagas in political history. Now, Americans will choose between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. It may take days to know the final result, which could be just another surprise in a campaign that's been full of them. Quincy Jones has…

Each week Hot off the Wire looks at a variety of stories in business, science, health and more. This week's headlines include: Apple AirPods Pro's new hearing aid feature could help people face a problem they'd rather ignore. Google ad change could affect millions of small businesses. Business owners in disaster areas should be wary of possible sca…

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers added just 12,000 jobs in October, a total that economists say was held down by the effects of strikes and hurricanes that left many workers temporarily off payrolls. The report provided a somewhat blurry view of the job market at the end of a presidential race that has pivoted heavily on voters’ feelings about…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most Americans are feeling a lot of emotions heading into Election Day, but excitement is not one of them. A new poll from The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that about 7 in 10 Americans report feeling anxious or frustrated about the 2024 presidential campaign, and a similar share say they’re interested. Only abo…

Vice President Kamala Harris has delivered her campaign’s “closing argument” from the same spot in Washington where former President Donald Trump helped incite a mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Harris used her address from the grassy Ellipse near the White House on Tuesday to encourage Americans to visualize their alternate futu…

Sen. JD Vance defended the Trump campaign’s Madison Square Garden rally on Monday after critics condemned the racist remarks of some speakers and equated the event to the 1939 neo-Nazi rally that took place in the same venue. “It was a celebration of America,” Vance said during a political rally in Wausau, WI. He dismissed claims that the event was…

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump has hosted a rally featuring crude and racist insults at New York’s Madison Square Garden, turning what his campaign had dubbed as the event where he would deliver his closing message into an illustration of what turns off his critics. PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kamala Harris is seeking to energize voters in Philadelphia, a cr…

Vice President Kamala Harris heads to Texas after stopping in Atlanta, while former President Donald Trump appeared at the Arizona border as well as in Las Vegas with less than two weeks until Election Day. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Four astronauts are back on Earth after a space station mission that lasted almost eight months. A SpaceX capsule c…

ASTON, Pa. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris says she believes Donald Trump “is a fascist” after his longest-serving chief of staff said the former president praised Adolf Hitler while in office and put personal loyalty above the Constitution. In interviews with The New York Times and The Atlantic, John Kelly warned that the Republican nominee me…

DALLAS (AP) — The U.S. government is fining American Airlines $50 million for failing to provide wheelchair assistance to passengers with disabilities and damaging thousands of wheelchairs over a five-year period. The Transportation Department announced the civil penalty on Wednesday. American will only have to pay half of the fine because it is re…

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Israel on his 11th visit to the region since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. He is expected to meet with top officials as the United States looks to revive cease-fire efforts after the killing of top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, but so far none of the warring parties …

With just over two weeks to go before the 2024 presidential election and the race in a dead heat, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are hitting the campaign trail in strategic battleground states. HOUSTON (AP) — Houston authorities are investigating a helicopter that might have crashed into a radio tower, killing four people on board, including a chil…

Each week Hot off the Wire looks at a variety of stories in business, science, health and more. This week's headlines include: Ahead of the presidential election, small biz owners are growing more uncertain about the economy. Missed out on the northern lights Scientists expect more solar storms to produce auroras. US retail trade group expects holi…

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump laced into Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats in a pointed and at times bitter speech as he headlined the annual Al Smith charity dinner in New York. Trump, in remarks that often felt more like a rally speech than a comedy bit, repeatedly criticized Harris over her decision to skip the eve…

HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas man who could be the first person in the U.S. executed for a murder conviction tied to the diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome is facing a lethal injection. Robert Roberson is scheduled to be put to death Thursday evening for his conviction in the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter. Two U.S. states plan to execute convicted …

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are both making pushes to energize key constituencies that their allies worry might be slipping away. The vice president is looking to reach Black men, and the former president is focusing on women. Harris appeared Tuesday at a town hall-style event in Detroit hosted by Charlamagne Tha God. Trump is attending a Fox Ne…

ELLENTON, Fla. (AP) — Florida counties hard hit by Hurricane Milton are returning to a semblance of normalcy with power being restored to most areas, gas stations reopening and students returning to school this week. Still, some neighborhoods remained without power Monday, and neighborhoods with many severely damaged homes and business will take lo…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris is announcing a series of proposals designed to give Black men more economic opportunities as she works to energize a key voting bloc that has Democrats concerned about a lack of enthusiasm. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump is also looking to increase his appeal to both Black and Hispanic voter…

Each week Hot off the Wire looks at a variety of stories in business, science, health and more. This week's headlines include: Don't expect human life expectancy to grow much more, researcher says. As affordable housing disappears, states scramble to shore up the losses. Rita Foley reports on the bickering presidential nominees in the continuing AP…

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organization of survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, for its activism against nuclear weapons. Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said Friday the award was made as the “taboo against the use of nuclear weapons is under pressur…

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Milton is barreling into the Atlantic Ocean after plowing into Florida as a Category 3 storm. It pounded cities with ferocious winds and rains, whipped up a barrage of tornadoes and caused at least four deaths. It compounded the misery wrought by Helene. But it spared Tampa a direct hit. The storm tracked to the south i…

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Milton is churning closer to the west coast of Florida. Some residents are insisting they will ride out the potentially catastrophic storm. The National Hurricane Center predicts Milton will make landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday near the Tampa Bay region, which hasn’t seen a direct hit from a major storm in a c…

Milton has strengthened into a major hurricane on a path toward Florida not even two weeks after Hurricane Helene swamped the state's coastline. Milton is expected to hit the densely populated Tampa metro area, which has about 3.3 million people. Traffic was thick on Interstate 75 heading north Monday as evacuees fled in advance of the Milton. WASH…

Nobel Prize in medicine honors American duo for their discovery of microRNA. Supreme Court taking the bench with ghost guns, a capital case and transgender rights on the docket. Florida prepares for massive evacuations as Hurricane Milton takes aim at major metro areas. North Carolina is distributing Benadryl and EpiPens as yellow jackets swarm fro…

Each week Hot off the Wire looks at a variety of stories in business, science, health and more. This week's headlines include: Cutting food waste would lower emissions, but so far only one state has done it. Taxpayers in 24 states will be able to file their returns directly with the IRS in 2025. Marketing plans are key for small businesses ahead of…

Dockworkers' union suspend strike until Jan. 15 to allow time to negotiate new contract. President Joe Biden is pledging support to those recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Helene. Hurricane Kirk could cause dangerous surf conditions along the US East Coast. Melania Trump says she supports abortion rights, putting her at odds with the GOP…

Florida communities hit three times by hurricanes grapple with how and whether to rebuild. Mayorkas warns FEMA doesn't have enough funding to last through hurricane season. The president could invoke a 1947 law to try to suspend the dockworkers' strike. Here's how. Dockworkers may have the negotiating advantage in their strike against US ports. Pro…

Tim Walz and JD Vance go in depth on policy while attacking each other’s running mates in VP debate. Donald Trump won't participate in interview for '60 Minutes' election special. 11 workers at a Tennessee factory were swept away in Hurricane Helene flooding. Only 5 were rescued. Hurricane Helene's death toll passes 150 as crews search for survivor…

The Israeli military has warned people to evacuate nearly two dozen Lebanese border communities hours after announcing the start of ground operations against the Hezbollah militant group. Hezbollah on Tuesday denied Israeli troops had entered Lebanon but said it was ready to battle them. PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Dockworkers at ports from Maine to Texas …