January 17, 2026 4:14 am
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump says he may punish countries with tariffs if they don’t back the U.S. controlling Greenland. Trump didn’t provide details Friday. Trump for months has insisted that the U.S. should control Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, and said earlier this week that anything less than the Arctic island being in U.S. hands would be “unacceptable.” But the Republican president had not previously mentioned using tariffs to try to force the issue. Earlier this week, the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland met in Washington this week with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
January 17, 2026 4:09 am
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Justice Department is investigating whether Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have impeded federal immigration enforcement through public statements they have made, according to two people familiar with the matter. The investigation focused on potential violation of a conspiracy statute, the people said. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss a pending investigation by name. Walz and Frey both issued statements calling it an attempt to intimidate them. The investigation comes during a weekslong immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and St. Paul that the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest recent immigration enforcement operation.
January 16, 2026 5:21 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks edged a bit lower on Wall Street as the first week of corporate earnings season closes out with markets trading near record levels. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% Friday after a day of wavering between gains and losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.1%. Gains for several big tech companies helped offset weakness elsewhere. A handful of regional U.S. banks reported their earnings following mixed reports from their larger peers. Pittsburgh’s PNC jumped after it beat Wall Street’s fourth-quarter targets, but Regions Financial fell after reporting results that missed forecasts. (Photo: AP)
January 16, 2026 5:23 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal from agrochemical manufacturer Bayer to block thousands of state lawsuits alleging it failed to warn people its popular weedkiller could cause cancer. The justices said Friday they’ll consider whether the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of the Roundup weedkiller without a cancer warning should rule out state court claims. The justices will hear a case from Missouri, where a man developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after spraying Roundup on a community garden. The Trump administration has weighed in on Bayer’s behalf, reversing the Biden administration’s position. Some studies associate Roundup’s key ingredient, glyphosate, with cancer. The EPA has said it’s unlikely to be carcinogenic to humans when used as directed.
January 16, 2026 4:59 am
Bentleyville Borough residents are now looking at a tax increase. Council this week voted unanimously to approve a more than $1.2 million spending plan that resulted after they reopened a budget adopted in December. According to the Observer-Reporter, it includes a one-mill tax increase that would be the first in the borough since 2018. Officials say the borough has operated at a deficit for four of the past five years and a review of that previous budget showed that it would have resulted in a large shortfall. The new budget includes higher wages for borough personnel, including the secretary, police chief and street supervisor. A special meeting will be held January 26 to vote on the new budget, which must be approved by Feb. 15. Newly elected Mayor Adrian Gordon can veto the budget if approved.
January 15, 2026 5:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado says she presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Donald Trump. She described it as a recognition of his commitment to Venezuela’s freedom. Trump confirmed later on social media that she had left the medal for him. Machado met with Trump on Thursday to discuss Venezuela’s future, despite his doubts about her leadership. She greeted supporters after the meeting, expressing confidence in Trump’s support. The meeting comes amid U.S. efforts to control Venezuela’s oil following the capture of Nicolás Maduro. Machado has been a key figure in opposing Venezuela’s ruling party since 2004.
January 16, 2026 5:05 am
Federal immigration agents deployed to Minneapolis have used aggressive crowd-control tactics — including pointing rifles at demonstrators and deploying chemical irritants — actions the government says are necessary to protect officers from violent attacks and growing protests. But law enforcement experts warn these measures are escalating risk and being carried out by agents without extensive crowd-management training. Videos and witness accounts reviewed by The Associated Press show federal agents breaking vehicle windows, pulling occupants from cars and deploying chemical agents such as tear gas and pepper spray during confrontations with protesters. Experts say such tactics, while sometimes justified in targeted arrests, carry heightened risks when used for crowd control.
January 15, 2026 5:08 am
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.S. and Iranian officials faced each other at the U.N. Security Council, where America’s envoy renewed threats against the Islamic Republic despite President Donald Trump’s efforts to lower the temperature between the two adversaries. The U.S. was joined Thursday by Iranian dissidents to rebuke the government’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests that activists say has killed at least 2,637 people. Mike Waltz is the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. He said Trump has made it clear that all options are still on the table to stop the slaughter. Iranian ambassador Hossein Darzi blasted the U.S. for what it claimed was America’s “direct involvement in steering unrest in Iran to violence.”
January 16, 2026 5:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week as U.S. layoffs remain low despite growing concern about a weakening job market. U.S. filings for jobless aid for the week ending Jan. 10 fell by 9,000 to 198,000, down from 207,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The figure was significantly less than the 215,000 that analysts polled by the data firm FactSet were expecting. Applications for unemployment benefits are viewed as a proxy for layoffs. The total number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the previous week ending Jan. 3 declined by 19,000 to 1.89 million, the government said.
January 15, 2026 5:06 am
BEIJING (AP) — China and Canada have pledged to improve relations after years of tension. Chinese leader Xi Jinping told visiting Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday that he is willing to work on better ties. Talks have been underway since their initial meeting in October. Carney is the first Canadian prime minister to visit China in eight years. He says better relations could improve global governance. He has called for cooperation in agriculture, energy, and finance. No announcement has been made on tariffs, which is a sticking point in the relationship. China hopes U.S. pressure will lead Canada to pursue a foreign policy less aligned with the United States.
