August 13, 2026 5:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump plans to highlight his record on crime and safety during a visit to a New York police academy on Friday. The White House says he will release new FBI crime statistics showing a decrease in violent crime for 2025. Trump’s visit is aimed at boosting Republican candidates in closely contested races across his home state. But just how much his presence will help is in question as he faces lagging approval ratings and a deeply unpopular war in Iran with no end in sight. Trump will be joined by Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel in his visit to Nassau County.
August 14, 2026 4:59 am
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A judge has dismissed Nevada’s fake electors case. Thursday’s decision marks the latest setback in swing states’ efforts to prosecute six Republicans who tried to keep Donald Trump in the White House after he lost to Joe Biden in 2020’s presidential election. The Nevada Attorney General’s Office plans to appeal. The six Republicans pleaded not guilty. They include Michael McDonald, the chair of the Nevada Republican Party, and Jesse Law, the former chair of the Clark County
August 14, 2026 5:02 am
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A company that operates a vast nationwide network of automated cameras that record the license plate numbers and other characteristics of all passing vehicles every day is making changes to its platform. The changes announced Thursday by Flock Safety are intended to quell privacy concerns and address documented abuses of its system by some members of law enforcement. They will make what were once optional guardrails mandatory by Jan. 1. Among them: All law enforcement customers will have to implement an audit tool that’s intended to flag abnormal search behavior. The company is increasingly under scrutiny from lawmakers from both parties, civil liberties advocates and citizens across the U.S.
August 14, 2026 5:03 am
NEW YORK (AP) — As summer fades and kids head back to school, the pressure to stand out or fit in with the right footwear is colliding with higher prices. The jump in price is straining family budgets that are already being squeezed by rising costs for food, gas and other essentials, so analysts and retailers say parents and kids are spending more time looking for deals or buying fewer pairs. Michelle Wlazlo, JCPenney’s brand chief executive officer, says families are being choosy when buying back-to-school shoes. Lisa Will, who runs the children’s outdoor footwear company Stonz Shoes, says customers are gravitating toward neutral-colored shoes that can be passed down to younger siblings.
August 14, 2026 4:57 am
HONOLULU (AP) — Forecasters say Tropical Storm Lala has formed in the Pacific Ocean and a hurricane warning has been issued for the Big Island of Hawaii. The National Hurricane Center says the storm could become a hurricane and bring rain to the Hawaiian Islands starting late Friday as well as high winds and dangerous surf. A hurricane warning is in effect for Hawaii County and a tropical storm watch is in place for Maui County including the islands of Maui, Lanai, Molokai and Kahoolawe. The Miami-based center said Thursday that Lala was about 530 miles east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, and about 740 miles east-southeast of Honolulu with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph while moving west-northwest.
August 13, 2026 1:22 pm
(AP) – A Powerball ticket sold in western Illinois has won a $1 billion jackpot. Lottery officials say the ticket that won the jackpot on Wednesday night was purchased at a Hy-Vee gas station in Quincy along the Missouri border. It’s not clear if the winner has come forward yet. The prize can be taken as a $1 billion annuity over 29 years or a lump sum of $450.5 million in cash. Most winners take the lump sum. This is the first jackpot win since May 2. The odds of winning the jackpot are one in 292 million. The Powerball jackpot now resets to $20 million for the next drawing on Saturday. (Photo: AP)
August 13, 2026 1:29 pm
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A company that operates a vast nationwide network of automated cameras that record the license plate numbers and other characteristics of all passing vehicles every day is making changes to its platform. The changes announced Thursday by Flock Safety are intended to quell privacy concerns and address documented abuses of its system by some members of law enforcement. They will make what were once optional guardrails mandatory by Jan. 1. Among them: All law enforcement customers will have to implement an audit tool that’s intended to flag abnormal search behavior. The company is increasingly under scrutiny from lawmakers from both parties, civil liberties advocates and citizens across the U.S. (Photo: AP)
August 13, 2026 4:09 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The battle over the Kennedy Center’s future is escalating. President Donald Trump’s allies on the board voted on Thursday to add his name to the building’s facade so it would read “The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump.” The plaza in front of the building would be named after Trump and most of the space at the venue would be closed for two years to allow for substantial renovations. But a federal judge had ruled in May that Trump’s name was added illegally to the building and the letter had to be removed. The judge also blocked a two-year closure set to take effect July 5.
August 12, 2026 8:50 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Wholesale inflation dropped last month as gas prices reversed some of their Iran war spike and other costs also cooled, a sign that consumer inflation could grind lower in the months ahead. The Labor Department’s producer price index — which captures inflation before it reaches consumers — rose 4.7% in July from a year ago, down from a much larger 5.5% increase in June. On a monthly basis, wholesale prices were unchanged from June to July, after they ticked down 0.1% the previous month.
August 13, 2026 9:44 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. applications for unemployment benefits rose last week, but layoffs remain at historically healthy levels. The Labor Department reported that 209,000 people filed jobless claims last week, up from a revised 200,000 the week before and higher than the 205,000 forecasters had expected. The four-week average of applications, which smooths out week-to-week-volatitlity, was unchanged at 199,000. Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and they’ve been at a historically low range of around 200,000 to 230,000 a week for the past year, suggesting that Americans who have jobs enjoy unusual job security. The U.S. unemployment rate is low at 4.1%.
