July 17, 2026 5:06 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has met with accusers of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein following the demand of a Republican senator whose support is crucial to his nomination to lead the Justice Department. Blanche met for about an hour Thursday with a group of Epstein’s accusers at Justice Department headquarters in Washington. After the meeting, he told reporters that he encouraged the accusers to come to the FBI with any information that could help investigators. “It wasn’t all cordial,” Blanche said. One accuser called it a “mere ‘check-the-box’ exercise intended to secure votes for his confirmation.”
July 17, 2026 5:09 am
ATLANTA (AP) — The White House says President Donald Trump’s teleprompter operator is on unpaid leave after reports that he used his inside knowledge to make bets about the president’s speeches on the online prediction market Kalshi. The firm’s enforcement chief said Kalshi contacted federal regulators about bets allegedly made about what Trump would say in speeches. ABC News first reported Thursday that Gabriel Perez used his inside knowledge to win more than $100,000 betting on what the president would say in addresses like the State of the Union speech earlier this year. Perez has been operating Trump’s teleprompter since 2016.
July 17, 2026 5:08 am
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump’s media company is planning to charge for special high-speed access to Truth Social posts, including possibly his own affecting national security and financial markets. The move announced Thursday would allow Wall Street trading firms and other institutions to get news from Truth Social contributors in milliseconds so they can make quick profits off moves in stocks, bonds and interest rates. Called Truth PSI, it would be similar to paid access at other platforms with the difference that the most popular poster is the president himself. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether this is profiting off his office.
July 17, 2026 5:06 am
SHANGHAI (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for more global cooperation in the development and governance of artificial intelligence, while promising support for other countries. Speaking at a conference in Shanghai, he reiterated China’s objections to what he called the “overstretching” of national security concerns. Xi said AI should not be dominated by any single nation. American-led restrictions have blocked China from accessing some of the world’s most advanced technologies, intensifying the rivalry between the world’s two biggest economies. China plans to provide 5,000 AI training opportunities to developing countries over the next five years. Xi also announced the establishment of AI cooperation centers with various organizations in the developing world.
July 17, 2026 5:05 am
LONDON (AP) — Andy Burnham is about to become Britain’s 59th prime minister, following the sudden downfall of Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Burnham has risen through a mix of patience and risk-taking. A decade ago, he left a 20-year climb up the Labour Party ladder to run for mayor of Greater Manchester. He returned to Parliament a month ago by winning a risky special election. Known for his “Manchesterism” approach, he promises to apply a “place before politics” strategy to running the country. Critics question his experience, but supporters highlight his persuasive storytelling, empathy and determination.
July 16, 2026 10:15 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump used a primetime address to the nation Thursday to once again raise doubts about the results of past elections, reviving a subject he’s long used to make unproven claims and deny his loss in the 2020 election. Trump’s speech presented allegations of interference and influence in ways that lacked key context, and did not produce evidence that votes had been manipulated or that the election outcome had been altered. Trump began Thursday night with a stark warning about what he described as flaws in the voting system and said he was releasing previously classified documents related to the 2020 and 2018 elections, when he lost the presidential election and his party suffered losses. No credible intelligence has emerged showing that the vote count in 2020 was manipulated by foreign actors. Repeated audits and reviews – many run by Republicans, including Trump’s own then-attorney general – have found no significant fraud occurred in 2020. He did not raise doubts about his election wins in 2016 or 2024.
July 16, 2026 5:50 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Heavy smoke from wildfires is darkening skies from the U.S. Midwest to the East Coast. The smoke on Thursday prompted warnings that breathing the air outside could be dangerous for people. The smoke is coming from fires that are burning primarily in Canada but also in northern Minnesota. A National Weather Service Meteorologist in Detroit says a lingering high pressure system has trapped the smoke close to the ground. Officials in many cities are urging residents to stay inside or wear masks outside as air quality reaches unhealthy to hazardous levels, meaning it’s unhealthy for anyone, regardless of health conditions. (Photo: AP)
July 16, 2026 5:49 pm
UVALDE, Texas (AP) — Authorities in Texas have rescued dozens of stranded drivers and people trapped in homes and at least one person has died due to catastrophic flooding. Gov. Greg Abbott said during a news conference Thursday there has been “one loss of life” due to the disaster in Texas Hill Country. The region is still recovering from devastating floods a year ago. The National Weather Service says a “deadly flood wave” is barreling down the Guadalupe River that runs alongside Camp Mystic. That’s where two dozen children and two counselors were killed last July. Rivers are rising hour by hour, turning them into fast-moving seas of white water. Abbott has issued disaster declarations for dozens of counties.
July 16, 2026 5:48 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fighting between the U.S. and Iran has intensified. But hopes for a possible diplomatic solution have shown stubborn signs of life. Vice President JD Vance told podcaster Joe Rogan that the U.S. will not indefinitely bomb Iran and that “you’ve got to actually be willing to talk and to try to figure out the problem.” Mediators from countries that include Pakistan, Qatar and Egypt also have been working to resume talks. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said Thursday that the parties eventually “will have to come to the negotiating table to settle all outstanding issues.”
July 16, 2026 5:45 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a first-of-its-kind pill that can drastically reduce cholesterol. The drug cleared Thursday can lower dangerous cholesterol in a way that’s previously only been available with expensive, injectable drugs. The Lipfendra pill from Merck is the first noninjectable option for blocking a liver protein that interferes with the body’s ability to clear cholesterol from the blood. Biotech injectables targeting the protein have been available from other drugmakers for more than a decade. But patient access has been limited by high prices, insurance restrictions and low prescribing by doctors.
