March 25, 2026 4:53 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has received a 15-point plan from the United States for a possible ceasefire even as Washington is beginning to move paratroopers to the Mideast. They will back up a contingent of Marines heading there on Wednesday. Iran’s military scoffed at the diplomatic effort and launched more attacks on Israel and the Persian Gulf region, including an assault that sparked a fire at Kuwait International Airport. Iran, which says there are no talks with the U.S., says that Washington is in no position to negotiate. Exact details have not been released, but the U.S. ceasefire plan touches on sanctions relief, civilian nuclear cooperation and access for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
March 25, 2026 4:58 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The acting head of the Transportation Security Administration says it may have to shut down operations at some airports as travelers are experiencing record waiting times. In testimony Wednesday before a House committee, Ha Nguyen McNeill described the mounting hardships facing unpaid airport workers and warned of potential airport closures. Bills and eviction notices are piling up, and some workers are resorting to plasma donations to make ends meet. Her appearance on Capitol Hill comes as the latest offer to end a funding impasse and put restraints on President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda is running into fierce resistance. But there appears to be no end in sight on the 40th day of the stalemate involving the Department of Homeland Security.
March 25, 2026 5:00 am
Democrat Emily Gregory won a Florida special election on Tuesday, flipping a state legislative district that is home to Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach estate that President Donald Trump counts as his residence. The president had endorsed Gregory’s rival, Jon Maples. In a social media post Monday, he urged voters to turn out, saying Maples was backed “by so many of my Palm Beach County friends.” Democrats celebrated the victory as the latest sign voters are turning against Trump and Republicans ahead of the midterm elections in November. Tuesday was the latest in a series of lopsided or improbable victories in special elections across the country since Trump returned to the White House more than a year ago. The district was previously represented by Mike Caruso, a Republican who resigned to become Palm Beach County’s clerk. Caruso won by 19 percentage points in 2024.
March 25, 2026 5:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Minnesota officials sued the Trump administration on Tuesday for access to evidence they say they need to independently probe three shootings by federal officers, including the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. The lawsuit claims that the federal government reneged on its promise to cooperate with state investigations after the surge of federal law enforcement in Minneapolis, and are seeking a court order demanding that the Trump administration comply. The lawsuit said the federal government is not permitted to “withhold investigative evidence for the purpose of shielding law enforcement officers from scrutiny.”
March 25, 2026 4:56 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The jump in gas prices stemming from the war in Iran has had another impact that may also affect many Americans’ finances: Higher interest rates. Longer-term interest rates have risen quickly since the war began Feb. 28, pushing up the cost of mortgage loans, auto loans, and business borrowing. And with inflation measures likely to rise in the coming months, the prospect of interest rate cuts this year by the Federal Reserve is fading. Wall Street investors instead see the odds rising of an actual rate hike instead.
March 25, 2026 5:49 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A jury has found Meta and YouTube liable in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit that aimed to hold social media platforms responsible for harm to children using their services. The decision Wednesday came after more than 40 hours of deliberation across nine days and more than a month since jurors heard opening statements in the trial. The plaintiff is a 20-year-old woman identified as KGM in documents and her lawyers called her Kaley during the trial. She says she became addicted to social media as a child and that this addiction exacerbated her mental health struggles. The companies must pay her a total $6 million in damages.
March 24, 2026 4:55 am
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico jury finds that social media conglomerate Meta is harmful to children’s mental health and in violation of state consumer protection law. The jury announced its verdict Tuesday as another jury deliberates a similar case in California against Meta, which owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp. State prosecutors said Meta prioritized profits over safety in violation of the state’s Unfair Practices Act and failed to adequately monitor the platforms for child sexual exploitation. Attorneys for Meta say company discloses risks and makes efforts to weed out harmful content and experiences, but that some bad material gets through its safety net. A Meta spokesperson says the company will appeal.
March 24, 2026 2:48 am
A Fayette County high school teacher is facing criminal charges, accused of having inappropriate contact with a minor. State Police said in a release that an investigation began Monday when troopers received a report about inappropriate contact between an adult and a minor. During the investigation, troopers identified the accused adult as Daniel Cervone of Monongahela served as a Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) instructor at Laurel Highlands High School. Cervone was taken into custody on Tuesday and charged with institutional sexual assault, corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a minor. The complaint states the victim told police she had a sexual relationship with Cervone in 2020 and claimed she spent “copious amounts of time” in his office on a “regular weekly basis” and had sex inside the high school once. The complaint goes on to say that after Cervone was taken into custody, he “confessed to the allegations which were made against him,” including having sex with a student on school property. Cervone’s arrest comes days after a different Laurel Highlands School District teacher was charged with attempted sexual assault, unlawful contact with minors and corruption of minors. (Photo: Fayette County DA Office)
March 24, 2026 1:33 pm
(AP) – The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether mail ballots that arrive after Election Day should be counted. If the justices decide they should not be, it would leave little time for election officials and voters to adapt. Some election officials said some material related to November’s midterm elections has already been printed. Others said informing voters of the change would be the biggest hurdle, to ensure they are not disenfranchised. In 14 states, all mail ballots will be counted if sent by Election Day and received within a certain period of days. Another 15 states have grace periods for military and overseas ballots. (Photo: AP)
March 24, 2026 1:20 pm
(AP) – President Trump has cast another mail ballot in Florida as he continues to publicly bash the voting method as a source of fraud and push Congress to curtail the practice. Palm Beach County voter records show the president voted by mail in a Tuesday special election for state legislative seats and that his ballot has been counted. Early in-person voting in the contest ran through Sunday, when Trump was still at his south Florida estate. The White House did not immediately return a request for comment. Aides have said Trump’s ire is directed at states using universal mail-in voting, not individual voters who may not be able to get to a polling place.
