N Carolina Rep. Walker won’t run in ’20, eyes Senate in ’22
RALEIGH, N.C. — U.S. Rep. Mark Walker announced late Monday he won’t run for anything in 2020 — making him the second North Carolina Republican congre...
In Afghanistan, Sen. Graham says US troop drawdown possible
KABUL, Afghanistan — U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said Monday that President Donald Trump may announce an American troop drawdown from Afghanistan before ...
Hallmark’s flip-flop on same-sex ads backfires
NEW YORK — The Hallmark Channel's decision to pull, then reinstate a commercial that featured a same-sex couple kissing shows how controversy can gene...
NJ Assembly passes bill to bar religious exemption for shots
TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey's Assembly on Monday passed a measure to eliminate religious exemptions for vaccines for schoolchildren, but the bill stall...
NJ lawmakers pass marijuana referendum for 2020 ballot
TRENTON, N.J. — A super-majority of New Jersey lawmakers on Monday passed a proposed ballot question to legalize recreational marijuana, putting the r...
Documents sought in case of Saudi student facing gun charge
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A Saudi Arabian student arrested on a federal firearms charge the day before he was scheduled to graduate from the University of N...
10 films make shortlist for Oscars’ best international film
LOS ANGELES — Ten international films, including widely acclaimed offerings from South Korea, Spain and Senegal, are on the shortlist of movies vying ...
3rd night of clashes as Lebanon puts off talks on new PM
BEIRUT — A group of men clashed with security forces in Beirut for the third consecutive night Monday, hours after Lebanon's president postponed talks...
Mississippi man freed months after court rules racial bias
LOUISVILLE, Miss. — A Mississippi man whose murder conviction was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court for racial bias was released from custody Monda...
Hundreds attend funeral for Navy sailor slain in base attack
SAVANNAH, Ga. — One of the young Navy sailors killed in a Saudi gunman's attack at a Florida base had boundless energy and a fierce loyalty to family ...
PG&E, California governor face off in bankruptcy dispute
SAN FRANCISCO — Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will have to quickly overhaul a complex plan addressing more than $50 billion in wildfire claims to gai...
Boeing to halt production of 737 Max airliner in January
CHICAGO — Boeing Co. said Monday that it will temporarily stop producing its grounded 737 Max jet starting in January as it struggles to get approval ...
Immigrants seeking driver’s licenses line up across New York
ALBANY, N.Y. — Bundled in winter jackets, immigrants lined up at some Department of Motor Vehicle offices throughout New York as the state began issui...
Democrats lay out case for Wednesday Trump impeachment vote
WASHINGTON — House Democrats laid out their impeachment case against President Donald Trump on Monday, a sweeping report accusing him of betraying the...
Democratic leaders push to end labor dispute and save debate
Democratic officials are pushing for an end to a labor dispute that threatens the party's sixth presidential primary debate, scheduled for Thursday on...
Spending deal ends two-decade freeze on gun safety research
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan deal on a government spending bill would for the first time in two decades provide money for federal research on gun safety....
Budget deal puts access to health care above curbing costs
WASHINGTON — The bipartisan budget deal announced in Congress protects access to health care under the Affordable Care Act but it also ditches one of ...
California killer Lawrence Bittaker dies in prison at 79
SAN QUENTIN, Calif. — Lawrence Sigmond Bittaker, one of the “Tool Box Killers" who preyed on teenage girls in Southern California 40 years ago, has di...
2019 Breakthrough Entertainer: Florence Pugh owns the year
LOS ANGELES — By the end of 2019 on big screens across the globe, actress Florence Pugh will have body-slammed a famous wrestler in “Fighting with My ...
Breakthrough Entertainer: Megan Thee Stallion feels grateful
NEW YORK — Megan Thee Stallion's schedule has become so frenetic that she can spend days, or even longer, away from home, in a different city every ni...
The AP names its Breakthrough Entertainers of 2019
The dictionary defines “breakthrough” as a “sudden advance,” but the Associated Press' Breakthrough Entertainers of the Year spent lots of time prepar...
Once affordable, Phoenix rents among fastest rising in US
PHOENIX — Aspen Day-Flynn and her boyfriend, Travis Tolin, were thinking of moving back to her native Washington state this fall when their Phoenix la...
Convicted in massacre, Suriname’s leader hangs on tight
PARAMARIBO, Suriname — Zahara Kamperveen laid white lilies before a glossy black plaque, then gently touched the name of her grandfather, a radio-stat...
Weinstein: Sex assault charges have made me ‘forgotten man’
NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein defended himself as a pioneer in advancing the careers of women in the film industry in the wake of scores of sexual misco...
Paid parental leave for fed workers could spur wider changes
WASHINGTON — The federal government’s 2.1 million employees will get paid parental leave for the first time, a galvanizing moment in the growing movem...
Mexico reaffirms rejection of US labor inspectors
MEXICO CITY — Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said Monday he does not feel tricked by the insertion of a provision for labor inspectors in le...
Liz Weston: How to make your money biases work for you
The way our brains work can cost us a lot of money. But some of our mental quirks can be turned to our advantage.
Stocks rise on Wall Street as rally stretches to fourth day
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks rallied in morning trading on Monday, rising with European and several Asian markets after China reported surprisingly strong s...
FBI: 19-year-old arrested, charged in Houston mercury spill
HOUSTON — A 19-year-old man has been arrested after trace amounts of mercury spilled at three locations in Houston, leading dozens of people to be dec...
Audubon’s annual Christmas Bird Count stronger than ever
Ít's been 120 years since New York ornithologist Frank Chapman launched his Christmas Bird Count as a bold new alternative to what had been a longtim...