AP National

Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky is under no legal requirement to use taxpayer money to cover the costs of gender-affirming surgeries for people incarcerated in state prisons, Attorney General Russell Coleman said Thursday. The Kentucky Department of Corrections requested the opinion from the state’s Republican attorney general as the agency amends its administrative

AP Sports Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — A provision to transfer the land that is the site of the old RFK Stadium from the federal government to the District of Columbia is no longer included in Congress’ slimmed-down, short-term spending bill that lawmakers are racing to pass before a government shutdown. The removal Thursday of that

Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — American farmers, small business owners and wildfire survivors are among those who will suffer if Congress cannot agree on a new spending bill after President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan that included more than $100 billion in disaster aid. The money is urgently needed after Hurricanes Helene

AP Sports Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Sports marketer Max Muhleman, who was credited with the concept of developing the permanent seat license in professional sports and helping the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte Hornets land expansion teams, has died at 88. Muhleman died on Saturday in Charlotte peacefully after battling some heart-related issues, according to

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is warning that Republicans’ decision to abandon a congressional spending plan will cost troops their paychecks over the holidays unless some agreement is reached before Friday’s deadline to prevent a government shutdown. The Pentagon press secretary, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, says even if they don’t get paid, those

Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A businessman with no experience in public office is taking over as mayor of Oregon’s biggest city. Voters elected trucking company executive Keith Wilson as Portland mayor last month after he ran on an ambitious pledge to end unsheltered homelessness within a year. Wilson was sworn in on Thursday

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A Chinese national was arrested Thursday on charges of acting as an illegal agent for Beijing when serving as the campaign manager for an unnamed politician elected to a city council in Southern California two years ago. The arrest of Yaoning “Mike” Sun, 64, came at a time of rising

Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin 15-year-old who shot and killed a teacher and a fellow student Monday was only in her first semester at the school but seemed to be settling in, a school official said Thursday as families of the victims remembered them as people of faith who had deep connections

Associated Press In the first major flex of his influence since Donald Trump was elected, Elon Musk brought to a sudden halt a bipartisan budget proposal by posting constantly on his X megaphone and threatening Republicans with primary challenges. The social media warnings from the world’s wealthiest man preceded Trump’s condemnation of a measure negotiated

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Veteran U.K. Labour Party politician Peter Mandelson will be Britain’s next ambassador to Washington. Mandelson, who served in senior posts in the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, is expected to take up his job early next year. The announcement is due to come on Friday. The news was

Associated Press A debate over the debt ceiling is at the center of a dispute over funding that is pushing Washington to the brink of a federal government shutdown. President-elect Donald Trump has demanded that a provision raising or suspending the nation’s debt limit — something that his own party routinely resists — be included

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says the United States doubled the number of forces in Syria to fight the Islamic State group before the overthrow of President Bashar Assad’s government. The U.S. has said 900 troops were in Syria, but Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, announced on Thursday that 2,000

Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has filed a legal notice that he intends to sue a woman who accused him of sexual harassment. The filing on Thursday accuses former aide Charlotte Bennett of defaming him in a Dec. 9 statement that said the former governor sexually harassed her.

Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — American farmers are hoping that aid to agriculture will be revived as Congress struggles to avert a looming partial government shutdown. A one-year extension of federal farm programs, around $30 billion in economic relief and a break for the ethanol industry were part of a bipartisan deal that collapsed Wednesday