Cattle at the Wysocki Dairy CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation) in Armenia, Wisc. in late October. ] Aaron Lavinsky • aaron.lavinsky@s

Iowa environmental groups ask EPA to step in and protect drinking water

Inspired by a successful campaign in Minnesota, the groups want the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to intervene to prevent agricultural runoff from polluting water in northeast Iowa.

12 jurors have been picked for Donald Trump's hush money trial. Selection of alternates is ongoing

April 18
FILE - Former President Donald Trump returns to the courtroom after a recess at Manhattan criminal court, April 16, 2024, in New York. Jury selection
A jury of 12 people was seated Thursday in former President Donald Trump's history-making hush money trial, propelling the proceedings closer to opening statements and the start of weeks of dramatic testimony.

Rep. Omar's daughter arrested, suspended from college for pro-Palestinian protests

April 18
Isra Hirsi, 16, of Minneapolis, co-director and co-founder of U.S. Youth Climate Strike, spoke during the rally at the Capitol.
Rep. Omar had questioned Columbia University's president about campus protests a day earlier.
Business
April 18

Finding an apartment may be easier for California pet owners under new legislation

California pet owners struggling to find a rental that accepts their furry, four-legged family members could have an easier time leasing new housing under proposed state legislation that would ban blanket no-pets policies and prohibit landlords from charging additional fees for common companions like cats and dogs.
Nation
April 18

The Latest | Iran says air defense batteries fire after explosions reported near major air base

Iran fired air defense batteries Friday reports of explosions near a major air base at the city of Isfahan, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. It remained unclear if the country was under attack, but tensions remain high after Iran's unprecedented missile-and-drone attack on Israel. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nation
April 18

Chicago's response to migrant influx stirs longstanding frustrations among Black residents

The closure of Wadsworth Elementary School in 2013 was a blow to residents of the majority-Black neighborhood it served, symbolizing a city indifferent to their interests.
Nation
April 18

AP Week in Pictures: Latin America and Caribbean

April 12 - 18, 2024
Nation
April 18

Reality TV's Chrisleys are appealing their bank fraud and tax evasion convictions in federal court

Reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who are in prison after being convicted on federal charges of bank fraud and tax evasion, are challenging aspects of their convictions and sentences in a federal appeals court.
Nation
April 18

Jury selection could be nearing a close in Donald Trump's hush money trial in New York

A third panel of potential jurors will be questioned Friday in Donald Trump's hush money case, drawing jury selection a step closer to completion in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president.
Nation
April 18

12 students and teacher killed at Columbine to be remembered at 25th anniversary vigil

The 12 students and one teacher killed in the Columbine High School shooting will be remembered Friday in a vigil on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the tragedy.
Nation
April 18

Emergency rooms refused to treat pregnant women, leaving one to miscarry in a lobby restroom

One woman miscarried in the restroom lobby of a Texas emergency room as front desk staff refused to admit her. Another woman learned that her fetus had no heartbeat at a Florida hospital, the day after a security guard turned her away from the facility. And in North Carolina, a woman gave birth in a car after an emergency room couldn't offer an ultrasound. The baby later died.
Business
April 18

Bitcoin's next 'halving' is right around the corner. Here's what you need to know

Sometime in the next few days or even hours, the ''miners'' who chisel bitcoins out of complex mathematics are going to take a 50% pay cut — effectively slicing new production of the world's largest cryptocurrency in half.
Nation
April 18

Today in History: April 19, 80 killed in Waco Siege, 168 killed in Oklahoma City bombing

Today is Friday, April 19, the 110th day of 2024. There are 256 days left in the year.
Nation
April 18

UN approves an updated cholera vaccine that could help fight a surge in cases

The World Health Organization has approved a version of a widely used cholera vaccine that could help address a surge in cases that has depleted the global vaccine stockpile and left poorer countries scrambling to contain epidemics.
Nation
April 18
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., and the House Republican leadership meet with reporters following a closed-door Republican strategy session

House leaders toil to advance Ukraine and Israel aid. But threats to oust speaker grow

House congressional leaders were toiling Thursday on a delicate, bipartisan push toward weekend votes to approve a $95 billion package of foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as well as several other national security policies at a critical moment at home and abroad.
Sports
April 18

Unfair labor complaint filed against Notre Dame over athletes

An unfair labor complaint was filed Thursday against the University of Notre Dame for classifying college athletes as ''student-athletes.''
Business
April 18

Google is combining its Android software and Pixel hardware divisions to more broadly integrate AI

Google will combine the software division responsible for Android mobile software and the Chrome browser with the hardware division known for Pixel smartphones and Fitbit wearables, the company said Thursday. It's part of a broader plan to integrate artificial intelligence more widely throughout the company.
Nation
April 18

Pennsylvania House Dems propose new expulsion rules after remote voting by lawmaker facing a warrant

Pennsylvania House Democrats on Thursday proposed a process to determine if state representatives are ''incapacitated'' and to sanction or expel them, moving in the wake of intense criticism after one of their members voted remotely this week while being sought on charges he violated a restraining order.
Nation
April 18

US deports about 50 Haitians to nation hit with gang violence, ending monthslong pause in flights

The Biden administration sent about 50 Haitians back to their country on Thursday, authorities said, marking the first deportation flight in several months to the Caribbean nation struggling with surging gang violence.
Business
April 18

Nevada Supreme Court rulings hand setbacks to gun-right defenders and anti-abortion activists

Nevada's Supreme Court upheld a state ban on ghost guns Thursday, overturning a lower court's ruling that sided with a gun manufacturer's argument that the 2021 law regulating firearm components with no serial numbers was too broad and unconstitutionally vague.
Nation
April 18

Iraq's prime minister heads to Michigan to meet Arab Americans at a tense time for the Middle East

The leader of Iraq traveled to Michigan on Thursday following a sit-down with President Joe Biden to meet with the state's large Iraqi community and update them on escalating tensions in the Middle East following Iran's weekend aerial assault on Israel.
Nation
April 18

Hawaii Supreme Court chides state's legal moves on water after deadly Maui wildfire

The Hawaii attorney general's office must pay attorney fees for using last year's Maui wildfire tragedy to file a petition in ''bad faith'' that blamed a state court judge for a lack of water for firefighting, Hawaii's Supreme Court ruled.
Business
April 18

Biden administration moves to make conservation an equal to industry on US lands

The Biden administration on Thursday finalized a new rule for public land management that's meant to put conservation on more equal footing with oil drilling, grazing and other extractive industries on vast government-owned properties.

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