AP-National

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Thursday formally moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a historic shift in generations of U.S. drug policy. A proposed rule sent to the federal register recognizes the medical uses of cannabis and acknowledges it has less potential for abuse than

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota state trooper who’s charged with murder for fatally shooting a motorist as he tried to pull away from a traffic stop is set to go on trial in September. Trooper Ryan Londregan not guilty Wednesday in the death of Ricky Cobb II. It was the first hearing in the case

By ZENEL ZHINIPOTOKU and LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo’s government is making a last-minute effort to convince Western powers to vote on whether to admit the country as a new member in the Council of Europe, the continent’s top human rights body. Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla-Schwarz in a letter on Thursday

By JEFF MARTIN and CURT ANDERSON Associated Press STONECREST, Ga. (AP) — A lawyer for the family of Roger Fortson said Thursday that police radio traffic and the body camera footage of the Florida sheriff’s deputy who killed the Black U.S. Air Force airman reinforce their assertion that the deputy was directed to the wrong

By MIKE CATALINI and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Sen. Bob Menendez says his wife has breast cancer and will require a mastectomy, a revelation made just as the presentation of evidence began at his New York bribery trial. The New Jersey Democrat said in a statement Thursday there was concern about

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin election officials have voted to provide more details to voters than normal to avoid confusion about a ballot that will have both a special and regular election for a vacant congressional seat. The rare anomaly for the 8th Congressional District is due to the timing

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Martin Gruenberg is sitting for a second day of grilling on Capitol Hill, this time at the Senate Banking Committee, after a damning report about the agency’s toxic workplace culture was released last week. The hearing largely Thursday focused on FDIC workplace

By STEPHEN GROVES and SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The House delivered a rebuke to President Joe Biden Thursday for pausing a shipment of bombs to Israel, passing legislation that seeks to force the weapons transfer as Republicans worked to highlight Democratic divisions over the Israel-Hamas war. Seeking to discourage Israel from

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. fell for the second straight week, giving some relief to home shoppers already facing sky-high prices and a shortage of supply. The average 30-year rate fell to 7.02% from 7.09% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — In an increasingly vitriolic political climate, the last thing needed in the runup to the June European Union elections was an assassination attempt on one of the bloc’s most controversial figures. As Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico lay recovering from Wednesday’s attack, the sheer violence of five

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Authorities say human bones found inside the chimney of a Wisconsin music store in 1989 have been identified as those of a man whose last known contact with relatives was in 1970. The DNA Doe Project announced this week the bones are those of Ronnie Joe Kirk, who was originally from

By BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA and SAM METZ Associated Press TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Lawyers in Tunisia took to the streets on Thursday to protest a string of recent arrests that have convulsed the country over the past week and provoked international outcry. The demonstration in the North African country’s capital came days after two lawyers

By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a conservative-led attack that could have undermined the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The justices ruled 7-2 that the way the CFPB is funded does not violate the Constitution, reversing a lower court and drawing praises from consumers. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote

By RYAN KRYSKA AP Sports Writer EA Sports revealed a release date of the College Football 25 video game on Thursday and a cover image that features Michigan running back Donovan Edwards, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers and Colorado two-way player Travis Hunter. The game will launch July 19 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X’S.

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The Webb Space Telescope has discovered the earliest known merger of black holes. These two gigantic black holes and their galaxies consolidated just 740 million years after the universe-forming Big Bang. It’s the most distant detection ever made of merging black holes, scientists reported

By STEVE LeBLANC, KATHY McCORMACK and MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts teen who participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge on social media died from eating a large quantity of chile pepper extract and also had a congenital heart defect, according to autopsy results obtained by The Associated Press. Harris Wolobah,

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer Drake is the leading nominee for next month’s BET Awards, followed closely by Nicki Minaj. The Canadian rapper received seven nominations Thursday, including an album of the year nod for “For All the Dogs.” Minaj received six nominations, including for album of the year for her highly anticipated “Pink

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Xander Schauffele saw no reason to change anything in his swing or think any less of his game after yet another close call at ending two years without winning. The idea was to “keep chugging along.” Thursday looked more like a sprint, right into the

By SUZAN FRASER Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A Turkish court has sentenced several pro-Kurdish politicians to between nine and 42 years in prison over deadly riots that broke out in 2014 after Islamic State group militants besieged the Syrian border town of Kobani. The rioting by Kurds resulted in 37 deaths and left

By JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A majority of European Union countries are calling for more agreements with countries where migrants depart from or travel through to get to Europe, saying the bloc needs to think outside the box to tackle irregular migration into the 27-member bloc. The call by 15

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the association representing athletic directors of Football Bowl Subdivision schools is stepping down this fall after more than eight years as president and CEO. Tom McMillen has led LEAD1 since 2015 and will remain in his position through June 30 and transition to a part-time role through Sept. 30.

By WILL GRAVES AP National Writer SPRING, Texas (AP) — Simone Biles is not “cured.” Let’s start there. A cure implies finality. An ultimate and decisive victory. If the gymnastics superstar has learned anything in the three years since those strange, uncertain days in Tokyo when she put her mental health and personal safety ahead

MADRID (AP) — Spanish police say they have dismantled a major methamphetamine distribution network of the Mexican Sinaloa cartel after making a bust of 1.8 tons of the illegal drug. Spain’s National Police called it the largest confiscation of methamphetamines ever made in the country and the second largest in Europe. Police said they arrested

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — To say Cage the Elephant’s latest album had a turbulent birth would be an understatement. The band dealt with the deaths of loved ones, the pandemic and their lead singer’s arrest and hospitalization. Matt Shultz was arrested for criminal possession of firearms and learned he’d

By TERESA CRAWFORD Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Police have dismantled a pro-Palestinian encampment at DePaul University in Chicago. The move on Thursday comes less than a week after the school’s president said public safety was at risk. The chief of patrol for the Chicago Police Department says all the protesters “voluntarily left” the encampment

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani officials say imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan has appeared before a top court via video link, his first such appearance since he started serving his sentence for corruption last August. Thursday’s hearing was about Khan’s appeal in another case, dealing with graft laws. His party says he did not get

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week as layoffs remain at historically low levels even as other signs that the labor market is cooling have surfaced. Jobless claims for the week ending May 11 fell by 10,000 to 222,000, down from 232,000 the week before, the Labor Department

By FARNOUSH AMIRI, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Two House committees have moved ahead with contempt charges against Attorney General Merrick Garland for refusing to turn over audio from President Joe Biden’s interview with a special counsel. The votes Thursday follow the White House’s decision to block the release

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Police in Nigeria say at least eight worshippers were killed and 16 others injured in northern Nigeria’s Kano state after a man with a locally made explosive attacked the mosque where they were praying early Wednesday morning. A police spokesman said the suspect, a 38-year-old local

By LUIS ANDRES HENAO Associated Press HAVANA (AP) — The 1959 Castro-led revolution installed an atheist, Communist government that sought to replace the Catholic Church as the guiding force in the lives of Cubans. But 65 years later, religion seems omnipresent in Cuba, in dazzling diversity. The bells toll on Catholic churches and the call