Marc Levy

Moody's strips U.S. government of top credit rating, citing Washington's failure to rein in debt Moody’s Ratings stripped the U.S. government of its top credit rating Friday, citing successive governments’ failure to stop a rising tide of debt.

BREAKING: Moody's strips the U.S. government of top credit rating, saying presidents and lawmakers have failed to reverse rising debts.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (@APnews.com) — Gov. Gavin Newsom wants California to stop enrolling more low-income immigrants without legal status in a state-funded health care program starting in 2026 and begin charging those already enrolled a monthly premium the following year.

MADISON, Wis. (@APnews.com)— A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted a Wisconsin judge accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities, allowing the case against her to continue.

ANKARA, Turkey (@APnews.com) _ The PKK Kurdish militant group announced Monday that it is disbanding and renouncing armed conflict as part of a new peace initiative with Turkey, ending four decades of hostilities.

Alina Habba, interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, said on the social platform X that Baraka committed trespass and ignored warnings from Homeland Security personnel to leave Delaney Hall, an detention facility run by private prison operator GEO Group.

NEWARK, N.J. (@APnews.com) _ Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested Friday at an federal immigration detention center where he has been protesting its opening this week, a federal prosecutor said.

VATICAN CITY (@AP) _ Robert Prevost has been elected the first American pope in history

Pennsylvania House advances bill legalizing recreational marijuana Pennsylvanians 21 or older would be allowed to legally purchase and use marijuana under a bill that has passed the state House on Wednesday.

A legislative chamber in Pennsylvania, for the first time, has passed legislation to legalize the recreational use of marijuana by adults.

Via @apnews.com:

apnews.com/article/penn...

Sen. John Fetterman raises alarms with outburst at meeting with union officials, AP sources say Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was meeting recently with representatives from a teachers union when things quickly devolved.

Sen. John Fetterman had a meeting last week with teachers’ union representatives when it devolved into him shouting and slamming his hands on a desk.

It came the day before a story in which former aides aired concerns about him.

Via @AP:

apnews.com/article/john...

Sen. John Fetterman raises alarms with outburst at meeting with union officials, AP sources say Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was meeting recently with representatives from a teachers union when things quickly devolved.

Sen. John Fetterman had a meeting last week with teachers’ union representatives when it devolved into him shouting and slamming his hands on a desk.

It came the day before a story in which former aides aired concerns about him.

Via @AP:

apnews.com/article/john...

HARRISBURG, Pa. (@AP) _ Pennsylvanians 21 or older would be allowed to legally purchase and use marijuana under a bill that passed the state House on Wednesday, the first time a recreational cannabis proposal has been approved by either legislative chamber.

Trump administration says it'll pay immigrants in the US illegally $1,000 to leave the country President Donald Trump's administration says it's going to pay immigrants in the United States illegally who’ve returned to their home country voluntarily $1,000 as it pushes forward with its mass deportation agenda.

BREAKING: The Trump administration says it will pay immigrants living illegally in the United States $1,000 to leave the country.

WASHINGTON (@APnews.com) _ The Trump administration says it is going to pay immigrants in the United States illegally who’ve returned to their home country voluntarily $1,000 as it pushes forward with its mass deportation agenda.

The planning documents, obtained by the AP, are dated April 29 and 30 and have not been publicly released. They represent the Army’s most recent blueprint for its long-planned 250th birthday festival on the National Mall and the newly added element — a military parade that Trump has long wanted.

WASHINGTON (@APnews.com) — Detailed Army plans for a potential military parade on President Donald Trump’s birthday in June call for more than 6,600 soldiers, at least 150 vehicles, 50 helicopters, seven bands and possibly a couple thousand civilians, The Associated Press has learned.

WASHINGTON (@APnews.com) _ Trump national security adviser Mike Waltz, deputy to depart in first major White House staff shakeup, AP sources say

Officer killed in gunman's Pennsylvania hospital siege was felled by police fire, prosecutor says A prosecutor says an officer killed while responding to a Pennsylvania hospital siege last winter was struck by a shotgun blast fired by police that also hit an armed man holding hostages.

A police officer killed during a hospital siege in Pennsylvania was struck by a shotgun blast fired by another officer that also hit the attacker as he held a zip-tied hospital worker hostage with a gun to her head, a prosecutor said.

Via @apnews.com:

apnews.com/article/penn...

U.S. economy shrinks 0.3% in first quarter as Trump trade wars disrupt business The U.S. economy shrank 0.3% from January through March, first drop in three years. It was slowed by a surge in imports as companies in the United States tried to bring in foreign goods before President Donald Trump imposed massive tariffs.

The U.S. economy shrank by 0.3% in first quarter of 2025, the first drop in three years as Trump's trade wars disrupt businesses.

WASHINGTON (@APnews.com) _ The U.S. economy shrank at a 0.3% annual pace from January through March, the first drop in three years. growth was slowed by a surge in imports as companies in the U.S. tried to bring in foreign goods before President Donald Trump imposed massive tariffs.

KYIV, Ukraine (@APnews.com) — Ukraine is prepared to sign a landmark mineral resources agreement with the United States in Washington on Wednesday, according to two senior Ukrainian officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The push alerts of the first 100 days of the Trump administration | AP News

The Associated Press has moved hundreds of news alerts since President Donald Trump took office for a second time. We used them to tell the often-dizzying story of what Trump did, how some people and courts pushed back and the world's reaction.

The figures reflect a rapidly souring mood among Americans, most of whom expect prices to rise because of the widespread tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. About half of Americans are also worried about the potential for a recession, according to a survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center.

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell 7.9 points in April to 86, its lowest reading since 2020. Nearly one-third of consumers expect hiring to slow in the coming months, nearly matching the level reached in 2009, when the economy was mired in the Great Recession.

WASHINGTON (@APnews.com) _ Americans' confidence in the economy slumped for the fifth straight month to the lowest level since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic as anxiety over the impact of tariffs takes a heavy toll.

Authorities believe crash through Illinois after-school building that killed 4 wasn’t targeted Authorities say they believe a crash through an Illinois after-school building that killed three kids and one teenager wasn’t targeted.

BREAKING: A crash through an Illinois after-school building that killed three kids and one teenager wasn’t targeted, authorities said.

Pennsylvanian news junkies, let’s welcome @timely-writer.bsky.social to this little platform.

A secret note hidden in Dachau-built ‘Violin of Hope’ tells a tale of survival and craftsmanship A violin made in 1941 inside the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau was found to contain a hidden note from its maker, Polish Jewish prisoner Franciszek Kempa.

A violin made in 1941 inside the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau was found to contain a hidden note from its maker, Polish Jewish prisoner Franciszek Kempa.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (@AP) _ The Trump administration said Monday that the University of Pennsylvania violated laws guaranteeing women equal opportunities in athletics by letting a transgender swimmer compete on the school’s women’s team and into team facilities.

Republicans in the toughest swing districts become hard to find for people angry about Trump Republican members of Congress have gone to great lengths to avoid public meetings with their constituents over their two-week Easter recess.

No one answered the phone at US Rep. Scott Perry’s offices.

No one opened the locked district office door.

A voice said through the intercom it didn't have any public appearance information.

How Republicans are avoiding the Trump backlash, via @AP:

apnews.com/article/repu...

ICE deports immigrant mother of an infant and 3 children who are US citizens, lawyers say Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have in recent days deported a Cuban-born mother of a 1-year-old girl, separating them indefinitely.

ICE has deported the Cuban-born mother of a 1-year-old girl — separating them indefinitely — and three children ages 2, 4 and 7 who are U.S. citizens along with their Honduran-born mothers, their lawyers say.

Via @AP:

apnews.com/article/immi...