Sex, money and power – all three subjects got an airing over the three days of testimony and cross-examination of Michael Cohen in the criminal trial of former President Donald Trump. Trump is accused of illegally covering up a hush-money payment to a woman claiming she had a sexual encounter with Trump; Cohen, known as Trump’s former “...Read more

ATLANTA — Georgia Supreme Court candidate John Barrow could face formal charges for judicial misconduct, which could lead to his removal from the bench if elected, following a federal judge’s ruling regarding Barrow’s campaign focus on abortion rights.

Barrow, a former Democratic U.S. Congressman, is challenging Justice Andrew Pinson, who...Read more

BERKELEY — More wooden pallets and tarps went up around the Anna Head Alumnae Hall on Thursday, creating a makeshift barricade around protesters occupying the dilapidated UC Berkeley building for a second day, while about a dozen tents were erected on the front lawn of the hall.

It was a quiet second day for pro-Palestine demonstration, with ...Read more

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul visited Vatican City on Thursday to hear a climate address from Pope Francis and deliver one of her own.

Hochul, who is Catholic, sat in the first row as Francis spoke in the Clementine Hall, a luminous chamber with walls adorned by intricate Renaissance frescoes, and was invited to greet the pope after his speech.

...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — A group of Jewish students, faculty, parents and alumni at Haverford College have sued the school, alleging it’s discriminating against Jews by tolerating antisemitic speech and failing to support Jewish students amid an anti-Israel climate on campus.

In a federal lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, is not up for reelection, but he’s frequently in the headlines for his boldly casual political style and staunch support for Israel.

The senator isn’t afraid to make waves, and voters seem split on how they feel about that.

Fetterman’s overall favorability rating was at 48%, ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A White House move to withhold audio recordings Thursday did not derail a push from House Republicans to recommend holding Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in contempt of Congress.

President Joe Biden invoked executive privilege over audio recordings of former special counsel Robert K. Hur’s interviews with the president and...Read more

WASHINGTON — The House Armed Services Committee will take up a defense authorization bill next week that would authorize the Pentagon to spend $1.2 billion to increase housing allowance payments for U.S. service members.

If the draft National Defense Authorization Act becomes law with that provision intact — and, more importantly, if ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Mike Johnson said he doesn’t normally get nervous before public speaking. But Thursday morning, surrounded by members of the North Carolina delegation and governor in Statuary Hall, he described a different feeling.

“I am nervous today, can I be honest with you? Because Billy Graham is such a towering figure in my life. As he...Read more

Power is invisible, but its effects can be seen everywhere — especially in the health records of active duty military personnel.

By examining details of 1.5 million emergency room visits at U.S. military hospitals nationwide, researchers found that doctors invested significantly more resources in patients who outranked them than in patients ...Read more

BALTIMORE — Another 24 men and women joined more than 200 other plaintiffs who say Maryland Department of Juvenile Services staff sexually abused them while they were incarcerated in juvenile detention facilities as children.

A new complaint filed Thursday in Baltimore Circuit Court by the New York law firm Levy Konigsberg and Maryland-based ...Read more

ATLANTA — U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, state Rep. Park Cannon and others arrested at the Georgia Capitol during a 2018 demonstration are calling for the state’s highest court to strike down the law under which they were accused of criminally disrupting government work.

Williams and more than a dozen others were arrested during a protest at ...Read more

NEW YORK — Sen. Bob Menendez’s wife Nadine, who’s a key player in the alleged bribery scheme he’s on trial for in Manhattan, has been diagnosed with breast cancer, according to a statement from the senator.

The statement, which Menendez sent out Thursday, came as the powerful 70-year-old N.J. Democrat faces a Manhattan Federal Court ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A clash between police and pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of California, Irvine now includes the mayors of Irvine and Newport Beach.

After his city's police department responded to a request for mutual aid at the Orange County campus Wednesday, Newport Beach Mayor Will O'Neill took umbrage with a social media post ...Read more

BALTIMORE — It’s a right of passage into Mike Locksley’s Maryland football program to participate in the ‘3 H’s’ meeting. Newcomers stand before teammates, coaches and staff to share about their hero, a highlight of their life and a hardship. It’s one of a few crucial Terps mental health touchpoints.

Head coach always goes first. ...Read more

ATLANTA — The grieving family of Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson, killed by a Florida deputy earlier this month, clung tightly to each other on Thursday and called for justice the day before his funeral.

U.S. civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton is among those scheduled to speak at Fortson’s service at 11 a.m. Friday at New Birth ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A Death Valley National Park visitor has stepped forward and taken responsibility for knocking over a 113-year-old salt tram tower last month, claiming it happened during a time of desperation and that there was no intent to harm the historic structure, park officials announced.

"We are grateful to the dozens of people who ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the U.S. consumer protection agency that was created under President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats to protect Americans from financial scams.

By a 7-2 vote, the justices rejected a constitutional claim brought by a coalition of payday lenders who had won before a panel of three ...Read more

A pod of killer whales attacked and sunk a yacht over the weekend between Spain and Morocco in the Strait of Gibraltar — and it's not the first time.

The couple on the yacht said they felt sudden blows to the hull and rudder before the boat started taking on water, according to reports. They alerted authorities and a nearby oil tanker took ...Read more

NEW YORK — Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s longtime fixer-turned-foe, faced a contentious cross-examination Thursday as the former president’s legal team sought to undermine his credibility and motives as the historic hush money trial centered on an alleged payment to porn star Stormy Daniels nears its conclusion.

Defense lawyer Todd ...Read more