Here are the AP's top stories and promotable content. All times U.S. Eastern. For up-to-the minute information on AP's coverage, visit AP Newsroom’s Coverage Plan.
…
Join our family of readers for as little as $14.99 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.
Already a member? Log in to continue. Otherwise, follow the link below to join.
Please log in to continue |
Here are the AP's top stories and promotable content. All times U.S. Eastern. For up-to-the minute information on AP's coverage, visit AP Newsroom’s Coverage Plan.
—————————----—
NATIONAL
———----———————
Takeaways from AP report on how Border Patrol monitors US drivers for ‘suspicious’ travel
SUMMARY: The U.S. Border Patrol is monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide in a secretive program to identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious. The Associated Press has found that the predictive intelligence program has resulted in people being stopped, searched, and in some cases arrested. A network of cameras scans and records vehicle license plate information, and an algorithm flags vehicles deemed suspicious based on where they came from, where they were going, and which route they took. Federal agents in turn may then flag local law enforcement. Border Patrol’s parent agency said they use license plate readers to help identify threats and disrupt criminal networks and are governed by “federal law and constitutional protections.”
WORDS: 869 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 5:17 AM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSDigitalCageBorderPatrolTakeawaysstLdWritethru/48a6056d5661c676d33867afe4724464/text___
Border Patrol is monitoring US drivers and detaining those with 'suspicious' travel patterns
SUMMARY: The U.S. Border Patrol is monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide in a secretive program to identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious. The Associated Press has found that the predictive intelligence program has resulted in people being stopped, searched, and in some cases arrested. A network of cameras scans and records vehicle license plate information, and an algorithm flags vehicles deemed suspicious based on where they came from, where they were going, and which route they took. Federal agents in turn may then flag local law enforcement. The Border Patrol’s parent agency said they use license plate readers to help identify threats and disrupt criminal networks and are governed by "federal law and constitutional protections.”
WORDS: 4091 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 5:14 AM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSDigitalCageBorderPatrolrdLdWritethru/9f5d05469ce8c629d6fecf32d32098cd/text___
Multicultural New Orleans awaits arrival of 'Swamp Sweep' immigration crackdown
SUMMARY: New Orleans is warily awaiting a monthslong federal crackdown to arrest thousands of immigrants. Around 250 federal agents are expected to arrive Friday in the city that is a beacon for tourists from around the globe seeking the delight and hedonism of the city's famed Mardi Gras celebrations. Republican Governor Jeff Landry and other state officials have ratcheted up pressure on New Orleans to compel its cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, but Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick says her officers will not participate in the immigration crackdown. Her officers have long been shielded from immigration enforcement by longstanding federal oversight, but that consent decree ended Wednesday.
WORDS: 1060 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 5:04 AM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSFederalEnforcementWhyNewOrleansndLdWritethru/55119a4cf4e6da418e38287cb20c0ef4/text___
Descendants obtain works of enslaved potter in landmark restitution deal
SUMMARY: The family of enslaved potter David Drake — known as “Dave the Potter” — has reclaimed two rare stoneware jars he created in South Carolina before the Civil War in what experts call the first major U.S. art restitution case involving works made by an enslaved person. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston returned the jars under an agreement finalized this month. The family has sold one back so it can remain on public view. For Drake's descendants, the return offers both pride and grief as they reconnect with an ancestor whose signed vessels and poems defied laws barring enslaved people from literacy.
WORDS: 1300 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 12:29 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSEnslavedPotterRestitutionndLdWritethru/c6f3576b538ee7420766bfd38bde4bd8/text___
Arrests now top 250 in immigration crackdown across North Carolina
SUMMARY: Federal agents have now arrested more than 250 people during an immigration crackdown in North Carolina centered around Charlotte, the state’s largest city. Those totals released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security are about double the arrest figures announced earlier this week. The operation that began over the weekend is the latest phase of Republican President Donald Trump’s aggressive mass deportation efforts. Military and immigration agents have converged on Democratic-run cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles. The push to carry out arrests in North Carolina expanded to areas around the state capital of Raleigh in just the last day.
WORDS: 721 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 5:22 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSFederalEnforcementUSCitiesthLdWritethru/84bc76392705dad1ea7d1cfef29ec380/text___
What to know about expanded work requirements about to kick in for SNAP
SUMMARY: SNAP food benefits are flowing again after a pause during the federal government shutdown. But the clock is about to start on a policy that imposes work requirements on more beneficiaries. Many people are already barred from receiving the food aid for more than three months every three years if they're not working, volunteering or taking classes. That requirement is about to kick in for people ages 55 through 64, those with children ages 14 to 18 and other groups. It comes as President Donald Trump's administration is portraying the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as rife with fraud.
WORDS: 622 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 5:02 AM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSFoodAidWhattoKnowstLdWritethru/bf6ee9334591d24f09011e67c22adb0b/text___
Trump administration seeks to roll back protections for imperiled species and their habitat
SUMMARY: President Donald Trump’s administration is moving to roll back protections for imperiled species and the places they live. Trump's Interior Department on Wednesday proposed reviving a suite of changes to Endangered Species Act regulations first made during the Republican’s first term. Those changes were reversed under former Democratic President Joe Biden. Energy companies, ranchers and many Republicans have long viewed the 1973 law as an impediment to development.
WORDS: 793 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 8:08 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSTrumpThreatenedSpeciesndLdWritethru/1e6637e68ebd1bd16493669234e66973/text___
—————————----—
WASHINGTON/POLITICS
———----———————
A bipartisan show of respect and remembrance for Dick Cheney's funeral, absent Trump
SUMMARY: Washington National Cathedral is hosting a bipartisan show of respect and remembrance for Dick Cheney, the consequential and polarizing vice president who became an acidic scold of fellow Republican President Donald Trump. Trump has been publicly silent about Cheney’s Nov. 3 death and was not invited to the funeral Thursday. Two ex-presidents are coming. Republican George W. Bush is set to eulogize the man who served him as vice president, and Democrat Joe Biden plans to attend. Among others delivering tributes are Liz Cheney, the former vice president's eldest daughter, and his longtime cardiologist, Jonathan Reiner.
WORDS: 649 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 3:31 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSCheneyFuneralrdLdWritethru/dca262cd09c2010b3a5d36941c9e513d/text___
Trump signs bill to release Jeffrey Epstein case files after fighting it for months
SUMMARY: President Donald Trump has signed a bill to release files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The president and senior Republicans initially resisted the disclosure, but eventually bowed to political pressure. The legislation, signed Wednesday, requires the Justice Department to disclose all files related to Epstein, including details about his death in federal prison in 2019. The files must be released within 30 days, with some redactions allowed for ongoing investigations. Trump, who had been friends with Epstein, insists he was unaware of Epstein’s crimes and cut ties with him long ago.
WORDS: 444 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 1:26 AM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSTrumpEpsteinndLdWritethru/4872c23a3ed03bf3d4c526581d3aed59/text___
Americans like democracy, but don't believe it or US institutions are working well, poll finds
SUMMARY: A Kettering Foundation-Gallup poll finds that about half of U.S. adults believe democracy is functioning “very” or “moderately” poorly in the United States, while only around one-quarter think it’s doing “very” or “moderately” well. This marks a sharp decline from several decades ago when majorities thought democracy was generally working the way it should. Alongside the widespread disappointment in how democracy is working, the poll also finds that few believe the country’s leaders are committed to democratic governance or think government decisions reflect the will of the people. The survey is part of a project initiated by Gallup and the Charles F. Kettering Foundation that studies how Americans experience democracy.
WORDS: 1039 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 5:01 AM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSPollDemocracystLdWritethru/89a3b60f50adf1fee7d9873d36aa9506/text___
What's next now that Trump has signed bill releasing the Epstein files
SUMMARY: President Donald Trump has signed a bill to compel the Justice Department to make public its case files on the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. It's a potentially far-reaching development in survivors’ yearslong push for a public reckoning over how the well-connected financier sexually abused and trafficked teenage girls for more than a decade. Now that the bill has been signed by the president, there’s a 30-day countdown for the Justice Department to produce what’s commonly known as the Epstein files. The bill will most likely trigger a rarely seen baring of a sprawling federal investigation. It also creates the potential for unintended consequences.
WORDS: 1030 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 7:10 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSEpsteinCongressExplainerstLdWritethru/2dacdb8949433008f47a8b8876f558f0/text___
US Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida indicted on charges of stealing $5M in disaster funds
SUMMARY: U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida has been indicted on charges accusing her of stealing federal disaster funds and using the money to aid her 2021 campaign, the Justice Department said Wednesday. The Democrat is accused of stealing Federal Emergency Management Agency funds that her family’s health care company had received through a federally funded COVID-19 vaccination staffing contract, federal prosecutors said. Some of the money was then used to fund her campaign through candidate contributions, prosecutors say. A phone message left at Cherfilus-McCormick’s Washington office was not immediately returned.
WORDS: 339 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 12:12 AM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSCongresswomanChargedFEMAFundsndLdWritethru/35b99f987380c9509735c45dd36db1c8/text___
New hurdle in Comey case as Trump's Justice Department faces questions about the grand jury process
SUMMARY: The prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey has hit another hurdle. The Justice Department acknowledged in court Wednesday a possible lapse in how the case was presented to a grand jury. The revelation that the full grand jury didn't review a copy of the final indictment came during a hearing where Comey’s lawyers asked a judge to throw out the case on grounds the government is being vindictive. Comey has pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of making a false statement and obstructing Congress. President Donald Trump's Justice Department says Comey was indicted because he broke the law, not because Trump ordered it.
WORDS: 1094 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 5:07 AM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSJusticeDepartmentComeythLdWritethru/b14ef29e6a67876cb82d92fa065e37d3/text___
Judge to proceed with contempt probe after US flew migrants to El Salvador prison in March
SUMMARY: A federal judge says he plans to move ahead quickly on a contempt investigation of the Trump administration for failing to turn around planes carrying Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador in March. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington on Wednesday asked attorneys to identify witnesses and offer plans for how to conduct the probe and said he’d like to start any hearings on Dec. 1. The judge has previously warned he could seek to have officials in the administration prosecuted. On March 15, Boasberg ordered the aircraft carrying accused gang members to return to the U.S., but they landed instead in El Salvador, where the migrants were held at a notorious prison.
WORDS: 720 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 9:07 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSTrumpDeportationsrdLdWritethru/74b496b263ea2a5e0e6a8181f0e5d0d2/text___
Data shows a spike in military aircraft accidents in 2024. This year doesn't look any better
SUMMARY: Internal Pentagon figures show the number of major accidents involving military aircraft spiked in 2024. A series of high-profile aviation mishaps with deaths and the loss of aircraft in 2025 suggest the trend may be continuing. Across the military, the rate of severe mishaps per 100,000 flight hours rose 55% in the 2024 budget year compared with four years earlier. The Marine Corps saw the highest increase, nearly tripling its rate over the same period. The data was released by the Defense Department to Congress and provided exclusively to The Associated Press. It tracks Class A mishaps — the most serious accidents, which result in death or a permanent full disability.
WORDS: 1108 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 12:21 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSMilitaryAviationMishapsndLdWritethru/2734be990a727c43e0344dd39b3f72ca/text___
Care packages and cardstock turkeys: first and second ladies visit Marines and their relatives
SUMMARY: Melania Trump and Usha Vance have marked the Thanksgiving season by visiting with Marine Corps members in North Carolina and saluting the sacrifices of military families. The first lady said Wednesday that they make up “the quiet strength of our nation.” The wives of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance used their first trip together outside Washington to visit with students attending school at North Carolina's Camp Lejeune, the largest Marine Corps base on the East Coast. They delivered upbeat remarks to some 1,600 uniformed, cheering Marines and their families at Marine Corps Air Station New River.
WORDS: 771 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 2:13 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSMelaniaTrumpUshaVancethLdWritethru/e208c5836eb8687f0950ad7625ab3203/text___
Takeaways from Trump's White House meeting with Saudi crown prince: Deals and bromance
SUMMARY: A jovial President Donald Trump has held a warm and friendly meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman at the White House. Trump brushed aside questions about Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, praised the prince for his statesmanship and announced hundreds of billions of dollars in new Saudi investment in the United States. The White House rolled out plenty of pomp for the Saudi royal on Tuesday, including dispatching fighter jets that the two leaders watched from a red carpet. The two leaders had a sitdown in the Oval Office, taking questions from reporters on a wide array of topics, ranging from commerce to the sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets to Riyadh.
WORDS: 1202 - MOVED: 11/18/2025 10:37 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSTrumpSaudiArabiaTakeawaysthLdWritethru/38951aebe5ed6b3bb83530a94382ed82/text___
Indiana lawmaker under pressure to back Trump's redistricting push is victim of a swatting
SUMMARY: An Indiana lawmaker who who has yet to make a decision on whether to back President Donald Trump’s push to have Republicans redraw the state’s congressional boundaries was the victim of a swatting call that brought sheriff’s deputies to his home. The Vigo County Sheriff's Office says deputies were sent to the home of state Sen. Greg Goode on Sunday after they received an email “advising harm had been done to persons inside." Officials say the call was a prank. Earlier Sunday, President Donald Trump criticized Indiana lawmakers for not moving to redistrict the districts, specifically naming Goode and Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray.
WORDS: 555 - MOVED: 11/17/2025 3:22 AM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSElectionRedistrictingIndianandLdWritethru/d25bf28002963cbc66de92721dd86775/text___
—————————----—
INTERNATIONAL
———----———————
Death toll reaches 33 in some of the deadliest Israeli strikes in Gaza since the ceasefire's start
SUMMARY: Israeli strikes across Gaza over a roughly 12-hour period have resulted in the deaths of 33 people. The strikes late Wednesday and early Thursday have been some of the deadliest since Oct. 10 when the U.S.-brokered ceasefire took effect. Hospital officials said that 17 people were killed following four Israeli airstrikes targeted tents sheltering displaced people. Officials at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City said that two airstrikes on a building killed 16 people. Israel said that it responded with strikes after its soldiers had come under fire in Khan Younis. Hamas condemned the strikes and denied firing toward Israeli troops.
WORDS: 870 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 10:57 AM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APMLMideastWarsGazandLdWritethru/07ff40fa5efeed4a944050fec55b279b/text___
U.S. and Russia draw up peace plan for Ukraine that includes big concessions from Kyiv
SUMMARY: The U.S. and Russia have drawn up a plan aimed at ending the war in Ukraine that calls for major concessions from Kyiv. That's according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press. The plan includes granting some demands the Kremlin has made repeatedly since the full-scale invasion began nearly four years ago. It was not clear what, if any, concessions the proposal asks of Russia. The same person confirmed that promises from Moscow of no further attacks are part of the framework. As reports of the plan emerged, blindsided European diplomats insisted they and Ukraine must be consulted.
WORDS: 1005 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 11:30 AM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APEURussiaUkraineWarthLdWritethru/33545b140c5bfbbc5e9061a739802e54/text___
South African president says US wants to reverse its boycott and join the G20 summit
SUMMARY: South Africa's president says the United States government has indicated that it has had a “change of mind” and wants to participate at the Group of 20 summit in South Africa in a reverse of its boycott. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the summit host country had received communication from the U.S. at “the 11th hour” and was now working on the logistics to accommodate the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump had announced that his administration would boycott the two-day meeting of rich and developing nations in Johannesburg that opens on Saturday. Trump has said the U.S. was boycotting over his claims that Ramaphosa’s government is violently persecuting a white minority.
WORDS: 699 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 3:26 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APAFSouthAfricaGndLdWritethru/e41ad9d725d08590d3d9b66244d1b2a3/text___
Nigerian court sentences separatist Nnamdi Kanu to life in prison on terrorism charges
SUMMARY: A Nigerian court has convicted separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu of seven terrorism-related charges, and sentenced him to life in prison. Kanu founded the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which has been accused of terrorism and extra-judicial killings in the country’s southeastern region where the group calls for an independent state. The charges against him included carrying out acts of terrorism and giving guidance on how to make bombs to be used on government facilities. He was re-arrested in 2021 and brought back from Kenya after initially failing to appear in court in 2015.
WORDS: 410 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 12:53 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APAFNigeriaSeparatistLeaderthLdWritethru/9708d396efd89ac07b90b77d02fd96ff/text___
UN atomic agency demands Iran provide full information about its nuclear stockpile
SUMMARY: The U.N. atomic watchdog’s board of governors is demanding Iran fully cooperate and provide the agency's inspectors with “precise information” about its stockpile of near weapons-grade uranium, and also grant them access to the country’s nuclear sites. Nineteen countries on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-member board voted on Thursday to support the resolution, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the outcome of the closed-doors vote. Russia, China and Niger opposed it, while 12 countries abstained and one did not vote. The resolution was put forward by France, the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States. A draft was seen by The Associated Press.
WORDS: 820 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 10:43 AM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APEUIranNuclearthLdWritethru/d66a8ab6147e43bc7f544c76e063db80/text___
On the world’s coldest stage, a military musician plays with a plastic horn and double gloves
SUMMARY: Natalie Paine, a French horn player in New Zealand’s navy, has been stationed in Antarctica on a military posting since October. She practices her music in one of the most remote places on Earth using a plastic instrument that won't freeze to her fingers. Growing up in Adelaide, Australia, Paine dreamed of visiting Antarctica as a scientist but pursued music instead. Years later, she learned that New Zealand military members could be stationed there. After four years of unsuccessful applications, she finally landed a posting. Paine finds inspiration in the wild beauty around her, playing music in her limited free time.
WORDS: 671 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 1:33 AM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APASNewZealandAntarcticaMusicianrdLdWritethru/d7a9f6eb2c0bbe769a5087871752feaf/text___
A corruption scandal pressures Ukraine's Zelenskyy to show greater accountability
SUMMARY: Pressure is mounting on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to take stronger action to show accountability in the face of a corruption scandal presenting the greatest threat to his government since Russia’s full-scale invasion. Zelenskyy has dismissed two top officials and imposed sanctions on close associates after government investigators revealed that $100 million had been embezzled from the country’s energy sector through kickbacks paid by contractors. But that hasn’t quieted the political storm. After more than three years of war in which Ukrainians face regular power outages, corruption in the energy sector isn’t sitting well with the public. Calls are growing for Zelenskyy to remove his chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, who many consider to be Ukraine’s de facto vice president.
WORDS: 978 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 5:05 AM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APEURussiaUkraineWarCorruptionScandalndLdWritethru/01e6310b700b84cd79a80bd9bfb98fd4/text___
Israel's military carries out strikes in Lebanon and Gaza, killing dozens of people
SUMMARY: The Israeli military has carried out airstrikes in southern Lebanon, targeting what it claims are Hezbollah weapons storage facilities. This comes after a drone strike earlier in the day killed one person and injured several others, including students on a bus. Tensions between Israel and militants are escalating. On Tuesday night, an airstrike killed 13 people in a Palestinian refugee camp, the deadliest since a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war a year ago. Israel claims Hezbollah is regrouping in southern Lebanon. Meanwhile, hospitals in Gaza report that Israeli strikes have killed 21 Palestinians.
WORDS: 1283 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 10:24 AM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APMLLebanonIsraelthLdWritethru/84a26c919c2636e6bd8d0a86ae166b3a/text___
Trump says he'll push for peace in Sudan after Saudi crown prince urged greater US involvement
SUMMARY: President Donald Trump says he's turning his attention to helping find an end to the brutal civil war in Sudan. Trump made the declaration on Wednesday after he said he was urged to action by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Trump claims to have ended several wars since returning to office and has openly lobbied for the Nobel Peace Prize. But he admitted he hadn’t given a lot of thought to the fighting in Sudan until he spoke in detail about the civil war with the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia during their White House talks on Tuesday. Trump said he was determined to work with Middle East leaders to end the two-year-old war.
WORDS: 529 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 8:58 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSTrumpSaudiArabiaSudanstLdWritethru/89f15354c0f59f1b03f618eab044161b/text___
—————————----—
BUSINESS
———----———————
Wall Street keeps swinging as US stocks give up most of a big early surge
SUMMARY: The U.S. stock market continues to swing and gave back most of a huge gain from the morning. The S&P 500 jumped as much as 1.9% Thursday after a blockbuster profit report from Nvidia suggested the market’s most influential stock can keep rising, while mixed data on the U.S. job market kept alive hopes that the Federal Reserve can deliver more cuts to interest rates. But it lost most of it and was up by only 0.3% in midday trading as several AI-liniked stocks lost their gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 142 points, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.4%. Treasury yields eased.
WORDS: 934 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 4:41 AM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APFinancialMarketsthLdWritethru/71372f3476dd13c33d316819bf902b17/text___
Verizon is cutting more than 13,000 jobs as it works to 'reorient' entire company
SUMMARY: Verizon is laying off over 13,000 employees as part of a major company reorientation. The cuts began on Thursday, according to a memo from CEO Dan Schulman. He says Verizon's current cost structure limits investment, especially in customer experiences. Verizon had nearly 100,000 full-time employees at the end of last year. A spokesperson confirmed the layoffs account for about 20% of the company's management workforce, which isn't unionized. Schulman, who became CEO last month, has previously emphasized the need for aggressive transformation. Beyond the layoffs in its own workforce, the company also plans to reduce outsourced labor expenses.
WORDS: 461 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 1:57 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSVerizonLayoffsrdLdWritethru/1aa299fc28b8e7211188f9b084d1048c/text___
Starbucks union says 30 more US stores are joining week-old strike
SUMMARY: Starbucks’ union is expanding its week-old strike against the company. Starbucks Workers United said baristas from 30 more stores in 25 U.S. cities planned to join the strike Thursday, including stores in Cleveland; Memphis, Tennessee; Springfield, Missouri, and Albany, New York. That brings the total number of stores with striking workers to 95 in 65 cities. The strike began last Thursday on Starbucks’ Red Cup Day, which is typically one of its busiest days of the year. Starbucks said the strike has caused minimal disruption and Red Cup Day was the strongest in its history. The union is protesting the lack of progress in reaching a contract agreement with Starbucks.
WORDS: 339 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 2:22 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSStarbucksStrike/238835de28ba775f65a669d79e5127e8/text___
Advocacy groups urge parents to avoid AI toys this holiday season
SUMMARY: Children’s and consumer advocacy groups are urging parents not to buy AI-powered toys during the holiday season. These toys, marketed to kids as young as 2, are often powered by AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which have been shown to harm children and teenagers. Fairplay, a children’s advocacy group, warns that AI chatbots can foster obsessive use, explicit conversations, and unsafe behaviors. These toys are often marketed as educational but can disrupt children’s relationships and creativity.
WORDS: 1067 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 12:59 AM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSAIToysthLdWritethru/aa6d829b1aba18e2d1dfedd4cfca8da7/text___
US filings for jobless benefits remained in historically healthy range during government shutdown
SUMMARY: New U.S. jobless claim applications fell last week, remaining within the healthy range of recent years, according to the government’s first weekly layoffs data since before the government shut down on Oct. 1. The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the week ending Nov. 15 fell by 8,000 to 220,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average of claims, which softens some of the week-to-week volatility, fell by 3,000 to 224,250. The total number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the week ending Nov. 8 jumped to 1.97 million, an increase of 28,000 from the previous week.
WORDS: 407 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 1:55 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUnemploymentBenefitsstLdWritethru/cabeb44e6d8285cf9550f35822699477/text___
U.S. employers added surprisingly solid 119,000 jobs in September, government says in delayed report
SUMMARY: U.S. employers added a suprisingly solid 119,000 jobs in September, the government said, issuing a key economic report that had been delayed seven weeks by the federal government shutdown. The Labor Department also said Thursday that the unemployment rate rose to 4.4% from 4.3% in August. The increase in payrolls was more than double the 50,000 economists had forecast. But Labor Department revisions showed that jobs fell by 4,000 in August instead of increasing by 22,000 as originally reported.
WORDS: 955 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 10:50 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSEconomyJobsReportthLdWritethru/bf603d63e13d6dc1083e9a6616c7ffee/text___
Larry Summers takes leave from teaching at Harvard after release of Epstein emails
SUMMARY: Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers has abruptly gone on leave from teaching at Harvard University over recently released emails showing he maintained a friendly relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. That's according to Summers' spokesperson. Summers has been retreating from his public commitments amid the fallout of the emails revelation. Earlier Wednesday, Summers severed ties with OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, and other organizations over the emails. He was also affiliated with multiple think tanks, research centers and media organizations. Several of them confirmed that those affiliations have ended.
WORDS: 890 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 12:45 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSEpsteinSummersthLdWritethru/302a596efd87ab8e725ba8f72eeef84b/text___
Labor Department won't release full October jobs report, a casualty of the 43-day federal shutdown
SUMMARY: The Labor Department said Wednesday that it will not be releasing a full jobs report for October because the 43-day federal government shutdown meant it couldn’t calculate the unemployment rate and some other key numbers. Instead, it will release some of the October jobs data — most importantly the number of jobs that employers created last month — along with the full November jobs report, now due a couple of weeks late on Dec. 16. The department’s “employment situation″ report usually comes out the first Friday of the month. But the government shutdown disrupted data collection and delayed the release of the reports. For example, the September jobs report, now coming out Thursday, was originally due Oct. 3.
WORDS: 486 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 6:54 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSEconomyJobsthLdWritethru/df5739d6e6f0d4c8730f91de252022e1/text___
U.S. trade deficit drops 24% in August as Trump's tariffs reduce imports
SUMMARY: The U.S. trade deficit fell by nearly 24% in August as President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs pushed imports lower. In a report delayed for more than seven weeks by the federal government shutdown, the Commerce Department said Wednesday that the the gap between what the United States buys from other countries and what it sells them fell to $59.6 billion in August from $78.2 billion in July. Imports fell 5.1% to $340.4 billion in August from July when U.S. companies were stocking up on foreign products before Trump finalized taxes on products from almost every country on earth that went into effect Aug. 7.
WORDS: 477 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 3:33 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSEconomyTradeDeficitstLdWritethru/57c700f3906bb10556507c3c56e7e54e/text___
Nvidia earnings clear lofty hurdle set by analysts amid fears about an AI bubble
SUMMARY: Nvidia’s sales of the computing chips powering the artificial intelligence craze surged beyond the lofty bar set by stock market analysts in a performance that may ease recent jitters about a Big Tech boom turning into a bust that topples the world’s most valuable company. The results announced late Wednesday provided a pulse check on the frenzied spending on AI technology that has been fueling both the stock market and much of the overall economy since OpenAI released its ChatGPT three years ago. Nvidia has been by far the biggest beneficiary of the run-up because its processors have become indispensable part of AI technology. The company's stock price rose more than 5% after the quarterly numbers came out.
WORDS: 792 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 6:06 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSNvidiaResultsthLdWritethru/6feaf871d527436f98fbd8d228377b30/text___
—————————----—
HEALTH/SCIENCE
———----———————
As infant botulism cases climb to 31, recalled ByHeart baby formula is still on some store shelves
SUMMARY: Health officials say at least 31 babies in 15 states have been treated for botulism as an outbreak tied to ByHeart formula continues to grow. The company confirmed Wednesday that lab tests found that samples of its formula were contaminated with the type of bacteria that can cause the illness. Investigators in at least three states said the formula remains on some store shelves, despite a Nov. 11 recall of all products nationwide. Infant botulism is a potentially deadly illness. Symptoms can take up to 30 days to develop. The illness requires immediate medical attention.
WORDS: 710 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 8:05 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSMEDInfantFormulaBotulismRecallndLdWritethru/4977df4cfa7eb9330bacba581e84c9c7/text___
NASA unveils close-up pictures of the comet popping by from another star
SUMMARY: NASA is unveiling close-up pictures of the interstellar comet that's making a quick one-and-done tour of our solar system. Discovered over the summer, the comet known as 3I/Atlas is only the third confirmed object to visit from another star. It zipped harmlessly past Mars last month. Several NASA spacecraft at and near the red planet zoomed in on the comet as it passed just 18 million miles away. The closest the comet will come to Earth is 167 million miles in mid-December. Then it will hightail it back into interstellar space, never to return. NASA’s acting astrophysics director, Shawn Domagal-Goldman, said during a news conference Wednesday that getting a glimpse of the comet presents “a fascinating and rare opportunity.”
WORDS: 513 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 8:05 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APUSSCIInterstellarCometndLdWritethru/3cddd6210ba1177d4d0a80c04053190d/text___
—————————----—
CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT
———----———————
UN secretary general urges nations at climate talks to be flexible to get results
SUMMARY: United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is urging countries gathered for climate talks in Brazil to be willing to compromise to deliver results in the fight against climate change. Guterres said it's OK if the conference known as COP30 leads to deals that aren't as strong as some nations want. The talks are scheduled to end Friday, but frequently go longer. Guterres said communities on the front lines of climate change who have lost homes, harvests and livelihoods are wondering how much longer they must suffer — and they demand results.
WORDS: 618 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 3:59 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APClimateCOPstLdWritethru/d11bb47760b94b3f5bdba1f1cb4623dd/text___
K-pop fans' environmental activism comes to UN climate talks
SUMMARY: K-pop is turning up in force at the United Nations climate talks in Brazil, with fans-turned-activists hosting protest and events to mobilize their millions-strong online community to back concrete climate actions. During the conference, known as COP30, costumed protests against fossil fuel funding featured characters from the popular “KPop Demon Hunters” movie, while panels attended by South Korean officials strategized how to engage the K-pop fanbase. The effort to mobilize for collective action mirrors a central message from host nation Brazil for the talks.
WORDS: 678 - MOVED: 11/20/2025 2:01 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APClimateCOPKpop/adeb3e9d000c1b9232a9c4cb010e39a8/text___
—————————----—
RELIGION
———----———————
Ukraine asks Vatican to formalize mediation role for return of citizens taken by Russia
SUMMARY: Ukraine has asked the Vatican to formalize its role facilitating negotiations for the return of Ukrainian children and civilians taken by Russia during the war. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made the request in a letter to Pope Leo XIV ahead of an audience Friday between the pope and a delegation of returned Ukrainian children and civilians. The letter asks that Leo formalize the informal arrangement launched by Pope Francis in which an Italian cardinal served as a personal papal envoy for humanitarian issues. Thousands of Ukrainian children have been officially recorded as deported or forcibly transferred by Russia.
WORDS: 807 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 3:58 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APEURELVaticanUkrainendLdWritethru/c83dc48e3c197a66bb1377bbb50a341a/text___
—————————----—
ENTERTAINMENT
———----———————
Novelist Rabih Alameddine and poet Patricia Smith win National Book Awards
SUMMARY: The 76th annual National Book Awards have been presented by the nonprofit National Book Foundation, with winners including Rabih Alameddine for fiction, Patricia Smith for poetry, and Omar El Akkad for nonfiction. Hundreds of writers, publishers, editors and other industry professionals gathered Wednesday night to see the awards presented in downtown Manhattan. The event included honorary medals for writers George Saunders and Roxane Gay. Actor Jeff Hiller hosted, and Grammy winner Corinne Bailey Rae was the musical guest.
WORDS: 855 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 7:09 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APENTNationalBookAwardsthLdWritethru/0d0f0e04b4eaf3a4d5d99abd689b9559/text___
Lainey Wilson wins entertainer of the year at 2025 CMA Awards
SUMMARY: The 2025 Country Music Association Awards were all about Lainey Wilson. The ‘Whirlwind’ singer hosted and performed at the award show. She also dominated it, winning female vocalist, album and entertainer of the year. Ella Langley's collaboration with Riley Green, “You Look Like You Love Me,” took home single and song of the year. The legendary Vince Gill was presented with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award by George Strait. Zach Top was awarded new artist of the year. The 59th annual CMA Awards were broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. It will become available to stream Thursday on Hulu.
WORDS: 691 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 5:00 AM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APENTMusicCMAsthLdWritethru/5cdeb94d12c71b8be2d6385ea623965d/text___
—————————----—
SPORTS
———----———————
Curaçao and Cape Verde qualify for a super-sized World Cup, but a 4-time champion is on the brink
SUMMARY: A super-sized World Cup has paved the way for tiny Curaçao and Cape Verde to book their places at sport’s biggest global event next year. It was back in 2017 when FIFA announced controversial plans to expand the sport’s flagship tournament from 32 teams to 48 in 2026. Some claimed the expansion was politically motivated. There were concerns about a dilution of quality and drama due to the expanded format. That remains to be seen. But the bumper version of the tournament — staged in the United States, Canada and Mexico — has already created fascinating storylines long before it kicks off next June.
WORDS: 930 - MOVED: 11/19/2025 8:03 PM PST
https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APSOCWorldCupUnderdogsndLdWritethru/3c0b626a4d7fb394ad5888dca9b1a376/text___
<END>
