Stories by Associated Press

Wisconsin quarterback Tanner Mordecai (8) throws during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Buffalo Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo / Morry Gash)

Arrivals of West Coast Schools Could Cause Big Ten to Depart From Its Traditional Smashmouth Football Style

No Power Five conference has tended to rely more on defense and the running game than the Big Ten. The arrival of Southern California, UCLA, Oregon and Washington next year just might change that.

Three people sit with a sign at a Campbell County, Wyo., Library Board meeting, July 23, 2023, in Gillette, Wyo. (Ed Glazar / Gillette News Record via AP)

Conservative Book Ban Push Fuels Library Exodus From Chicago-Based American Library Association

This summer, the state libraries in Montana, Missouri and Texas and the local library in Midland, Texas, announced they’re leaving the ALA, with possibly more to come. Right-wing lawmakers in at least nine other states demand similar action.

 The U.S. Capitol is seen on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo / Mariam Zuhaib, File)

Congress Returns to Try to Prevent a Government Shutdown While GOP Weighs Biden Impeachment Inquiry

A short-term funding measure to keep government offices fully functioning will dominate the September agenda, along with emergency funding for Ukraine, federal disaster funds and the Republican-driven probe into Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings.

UPS teamsters and workers hold a rally, Friday, July 21, 2023, in Atlanta, as a national strike deadline nears. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

From Strikes to New Union Contracts, Labor Day’s Organizing Roots Are Especially Strong Across the Country This Year

The early-September tribute to workers has been an official holiday for almost 130 years — but an emboldened labor movement has created an environment closer to the era from which Labor Day was born. 

FILE - Books are displayed on a free library shelf inside the classroom of Richard Evans, a teacher at Hyde Park Elementary School, on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022, in Niagara Falls, N.Y. (Joshua Bessex / AP Photo, File)

Children Hit Hardest by the Pandemic Are Now the Big Kids at School. Many Still Need Reading Help

Nationally, students suffered deep learning setbacks in reading and math during the pandemic. Last year’s third-graders, the kids who were in kindergarten when the pandemic started, lost more ground in reading than kids in older grades and were slower to catch up.

FILE - Jimmy Buffett performs at the after party for the premiere of “Jurassic World” in Los Angeles, on June 9, 2015. (Matt Sayles / Invision / AP, File)

‘Margaritaville’ Singer Jimmy Buffett, Who Turned Beach-Bum Life Into an Empire, Dies at 76

Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who popularized beach bum soft rock with the escapist Caribbean-flavored song “Margaritaville” and turned that celebration of loafing into a billion-dollar empire of restaurants, resorts and frozen concoctions, has died.

Fans leave the ballpark as police respond to a shooting that took place at Guaranteed Rate Field on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023, in Chicago. Police are investigating a shooting at a White Sox baseball game at the stadium Friday night. Police said the investigation is ongoing. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere / Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

White Sox Owner Jerry Reinsdorf Says He Doesn’t See How Shooting Could Have Occurred Inside Ballpark

Two women were injured in a shooting during the team’s 12-4 loss to Oakland last week. Chicago police are investigating what happened, including whether the gun was fired inside or outside of the facility.

Law enforcement agents respond to the scene of a shooting late Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023 in Peoria, Ill. Several people were shot and two of them were in critical condition, police said. (WEEK/WHOI via AP)

5 People Shot and Wounded, 2 Critically, in Peoria

The shooting happened at around 9 p.m. Wednesday, police said in a news release, noting that 29 shots were fired. 

Members of the Tampa Fire Rescue Dept., remove a street pole after large awnings from an apartment building blew off from winds associated with Hurricane Idalia Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, in Tampa, Fla. Idalia made landfall earlier this morning along the Big Bend of the state. (AP Photo / Chris O’Meara)

Hurricane Idalia Unleashes Fury on Georgia and Florida, Swamping the Coast and Closing Highways

As the eye moved inland, high winds shredded signs, blew off roofs, sent sheet metal flying and snapped tall trees. One person was killed in Georgia. No hurricane-related deaths were officially confirmed in Florida, but the Florida Highway Patrol reported two people dying in separate weather-related crashes just hours before Idalia made landfall.

Julie Su, Acting Labor Secretary, speaks during an impromptu appearance at the “Democracy for the People” tour, a race and democracy summit sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus, Wednesday, July 28, 2023, in Houston. (AP Photo / Michael Wyke, File)

3.6 Million More Workers Would Be Entitled to Overtime Pay Under Proposed Biden Administration Rule

The new rule would require employers to pay overtime to so-called white collar workers who make less than $55,000 a year. That’s up from the current threshold of $35,568. 

FILE - A turtle pokes its nose out of the water in the wetlands inside Sugar Hollow Park in Bristol, Va., June 12, 2023. (Emily Ball / Bristol Herald Courier via AP, File)

After Supreme Court Curtails Federal Power, Biden Administration Weakens Clean Water Protections

The Biden administration weakened regulations protecting millions of acres of wetlands, saying it had no choice after the Supreme Court sharply limited the federal government’s jurisdiction over them. It’s a policy shift that departs from a half-century of federal rules governing the nation’s waterways.

This combination of photos provided by U.S. Marines Corps., shows Marine V-22B Osprey pilot Capt. Eleanor V. Beau, center, Cpl. Spencer R. Collart, left, and Maj. Tobin J. Lewis, right. The U.S. Marine Corps has released the names of the three Marines killed in a fiery tiltrotor aircraft crash on a north Australian island this week and said one off their colleagues remained in hospital in a critical condition. (U.S. Marines Corps via AP)

US Marines Killed in Australian Aircraft Crash Were From Illinois, Virginia and Colorado

The Marine V-22B Osprey with 23 Marines on board crashed Sunday in tropical forest on Melville Island while taking part in Exercise Predators Run, a drill that includes the militaries of Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and East Timor.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago estate Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo / Evan Vucci, File)

Donald Trump Trial Set for March 4, 2024, in Federal Case Charging Him With Plotting to Overturn Election

If the current date holds, it would represent a setback to Trump’s efforts to push the case back until well after the 2024 presidential election, a contest in which he’s the early front-runner for the Republican nomination.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, second from right, joins Martin Luther King III, the son of Martin Luther King Jr., third from left, his wife Arndrea Waters King and their daughter Yolanda King as they march to honor the 60th Anniversary of the March on Washington, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo / Jacquelyn Martin)

Thousands Converge on National Mall to Mark the March on Washington’s 60th Anniversary

A host of Black civil rights leaders and a multiracial, interfaith coalition of allies rallied attendees on the same spot where as many as 250,000 gathered in 1963 for what is still considered one of the greatest and most consequential racial justice and equality demonstrations in U.S. history.

FILE - Legendary game show host Bob Barker, 83, waves goodbye as he tapes his final episode of "The Price Is Right," in Los Angeles on Wednesday, June 6, 2007. (AP Photo / Damian Dovarganes, File)

Bob Barker, Longtime ‘The Price is Right’ Host, Dead at 99

Popular game show host Bob Barker, a household name for a half-century as host of “Truth or Consequences” and “The Price Is Right,” has died at his home in Los Angeles, according to a publicist. Barker was 99.

This booking photo provided by Fulton County Sheriff's Office, shows former President Donald Trump on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, after he surrendered and was booked at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta. (Fulton County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Trump Surrenders at Atlanta Jail on Charges He Tried to Overturn His 2020 Election Loss

He was released on $200,000 bond and headed back to the airport for his return flight home to New Jersey, flashing a thumbs-up through the window of his sport utility vehicle as his motorcade left.

Quientest Vinson, right, of Turn Up Knox hands out candy to children during the Lonsdale Neighborhood Homecoming celebration Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023 in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo / George Walker IV)

As Research Grows Around How to Stop Gun Violence, One City in Tennessee Looks to Science for Help

In recent years, research reviews have begun to conclude there’s enough evidence to say which public health interventions prevent shootings, which do not, and which need more study. 

Republican presidential candidates, from left, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum stand on stage before a Republican presidential primary debate Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo / Morry Gash)

The Key Moments From the First Republican Presidential Debate

Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have dominated the Republican presidential nomination fight for much of the year. Neither dominated the debate stage Wednesday night.

Guaranteed Rate Field (WTTW News)

Chicago White Sox Fire Executive Vice President Ken Williams, GM Rick Hahn

The Chicago White Sox have fired executive vice president Ken Williams and general manager Rick Hahn, according to a statement released by team Tuesday evening.

Ed Siskel speaks during a news conference at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse, Monday, Aug. 7, 2017, in Chicago. (AP Photo / G-Jun Yam, File)

Biden Names Chicago’s Former Top Lawyer as New White House Counsel Amid Congressional Probes

Under the Obama administration, Ed Siskel oversaw the White House legal response to congressional oversight and the rollout of the Affordable Care Act. Siskel, a Chicago native and the nephew of movie critic Gene Siskel, served for two years as the top lawyer in Chicago.

A Planned Parenthood sign is displayed on the outside of a clinic during a news conference, Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo / Darron Cummings)

Indiana’s Near-Total Abortion Ban Set to Take Effect Within Days as State Supreme Court Denies Rehearing

In a 4-1 decision Monday, the Supreme Court reaffirmed its order that Planned Parenthood and other health care providers “cannot show a reasonable likelihood of success” with their challenge to the abortion restrictions.

A supporter of Wisconsin Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels points to the incoming state-wide data of the Wisconsin governor'’s race during an election night campaign event for Michels at the Italian Community Center, Nov. 8, 2022, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo / Kenny Yoo, File)

First GOP Presidential Debate Puts Spotlight on Wisconsin, One of the Few Remaining Swing States

Republicans chose Milwaukee for the first debate and for the national convention in just 11 months largely because of Wisconsin’s well-earned status as a swing state. Four of the past six presidential elections have been decided by less than a percentage point. 

Chicago Blackhawks’ Jonathan Toews plays during the team’s NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 19, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo / Matt Slocum, File)

Longtime Blackhawks Captain Jonathan Toews Says He’s Stepping Away From Hockey for Health — But Not Retiring

“I’d like to announce that I am not fully retiring, but I am taking time away from the game again this season,” said Toews, who also missed all of the 2020-21 season with symptoms of long COVID and chronic immune response syndrome.

FILE - Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald, right, leads the team onto the field for the team's NCAA college football game against Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 24, 2022, in Evanston, Ill. (Matt Marton / AP Photo, File)

Former Northwestern Athletes Send Letter Defending School’s Athletic Culture

Northwestern University is facing more than a dozen lawsuits across multiple sports with allegations including sexual abuse of players by teammates as well as racist comments by coaches and race-based assaults.

In this April 20, 2019 file photo, migrants are loaded onto a bus at the Border Patrol headquarters on Hondo Pass, in El Paso, Texas. (Mark Lambie / The El Paso Times via AP, File)

Illinois Will Provide Burial for Migrant Toddler Who Died on Bus Traveling From Texas to Chicago

Jismary Alejandra Barboza González, who would have turned 4 next week, died Aug. 10 while on a chartered bus, part of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s program begun last year of sending migrants crossing into the state to Democratic-led cities across the country.

FILE - A patient prepares to take the first of two combination pills, mifepristone, for a medication abortion during a visit to a clinic in Kansas City, Kan., on, Oct. 12, 2022. (Charlie Riedel / AP Photo, File)

Some Abortion Drug Restrictions Are Upheld by Appeals Court in Case Bound for the Supreme Court

The restrictions won’t take effect right away because the Supreme Court previously intervened to keep the drug available during the ongoing legal fight.