Stories by Associated Press

Wednesday’s decision brings the Fed’s key rate down to about 3.9%, from about 4.1%. The central bank had cranked its rate to roughly 5.3% in 2023 and 2024 to combat the biggest inflation spike in four decades.

An Illinois jury has begun deliberations in the first-degree murder trial of a sheriff’s deputy who shot Sonya Massey, a Black woman in her home who had called 911 for help and was later killed because of the way she was handling a pan of hot water.

The Chicago crackdown, dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz,” began in early September. Masked, armed agents in unmarked trucks patrol neighborhoods, and residents have protested in ways big and small against what they see as their city under siege.

President Donald Trump has ramped up pressure on Republican governors to draw new maps that give the party an easier path to maintain control of the House in the midterms.

The U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday it is providing a base of operations for U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in the San Francisco area as part of its effort to support federal efforts to track down immigrants in the country illegally.

resident Donald Trump has pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who created the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange and served prison time after failing to stop criminals from using the platform. He has deep ties to World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture that the Republican president and his sons Eric and Donald Jr. launched.

The Illinois sheriff’s deputy who killed Sonya Massey in her Springfield home last year eschewed his training and the principles of policing when he shot the Black woman who had called 911 for help, a prosecutor said Wednesday in Sean Grayson’s murder trial.

The USDA said each Farm Service Agency office will have two workers who will be paid even though the government remains shutdown. Thousands of other federal employees like air traffic controllers are working without pay during the shutdown.

During 2 1/2 hours of arguments, the court’s six conservative justices seemed inclined to effectively strike down a Black majority congressional district in Louisiana because it relied too heavily on race.

The formation of the group touches off a new chapter in a partisan battle over public health measures that has been heightened by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s advisers declining to recommend COVID-19 vaccinations.

In his music, D’Angelo blended hip-hop grit, emphatic soul and gospel-rooted emotion into a sound that helped spearhead the neo-soul movement of the 1990s.

The 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting killed 20 first graders and six educators in Newtown, Connecticut. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones described the shooting as a hoax staged by crisis actors.

Sandy Alomar Sr., an All-Star infielder during his playing days in the 1960s and ‘70s who went on to coach in the majors and manage in his native Puerto Rico, has died. He was 81.

The award was shared by Dutch-born Joel Mokyr, 79, who is at Northwestern University; Philippe Aghion, 69, who works at the Collège de France and the London School of Economics; and Canadian-born Peter Howitt, 79, who is at Brown University.

Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda and Ethiopian Hawi Feysa won the men’s and women’s races at the Chicago Marathon by comfortable margins on Sunday.

Friday’s development comes a day after a federal judge in Illinois blocked deployment of troops in the Chicago area for at least two weeks. The on-again, off-again deployments stem from a political and legal battle over President Donald Trump’s push to send the Guard to several U.S. cities.

Sister Jean, the chaplain for the men’s basketball team at Loyola Chicago who became a beloved international celebrity during the school’s fairy-tale run to the Final Four, has died.

“While recognizing that appropriate policies are necessary to keep communities safe, I encourage you to continue to advocate for society to respect the human dignity of the most vulnerable,” Pope Leo XIV said.

The federal government shutdown has entered its second week, and already shortages of air traffic controllers have strained operations and disrupted flights at some U.S. airports.

President Donald Trump’s efforts to send National Guard troops into U.S. cities — including Los Angeles; Portland, Oregon; and Chicago — over the objections of Democratic mayors and governors have prompted a host of questions about the president’s authority and who controls the Guard.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, both potential 2028 presidential candidates, contend Trump’s troop deployments should be a matter of concern for all governors. But some Republican governors have supported Trump’s actions.

Quinn Priester grew up in the Chicago area and was in Wrigley Field’s stands for Game 5 of the 2016 World Series. The 25-year-old right-hander will be back at Wrigley on Wednesday as he continues his breakthrough season by trying to pitch the Brewers into the NL Championship Series.

Before this year, U.S. health officials — following recommendations by infectious disease experts — recommended annual COVID-19 boosters for all Americans ages 6 months and older.

Former NFL quarterback Mark Sanchez is now facing a felony charge of battery involving serious bodily injury in addition to the misdemeanor charges stemming from a weekend incident in Indianapolis that led to his arrest.

The work by Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Dr. Shimon Sakaguchi uncovered a key pathway the body uses to keep the immune system in check, called peripheral immune tolerance. Experts called the findings critical to understanding autoimmune diseases such as Type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

The campaign is part of ICE’s $30 billion initiative to hire 10,000 more deportation officers by the end of the year to supercharge deportations.