Stories by Associated Press

“There’s no one thing,” President Joe Biden said Wednesday when questioned about his top priority. “There’s multiple, multiple, multiple issues, and they’re all important. ... We ought to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. You know, that old expression.”

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued the stay while it considers a motion from six Republican-led states to block the loan cancellation program. The stay ordered the Biden administration not to act on the program while it considers the appeal. The order came just days after people began applying for loan forgiveness.

A Mississippi community with an elaborate Confederate monument plans to unveil a larger-than-life statue of Emmett Till on Friday, not far from where white men kidnapped and killed the Black teenager.

Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, was convicted in July of two counts of contempt of Congress: one for refusing to sit for a deposition and the other for refusing to provide documents.

There are fears for the futures of students who don’t catch up. They run the risk of never learning to read, long a precursor for dropping out of school. They might never master simple algebra, putting science and tech fields out of reach. The pandemic decline in college attendance could continue to accelerate, crippling the U.S. economy.

Truss became the third Conservative prime minister to be toppled in as many years, extending the instability that has shaken Britain since it broke off from the European Union and leaving its leadership in limbo as the country faces a cost-of-living crisis and looming recession.

Borrowers who apply before mid-November should see forgiveness before Jan. 1, when payments on loans are scheduled to restart after a pause during the pandemic.

With U.S. union ranks swelling as everyone from coffee shop baristas to warehouse workers seeks to organize, Illinois voters will decide next month whether to amend their state constitution to guarantee the right to bargain collectively.

The president will also open the door to additional releases this winter in an effort to keep prices down. But administration officials would not detail how much the president would be willing to tap, nor by how much they want domestic production to increase to end the withdrawals.

As “Till” debuts, the studio and production companies behind the film have partnered in a campaign to recognize Black women and Black mothers who are continuing Till-Mobley’s legacy and fight for justice, equality and equity. 

Bruce Sutter, who debuted with the Chicago Cubs in 1976, is considered one of the first pitchers to throw a split-finger fastball. The right-hander played 12 seasons in the major leagues, was a six-time All-Star and ended up with 300 saves over his career.

President Joe Biden is set to highlight his administration’s efforts to lower prescription drug costs on Friday as part of his three-state Western tour this week.

The House Jan. 6 committee has subpoenaed Donald Trump for his testimony about the 2021 Capitol attack. The panel voted unanimously to compel the former president to appear. “We must seek the testimony under oath of January 6th’s central player,” said Rep. Liz Cheney, the committee’s vice chair.

The cost-of living adjustment — the largest in more than 40 years — means the average recipient will receive more than $140 extra a month beginning in January, the Social Security Administration said Thursday.

The Chicago-based foundation announced Wednesday that it increased the “no strings attached” award amount each honoree receives from $625,000 to $800,000 over five years. Fellows do not need to report back to the foundation about how they spend the money.

The Food and Drug Administration has given a green light for elementary school-age kids to get the updated booster doses — one made by Pfizer for 5- to 11-year-olds, and a version from rival Moderna for those as young as 6.

United said Wednesday that it will resume seasonal flights from Newark, New Jersey, to Stockholm, which it dropped in 2019, and launch new summer service from Newark to Malaga, Spain.

Angela Lansbury won five Tony Awards for her Broadway performances and a lifetime achievement award. She earned Academy Award nominations as supporting actress for two of her first three films, “Gaslight” (1945) and “The Picture of Dorian Gray” (1946), and was nominated again in 1962 for “The Manchurian Candidate.” 

Air raid warnings sounded throughout the country for a second straight morning as Ukrainian officials advised residents to conserve energy and stock up on water. Strikes in the capital and 12 other regions Monday caused power outages and pierced the relative calm that had returned to Kyiv and many other cities far from the war’s front lines.

Sales of books for young readers on violence, grief, and emotions have increased for nine straight years, with nearly six million copies sold in 2021 — more than double the amount in 2012, according to NPD BookScan, which tracks U.S. retail sales of print books.

Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond and Philip Dybvig won the Nobel Prize in economic sciences for their research into bank failures.

According to Defense Department data, suicides among active-duty service members increased by more than 40% between 2015 and 2020. The numbers jumped by 15% in 2020 alone.

Kenyan runners Benson Kipruto and Ruth Chepngetich won the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday, while Emily Sisson finished second and set a record for an American woman.

The protests erupted Sept. 17, after the burial of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman who had died in the custody of Iran’s feared morality police. Amini had been detained for an alleged violation of strict Islamic dress codes for women. Since then, protests spread across the country and were met by a fierce crackdown.

Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman on the Supreme Court and its newest justice, said before the term began that she was “ready to work.” She made that clear during arguments in the opening cases.

Friday’s government report showed that hiring fell from 315,000 in August to the weakest monthly gain since April 2021. The unemployment rate fell from 3.7% to 3.5%, matching a half-century low.