Stories by Associated Press

The man accused of killing seven people and wounding dozens more in a shooting at an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago pleaded not guilty on Wednesday, a week after prosecutors announced he faces 117 felony counts in the attack.

Republican U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski was killed Wednesday in a car accident in her northern Indiana District, according to her office.

The climate deal reached last week by Senate Democrats could reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that American farmers produce by expanding programs that help accumulate carbon in soil, fund climate-focused research and lower the abundant methane emissions that come from cows.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday night despite threats from Beijing of serious consequences, becoming the highest-ranking American official in 25 years to visit the self-ruled island claimed by China.

The Senate approved the bill by a vote of 86-11. It now goes to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law. Biden described the legislation as the biggest expansion of benefits for service-connected health issues in 30 years and the largest single bill ever to address exposure to burn pits.

The findings come days after Democrats hammered out a 725-page climate, health care and tax deal that would extend generous federal subsidies for people who buy private health insurance that are credited with driving down the uninsured rates. Democrats have proposed spending $64 billion to extend those price breaks for three more years.

Cooper Roberts’ family said the boy was moved Sunday to the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab from the University of Chicago’s Comer Children’s Hospital. The family’s statement released Monday said Cooper’s medical team will focus on physical and occupational therapy along with other rehabilitation and mental health services.

New research hints that even a simple exercise routine just might help older Americans with mild memory problems.

The president said in an evening address from the White House that U.S. intelligence officials tracked al-Zawahri to a home in downtown Kabul where he was hiding out with his family. The president approved the operation last week and it was carried out Sunday.

The WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist is to return to court on Tuesday, a month after the beginning of the trial in which she could face 10 years in prison if convicted. As the trial has progressed, the Biden Administration has faced rising calls for action to win her release.

More than one in five New York City elementary schools had fewer than 300 students last school year. In Los Angeles, that figure was over one in four. In Chicago it has grown to nearly one in three, and in Boston it’s approaching one in two, according to a Chalkbeat/AP analysis.

Sen. Joe Manchin, one of the Democrats’ most conservative and contrarian members, declined on Sunday to endorse Joe Biden if the president seeks a second term in 2024 and refused to say whether he wants Democrats to retain control of Congress after the November elections.

Born Grace Dell Nichols in suburban Robbins, Nichelle Nichols first worked professionally as a singer and dancer in Chicago at age 14, moving on to New York nightclubs and working for a time with the Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton bands before coming to Hollywood.

“We are thrilled to have witnessed one of the biggest jackpot wins in Mega Millions history,” Ohio Lottery Director Pat McDonald, currently serving as Lead Director for the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a statement on the lottery’s website. “We’re eager to find out who won and look forward to congratulating the winner soon!”

$83.3 billion in climate financing was given to poorer countries in 2020, a 4% increase from the previous year, but still short of the proposed goal. The United Nations-backed payment plan was first agreed in 2009 to help poorer nations adapt to the effects of climate change and reduce emissions.

No injuries were reported from Thursday’s flooding, but the St. Louis Fire Department said on Twitter that it responded to 75 flooding-related emergencies and 60 people were rescued or helped to safety.

Will Smith has again apologized to Chris Rock for slapping him during the Oscar telecast in a new video, saying that his behavior was “unacceptable” and that he had reached out to the comedian to discuss the incident but was told Rock wasn’t ready.

Economists are divided over whether a recession is looming. What’s clear is that economic uncertainty isn’t going away anytime soon. But there are steps you can take now to be ready for whatever is ahead.

The decline that the Commerce Department reported Thursday in the gross domestic product — the broadest gauge of the economy — followed a 1.6% annual drop from January through March. Consecutive quarters of falling GDP constitute one informal, though not definitive, indicator of a recession.

The $739 billion package package would address health care and climate, raising taxes on high earners and large corporations and reducing federal debt. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned his colleagues in the 50-50 Senate that final passage will be hard.

The profits have come as the weapons have been used in mass shootings that have horrified the nation, including one that left 10 people dead at a grocery store in Buffalo and another where 19 children were shot to death in Uvalde, Texas.

Donnell Russell, 47, of Chicago, entered the plea in Brooklyn federal court. U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said Russell used threats, harassment and intimidation to silence one of R. Kelly’s sexual abuse victims.

“Back to the Oval,” President Joe Biden tweeted after the White House released the latest daily update from his doctor confirming that he was clear to end the isolation period that is required after someone tests positive for the coronavirus. Biden, 79, tested positive last week.

Damage across the St. Louis region was widespread after a massive downpour dropped more than 11 inches of rain in parts of St. Charles County and up to 10 inches elsewhere in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

Growth appears to be sputtering, home sales are tumbling and economists warn of a potential recession ahead. But consumers are still spending, businesses keep posting profits and the economy keeps adding hundreds of thousands of jobs each month.

Legal experts, including Republican attorneys, say there is no legal means to decertify the past election and no evidence to support such action. Nevertheless, decertification continues to be a rallying cry among many Republicans in Wisconsin and elsewhere.