Stories by associated press

Insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trump breach the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo / John Minchillo, File)

Capitol Rioter From Illinois Who Attacked Reuters Cameraman and Police Officer Gets More Than 4 Years in Prison

Shane Woods, of Auburn, Illinois, took a running start and tackled the Reuters cameraman “like an NFL linebacker hunting a quarterback after an interception,” federal prosecutors wrote in a court filing.

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks to reporters after a closed-door meeting with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and other House Republicans after Gaetz filed a motion to oust McCarthy from his leadership role, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite)

Kevin McCarthy Ousted as House Speaker in Unprecedented Vote as Democrats Join with GOP Critics to Topple Him

Next steps are uncertain, but there is no obvious successor to lead the House Republican majority.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., one of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's harshest critics, leaves the chamber after speaking on the floor, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Oct. 2, 2023. Gaetz has said he plans to use a procedural tool called a motion to vacate to try and strip McCarthy of his office as soon as this week. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Matt Gaetz Launches Effort to Bring Down Kevin McCarthy, but Removing the House Speaker Is No Easy Task

On Monday, the far-right Republican from Florida announced he was using a procedural tool — called a motion to vacate — to try to strip Kevin McCarthy of his office.

Former President Donald Trump, right, sits in the courtroom at New York Supreme Court, Monday, Oct. 2, 2023, in New York. Trump is making a rare, voluntary trip to court in New York for the start of a civil trial in a lawsuit that already has resulted in a judge ruling that he committed fraud in his business dealings. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool)

Donald Trump Seethes Through the Start of Trial in New York Lawsuit Accusing Him of Lying About His Wealth

The civil case, brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, accuses the business-mogul-turned-politician and his company of deceiving banks, insurers and others by habitually misstating his wealth in financial statements.

Dorothy Hoffner, 104, becomes the oldest person in the world to skydive with tandem jumper Derek Baxter on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023, at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, Ill. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune via AP)

104-Year-Old Chicago Woman Skydives From Plane in World Record Attempt: ‘Age Is Just a Number’

Dorothy Hoffner first skydived when she was 100. On Sunday, she left her walker behind just short of the Skyvan plane at the Ottawa airport and was helped up the steps to join the others waiting inside to skydive.

Emergency responders work the scene of semitruck crash in Teutopolis, Ill., on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. Federal regulators confirmed Saturday they are reviewing the crash of a semitruck carrying a toxic substance in central Illinois, resulting in “multiple fatalities” and dangerous air conditions that prompted the evacuation of area residents. (NewsNation-WTWO via AP)

Truck Crash in Central Illinois Kills 5, Seriously Injures 5 and Forces an Evacuation Due to Ammonia Leak

A semitruck carrying caustic anhydrous ammonia toppled in Teutopolis, spilling more than half of its 7,500-gallon load, according to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

A United Airlines plane is pushed from the gate at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Aug. 11, 2023, in Houston. (David J. Phillip / AP Photo)

United Airlines Will Make Changes for People With Wheelchairs After a Government Investigation

United said the airline will add a filter to the booking tool on its website to help consumers find flights on which the plane can more easily accommodate their wheelchairs. The cargo doors on some planes are too small to easily get a motorized wheelchair in the belly of the plane.

The Senate Judiciary Committee's ranking member Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. returns on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 22, 2017, to hear testimony from Supreme Court Justice nominee Neil Gorsuch. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California has died. She was 90. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, an Advocate for Liberal Priorities, Dies at Age 90

Feinstein died on Thursday night at her home in Washington, D.C., her office said on Friday. Opening the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that “earlier this morning, we lost a giant in the Senate.”

United Auto Workers union members strike for improved compensation outside of the Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023 in Toledo, Ohio. (Phillip L. Kaplan /The Blade via AP)

United Autoworkers Strikes Grow as 7,000 More Workers Hit Pickets Against Detroit's Big Automakers

The United Auto Workers union says its two-week strike against Detroit automakers will spread to 7,000 more workers at a Ford plant in Chicago and a General Motors assembly factory near Lansing, Michigan.

FILE - A sign reading “Because of the Federal Government SHUTDOWN All National Parks are Closed” is posted on a barricade in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Oct. 1, 2013. (Carolyn Kaster / AP Photo, File)

A Government Shutdown is Nearing This Weekend. What Does It Mean, Who’s Hit and What’s Next?

The federal government is just days away from a shutdown that will disrupt many services, squeeze workers and roil politics as Republicans in the House, fueled by hard-right demands, force a confrontation over federal spending.

Former President Donald Trump pauses before ending his remarks at a rally in Summerville, S.C., Sept. 25, 2023. (AP Photo / Artie Walker Jr., File)

A Judge Found Donald Trump Committed Fraud in Building Real-Estate Empire. Here’s What Happens Next

A judge’s ruling that Donald Trump committed fraud as he built his real-estate empire could strip him of his authority to make major decisions about the future of his marquee properties in his home state.

A for sale sign stands outside a single-family residence on Sunday, June 18, 2023, in Denver. On Thursday, Freddie Mac reports on this week's average U.S. mortgage rates. (AP Photo / David Zalubowski)

Average Long-Term US Mortgage Rate Hits 7.31%, Highest Point in Nearly 23 Years

The average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan rose to 7.31%, from 7.19% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.70%.

This image released by Boneau/Bryan-Brown shows Jasmine Amy Rogers, who will star in “BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical.” The production makes its debut this fall in Chicago with hopes that it can charm itself to Broadway. (Mark Seliger / Boneau / Bryan-Brown via AP)

With Broadway Hopes, New Betty Boop Stage Musical Premiering in Chicago Announces Star

Jasmine Amy Rogers will star in “BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical” making its debut this fall in Chicago with hopes that it can charm itself to Broadway. It first plays Broadway In Chicago from Nov. 19-Dec. 24.

This photo provided by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum shows an ambrotype image of President Abraham Lincoln circa 1858. (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum via AP)

A Canon Injury and the Strange Story Behind an 1858 Abraham Lincoln Photo Just Donated to His Springfield Museum

The 1858 ambrotype was created during the future nation-saving Civil War president’s ascendancy, an image which the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum has added to its collection.

President Joe Biden joins striking United Auto Workers on the picket line, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, in Van Buren Township, Mich. United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain stands at left. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Joe Biden Makes Unprecedented Visit to Auto Workers Picket Line, Tells Union to ‘Stick With It’

Experts in presidential and U.S. labor history say they cannot recall an instance when a sitting president has joined an ongoing strike, even during the tenures of the more ardent pro-union presidents such as Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry Truman.

An Amazon company logo marks the facade of a building in Schoenefeld near Berlin, March 18, 2022. (AP Photo / Michael Sohn, File)

Amazon Sued by FTC and 17 States Over Allegations It Inflates Online Prices and Overcharges Sellers

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, is the result of a years-long investigation into Amazon’s businesses and one of the most significant legal challenges brought against the company in its nearly 30-year history.

Placards are gathered together at the close of a picket by members of The Writers Guild of America outside Walt Disney Studios, Tuesday, May 2, 2023, in Burbank, Calif. On Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, a tentative deal was reached to end Hollywood’s writers strike after nearly five months. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Writers Guild and Hollywood Studios Reach Tentative Agreement to End Strike. No Deal Yet for Actors

The Writers Guild of America announced the deal in a joint statement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the group that represents studios, streaming services and production companies in negotiations.

This Aug. 17, 2021, photo shows Quagga mussels cover the engine of a Bell P-39 Airacobra military plane in Lake Huron, Mich., as maritime archaeologist Carrie Sowden, rear, documents the site.(Wayne Lusardi via AP)

Historians Are Racing to Find Great Lakes Shipwrecks Before Invasive Quagga Mussels Destroy the Sites

An invasive mussel is destroying shipwrecks deep in the depths of the Great Lakes, forcing archeologists and amateur historians into a race against time to find as many sites as they can before the region loses any physical trace of its centuries-long maritime history.

Flamingos stand by the water along a Lake Michigan Beach on Sept. 22, 2023, in Port Washington, Wis. (Paul A. Smith / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via AP)

Flamingos in Wisconsin? Tropical Birds Visit Lake Michigan Beach in a First for the State

The American flamingos spotted Friday in Port Washington, about 25 miles north of Milwaukee, marked the first sighting of the species in Wisconsin state history.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., right, and his wife Nadine Arslanian, pose for a photo on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 20, 2022. (AP Photo  /Susan Walsh, File)

New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, Wife Indicted on Bribe Charges as Probe Finds $100,000 in Gold Bars, Prosecutors Say

A search of the couple’s home turned up $100,000 in gold bars and $480,000 in hidden cash, said prosecutors, who announced the charges against the 69-year-old Democrat nearly six years after an earlier criminal case against him ended with a deadlocked jury.

United Auto Workers march outside the Stellantis North American Headquarters, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, in Auburn Hills, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Strikes Against Automakers Spread to 38 Locations in 20 States, Stellantis and GM are Targeted

The president of the United Auto Workers said Friday the union will expand its strike against major automakers by walking out of 38 General Motors and Stellantis plants in 20 states.

Migrants who crossed into the U.S. from Mexico walk past concertina wire lining the banks of the Rio Grande as they move to an area for processing, Sept. 21, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. Migrants have always come to the U.S., but the immigration system now seems strained nationwide more than ever. (AP Photo / Eric Gay)

As Chicago and Other Cities Scramble to Care for More Migrants, Take a Look at What’s Behind the Numbers

The various scenarios playing out across the country paint a picture of a strained immigration system making an impact far from the U.S.-Mexico border. The Biden administration late Wednesday announced measures intended to alleviate the problems.

Sergio Brown speaks during an NFL event for kids in south London, Wednesday, July 15, 2015. (AP Photo / Matt Dunham, File)

Maywood Police Investigating If Missing Ex-NFL Player Sergio Brown Posted Videos About Mother’s Death

Sergio Brown, 35, is still considered a missing person, Maywood police spokesperson Carmen Rivera said in an email Tuesday, acknowledging police were aware of the videos and were investigating.

Immigrants from Venezuela are reflected in a marble wall while taking shelter at the Chicago Police Department's 16th District station on Monday, May 1, 2023. In Chicago, where 13,000 migrants have settled in the last year, Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker wrote Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to ask for parole for asylum-seekers, which, they say, would allow him to get around the wait for a work permit. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, FIle)

Biden's Democratic Allies Intensify Pressure for Asylum-Seekers to Get Work Permits

Increasingly impatient leaders of President Joe Biden’s party in other cities and states have hammered the same message over the last month, saying the administration must make it easier for migrants to get work authorization quickly, which would allow them to pay for food and housing.

United Auto Workers from engine team 50 man the picket line outside the Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023 in Toledo, Ohio. (Isaac Ritchey / The Blade via AP)

Union Threatens to Expand Targeted Strike Against Big Three Automakers If There Is No Substantive Progress by Friday

In a video statement late Monday, UAW President Shawn Fain said workers at more factories will join those who are now in the fifth day of a strike at three plants.

This frame grab from video, provided by the Mexican government, shows Ovidio Guzmán López being detained in Culiacan, Mexico, Oct. 17, 2019. (CEPROPIE via AP File)

In Chicago Courtroom, ‘El Chapo’ Son Ovidio Guzmán López Pleads Not Guilty to US Drug and Money Laundering Charges

Ovidio Guzmán López was extradited on Friday, five months after U.S. prosecutors unsealed sprawling indictments against him and his brothers, known collectively as the “Chapitos.”