US

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A judge on Friday sided with Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and blocked a policy that prevented school voucher recipients from playing on sports teams this fall. Montgomery Circuit Judge J.R. Gaines issued a temporary restraining order barring the Alabama High School Athletic Association from enforcing a policy that says the voucher recipients … Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. will host next year’s Group of 20 summit at his golf club in Doral, Florida, arguing it was “the best location” for the high-stakes international gathering but insisting his family’s business “will not make any money on it.” In his first term, Trump tried to … Read more

BALTIMORE — In a pointed show of solidarity against President Donald Trump, state and local leaders walked through one of Baltimore’s most historically underserved neighborhoods Friday evening amid ongoing efforts to curb gun violence. Those efforts are working, Gov. Wes Moore said. Homicides in Baltimore have reached historic lows with sustained declines starting in 2023. … Read more

President Donald Trump hosted a dinner Friday night for members of Congress in the newly paved White House Rose Garden, telling them they were the first gathering of what he dubbed the “Rose Garden Club.” WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump hosted a dinner Friday night for members of Congress in the newly paved White House … Read more

CATO, N.Y. — Federal agents forced open the doors of a snack bar manufacturer and took away dozens of workers in a surprise enforcement action that the plant’s co-owner called “terrifying.” Video and photos taken at the Nutrition Bar Confectioners plant Thursday showed numerous law enforcement vehicles outside the plant and workers being escorted from … Read more

GENEVA — Congo’s armed forces and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have committed crimes including gang rape, sexual slavery, torture, killings of civilians and other “horrific” atrocities in eastern Congo over the last year, the U.N. human rights office said Friday. It said the governments of both countries bear responsibility. A new report by a fact-finding team … Read more

COLUMBIA, S.C. — As a judge considers arguments from prosecutors and defense attorneys over whether delusional beliefs about the legal system are enough to keep a South Carolina prisoner from being executed, the inmate himself decided to weigh in with his own handwritten legal papers. Just weeks before Steven Bixby was set to die earlier … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Bay Area residents were scrambling Friday for alternate routes after a regional commuter rail system shut down all its trains due to a computer issue, a second systemwide closure for the beleaguered rail line in four months. The Bay Area Rapid Transit District’s suspension of service started about 5 a.m. … Read more

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. — Two people died when a small plane crashed and caught on fire near a suburban Denver airport on Friday, officials said. The crash happened just south of Centennial Airport and was initially reported as an explosion, Deborah Takahara, a spokesperson for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, said. Firefighters found the Beech … Read more

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are rising further into record heights on Friday after the latest disappointing signal on the job market bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve will have to cut interest rates soon to help the economy. The S&P 500 climbed 0.4% and added to its all-time high set the day before. The … Read more