Judge temporarily blocks payouts from Trump's $1.776 billion 'anti-weaponization' settlement fund

WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from proceeding with a new $1.776 billion settlement fund for the Republican president’s allies who believe they were victims of a weaponized government, halting its formation or any potential payouts for at least the next two weeks.

Former head of Iowa school district sentenced to 2 years

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The former superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district who was arrested last year in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown was sentenced Friday to two years in prison.

Artists back out of Trump-linked Freedom 250 concerts

“The Great American State Fair” is a series of concerts, exhibits, tributes and other programs scheduled to take place June 25 to July 10 on Washington’s National Mall. It was organized by Freedom 250, which is billed as a nonpartisan organization but was launched last year by President Donald Trump and is headed by a Trump State Department appointee from his first term, the businessman-philanthropist Keith Krach.

Mexico president Sheinbaum gifts her World Cup ticket to Indigenous athlete

MEXICO CITY (AP) – Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum delivered a promise on Friday by giving away her ticket to the World Cup opening match.

5 Southern Democratic chairs say South Carolina should lead 2028 presidential primary

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – Democratic leaders in a handful of southern states are lobbying for South Carolina to reprise its role as the party’s first-in-the-nation state to cast primary ballots in 2028, arguing that the state best represents the initial playing field for presidential candidates to build the coalitions needed to win.

Ohio suspends data center tax break as tech firms face pressure to pay

Ohio, one of the nation’s data center destination hot spots, is suspending a tax break that has been critical to its competition with other states to attract the massive new facilities that power and train artificial intelligence chatbots.

Michigan Gov. Whitmer backtracks 2028 presidential bid

MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. (AP) – Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan said Thursday she has “nothing to announce” about a possible 2028 presidential bid, stepping back from her comment hours earlier that she will not run for president after leaving office later this year.

Clothing rental services promise a sustainable alternative to fast fashion

For weddings, vacations or other special occasions, more consumers are turning to clothing rental services instead of buying something new.

Wildfire looms over Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass' bid for second term

LOS ANGELES (AP) – As Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass seeks a second term, she isn’t sidestepping the obvious: her tenure at city hall has been difficult. “I haven’t always got it right,” she says plainly.