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BY MICHAEL PHILLIS AND JIM SALTER ST. LOUIS (AP) - The federal government and companies responsible for nuclear bomb production and atomic waste storage sites in the St. Louis area in the mid-20th century were aware of health risks, spills, improperly stored contaminants and other problems but often ignored them, according to documents reviewed by The Associated Press. Decades later, even with much of the cleanup complete, the aftereffects haunt the

BY AARON MORRISON The Black Lives Matter movement hits a milestone on Thursday, marking 10 years since its 2013 founding in response to the acquittal of the man who fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Gunned down in a Florida gated community where his father lived in 2012, Martin was one of the earliest symbols of a movement that now wields influence in politics, law enforcement and broader conversations about racial progress

BY JIM MUSTIAN A state judge has thrown out obstruction of justice charges against two of the five Louisiana lawmen indicted in the fatal 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene, a death authorities initially blamed on a car crash before long suppressed body-camera video showed the white officers beating, stunning and dragging the Black motorist as he wailed, "I'm scared!" While the rulings this week marked a setback for the prosecution, the

WARREN, Mich. (AP) - A suburban Detroit police officer who punched a young Black man in the face and slammed his head to the ground was charged Monday with a federal civil rights crime. A criminal complaint against Matthew Rodriguez was unsealed in federal court ahead of an afternoon news conference by U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison. Jaquwan Smith, 19, was being processed at the Warren police station on June 13

BY TOM KRISHER DETROIT (AP) - Whenever the United Auto Workers union begins negotiating a new contract with Detroit's three automakers, threats of a strike are typically heard on the floor of the old Chrysler transmission plant in Kokomo, Indiana. This year, the talk is a little louder. Besides the usual haggling over wages, pensions and health care, the union has set its sights on a more consequential goal: It is

BY HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH AND CAROLYN THOMPSON Students across the U.S. fell further behind academically last school year despite extensive efforts to help them recover from pandemic learning setbacks, according to an analysis of test scores released Tuesday. The study by the research organization NWEA, which also administers assessments in K-12 schools, lands as the 2024 deadline approaches quickly for schools to spend the last of the $190 billion in federal pandemic

BY SETH BORENSTEIN Humanity has etched its way into Earth's geology, atmosphere and biology with such strength and permanence, a special team of scientists figures we have shifted into a new geologic epoch, one of our own creation. It's called the Anthropocene. Humanity has etched its way into Earth's geology, atmosphere and biology with such strength and permanence, a special team of scientists figures we have shifted into a new geologic

BY MICHELLE CHAPMAN Bank of America must reimburse customers more than $100 million and pay $150 million in fines for "double-dipping" on overdraft fees, withholding reward bonuses on credit cards and opening accounts without customer consent. It is one of the highest financial penalties in years against Bank of America, which has largely spent the last 15 years trying to clean up its reputation and market itself to the public as

BY MATT OTT The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week rose to its highest level since October 2021, but the labor market remains one of the healthiest parts of the U.S. economy. The Labor Department reported Thursday that U.S. applications for jobless claims were 261,000 for the week ending June 3, an increase of 28,000 from the previous week's 233,000. Weekly jobless claims are considered representative of U.S.

WASHINGTON (AP) - When Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas headlined a 2017 program at McLennan Community College in Texas, his hosts had more than a speech in mind. Working with the prominent conservative lawyer Ken Starr, school officials crafted a guest list for a dinner at the home of a wealthy Texas businessman, hoping an audience with Thomas would be a reward for school patrons -- and an inducement to