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By WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who created the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange and served prison time after failing to stop criminals from using the platform to move money connected to child sex abuse, drug trafficking and terrorism. Zhao had asked Trump for a pardon previously. He has deep ties to World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture that the Republican president and his sons Eric and Donald Jr. launched in September. Trump’s most recent financial disclosure report reveals he made more than $57 million last year from World Liberty Financial, which has launched USD1, a stablecoin pegged at…

By AAMER MADHANI, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is suggesting he could call on Israel to release imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, the most popular and potentially unifying Palestinian leader, as the United States aims to fill a leadership vacuum in postwar Gaza. Trump, in an interview published Thursday, said he has discussed the potential for Barghouti’s release with White House aides. “I was literally being confronted with that question about 15 minutes before you called,” Trump told Time magazine interview when asked about Barghouti. “So I’ll be making a decision.” President Donald Trump speaks as he…

In one sense, the 2025 World Series is not a battle of equals. The Dodgers have been this far often enough in the last decade that their organizational strategy seems to be to use the regular season to prepare for October. They have veterans, players who have starred on the big stage, guys who have won rings but want more. The Toronto Blue Jays’ players are relative newbies, playing for a franchise that was once perched atop the baseball world – but here’s some perspective as to how long that’s been: When they last got to a World Series and…

Americans will learn quite a bit about the direction of national politics on Nov. 4. Both Californians and residents of New York City will cast their ballots in what could be important bellwethers for where we are headed. Californians, of course, are casting their ballots already on Proposition 50, which will set aside the congressional maps drawn by the Citizens Redistricting Commission in favor of a gerrymandered map drawn up by Democratic political operatives for the advantage of the Democrats. The proposal is in response to the Texas Legislature rigging its own maps in favor of Republicans after an explicit…

What’s the biggest cause of high housing costs in the nation? Industry insiders answer that government bureaucracy slows or prevents the construction of new housing, compounded by the public’s “not-in-my-backyard” aversion to adding homes in their neighborhoods. Well, one poll shows the typical American thinks the industry needs to look at itself, too. The Searchlight Institute’s recent poll of 2,123 U.S. adults on housing provides another perspective on the grand affordability debate. Also see: Southern California home sales slump to another record low There’s no argument about the scope of the financial burden, as 93% of those polled said housing was…

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Four family members of a Republican running for governor in Illinois were killed in a Montana helicopter crash, his campaign said Thursday. Killed in the crash Wednesday were the son and daughter-in-law of former state Sen. Darren Bailey, a Republican who lost the 2022 gubernatorial election in Illinois and is seeking his party’s nomination again in next year’s race. Bailey’s son, Zachary, his wife, Kelsey, and their two young children, Vada Rose, 12, and Samuel, 7, died in the crash, his campaign said in a statement. The couple’s third child was not on the helicopter. “Darren…

When House Speaker Mike Johnson lashed out at last weekend’s “No Kings” rallies soon to arrive on Washington’s National Mall, he reached for an old conservative refrain: “They hate capitalism. They hate our free enterprise system.” I am sure he’s correct about some of the protesters. But the message rings hollow coming from a party leader that stands by as President Donald Trump does precisely what Johnson rightly decries: substituting political control for market choice and ruling by executive order. Indeed, what began as a populist revolt against so-called elites has become a program of state ownership, price fixing and…

By Bernadette Joy, Bankrate.com Even though I have enough saved for early retirement, I still worry. As someone with lifelong chronic conditions, I know all too well how healthcare costs can creep up, even when everything else seems under control. Medical debt is one of the sneakiest ways financial stress shows up in people’s lives. According to Kaiser Family Foundation’s (KFF) analysis of government data, Americans owe at least US $220 billion in medical debt. Approximately 14 million adults owe more than $1,000, and another three million carry medical debt over $10,000. And the stress around money, and especially healthcare,…

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and TIM REYNOLDS, Associated Press Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups have been arrested in connection with a federal investigation into sports betting, people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Thursday. FILE – Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups speaks during an NBA basketball press conference, Friday, June 27, 2025, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File) The exact charge or charges they face were not immediately known. Two people spoke to the AP about Rozier on condition of anonymity because they couldn’t discuss details…

By RENATA BRITO and MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance criticized Thursday Israel’s parliament vote on West Bank annexation, saying it amounted to an “insult.” Vance’s scathing remark came as his visit wrapped up Thursday and after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would now be traveling to Israel. Vance’s words and the intense diplomacy indicate that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration was intent on keeping up the momentum on the U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Speaking on the tarmac of Tel Aviv’s international airport before departing Israel, Vance…