AP Trending SummaryBrief at 11:07 p.m. EDT

GOP field in Pennsylvania Senate race still wide open as hard-right state lawmaker says he won't run

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A hard-right Pennsylvania state lawmaker says he will not challenge Democratic Sen. Bob Casey. The decision leaves the GOP primary field wide open. State Sen. Doug Mastriano made the announcement Thursday night as top party officials try to recruit a strong candidate in the moderate battleground state in 2024. Former hedge fund CEO David McCormick is the favorite of party leaders and has drawn pledges of financial support from top Republican officials — should he decide to run. Mastriano was endorsed by former President Donald Trump in last year’s race for governor but lost badly. Pennsylvania is a top GOP target in their quest to recapture the Senate majority.

California unlikely to run short of electricity this summer thanks to storms, new power sources

RICHMOND, Calif. (AP) — California regulators say the state is unlikely to run short of electricity this summer, thanks to new power sources and a wet winter that filled reservoirs to restart hydroelectric power plants shuttered during the drought. Officials say more than 8,000 megawatts of new wind, solar and battery power will come online by September. One megawatt of electricity is enough to power about 750 homes. California normally has more than enough electricity to power the homes and businesses of its more than 39 million people. But the electrical grid has trouble when it gets really hot and everyone turns on their air conditioners at the same time. California ran short of power in 2020. That caused brief blackouts for hundreds of thousands of households.

Acclaimed Cleveland school dance teacher convicted of raping students, could face life in prison

CLEVELAND (AP) — A former school dance instructor in Cleveland faces up to life prison after being convicted Thursday of raping six teenage students and sexually abusing two others. Jurors also found Terence Greene guilty on kidnapping and felonious assault charges. Greene was an acclaimed dance teacher who helped launch the careers of many young dancers. Prosecutors say he began sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy soon after he was hired by the Cleveland Metropolitan School District in the late 1990s. They say the eight victims in the case ranged were teenagers when the abuse began. A message seeking comment was left with Greene’s attorney on Thursday.

Minnesota governor signs paid family and medical leave act to give workers up to 20 weeks off

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota workers will be entitled to paid time off when they’re seriously ill or to care for newborns and loved ones starting in 2026. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill Thursday making his state the 12th to require those benefits. The paid family and medical leave program will allow Minnesota workers up to 12 weeks a year off with partial pay to care for a newborn or a sick family member, and up to 12 weeks to recover from their own serious illness. Benefits will be capped at 20 weeks a year for employees who take advantage of both.

Delaware woman pleads guilty to killing 3-year-old daughter, dumping remains on softball field

DOVER, Del. (AP) — A Delaware woman is facing decades in prison after pleading guilty to killing her 3-year-old daughter and dumping her burned remains on a softball field. Thirty-one-year-old Kristie Haas pleaded guilty Thursday to murder, abuse of a corpse and endangering the welfare of a child. Prosecutors are recommending a sentence of 50 years in prison, suspended for non-custodial supervision after 30 years behind bars. The murder charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Haas will be sentenced on July 10. The body of Emma Grace Cole was found in September 2019 by a person walking a dog through a softball park. Authorities say Emma was subjected to “torture or maltreatment” before her death.

A.J. Foyt returns to the Indy 500, his legacy long secured and grief fresh from his wife's death

WALLER, Texas (AP) — A.J. Foyt has defied death more times than anyone count. From killer bees and capsized boats to triple bypass surgery and terrifying racing accidents, the first four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 has made it to 88 years old with an irreverent view about death. But then his wife of 68 years died suddenly last month and Foyt is now facing his own mortality. He didn't want to leave Texas to attend the Indianapolis 500. But he says the racetrack is the best place for him to work through his grief.

2 planes aborted landings in San Francisco when a Southwest jet taxied across their runways

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Two airliners aborted their landings at San Francisco International Airport last week after pilots spotted a Southwest Airlines jet taxiing across the runways on which they were going to land. The United and Alaska Airlines jets flew a few hundred feet over the airport, then circled back to land safety after the May 19 incident. The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday that it reviewed the matter and determined that appropriate steps were taken to ensure safety. The incident comes after a half-dozen close calls in recent months that are being investigated by federal officials.

US study finds 1 in 10 get long COVID after omicron, starts identifying key symptoms

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. study suggests 1 in 10 people are getting long COVID after an omicron infection, a lower estimate than earlier in the pandemic. The National Institutes of Health is studying nearly 10,000 U.S. adults to help better understand why some people suffer debilitating health problems that can last for months or years after even mild COVID-19. In the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers identified a dozen key symptoms that help distinguish long COVID. They say doctors shouldn't use the list to diagnose patients — it's only a first step — but it might help future studies.

Nvidia stuns markets and signals how artificial intelligence could reshape technology sector

WASHINGTON (AP) — Shares of Nvidia, already one of the world’s most valuable companies, have soared after the chipmaker forecast a huge jump in revenue. It's an indication of how vastly the broadening use of artificial intelligence could reshape the tech sector. The California company is close to joining the exclusive club of $1 trillion companies after shares jumped 24% Thursday. Late Wednesday, Nvidia reported a quarterly profit of more than $2 billion and revenue of $7 billion, both exceeding Wall Street expectations. Yet its projections for sales of $11 billion this quarter is what caught Wall Street off guard. It’s a 64% jump from last year during the same period, and well above the $7.2 billion industry analysts were forecasting.

Centuries-old cotton tree, a national symbol for decades, felled by storm in Sierra Leone

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Sierra Leon's President Julius Maada Bio says heavy rains felled the centuries-old Cotton Tree that has stood as the country's national symbol for decades. President Bio said Thursday he looks forward to discussions on how to best use the space. A storm Wednesday evening in the capital, Freetown destroyed all by the stump of the tree. Standing 70 meters tall and 15 meters wide, the roughly 400 year-old tree has appeared on Sierra Leone’s bank notes, referred to in lullabies and visited by royalty, such as Queen Elizabeth the II, to mark the country’s independence in 1961.