Headline News from The Associated Press
AP Headline News - Apr 26 2024 16:00 (EDT)
AP News. I'm Ed Donaghue. On Howard Stern's radio show today, President Biden says he's willing to debate Donald Trump. It's his most definitive comment yet on that issue. Trump has said he is ready to debate, but has questioned the president's willingness. A new witness is now on the stand in New York. The testimony from the former publisher of the National Enquirer has concluded in Donald Trump's Hushmani trial in New York. David Pekker returned to the witness stand for a fourth day, as defense attorneys tried to poke holes in his testimony. Pekker, who used to run the National Enquirer, said that he buried embarrassing stories that Donald Trump felt could hurt his 2016 presidential bid. Prosecutors had Pekker say this was not a standard procedure to consult with the presidential candidate's so-called "fixer" to make changes to a source agreement. The former president noted it was his wife's birthday, and he would have rather been with her in Florida. Trump is charged in Manhattan with falsely recording Hushmani payments to Stormy Daniels as being legal expenses. I'm Jackie Quinn. Stocks are higher at the close on Wall Street, despite a report from the government, inflation remains high. It's likely to reinforce the Federal Reserve's intention to hold back on interest rate cuts. For the second time in the last few months, the Biden administration is delaying a plan to ban menthol cigarettes. Anti-smoking advocates aren't going to like this, but the decision could avoid angering black voters ahead of the November election. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says Patriot missiles are part of a $6 billion aid package for Ukraine with the potential of more missiles. Going forward, we'll be able to hopefully work with a number of countries to put together additional Patriot capability. President Volodymyr Zelensky says the Patriots are needed to protect Ukrainian cities. This is AP News. The nation's top diplomat is in China. Here's the AP's Charles Del Adesma. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met with Chinese Minister of Public Security, Wang Cho Hong, in a meeting on bilateral cooperation in areas including counter-narcotics and law enforcement. Blinken says he appreciated the cooperation in counter-narcotics with China and that there's more that needs to be done. I very much look forward to discussing that with you today, as well as other issues between us. I think our ability to cooperate in this area to show results will have a very positive impact on the relations between our countries and interests of our people. Both Blinken and Wang echoed the recent communication between the presidents of the two countries, saying that efforts have been made to enforce the consensus reached by the two heads of state. I'm Charles Del Adesma. And I'm Ed Donahue, AP News. When everyone is on the same page, getting things done at work is easy. No matter what you do or what industry you're in, how you communicate is key. Everything you type is equally important to collaboration and Grammarly can help. Think of it as your AI writing partner, empowering you to communicate effectively and efficiently so you can make a bigger impact in the workplace. 96% of Grammarly users say it helps them craft more impactful writing. And as the gold standard of responsible AI, Grammarly is your secure AI writing partner that allows your team to make their point and move faster. By understanding your writing and context, Grammarly provides relevant, personalized suggestions. And with tone suggestions, you can navigate even the most difficult work conversations. You can also save time from spending hours editing drafts to just seconds with one click. Sign up and download Grammarly for free at Grammarly.com/podcast. That's G-R-A-M-M-A-R-L-Y.com/podcast. Easier said, done.