President Joe Biden’s son is headed back to court for an arraignment on federal tax charges filed after the collapse of a plea deal that could have settled the case against him. Hunter Biden is expected to plead not guilty on Thursday to felony and misdemeanor tax offenses. The charges stem from what federal prosecutors say was a four-year scheme to skip out on paying the $1.4 million he owed to the Internal Revenue Service. Prosecutors say he instead spent millions to fund an extravagant lifestyle that by his own admission included drugs and alcohol.

The secrecy surrounding Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalizations due to prostate cancer surgery set off a political firestorm, launched multiple reviews and triggered calls for his ouster. To some, the uproar may be puzzling or even offensive. An individual’s right to privacy, particularly about medical issues, is sacred. And most people have that right to privacy. But not all. As a member of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet, a key national security adviser and a guardian of the use and maintenance of the country’s nuclear arsenal, Austin gives up some personal privacy.

House Republicans are off to a raucous start in their first week back in Washington after an extended holiday break. Some are openly criticizing new House Speaker Mike Johnson. Others helped sink a routine procedural vote to express their displeasure with topline spending levels that Johnson negotiated with Democrats for the current fiscal year. Most Republicans say they support Johnson, saying he is doing the best he can. But it took only eight Republicans to oust McCarthy — along with 208 Democrats. A similar revolt from just a handful of Republicans would leave Johnson vulnerable as well.

Donald Trump is returning to court for closing arguments in his New York civil fraud trial. The former president had been planning to deliver his own summation Thursday, but a judge nixed that. Judge Arthur Engoron was initially keen on the idea, but yanked permission after Trump’s lawyer missed a deadline for agreeing to limits on his remarks. Among other things, Engoron warned Trump “may not deliver a campaign speech” or impugn him, his adversaries and court staff. Trump’s return to the civil trial, just days before the Iowa caucuses kick off the presidential primary season, is part of a busy legal and political stretch for him.

Republican-led state legislatures are again considering bills restricting medical care for transgender youths and some adults the year after a wave of high-profile bills became law. Advocates for transgender rights say most of the states inclined to pass gender-affirming care bans have done so. They now expect those states to build upon those restrictions and expand them to adults. At least 22 states have enacted bans on gender affirming care for children. Most of them were approved in the past year. Major medical groups oppose the bans and have endorsed the care for youth. They say it’s safe when administered properly.

For 17 years, Sean Hodgson was best friends with the man who would commit Maine's deadliest mass shooting. Hodgson and Robert Card were both Army reservists. Hodgson watched Card unravel, becoming increasingly angry and paranoid. Knowing Card had access to guns and wouldn't get help, Hodgson texted an Army supervisor that he feared Card would snap and commit such a shooting. Now, in his first interview, Hodgson exclusively tells The Associated Press it was the hardest thing he's ever done. He says officials should've done more to intervene. An independent review for law enforcement calls Hodgson alarmist. But he says given his relationship with Card and history in threat detection, he should've been taken seriously. Army officials wouldn't comment, citing pending investigations.

For 17 years, Sean Hodgson was best friends with the man who would commit Maine's deadliest mass shooting. Hodgson and Robert Card were both Army reservists. Hodgson watched Card unravel, becoming increasingly angry and paranoid. Knowing Card had access to guns and wouldn't get help, Hodgson texted an Army supervisor that he feared Card would snap and commit such a shooting. Now, in his first interview, Hodgson exclusively tells The Associated Press it was the hardest thing he's ever done. He says officials should've done more to intervene. An independent review for law enforcement calls Hodgson alarmist. But he says given his relationship with Card and history in threat detection, he should've been taken seriously. Army officials wouldn't comment, citing pending investigations.

While GOP presidential candidates Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley met in a sharp CNN debate that brought out clear differences, Donald Trump provided clear counterprogramming. He appeared Wednesday on a Fox News town hall at the same time as his rivals debated, where he was barely challenged and met with cheers. It was his first live appearance on Fox News since 2022, and unpleasant topics like Trump's false election claims, the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection and the court cases against the former president were barely touched upon. One audience member blurted out “love you” after he took her question.

Only two Republicans were facing off at the GOP's fifth presidential debate stage — former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. The two debated Wednesday for the highest-stake face-off just five days before the nominating process formally starts with Iowa’s caucuses. Haley and DeSantis’ spirited debate came in the shadow of a live town hall held by the man who is dominating the primary contest, Donald Trump. The former president, of course, has stayed away from all five debates. The one Republican candidate whose entire campaign has been based around stopping Trump, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, suspended his campaign just hours before the debate.

New York building officials have issued emergency work orders to stabilize buildings around a historic Brooklyn synagogue where a secret tunnel was revealed earlier this week. The city's investigation into the extent of damage at the headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic Jewish movement in Crown Heights found a 60-foot (18.3-meter) long, 8-foot (2.4-meter) wide, 5-foot (1.5-meter) high tunnel located underneath several buildings on Eastern Parkway. Officials and locals say young men in the community dug the tunnel in secret. When the group’s leaders tried to seal it off Monday, those men staged a protest that turned violent as police moved in to make arrests.

Federal prosecutor Damian Williams in New York says his office is busy with lots of crimes but he wants to find more. So he met with reporters Wednesday and issued what amounts to a casting call for whistleblowers willing to reveal crimes his office doesn't already know about. Williams unveiled what he described as the “SDNY Whistleblower Pilot Program.” He says he's hoping to spread the word about his new initiative to generate more work for what is already one of the busiest and biggest offices of federal prosecutors in the country. Whistleblowers, he says, can sometimes avoid prosecution even if they had a role in a crime.

News of a secret underground tunnel found connected to a historic Brooklyn synagogue was picked up quickly on social media, with posts spreading baseless claims about the passage, many laced with antisemitism. Those supporting the tunnel said they were carrying out an “expansion” plan long envisioned by the former head of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. But that hasn’t stopped a proliferation of social media posts falsely suggesting the passage is proof of child sex trafficking or other illicit activities.

A woman on South Carolina's Hilton Head Island who drew national attention from such stars as Tyler Perry and Snoop Dogg as she fought off developers in her final years has died at 94. A family publicist says Josephine Wright died Sunday at her Hilton Head home. Wright had been fighting a lawsuit from an investment firm that sued her last year. The company alleged her property encroached on their proposed 147-unit neighborhood near land her late husband’s family had owned for over a century. Wright had moved decades ago from New York City to the historic Gullah neighborhood of Jonesville — named for a Black Civil War veteran who escaped slavery and purchased land there.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has directed the state’s university system to make it easier for out-of-state students facing antisemitism and other religious harassment in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war to transfer to Florida campuses. DeSantis’ directive on Tuesday piggybacks on blowback some Ivy League leaders have faced in response to how they’re handling antisemitism and anti-Israel protests on their campuses. The governor’s office says there has been an increase in inquiries about transferring, without providing any numbers backing that up. Florida state Sen. Lori Berman, a Democrat who is Jewish, and other critics say antisemitism is also a problem in Florida, and DeSantis’ directive is doing little to prevent that.

A federal appeals panel says a Missouri lawsuit accusing China of hoarding masks and other protective gear during the COVID-19 pandemic can move forward. The three-judge panel of the U.S. Eighth District Court of Appeals panel, however, otherwise agreed Wednesday with a lower court’s 2022 ruling that tossed out Missouri’s case entirely. The court found that federal rules prohibit a sovereign foreign entity from being sued in American courts. The state had alleged that China’s officials were to blame for the pandemic because they didn’t do enough to slow its spread. The appeals panel found that only the claim regarding personal protective equipment can proceed.

Republican presidential contender Chris Christie has notified key allies that he plans to make a major announcement at a campaign stop Wednesday evening in New Hampshire. That’s according to a person with direct knowledge of the former New Jersey governor’s plans who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to disclose private discussions. It’s unclear what the announcement might be, but Christie has been under intense pressure to exit the Republican presidential primary race as critics of Donald Trump work to unify behind a viable alternative to the former president. Christie is scheduled to host a town hall meeting in Windham at 5 p.m.

Looking to waste away with a cheeseburger in paradise? You soon could do so while driving down Jimmy Buffett Highway with a Margaritaville license plate. The iconic Florida singer who died last year wrote songs that inspired tourists to the flock to the Florida Keys looking for sun, sand and relaxation. Now the Florida Legislature wants to return the favor. A state Senate committee on Wednesday unanimously approved two bills to honor Buffett after watching a short video tribute to him. One would name Florida's coastal State Road A1A after Buffett and the other would create a Margaritaville specialty license plate.

Ron DeSantis left an important item in Florida when he flew back to Iowa after delivering his State of the State address Tuesday. The Republican governor told a construction contractors convention in Des Moines on Wednesday that he accidentally left his winter coat in Tallahassee and that his staff was hustling to retrieve it for him. DeSantis is set to face off against former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley on Wednesday night in the first one-on-one GOP presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle. The debate in Iowa comes just five days before the state’s leadoff caucuses and as the candidates are appealing to voters to turn out for what could be the coldest caucus night ever.

Sen. Bob Menendez is seeking dismissal of bribery charges, saying through lawyers that New York federal prosecutors are making claims that are “outrageously false, and indeed distort reality.” The New Jersey Democrat has pleaded not guilty to charges revealed last fall with an indictment alleging that Menendez and his wife accepted bribes of gold bars and cash in return for help from the senator that would benefit three New Jersey businessmen. The indictment has since been updated to accuse Menendez of using his political influence to secretly advance Egypt's interests and of acting favorably to Qatar's government to aid a businessman. A May trial is scheduled.

Search teams have been deployed following an avalanche at a California ski resort near Lake Tahoe. The avalanche occurred around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at Palisades Tahoe, the resort says in a statement on X, formerly Twitter. It wasn’t immediately clear if anyone was missing or injured. The mountain is closed for the day. Formerly known as Squaw Valley, Palisades is on the western side of Lake Tahoe. The resort was host site for the 1960 winter Olympics.

A Democratic Florida prosecutor suspended by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis will get another chance to show his political advocacy was protected by the First Amendment and could not be the basis for his removal. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case involving ex-prosecutor Andrew Warren back to a trial judge in Tallahassee to determine if the governor’s suspension was improperly focused on statements Warren signed along with other prosecutors opposing certain legislation to criminalize abortion and gender care. DeSantis cited those statements in his 2022 suspension of Warren, whom he replaced with Republican Suzy Lopez as the Tampa-based state attorney. Warren, who had been elected twice, recently announced he would not run again this year.