A Pennsylvania school district has canceled an upcoming appearance by actor and children’s book author Maulik Pancholy. The move came this week after district leaders cited concerns about what they described as his activism and “lifestyle.” Pancholy, who is gay, was scheduled to speak against bullying during a May 22 assembly at Mountain View Middle School in Cumberland County. But the district’s school board voted unanimously Monday night to cancel his talk after some members voiced their concerns and others noted the district’s policy about not hosting overtly political events. That policy was enacted after the district was criticized for hosting a rally by Donald Trump during his 2016 campaign for president.

A jury of 12 people has been seated in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York. Alternates are now being selected. The rapid progress Thursday afternoon propels the case closer to opening statements and weeks of testimony in a case charging the Republican with falsifying business records to suppress stories about his sex life in the final days of the 2016 election. The jury includes a sales professional, a software engineer, an English teacher and multiple lawyers. The case centers on $130,000 Trump’s lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen paid to porn actor Stormy Daniels. Trump faces 34 felony counts. He denies any wrongdoing.

Donald Trump has lost a bid to pause a string of lawsuits accusing him of inciting the U.S. Capitol attack, while the former president fights his 2020 election interference criminal case in Washington. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta on Thursday denied a request from the Republican’s lawyers to put the civil cases on hold indefinitely while the criminal case accusing Trump of conspiring to overturn his election defeat to President Joe Biden plays out. The lawsuits brought by Democratic lawmakers and police officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, seek civil damages for harm they say they suffered during the attack.

WASHINGTON — House congressional leaders were toiling Thursday on a delicate, bipartisan pus…

It seems Americans don't think they're particularly well-rested. A new poll says that a majority of Americans say they would feel better if they could have more sleep. But in the U.S., where the ethos of grinding and pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps is ubiquitous, getting enough sleep can seem like a dream. The Gallup survey found 57% of those surveyed agreed that getting more sleep would help, while only 42% said they were getting as much sleep as they need. That’s a first in Gallup polling since 2001. Younger women, under 50, were especially likely to report they aren't getting enough rest.