Associated Press

Associated Press

Virginia Democrats pick nominees in 2 US House seats they hope to flip in midterms

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia voters will pick their nominees Tuesday for this year’s congressional midterm elections, capping a primary season marked by upheaval thanks to Democrats’ failed redistricting initiative. The commonwealth typically holds its primaries in June but this year moved them to August to accommodate a push approved by voters — but squashed […]
25 days ago

What to watch in the Aug. 4 primaries: Michigan Senate race tests Democrats’ path forward

Michigan will offer the country its clearest gauge yet on the direction of the Democratic Party, as primary voters in the battleground state choose between a progressive standard-bearer and an establishment-backed candidate. Although there have been similar contests around the country, this one will hold extra weight because Michigan is a key state in presidential […]
25 days ago

Asian shares mostly dip after US stocks rally

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly declined Tuesday, despite a rally on Wall Street boosted by easing oil prices, as regional investors still weighed the impact from the recent joint U.S.-Japan currency intervention. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.6% to 63,369.85, as the U.S. dollar inched up to 157.63 Japanese yen from 157.18 yen. The […]
25 days ago

Judge rules New York can’t ban federal agents from wearing face coverings

NEW YORK (AP) — New York can’t ban federal agents from wearing face coverings or require that they wear visible identification, a federal judge ruled Monday. The ruling comes after a federal judge earlier this year blocked a similar law in California that was enacted after the Trump administration aggressively worked to increase immigration arrests. […]
25 days ago

Contractors building border wall ordered to stop drilling wells in drought-stricken New Mexico

PHOENIX (AP) — The Trump administration has ordered construction crews on a border wall to stop drilling wells in drought-stricken New Mexico after ranchers said pumping groundwater needed to make concrete could threaten their livestock. The order comes as crews across the southern border race to complete one of President Donald Trump’s highest domestic priorities […]
25 days ago

Editorial Roundup: United States

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: ___ July 31 The Washington Post says democracy doesn’t require truth police It became fashionable a few years ago for people to blame “misinformation” for others holding views they find wrongheaded. Social media platforms, sometimes jawboned by the federal government, invoked this supposed crisis to […]
25 days ago

Musk likely to face tough questions during SpaceX’s first earnings call as a public company

NEW YORK (AP) — Investors in Elon Musk’s space company get a chance to question him Tuesday after SpaceX issues its first quarterly earnings since going public. SpaceX shares are down by half from their June peak as investors worry Musk may have oversold them on its future prospects. They’re also bracing for volatile trading […]
25 days ago

Supreme Court won’t halt $656M judgment against the PLO and Palestinian Authority

WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor refused Monday to halt a $656 million judgment against Palestinian authorities in a long-running lawsuit filed by Americans killed or wounded in attacks in Israel. The order signed by Sotomayor comes after the high court ruled last year in favor of the victims and their families. The […]
25 days ago

25 states sue over Trump administration’s latest tariffs, citing Supreme Court ruling

WASHINGTON (AP) — Twenty-five states sued the Trump administration Monday over its latest tariffs, calling them a pretext for replacing import taxes the Supreme Court struck down in February. The United States last month imposed double-digit tariffs on 59 countries and the European Union, charging that they had not done enough to crack down on […]
25 days ago

Tropical shark caught off Massachusetts could be sign of warming waters

Nate Rouette and his brother Nelson went shark fishing on Cape Cod hoping for an exciting catch, but were shocked by what they reeled in — a tropical species of shark with a reputation for eating everything it can swallow. The brothers, longtime sport fishermen who live in Massachusetts, released a juvenile tiger shark in […]
25 days ago

Man who killed top Minnesota lawmaker and her husband makes first state court appearance

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The man serving two life terms plus 40 years after pleading guilty to federal charges related to killing a top Democratic lawmaker and her husband made his initial appearance Monday in state court where he faces similar charges. The state case against Vance Boelter had been on hold pending resolution of the […]
25 days ago

Ethics panel recommends House censure Republican Rep. Chuck Edwards for conduct with two aides

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Ethics Committee recommended Monday that the House censure Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., after finding that he engaged in persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct toward two young female aides in his congressional office. A censure registers the House’s deep disapproval of a lawmaker’s conduct that does not meet the threshold for […]
25 days ago

In Texas, a political group bets $6 million on Latino voters coming back to Democrats

A left-leaning group is planning to spend $6 million organizing Latino voters in Texas, a group that has trended away from Democrats but is pivotal to their hopes of picking up seats in Congress. Somos Votantes has started a $2 million statewide voter education push centered on door-to-door conversations and voter registration. Its affiliated political […]
25 days ago

Beloved author Benjamin Alire Sáenz, first Latino PEN/Faulkner winner, dies at 71

NEW YORK (AP) — Benjamin Alire Sáenz, an award-winning fiction writer and poet who drew upon his sexuality and his life on the Southern border, has died at age 71. He was the first Latino to win the PEN/Faulkner prize. Sáenz, who produced a story collection that won the PEN/Faulkner prize and a young adult […]
25 days ago

Authorities seek a motive in the mass shooting at an Idaho In-N-Out Burger

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) — Investigators on Monday were trying to determine what led a 24-year-old man to open fire at an Idaho fast-food restaurant over the weekend, in an attack that left three people dead and seven others wounded before authorities say he killed himself. Police Chief Matthew Hicks said Sunday detectives are confident […]
25 days ago

Michigan reports first 2 US deaths in outbreak of cyclospora

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Two people have died in the cyclospora outbreak in Michigan, state health officials announced Monday. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said both people had underlying health conditions that may have been impacted by the intestinal illness and dehydration. The department said it will not be providing additional information […]
25 days ago

A federal judge lets DHS proceed with a border wall through a small Texas town’s levee system

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge is allowing the Department of Homeland Security to go ahead for now with plans to build a border wall through a levee system protecting a small Texas town on the border with Mexico, rejecting arguments by the town that the wall could lead to flooding. The decision late Sunday […]
25 days ago

A Putin critic leaves Russia after he is barred him from running for parliament

Opposition politician Boris Nadezhdin, who criticized Russia’s war in Ukraine and tried to challenge President Vladimir Putin in the 2024 election, said Monday he has left Russia, a move that follows a crackdown that barred him from a race for parliament this year. Nadezhdin, 63, shared a video on Telegram, showing him standing in front […]
25 days ago

Washington state fires destroy hundreds of structures and force Spokane-area residents to evacuate

Light winds and lower temperatures were in the forecast Monday to help firefighters with wildfires in eastern Washington state that forced the evacuation of 60,000 people in the Spokane area while destroying at least 600 homes, businesses and other structures. The fires in and around Spokane, the state’s second-largest city, burned about 12 square miles […]
25 days ago

The Latest: Trump says new talks are Iran’s ‘last chance’ to make a deal

President Donald Trump said Monday that newly planned talks with Tehran are the “last chance” for Iran to forge a deal and avoid an escalation of U.S. strikes on the country. Trump, speaking at the Oval Office, said he expects negotiations that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and create a pathway for Iran to […]
25 days ago

US faces new pressure to build weapons without China’s rare earth magnets

EXETER, N.H. (AP) — A giant American flag hanging on the wall of a warehouse in New Hampshire hints at the national importance of the elements bound inside the mining waste stored in 1-ton bags. The company uses electrolysis to separate the key critical elements President Donald Trump’s administration desperately wants to produce domestically from […]
26 days ago

Trump overhaul could gut Head Start preschool standards, leaving states to set the rules

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration is planning a dramatic overhaul of Head Start that would gut its quality standards, upending the hallmarks of the early education program for impoverished children, two people familiar with the deliberations said. Head Start, established in the 1960s to help fight poverty, has long been considered by experts […]
26 days ago

Top US admiral warns against coercion, says no nation will dominate Indo-Pacific

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The head of U.S. Pacific Command said Monday that coercive actions by China and other actors are challenging regional stability, warning the United States will not allow any nation to dominate the Indo-Pacific. Admiral Samuel Paparo said some actors were using “false claims of legitimacy” to justify intimidation and coercion. […]
26 days ago

Maryland lawmakers to consider steps toward partisan redistricting for 2028

Maryland lawmakers will kick off a special session Monday to consider a first step in a partisan redistricting initiative that could help Democrats pick up an additional U.S. House seat by 2028. The General Assembly will begin debate on a proposed constitutional amendment intended to give Democrats greater latitude to draw congressional maps favoring their […]
26 days ago