AP Political Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Republican Rep. David Valadao has won reelection in California’s 22nd Congressional District, defeating Democrat Rudy Salas for the second time. Valadao is an anomaly — an elected Republican in a heavily Democratic district in a heavily Democratic state. Democrats hold a 14-point registration edge in the Central Valley
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency” — which is not, despite the name, a government agency. The acronym “DOGE” is a nod to Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said in a statement that
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be ambassador to Israel, has long rejected a Palestinian state in territory previously seized by Israel. He also has repeatedly signaled his staunch support for hardline Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and says the U.S. needs to stand firmly behind Israel. Huckabee frequently
Continue ReadingAssociated Press PHOENIX (AP) — A judge recused himself from presiding over Arizona’s fake electors case after an email surfaced in which he told fellow judges to speak out against attacks on Kamala Harris’ race. In the Aug. 29 email, Maricopa County Judge Bruce Cohen lamented that he didn’t speak out when Harris was called
Continue ReadingNEW YORK (AP) — Amtrak service in parts of the Northeast U.S. has been disrupted or delayed, after a fire broke out near a train route in New York City. Amtrak said Tuesday that initial reports indicated a brush fire stemming from a transformer at an Amtrak substation caused power losses for trains in the
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — A former prosecutor and local police official has been arrested in connection with the grisly decapitation of a mayor on Oct. 6. Officials in the southern state of Guerrero confirmed Tuesday that Germán Reyes had been arrested on charges of homicide for the killing of Alejandro Arcos just a
Continue ReadingDemocrat George Whitesides won election to a U.S. House seat representing California on Tuesday, defeating Republican Rep. Mike Garcia. Democrats have long sought to flip this Los Angeles County district, which Democrat Joe Biden comfortably carried in 2020. The party briefly won it in the 2018 midterms but lost it when Garcia won the seat
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Washington Rep. Dan Newhouse has won reelection to the U.S. House. He is one of two remaining House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump. He survived a challenge Tuesday from Jerrod Sessler, who was endorsed by Trump. In his bid for a sixth term, Newhouse was endorsed
Continue ReadingRepublican Rep. Dan Newhouse won reelection to a U.S. House seat representing Washington on Tuesday. Newhouse, who has held the seat since 2015, defeated Donald Trump-endorsed Republican Jerrod Sessler, a Navy veteran and former NASCAR driver. Newhouse was one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach Trump over the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at
Continue ReadingFood and beverage manufacturer Kraft Heinz says it’s no longer serving the Lunchables meals it created for U.S. schools. The company introduced the two packaged meals at the beginning of the 2023-2024 academic year. At the time, Kraft Heinz said the offerings were protein-enriched and contained reduced levels of saturated fat and sodium to meet
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he’ll appoint John Ratcliffe to serve as CIA director in his new administration. Ratcliffe served as director of national intelligence for the final months of Trump’s first term, leading the U.S. government’s spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic. Before then, the Texas Republican was
Continue ReadingAP Science Writer BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Even as Earth sets new heat records, humanity this year is pumping 330 million tons (300 million metric tons) more carbon dioxide into the air by burning fossil fuels than it did last year. This year the world is on track to put 41.2 billion tons (37.4 billion
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Four women suing over Idaho’s strict abortion bans told a judge Tuesday how excitement over their pregnancies turned to grief and fear after they learned their fetuses were not likely to survive to birth — and how they had to leave the state to get abortions amid fears that
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — After spending four months in federal prison for snubbing a congressional subpoena, conservative strategist Steve Bannon had a message Tuesday for prosecutors in cases against him and President-elect Donald Trump. “You wait. The hunted are about to become the hunters,” Bannon said outside a New York court where he’s
Continue ReadingMINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A prosecutor says a Minnesota man has been released from prison after serving 16 years for a murder he did not commit. Jurors in 2009 found Edgar Barrientos-Quintana guilty of killing 18-year-old Jesse Mickelson in a drive-by shooting. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. But Minnesota Attorney General Keith
Continue ReadingYEMASSEE, S.C. (AP) — Two more monkeys have been returned to the South Carolina compound that breeds the primates for medical research, authorities said Tuesday. Only 11 of the 43 Rhesus macaques that escaped last week now remain outside the Alpha Genesis facility in Yemassee, police said in a statement. Alpha Genesis officials told police
Continue ReadingHOUSTON (AP) — A judge has sentenced a woman to 50 years in prison for forcing three of her children to live with the decomposing body of their dead 8-year-old brother for more than a year in a soiled, roach-infested Houston-area apartment. The Houston Chronicle reports 38-year-old Gloria Williams expressed deep regret before being sentenced
Continue ReadingAssociated Press LONDON (AP) — “Outlander” is returning with the concluding episodes of its seventh season this month, but its stars have already wrapped official production on the show’s eighth and final season. Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan have played time traveler Claire and 18th century Highlander Jamie since the show began. They recently teased
Continue ReadingTULSA, Okla. (AP) — A World War I veteran whose remains were identified earlier this year during a probe into the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre was among those honored in a memorial service Tuesday at Tulsa’s Oaklawn Cemetery. C.L. Daniel was the first victim of the massacre to be identified among remains discovered in a
Continue ReadingLAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada Democrats still hold the power in the state Legislature but have fallen short of winning a two-thirds supermajority in both houses that would have stripped Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo of his veto power. Lombardo vetoed a record 75 bills in 2023. Democrats lost their razor-thin supermajority in the state Assembly
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