WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s strategy of becoming aggressively involved in the midterm elections is prompting concern among some Republicans who worry he’s complicating the political calculus for GOP candidates trying to outrun his popularity. Those Republicans worry their statewide candidates may rise or fall based on Trump’s standing, muddling their path to maintain…
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Crews battling deadly Northern California wildfires braced for a weekend of windy, hot weather that could drive the flames into new areas and threaten more homes. The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings of critical fire weather conditions through Saturday night, saying a series of dry low-pressure systems passing through…
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Speaking Friday at a historically black university, potential Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren delivered what she called “the hard truth about our criminal justice system: It’s racist … I mean front to back.” The Massachusetts senator identified some of the system’s failures: disproportionate arrests of African-Americans for petty drug possession; an…
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Gov. Bruce Rauner has rejected legislation that would prohibit retailers from charging fees on rebate cards. The Republican vetoed the measure Friday. It would have banned merchants and banks offering rebates to consumers from charging maintenance or dormancy fees . Rauner says so-called post-issuance fees are a way for businesses to recoup the…
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — DNA tests have determined the identity of a person taken from his mother as a baby by Argentina’s former dictatorship, a human rights group said Friday, bringing the number of such cases to 128. The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo said that the person who was identified only by…
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois children must ride in rear-facing child-restraint seats in automobiles until age 2 under a law Gov. Bruce Rauner signed. The Republican OK’d the measure for small backseat passengers Friday. Rear-facing restraints are recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics . Children taller than 40 inches or weighing more than 40 pounds are exempt. Rep.…
MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, Wyo. (AP) — An Oregon man who was caught on video harassing a bison in Yellowstone National Park was arrested in Glacier National Park in the third disturbance in less than a week at a national park, officials said Friday. Rangers looking for Raymond Reinke of Pendleton, Oregon, found him causing a…
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Police have arrested a man a day after he allegedly ran away from a traffic stop, leaving behind a van with 15 people inside. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the driver was arrested Friday as he walked along Highway 109 near Eureka. Police conducting a traffic stop Thursday say the driver…
By ED WHITE , Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — A Michigan judge who held an extraordinary hearing before sentencing sports doctor Larry Nassar to prison for sexually assaulting female athletes refused to disqualify herself from the case Friday if higher courts send it back to fix any errors. Ingham County Judge Rosemarie Aquilina said some…
By SUMMER BALLENTINE , Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri voters will likely get a chance to weigh in on proposals to change state redistricting, increase the state’s minimum wage and legalize medical marijuana when they head to the polls in November. Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft on Thursday approved the initiatives for…