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Congress is gridlocked. These members are convinced AI legislation could break through

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation Tuesday that would prohibit political campaigns and outside political groups from using artificial intelligence to misrepresent the views of their rivals by pretending to be them. The introduction of the bill comes as Congress has failed to regulate the fast-evolving technology and experts

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Wildfires in Portugal blamed for three deaths as Europe sends aircraft to help

Associated Press LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Five thousand firefighters are struggling to contain multiple wildfires raging across northern Portugal that are blamed for causing three deaths and forcing an unknown number of residents to flee their homes. Some 100 fires reported by national authorities have stretched the firefighting brigades. Authorities say one civilian has died

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China says it tailed a US spy plane through the sensitive Taiwan Strait

Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Chinese warplanes tailed a U.S. military aircraft through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, China’s military said. The U.S. aircraft was a P-8A Poseidon patrol and reconnaissance plane, capable of conducting long-range anti-submarine warfare, according to a statement by the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command. The U.S. Navy

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Facebook owner Meta bans Russia state media outlets over ‘foreign interference’

AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — Meta said it’s banning Russia state media organization from its social media platforms, alleging that the outlets used deceptive tactics to amplify Moscow’s propaganda. The announcement drew a rebuke from the Kremlin on Tuesday. The company, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, said late Monday that it will roll

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German opposition Christian Democrats tap leader Friedrich Merz as their candidate for chancellor

Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s opposition center-right Christian Democratic Union has chosen its leader Friedrich Merz to be its candidate for chancellor in next year’s national election. The decision was announced Tuesday at a news conference in Berlin with Merz and Markus Soeder, the leader of the CDU’s smaller Bavarian counterpart, the Christian Social

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Cities in Central Europe reinforce riverbanks ahead of more flooding

Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Soldiers have dropped sandbags from military helicopters to reinforce river embankments and evacuated residents as the worst flooding in years spreads across Central Europe. The floods were critical in Poland on Tuesday even as waters began to recede in other battered countries, including the Czech Republic and Austria. Firefighters

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Israel says halting Hezbollah attacks is now a war goal as officials warn of a wider operation

Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel said Tuesday that halting Hezbollah’s attacks in the country’s north to allow residents to return to their homes is now an official war goal, as it considers a wider military operation in Lebanon that could ignite an all-out conflict. Israeli officials have repeatedly threatened to take heavier military action

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UN rights experts decry worsening repression in Venezuela in wake of contested election result

Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Independent U.N. human rights experts say Venezuela’s government has intensified the “harshest and most violent mechanisms of its repressive apparatus” in the wake of the disputed July presidential election. Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, which is closely aligned with President Nicolás Maduro’s administration, has declared that he won the July 28

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A key employee says the Titan sub tragedy could have been prevented

Associated Press A key employee who labeled a doomed experimental submersible unsafe prior to its last, fatal voyage testified Tuesday that the tragedy could have been prevented if a federal safety agency had investigated his complaint. David Lochridge, OceanGate’s former operations director, said he felt let down by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s decision

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Tough treatment and good memories mix at newest national site dedicated to Latinos

Associated Press In the second half of the 20th century, Mexican and Mexican-American children in Marfa, Texas, were educated in an adobe-style building in classrooms that alumni describe as barracks. They received secondhand textbooks and were paddled for speaking Spanish instead of English in a school where Latino students were segregated from Anglos by law

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Democrats run unopposed to fill 2 state House vacancies in Philadelphia

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Philadelphia voters are filling two vacant seats in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. In both cases the Democratic candidates are the only ones on the ballot. Tuesday’s special elections are for positions vacated this summer when state Reps. Donna Bullock and Stephen Kinsey resigned. Keith Harris is seeking Bullock’s seat, and

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Ohio Supreme Court clears ballot language saying anti-gerrymandering measure calls for the opposite

Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court has let stand ballot language that will describe this fall’s Issue 1 as requiring gerrymandering, when the proposal is intended to do the opposite. The high court has ordered two of eight disputed sections of the ballot description be rewritten, while upholding the other six.

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Donald Trump doesn’t share details about his family’s cryptocurrency venture during X launch event

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has launched his family’s cryptocurrency venture, World Liberty Financial, with an interview on the X social media platform. He has also given his first public comments on the apparent assassination attempt against him a day earlier. Trump did not discuss specifics about World Liberty Financial

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Vance and Georgia Gov. Kemp project Republican unity at evangelical event after Trump tensions

Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — A leading conservative Christian group put on a show of Republican unity Monday, cementing the new détente between Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and GOP nominee Donald Trump while vice presidential nominee JD Vance tried to smooth over differences on abortion policy across the evangelical community ahead of Election Day. The

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Former Uvalde schools police chief makes first court appearance since indictment

Associated Press/Report for America AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The former schools police chief in Uvalde, Texas, made his first court appearance on criminal charges that accuse him of failing to take sufficient action during the Robb Elementary School shooting in 2022. Pete Arredondo has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of child endangerment and abandonment.

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Percival Everett and Rachel Kushner are among 6 Booker Prize finalists

LONDON (AP) — American writers Percival Everett and Rachel Kushner have been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Organizers made the announcement on Monday. Five of the six finalists are women, marking a record in the prize’s 55-year history. Everett, a 2022 finalist, is nominated for “James,” a reimagining of “Huckleberry Finn.” Kushner, a former finalist,

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Democracy declined for 8th straight year around the globe, institute finds

Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — An organization promoting democracy says last year had the worst decline in credible elections and parliamentary oversight in almost a half-century. It was driven by government intimidation, foreign interference, disinformation and the misuse of artificial intelligence in campaigns. The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance said election credibility

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Boeing says it’s considering temporary layoffs to save cash during the strike by machinists

Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Boeing plans to freeze hiring and reduce travel and is considering temporary layoffs to save cash during a factory workers’ strike that began last week, the company told employees Monday. The company said the moves, which include reduced spending on suppliers, were necessary because “our business is in a difficult

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Pennsylvania court rejects Cornel West’s bid to get on ballot and clears way for mail voting

Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has upheld a lower ruling that rejected a bid to get independent presidential candidate Cornel West on the battleground state’s ballot for the November election. The courts sided Monday with the secretary of state’s office in rejecting West’s candidacy paperwork. The decision sets in motion the

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Court reinstates Arkansas ban of electronic signatures on voter registration forms

Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal appeals court has reinstated an Arkansas rule prohibiting election officials from accepting voter registration forms signed with an electronic signature. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an administrative stay on Friday afternoon of a preliminary injunction against the rule. An appeal of the preliminary

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Delaware judge sets parameters for trial in Smartmatic defamation lawsuit against Newsmax

Associated Press A Delaware judge has set several trial parameters in a defamation lawsuit pitting an electronic voting machine manufacturer targeted by allies of former President Donald Trump against a conservative news outlet that aired accusations of vote manipulation in the 2020 election. The judge on Monday also told attorneys for Smartmatic and cable network

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Suspicious packages sent to election officials in at least 6 states

Associated Press Suspicious packages were sent to election officials in at least six states on Monday, but there were no reports that any of the packages contained hazardous material. Powder-containing packages were sent to secretaries of state and state election offices in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Tennessee, Wyoming and Oklahoma, officials in those states confirmed. The

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Wisconsin’s voter-approved cash bail measures will stand under judge’s ruling

Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin judge says stricter cash bail measures that voters approved last year will stand despite procedural flaws. The decision Monday  from Dane County Circuit Judge Rhonda Lanford came in a lawsuit filed by criminal justice advocates over two constitutional amendments, State elections officials and the Legislature say the

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Officials ban swimming after medical waste washes ashore in Maryland, Virginia and Delaware

OCEAN CITY, Md. (AP) — Officials are warning people to stay out of the ocean at several beaches in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia after they say medical waste, including hypodermic needles, washed ashore. Assateague Island National Seashore closed all ocean-facing beaches in Maryland and Virginia to swimming and wading. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources

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Bolivia’s iconic ex-President Morales calls for anti-government march as political fight escalates

Associated Press LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Evo Morales, Bolivia’s former president, has called on supporters to protest against current President Luis Arce. Morales made the call on Monday after Arce accused him on national TV of trying to overthrow the government. Arce’s speech on Sunday night accused Morales of sabotaging his administration and undermining

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A New York woman is challenging Miss America, Miss World rules banning mothers from beauty pageants

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A New York woman is challenging the longstanding rules of Miss America and Miss World that disqualify mothers from their beauty pageants. Danielle Hazel said Monday that she’s always dreamed of entering the competitions but was devastated to learn that she’s no longer eligible because she had a son

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Oregon Republicans ask governor to protect voter rolls after DMV registered noncitizens

Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Oregon are asking Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek to ensure the integrity of the state’s voter rolls. Their letter to the governor came after state transportation officials acknowledged that some 300 noncitizens had been registered as voters since 2021. The mistake occurred in part because Oregon has

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Ohio state police to protect schools after furor over Haitian immigrants in Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — Ohio state police will help protect schools in a city at the center of a political furor over Haitian migrants, the governor announced Monday, while local officials canceled an annual celebration of cultural diversity in the fallout over former President Donald Trump’s false claims about pet-eating. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a

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Brazilian firefighters battle national park wildfire that is enveloping Brasilia in smoke

Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Firefighters have battled flames spreading through a national park in Brazil in the latest wildfire in the country which is experiencing an historic drought. More than 90 firefighters on Monday were trying to extinguish blazes that have already burned through 700 hectares or 1,700 acres of the conservation

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Control of Murdoch media empire at stake as hearing to proceed with mogul and children

Associated Press RENO, Nev. (AP) — Rupert Murdoch and his four children are in Nevada where they’re scheduled to return to court Tuesday at an evidentiary hearing that could decide who control’s Murdoch’s media empire after his death. The proceedings before probate commissioner began behind closed doors in Reno on Monday. The New York Times

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Venezuelan opposition calls on US to cancel oil company licenses to pressure Maduro

Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Venezuela’s main opposition coalition has urged the U.S. to cancel licenses for Chevron and other energy companies. The coalition aims to pressure President Nicolás Maduro to negotiate a transition from power. An adviser to Edmundo González Urrutia’s campaign made the appeal Monday. González represented the Unitary Platform coalition in

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Louisville interim police chief will lead department in permanent role

Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville’s interim police chief has been named permanent chief. Paul Humphrey took over as interim chief in June when former Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel was suspended over her handling of a sexual harassment claim within the department. Before the permanent assignment this week, Humphrey was the city’s fourth interim chief

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Lawsuit says Alabama voter purge targets naturalized citizens

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Voting rights groups have filed a lawsuit against  Alabama’s secretary of state over a policy they said is illegally removing naturalized citizens from voting rolls. Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen announced last month that 3,251 people who had been previously issued noncitizen identification numbers will have their voter registration status

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US imposes sanctions on a spyware firm behind a tool used to spy on dissidents and journalists

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is placing new sanctions on a spyware firm and its executives after its tools were used to spy on journalists, dissidents and public officials around the world. The new penalties announced Monday by the Treasury Department target the Intellexa Consortium, a network of companies created by a

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Massive pipeline fire burning near Houston began after a vehicle struck a valve, officials say

Associated Press DEER PARK, Texas (AP) — A towering flame gradually subsided Tuesday morning in the aftermath of a massive pipeline explosion after a vehicle drove through a fence and struck an above-ground valve, officials said. Deer Park officials said police and local FBI agents initiated investigations and found no preliminary reports that would suggest

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Judge finds woman incompetent to stand trial in fatal stabbing of 3-year-old outside supermarket

CLEVELAND (AP) — A woman who authorities say fatally stabbed a 3-year-old boy as he sat in a grocery cart outside an Ohio supermarket and wounded his mother has been found incompetent to stand trial. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John Russo issued the ruling Friday. He says 33-year-old Bionca Ellis will remain hospitalized indefinitely

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After mass shooting, bill would require Army to use state crisis laws to remove weapons

Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Republican Sen. Susan Collins is introducing a bill prompted by the state’s deadliest shooting that requires the Army to use state crisis intervention laws to remove a service member’s access to weapons if deemed to pose a serious treat. The Armed Forces Crisis Intervention Notification Act, which is being

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