Texas GOP tries to protect US House seats under new maps
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Republicans proposed redrawn congressional maps Monday that would shore up their slipping dominance and bolster their nearly two dozen U.S. House members, while adding new districts in booming Austin and Houston.
North Korea fires suspected ballistic missile into sea
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Tuesday fired a suspected ballistic missile into the sea, Seoul and Tokyo officials said, the latest in a series of weapons tests by Pyongyang that raised questions about the sincerity of its recent offer for talks with South Korea.
China: 2 Canadians in prisoner swap freed for health reasons
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that two Canadians detained in late 2019 who were allowed to return to Canada in a prisoner swap were released on bail for health reasons.
Judge blocks Arizona laws banning school, city mask mandates
PHOENIX (AP) — A judge on Monday struck down Republican-passed Arizona laws that block schools from requiring masks and restrict the power of local governments to impose COVID-19 requirements, the latest turn in a nationwide legal battle over pandemic rules.
Racial alliances, rivalries on display in LA mayor's race
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The diversity of Los Angeles is on display in the emerging race to replace Mayor Eric Garcetti and the winning candidate who emerges from the growing field of hopefuls will need to navigate rivalries and forge alliances across the city’s racial and ethnic communities.
Gas blowout near Los Angeles leads to up to $1.8B settlement
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Thousands of families sickened and forced from their Los Angeles homes after the nation’s largest-known natural gas leak have reached a settlement of up to $1.8 billion with a utility, attorneys said Monday.
Alabama trying to use COVID relief funds for new prisons
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Facing a Justice Department lawsuit over Alabama's notoriously violent prisons, state lawmakers on Monday began a special session on a $1.3 billion construction plan that would use federal pandemic relief funds to pay part of the cost of building massive new lockups.
Utah football player's slaying under investigation
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Investigators have several “promising leads” in the shooting death of Utah sophomore cornerback Aaron Lowe, the Salt Lake City police chief said Monday as family and friends mourned the football player killed less than a year after teammate Ty Jordan died in an accidental shooting.
R&B superstar R. Kelly convicted in sex trafficking trial
NEW YORK (AP) — R. Kelly, the R&B superstar known for his anthem “I Believe I Can Fly,” was convicted Monday in a sex trafficking trial after decades of avoiding criminal responsibility for numerous allegations of misconduct with young women and children.
Powell says spike in inflation lasting longer than expected
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is preparing to tell Congress that the current spike in U.S. inflation has proven to be larger and more long-lasting than expected.
FACT FOCUS: AZ election review spurs false claims online
Presenting its findings in a six-month-long review of the 2020 presidential election in Arizona’s largest county on Friday, a Republican-backed cybersecurity firm ended in much the same place where it began: without any evidence to contradict certified election results showing Joe Biden won.
Oklahoma-based Devon Energy agrees to $6.15M settlement
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy Corporation has agreed to a $6.15 million settlement agreement with the federal government over allegations it underpaid royalties on federal leases, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.
Senate Republicans block bill that would avert government shutdown, avoid debt default
Republican senators blocked a bill Monday night to keep the government operating and suspend the debt limit to avoid a default, but Democrats aiming to avert a shutdown are likely to try again.
Hurricane Sam, small but mighty, swirls offshore in Atlantic
MIAMI (AP) — Hurricane Sam was a powerful Category 3 storm in the Atlantic Ocean on Monday but was centered well offshore and posed no threats to land, though it could generate dangerous rip currents.
'Person of interest' in woman's disappearance found dead
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Authorities found the body Monday of a maintenance worker who was considered a person of interest in the case of a central Florida college student who has been missing since Friday.
Woman accused of throwing kids in lake back in Louisiana
SHREVEPORT,La. (AP) — A woman accused of throwing two of her children into a Louisiana lake has been extradited from Texas to Louisiana, where she faces a murder charge that could send her to jail for life.
