AP National News

By MICHAEL TARM AP Legal Affairs Writer CHICAGO (AP) — Days after a rooftop gunman killed seven people at a parade, attention has turned to how the assailant obtained multiple guns and whether the laws on Illinois books could have prevented the Independence Day massacre. Illinois gun laws are generally praised by gun-control advocates as

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A small, rural county just west of Florida’s capital is stunned by an unheard-of spike in deadly drug overdoses believed to be caused by fentanyl mixed with other illegal drugs. It’s a sign that the national problem is becoming even more far-reaching. Over the holiday weekend,

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration and Juul have agreed to put their court fight on hold while the government  reopens its review of the company’s electronic cigarettes. The agreement Wednesday comes one day after the FDA placed a hold on its initial order banning Juul’s products.

By MARK THIESSEN Associate Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska wildlife officials have killed four black bears in a campground recently reserved for people in Anchorage who are homeless after the city’s largest shelter was closed. Employees from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game on Tuesday killed a sow and her two cubs and

By CLAIRE SAVAGE and HARM VENHUIZEN Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Two of the victims of a July Fourth parade massacre in a Chicago suburb left behind a 2-year-old son. Another was staying with family in Illinois after he was injured in car wreck. For some, it was a tradition. They were avid travelers, members

CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge Wednesday sentenced Jerry Harris, a former star of the Netflix documentary series “Cheer,” to 12 years in prison for coercing teenage boys to send him obscene photos and videos of themselves and soliciting sex from minors at cheerleading competitions. U.S. District Judge Manish Shah also ordered that the sentence

By JANET McCONNAUGHEY Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says experts disagree strongly about whether ivory-billed woodpeckers are extinct, and it’s putting off a final decision on the question to review information. The bird with a 30-inch wingspan and a high, nasal call was among 23 animals the agency

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — A rural Georgia monument that some conservative Christians criticized as satanic and others dubbed “America’s Stonehenge” was demolished Wednesday after a predawn bombing turned one of its four granite panels into rubble. The Georgia Guidestones monument near Elberton was damaged by an explosive device, the Georgia Bureau

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hurricane Bonnie weakened slightly Wednesday after becoming the first major storm of the eastern Pacific season while off southern Mexico, though it wasn’t a threat to land. Bonnie was moving farther away from Mexico’s Pacific coast four days after crossing Central America as a tropical storm from the Caribbean and dropping

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp says his main campaign committee raised $3.8 million in the two months ended June 30. However, heavy spending leading up to the Republican’s blowout primary win means Kemp’s total amount of cash on hand continues to fall. Kemp spokesman Cody Hall says the

CHICAGO (AP) — A grandson and nephew of Chicago’s two longest-serving mayors has been sentenced to four months in prison after being convicted of tax crimes and making false statements. Patrick Daley Thompson was accused of falsely claiming mortgage interest deductions and lying about lines of credit from the now-closed Washington Federal Bank for Savings.

WASHINGTON (AP) — NASA said Wednesday that contact has been restored with its $32.7 million spacecraft headed to the moon to test out a lopsided lunar orbit. Contact was lost after one successful communication and a second partial one on Monday, after the spacecraft left Earth’s orbit on its way to the moon, the space

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Authorities in Haiti say a former sports minister accused of rape, sexual abuse and indecent exposure has been repatriated to the country. Haiti’s National Police said Wednesday that Evans Lescouflair was arrested Saturday in Puerto Rico and then deported to the Dominican Republic before arriving in Haiti. He is accused of

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The FBI director and the leader of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency are raising alarms about the Chinese government, warning business leaders that Beijing is determined to steal their technology for competitive gain. FBI Director Christopher Wray reaffirmed previous concerns in denouncing economic espionage and hacking operations by

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi’s only abortion clinic has been buzzing with activity in the chaotic days since the U.S. Supreme Court upended abortion rights nationwide — a case that originated in this conservative Deep South state, with this bright-pink medical facility that is closing its doors Wednesday. Physicians

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Rafael Nadal extended his Grand Slam winning streak to 19 matches with a 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10-4) victory over 11th-seeded Taylor Fritz in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Nadal is seeking a third Wimbledon championship and 23rd major title overall. He is perfect at the

By AAMER MADHANI and JOSH BOAK Associated Press CLEVELAND (AP) — President Joe Biden has used an Ohio visit to showcase federal action aimed at shoring up pensions for millions of workers. It’s part of a broader effort to reinvigorate his political standing with blue-collar voters. Ohio has been trending strongly Republican in recent years,

By COLLIN BINKLEY AP Education Writer New rules proposed by the Biden administration on Wednesday would make it easier for borrowers to get their federal student debt forgiven through several existing programs. The action is intended to overhaul relief programs that have been criticized for their burdensome paperwork requirements and long processing times. It builds

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer Wall Street capped another choppy day of trading Wednesday with modest gains for the major stock indexes, after investors combed the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent interest rate policy meeting for clues about what the central bank may do next to fight inflation.

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — To a large degree, modern blockbuster moviemaking has depended on the appeasement of fans to keep franchise juggernauts smoothly humming. But in making “Thor: Love and Thunder,” Taika Waititi had no interest in that. He approached the film from the opposite direction. What would actually