August 4, 2025 4:55 am
Texas Democrats have left the state in an attempt to prevent the state House from holding a vote Monday on new congressional maps that Republicans hope will net them several additional U.S. House seats in the 2026 midterm elections. The dramatic move Sunday could expose Democrats to fines and other penalties. Democrats have cast the decision to leave the state as a last-ditch effort to stop Republicans from pushing through a rare mid-decade redrawing of the congressional map. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott called a special session of the Legislature that started last month to take up the redistricting effort that President Donald Trump has urged.
August 4, 2025 5:01 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The Justice Department is ramping up an effort to get election data from the states. According to an Associated Press tally, the department’s voting section has requested copies of voter registration lists from state election administrators in at least 15 states. And department lawyers have contacted officials in at least seven states to propose a meeting about forging an information-sharing agreement related to instances of voting or election fraud. The unusually expansive outreach has raised alarm among some election officials. That’s because states have the constitutional authority to run elections and because federal law protects the sharing of individual data with the government.
August 4, 2025 4:56 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The union representing Boeing employees who build fighter jets says they have begun a strike after about 3,200 workers at facilities in St. Louis and other locations voted to reject a modified four-year labor agreement. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union said the strike began at midnight. The union says its workers deserve nothing less than a contract that keeps their families secure and recognizes their unmatched expertise. Boeing says the company is disappointed its employees rejected an offer that featured 40% average wage growth and resolved issues about work schedules.
August 3, 2025 5:37 am
Authorities say a former US soldier suspected of killing four people at a Montana bar is still at large and believed to be armed. The shooting occurred on Friday morning at The Owl Bar in Anaconda, Montana. Officials say they believe 45-year-old military veteran Michael Paul Brown committed the shooting with a rifle. Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen on Sunday warned residents that Brown could return to the area. Investigators are considering all possible options for Brown’s whereabouts. Brown served in the Army and Montana National Guard and has struggled with mental illness for years, family members say.
August 4, 2025 5:00 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Loni Anderson, who played a struggling radio station’s empowered receptionist Jennifer on the hit TV comedy “WKRP in Cincinnati,” has died. It was just days before her 80th birthday. Her longtime publicist says Anderson died at a Los Angeles hospital following a prolonged illness. “WKRP in Cincinnati” aired from 1978 through 1982 and was set in a lagging Ohio radio station trying to reinvent itself with rock music. As the station’s receptionist, Jennifer’s efficiency often kept the station running in the face of others’ incompetence.
August 3, 2025 7:34 am
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. (AP) — An independent watchdog agency responsible for enforcing a law against partisan political activity by federal employees has opened an investigation into Jack Smith, the Justice Department special counsel who brought two criminal cases against then-candidate Donald Trump before his election to the White House last year. The Office of Special Counsel confirmed Saturday that it was investigating Smith on allegations he engaged in political activity through his inquiries into Trump. Smith was named special counsel by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 and his special counsel title is entirely distinct from the agency now investigating him. The office has no criminal enforcement power but does have the authority to impose fines and other sanctions for violations. (Photo: AP)
August 3, 2025 8:47 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The Justice Department is ramping up an effort to get election data from the states. According to an Associated Press tally, the department’s voting section has requested copies of voter registration lists from state election administrators in at least 15 states. And department lawyers have contacted officials in at least seven states to propose a meeting about forging an information-sharing agreement related to instances of voting or election fraud. The unusually expansive outreach has raised alarm among some election officials. That’s because states have the constitutional authority to run elections and because federal law protects the sharing of individual data with the government.
August 3, 2025 7:37 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies say they uncovered a major bribery scheme involving inflated military procurement contracts, just two days after lawmakers restored the agencies’ independence following a public outcry. In a statement late on Saturday, they said a lawmaker, local officials, and National Guard members took kickbacks worth up to 30% on overpriced contracts for drones and electronic warfare gear. Four people have been arrested. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the scheme “absolutely immoral” and praised investigators. The exposure follows parliament’s reversal of a controversial move by Zelenskyy to curb the agencies’ powers.
August 3, 2025 11:20 am
BEIRUT (AP) — New outbreaks of violence overnight into Sunday have rocked Syria at two distinct flashpoints, straining a fragile ceasefire and calling into question the ability of the transitional government to exert its authority across the whole country. In the north, government-affiliated fighters confronted Kurdish-led forces who control much of the region, while in the southern province of Sweida, they clashed with Druze armed groups. Syria’s interim authorities are trying to maintain a tense ceasefire in Sweida province after clashes with Druze factions last month, and to implement an agreement with the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that would reintegrate large swaths of northeastern Syria.
August 3, 2025 7:00 am
PennDot is announcing several traffic pattern changes that will be in effect next week. Nightly ramp closures will occur on Interstate 70 westbound at exit 42 (North Belle Vernon). Crews will be working on concrete patching, drainage repair and barrier replacement. The work will be done between August 4 and August 7 from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM. Detours for the on and off ramps have been posted. And PennDot will be performing bridge inspections on Interstate 70 beginning August 4 and lasting through August 7. That will cause single lane restrictions both eastbound and westbound. The work will be done from the West Virginia state line to Exit 17 (Jefferson Avenue). Work will be done from 8:00 AM through 3:00 PM.
