As the debt ceiling deal clears its first major hurdle, its conservative opponents begin to admit defeat  —  The News  —  Hard-right Republicans spent much of Tuesday furiously denouncing Washington's new debt ceiling deal as it began moving through Congress, promising to use any means within their reach to derail it.

Mike Pence is set to launch his presidential campaign next week  —  The former vice president will kick off his 2024 bid with a campaign video and a speech in Des Moines, Iowa.  —  Mike Pence plans to enter the GOP presidential nomination fray June 7 with a campaign video and a kickoff speech in Des Moines …

Trump White House Aides Subpoenaed in Firing of Election Security Expert  —  The special counsel is scrutinizing the dismissal of Christopher Krebs, who contradicted baseless claims by the former president that the 2020 election was marred by fraud.  —  The special counsel investigating …

Tuberville's top military adviser bows out  —  Morgan Murphy says he resigned after a Washington Post story suggested he took credit for the senator's military nomination blockade.  —  Sen. Tommy Tuberville's (R-Ala.) national security adviser told POLITICO that he has resigned …

Oklahoma Supreme Court rules two abortion ban laws unconstitutional  —  OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Wednesday tossed out two state laws outlawing abortion.  —  The state's high court found that Senate Bill 1503 and House Bill 4327 were unconstitutional.

Eating Disorder Helpline Disables Chatbot for ‘Harmful’ Responses After Firing Human Staff  —  “Every single thing Tessa suggested were things that led to the development of my eating disorder.”  —  Chloe Xiang  —  The National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) has taken its chatbot called Tessa offline …

Scoop: Chris Christie to announce GOP presidential campaign next week … - Being joyful and hitting a more hopeful note aimed at America's “exhausted majority.”  — Being authentic — a happy warrior who speaks his mind, takes risks and is happy to punch Donald Trump in the nose.

Tennessee woman gets emergency hysterectomy after doctors deny early abortion care  —  Tennessee's ban went into effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned.  —  Mayron Hollis said she had just started taking contraceptives when she found out she was pregnant again a few months after giving birth in February 2022.

Woman who accused Biden of sexually assaulting her in 1993 defects to Russia  —  A former staffer who accused Joe Biden of sexual assault has defected to Moscow and spoken to Russian state media in a news conference that lasted several hours.  —  Tara Reade drew headlines during the 2020 presidential race …

DOJ Sues Jim Justice's Coal Operation Over $5 Million In Unpaid Fines  —  The judgments were related to health, safety and environmental violations.  —  The Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the coal empire of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice over $5 million in unpaid fines related …

Suspected Chinese spies, disguised as tourists, attempted to infiltrate Alaskan military bases  —  ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Chinese citizens posing as tourists but suspected of being spies have made several attempts in recent years to gain access to military facilities in this vast state studded …

James Beard Foundation, Whose Awards Honor Chefs, Is Now Investigating Them  —  The group behind “the Oscars of the food world” created a new process to weed out nominees with problematic pasts.  But that process has troubles of its own.  —  In more than 25 years of covering food …

Trump's latest policy pitch: A massive birthday party for the nation  —  The former president is proposing a yearlong bash to commemorate 250 years of independence.  —  Donald Trump's latest idea to enshrine American greatness is to throw the country “the most spectacular” birthday bash — one that will last all year.

Iran Expands Stockpile of Highly Enriched Uranium  —  Tehran forges ahead with nuclear work while giving the U.N. atomic agency greater oversight of program  —  Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium grew by over a quarter in the three months to May, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported …

Climate Shocks Are Making Parts of America Uninsurable.  It Just Got Worse.  —  The largest insurer in California said it would stop offering new coverage.  It's part of a broader trend of companies pulling back from dangerous areas.  —  Christopher Flavelle, who has long covered the impacts …

Turkmenistan in Talks With US to Tackle Giant Methane Leaks  —  American officials are negotiating a deal to help Turkmenistan curb its vast methane emissions, potentially sealing a major breakthrough in the global fight against climate change and notching a diplomatic coup for President Joe Biden.

Blue Jays pitcher apologizes for sharing video calling for boycott of companies supporting LGBTQ+ rights  —  Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Anthony Bass apologized Tuesday for sharing a video that called for the boycott of major companies that publicly support the LGBTQ+ community.

Tommy Tuberville's musician brother ‘compelled to distance’ himself over ‘racial stereotypes, white nationalism’  —  The brother of U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville is speaking out on social media, saying he is “compelled to distance” himself from some of the lawmaker's recent statements.

Leaked Audio From a Ron DeSantis Donor Event Is Really Bad News for His Campaign  —  Team DeSantis tried to hype poll numbers to deep-pocketed supporters.  But the data actually points to a Trump primary victory. … When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gathered top allies with deep pockets …

AI Deepfakes of True Crime Victims Are a Waking Nightmare  —  TikTok accounts are posting horrifying artificial intelligence-generated clips of murder victims — mostly children — describing their own ghastly demise … She recounts that one day, she was hungry and wouldn't stop crying …

Majority of Americans favor affirmative action in colleges as Supreme Court seems poised to end it  —  A new poll found that 63% of Americans don't think the Supreme Court should ban affirmative action in college admissions.  —  Most Americans say the Supreme Court should not ban colleges …

Mar-a-Lago prosecutors eye July episode with Trump surveillance cameras  —  Summer interactions inside Trump's home and private club are part of the special counsel's classified documents investigation  —  A Mar-a-Lago employee who helped move boxes of documents last June has been questioned …

GOP being crushed in Wisconsin as state ‘shifts leftward’: report  —  Democratic strategists once regarded Wisconsin as a reliably blue state.  Former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis lost California, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Maine and Florida to Republican George H.W. Bush …

US safety agency to require automatic emergency braking on new vehicles and set tougher standards  —  The U.S. government's auto safety agency plans to require that all new passenger cars and light trucks include potentially life-saving automatic emergency braking and meet stricter safety standards within three years.

US govt sent $1.3 billion to China, Russia for gender equality, cat experiments and Wuhan lab research  —  'Washington's continued spending is so out of hand, it is losing track of Americans' hard-earned taxpayer dollars,' GOP Sen. Ernst says  —  The U.S. government has given Chinese …

Roger Stone and the Key to Trump's Evangelical Support  —  TRUMP ADVISER AND MAD-HATTER political operative Roger Stone made a strange declaration at a recent gathering of pastors at the Trump National Doral resort in Miami, Florida: He claimed that he was the subject of a modern prophecy about a …

This class president is the model of a successful Texas teen.  After a ban on trans health care, she can't wait to leave the state.  —  For one Round Rock teen, getting accepted to Harvard was her ticket out of a state that she says is hostile to trans youth.

Indiana state legislator arrested on suspicion of drunken driving  —  A state lawmaker from southern Indiana was arrested early Wednesday on suspicion of drunken driving after crashing his vehicle at an Interstate 65 interchange and leaving the scene, state police said.

Utah Republican Chris Stewart to resign from Congress  —  Republican Rep. Chris Stewart of Utah announced Wednesday that he planned to resign from Congress, citing his wife's health.  —  “My wife and I have made so many dear friends and memories throughout our journey,” Stewart said in a statement from his office.