AP-Newswatch

White evangelical voters show steadfast support for Donald Trump’s presidency

Former President Donald Trump once again won the support of about 8 in 10 white evangelical Christian voters in his election to a second term. That’s according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 120,000 voters. Evangelicals said they believed Trump would implement their policy priorities on religious as well as general issues such as immigration and the economy. 

Biden gets blamed by Harris allies for the vice president’s resounding loss to Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden’s name wasn’t on the ballot, but history will likely remember Vice President Kamala Harris’ resounding defeat as his loss, too. As Democrats pick up the pieces following President-elect Donald Trump’s decisive victory, some Harris backers are expressing frustration with Biden’s decision to remain in the race until this past summer, despite voter concerns about his age and unease about post-pandemic inflation. His decision to wait until just 107 days before Election Day is a move that his Democratic critics say all but sealed his party’s surrender of the White House.

California governor calls special session to protect liberal policies from Trump presidency

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has called for state lawmakers to convene a special session in December to help safeguard the state’s progressive policies on climate change, reproductive rights and immigration ahead of another Trump presidency. The Thursday announcement comes a day after former President Donald Trump resoundingly defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential race. Trump repeatedly attacked California on the campaign trail, threatening to withhold disaster aid over Newsom’s water-restricting policy. Trump also has vowed to carry out mass deportations once in office. Newsom and other Democratic state leaders said California will work to “Trump-proof” the state and bolster its legal protections.

Federal Reserve cuts its key interest rate by a quarter-point amid postelection uncertainty

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate by a quarter-point in response to the steady decline in the once-high inflation that had angered Americans and helped drive Donald Trump’s presidential election victory this week. The rate cut follows a larger half-point reduction in September, and it reflects the Fed’s renewed focus on supporting the job market as well as fighting inflation, which now barely exceeds the central bank’s 2% target. Thursday’s move reduces the Fed’s benchmark rate to about 4.6%, down from a four-decade high of 5.3% before September’s meeting.

Rioters who stormed Capitol after Trump’s 2020 defeat toast his White House return

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some of the Donald Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol nearly four years ago are celebrating the president-elect’s electoral victory. They’re hoping he makes good on a campaign promise to pardon and free rioters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump has repeatedly referred to jailed Capitol rioters as hostages and political prisoners during campaign rallies this year. He didn’t mention them during his victory speech on Wednesday, but some of the convicted rioters seem to have no doubt that Trump will follow through on his campaign rhetoric. They took to social media to toast Trump’s win and call for mass pardons of Jan. 6 rioters.

Trump’s second term could realign US diplomacy toward authoritarian leaders

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s fiery, right-wing leader says that Donald Trump’s victory will help his own battle against immigration and multiculturalism and restore traditional family values. In Argentina, a president who once bear hugged Trump at a political conference in Maryland is attacking his critics as rats and parasites, ranting against what says is a corrupt elite and calling climate change “a socialist lie.” Trump’s second term could realign U.S. diplomacy away from traditional international alliances and more toward populist, authoritarian politicians, according to both those leaders and outside observers.

California wildfire burns out of control but firefighters could get a break when winds diminish

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — A wildfire northwest of Los Angeles burned out of control for a second day after destroying dozens of homes, but officials said firefighters could get a break with heavy winds expected to subside. More than 10,000 residents remain under evacuation orders as the Mountain Fire continued to threaten some 3,500 structures in suburban neighborhoods, ranches and agricultural areas around Camarillo in Ventura County. The blaze has zero containment. The National Weather Service says a red flag warning indicating conditions for high fire danger will remain in effect until 6 p.m. Thursday. Officials in several Southern California counties have urged residents to be on watch for fast-spreading blazes, power outages and downed trees.

CDC calls for expanded testing for bird flu after blood tests reveal more farmworker infections

Federal health officials are calling for more testing and treatment of workers on farms with bird flu. The new guidance comes after a study showed that some dairy workers had signs of infection, even when they didn’t report feeling sick. Blood tests of 115 workers on farms in Michigan and Colorado showed that eight workers had antibodies that indicated previous infection. The finding suggests the virus may be spreading more widely. Four of the workers reported feeling sick and four reported no symptoms. Officials said the risk to the public remains low.

Carbon pollution from high flying rich in private jets soars

A new study says private jet carbon pollution soared 46% from 2019 to 2023. Thursday’s study figures about a quarter million of the super wealthy last year emitted 17.2 million tons of carbon dioxide flying in private jets. That’s about the same amount of carbon pollution as generated by the 67 million people who live in Tanzania. The study calculates that most of the 26,000 planes tracked spew more heat-trapping gases in about two hours than the average person on Earth does in a year. Still, carbon pollution from aviation is only 4% of the world’s emissions.

New DNA evidence rewrites long-told stories of people in ancient Pompeii

When a volcanic eruption buried the ancient city of Pompeii, the last desperate moments of its citizens were preserved for centuries. Observers see stories in the figures, like a mother holding a child and two women embracing as they are buried in ash. But new DNA evidence suggests these prevailing interpretations come from looking at the ancient world through modern eyes. Scientists discovered that the person thought to be a mother was actually a man unrelated to the child. And at least one of the two people locked in an embrace was a man. The research was published Thursday in the journal Current Biology.