AP-Newswatch

McConnell will step down as the Senate Republican leader in November after a record run in the job

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitch McConnell says he’ll step down as Senate Republican leader in November. The 82-year-old Kentucky lawmaker is the longest-serving Senate leader in history. He’s maintained his power in the face of dramatic changes in the Republican Party. He made the announcement Wednesday on the Senate floor. He said that “one of life’s most underappreciated talents is to know when it’s time to move on to life’s next chapter.” McConnell says he plans to serve out his Senate term, which ends in January 2027, “albeit from a different seat in the chamber.”

Can conservative Latin American populists motivate the Hispanic vote? Republicans are counting on it

OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — In this U.S. election year, the Republican Party is aligning with some Latin American populists. It’s a way of injecting star power and the political landscape of immigrants’ home countries into this year’s campaign for president. GOP leaders have made inroads with Cuban and Venezuelan Americans in South Florida by attacking the self-declared socialist leaders of those countries. Now, top Republicans are trying to replicating that model by promoting ties between Donald Trump and leaders who are well known by Spanish-speaking voters across the United States. This effort was on display at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference. Among the speakers were Javier Milei, the new president of Argentina, and Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s president.

The Supreme Court appears torn about a Trump-era ban on a gun accessory known as bump stocks

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court appears torn about a challenge to a Trump-era ban on bump stocks. That’s the gun accessory that allows semi-automatic weapons to fire rapidly like machine guns and was used in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The high court hear arguments Wednesday about whether the Trump administration followed federal law when it reversed course and banned bump stocks. That move cam after a gunman in Las Vegas attacked a country music festival with assault-style rifles in 2017, killing 60 people and injuring hundreds more. Many of the weapons were equipped with bump stocks and high-capacity magazines. It’s the latest gun case to come before the justices.

Biden has his annual physical exam. The results will be closely watched amid his reelection bid

BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — President Joe Biden spent about 2 1/2 hours at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in suburban Maryland for an annual physical that will be closely watched as the 81-year-old president seeks reelection. The White House said Wednesday it will release a written summary later in the day of what it calls a “routine” checkup. Biden is the oldest president in U.S. history and would be 86 by the end of a second term, should he win one. After his last physical, performed in February 2023, doctors declared Biden “healthy, vigorous” and “fit” to handle his White House duties. But voters are approaching this year’s election with misgivings about Biden’s age.

Wildfire grows into 2nd-largest in Texas history as flames menace multiple small towns

CANADIAN, Texas (AP) — A cluster of wildfires is scorching the Texas Panhandle, including a blaze that grew into one of the largest in state history. The flames blackened the landscape across a vast stretch of small towns and cattle ranches. Authorities warned that the damage to communities on the high plains could be extensive. The largest fire expanded to nearly 800 square miles (2,072 square kilometers). It jumped into parts of neighboring Oklahoma and was completely uncontained as dawn broke. No deaths or injuries had been reported as of Wednesday morning.

Idaho delays execution of serial killer Thomas Eugene Creech after failed lethal injection attempts

KUNA, Idaho (AP) — Idaho on Wednesday delayed the execution of serial killer Thomas Eugene Creech, one of the longest-serving death row inmates in the U.S., after a failed attempt at lethal injection. The 73-year-old was imprisoned in 1974 and has been convicted of five murders in three states and suspected of several more. He was already serving life in prison when he beat a fellow inmate, 22-year-old David Dale Jensen, to death in 1981 — the crime for which Creech was to be executed more than four decades later. Idaho’s prison director said the medical team could not establish an IV line to administer the fatal drug. The execution was to be Idaho’s first in 12 years.

Trump lawyers say he’s prepared to post $100 million bond while appealing staggering fraud penalty

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s lawyers have asked a New York appellate court to halt collection of the former president’s $454 million civil fraud judgment while he appeals. Trump’s lawyers said in a court filing Wednesday that he is planning to post a $100 million appeal bond rather than a bond covering the full amount, which would automatically pause enforcement. They said a provision in Judge Arthur Engoron’s Feb. 16 ruling that bans Trump, his company, and co-defendants from obtaining loans from New York banks for three years would make it impossible for him to obtain a bond covering the full judgment.

‘Uncommitted’ wins 2 Democratic delegates in Michigan, a victory for Biden’s anti-war opponents

LANSING, Michigan (AP) — The “uncommitted” campaign protesting President Joe Biden in Michigan has enough primary election votes to win two delegates. That’s according to Associated Press tabulations of Tuesday’s Democratic vote. While Biden won the state with more than 618,000 votes, more than 100,000 Michigan Democratic primary voters cast ballots for “uncommitted” in the race, enough to pick up the pair of delegates. The vote totals raise concerns for Democrats in a state Biden won by only 154,000 votes in 2020. Biden was beaten by the “uncommitted” vote in both Dearborn and Hamtramck, where Arab Americans make up close to half the population.

Tornadoes in February? In the Great Lakes? Storms leave a trail of destruction

Severe thunderstorms appear to have spawned a rare February tornado outbreak that toppled trees, cut power and damaged homes in parts of the Great Lakes. Tornadoes or suspected tornadoes cut late Tuesday and early Wednesday through parts of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. No injuries have been reported. But the storm littered roads with fallen trees and branches, shredded homes and barns, and scattered debris across city and countryside alike. If one storm near Flint is confirmed as a tornado, it would be only the second February tornado on record in that part of Michigan.

Our ancient animal ancestors had tails. Why don’t we?

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists have identified a gene mutation that may explain why we don’t have tails. Our very ancient animal ancestors had tails. But when apes diverged from monkeys, our branch of the tree of life shed its tail. From Darwin’s time, scientists have wondered why _ and how _ this happened. Now, researchers have identified at least one of the key genetic tweaks that led to this change. The authors caution that other genetic changes may also play a role. Their work was published Wednesday in the journal Nature.