AP-Newswatch

Biden says he’s restricting asylum to help ‘gain control’ of the border

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says he’s restricting asylum to help “gain control” of the U.S.-Mexico border. The American Civil Liberties Union says it’ll sue over Biden’s plan to enact immediate significant restrictions on migrants seeking asylum at the border. Biden signed the proclamation Tuesday as the White House tries to neutralize immigration as a political liability before November’s elections. Biden’s order would bar migrants from being granted asylum when U.S. officials deem the southern border to be overwhelmed. The Democratic president has contemplated unilateral action for months, especially after Republican lawmakers rejected a bipartisan security deal at the behest of presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. Trump says Biden has surrendered the southern border.

India’s popular but polarizing leader Narendra Modi is extending his decade in power. Who is he?

NEW DELHI (AP) — Popular but polarizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has advanced Hindu nationalism in India is returning for a third consecutive term in office after claiming victory in a general election that was seen as a referendum on his decade in power. The win has made Modi, 73, only the second leader in India to return as prime minister for a third-straight term. Supporters see him as a cult figure who has improved India’s standing in the world, and credit his pro-business policies with making the economy the world’s fifth-largest. To his critics, though, Modi is an authoritarian responsible for eroding India’s democratic and advancing divisive politics that have harmed Muslims who make up 14% of the country’s population.

Prosecutors play audio of Hunter Biden reading his memoir, show jury laptop in his federal gun trial

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Federal prosecutors on Tuesday painted President Joe Biden’s son Hunter as deceptive and driven by addiction. They say he’s a man whose dark habits ensnared loved ones and who knew what he was doing when he lied on federal forms to purchase a gun in 2018. The case is dredging up painful memories for the president and his family, and revealing new and highly personal details about their struggles with addiction and grief as the 2024 election looms, all while the first lady and Hunter Biden’s sister Ashley watched from the front row of the courtroom.

Wisconsin attorney general files felony charges against attorneys, aide who worked for Trump in 2020

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s attorney general has filed felony forgery charges against two attorneys and an aide who helped submit paperwork falsely saying that former President Donald Trump had won the battleground state in 2020. The charges were filed Tuesday against Trump attorneys Kenneth Chesebro and Jim Troupis and former Trump aide Mike Roman. Authorities said Roman delivered Wisconsin’s fake elector paperwork to a Pennsylvania congressman’s staffer in order to get them to then-Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6, 2021. All three are due in court in September. Troupis and Chesebro did not return voicemail messages left Tuesday. Roman’s attorney said he was reviewing the charges.

Garland slams attacks on the Justice Department, telling lawmakers: ‘I will not be intimidated’

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland is forcefully rebuking what he describes as “unprecedented” attacks on the Justice Department. Garland on Tuesday told House Republicans who have sought to hold him in contempt that he will “not be intimidated.” During a hearing before the the House Judiciary Committee, Garland condemned what he said are “baseless and extremely dangerous falsehoods” being peddled about the FBI and slammed threats to defund the special counsel prosecutions of former President Donald Trump. His appearance comes as Republicans have moved to hold him in contempt for the Biden administration’s refusal to hand over audio of President Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur.

The Latest | Israeli ground forces launch new incursion into a central Gaza refugee camp

The Israeli military says ground troops backed by airstrikes have launched an operation in central Gaza’s Bureij refugee camp. Local hospital officials say a strike in the camp killed 11 Palestinians, including three children and a woman. The extent of the Israeli incursion into the built-up camp Tuesday was not immediately known. The military said in a statement that it was conducting “a precision operation” targeting Hamas positions. A senior Hamas official said Tuesday the group will not accept a deal with Israel that does not clearly lay out a permanent cease-fire and a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

Mexico’s next president faces 3 pressing challenges: money, dialogue and the US election

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s newly elected president faces a long list of challenges, including persistent cartel violence, a deeply divided country, cash-straitened social programs and the long shadow of her mentor, outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. But for some analysts what awaits Claudia Sheinbaum mostly comes down to three things: money, dialogue and what happens in the U.S. election. She begins her six-year presidential term Oct. 1, so has four months to define her agenda. During this time, López Obrador is expected to continue delivering his daily morning press briefings as he tries to solidify his legacy. The coexistence might be far from easy: He has divided society; she says she wants to unite it. He is a leader of the masses; she is an academic and a scientist.

Tractors rumble in streets again ahead of EU polls. Farming is a big issue and the far right pounces

BEERSEL, Belgium (AP) — Tractors are rumbling through the streets again days ahead of the four-day European Union election. The populist and hard right groups have instrumentalized agriculture throughout the 27-nation bloc in the months leading up to the polls. They claim farmers have become the victims of an overbearing EU and environmentalists that fail to take their considerations into account. The issue is expected to have a real impact on the outcome of the election where populist and hard right parties are expected to surge.

Many Americans are still shying away from EVs despite Biden’s push, an AP-NORC/EPIC poll finds

WASHINGTON (AP) — Many Americans still aren’t sold on going electric for their next car purchase. A poll shows high prices and a lack of easy-to-find charging stations are major sticking points. The poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago shows about 4 in 10 U.S. adults say they would be at least somewhat likely to buy an EV the next time they buy a car, while about half aren’t ready to give up on gas-powered vehicles. The results indicate President Joe Biden’s plan to dramatically raise EV sales is running into resistance from drivers.

Centenarian veterans are sharing their memories of D-Day, 80 years later

COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER, France (AP) — World War II veterans from across the United States as well as Britain and Canada are in Normandy this week to mark 80 years since the D-Day landings that helped lead to Hitler’s defeat. Few witnesses remain who remember the storied Allied assault, history’s biggest amphibious invasion. The Associated Press is speaking to veterans about their role in freeing France and Europe from the Nazi grip, and what message they want to share with younger generations. They include people like a 101-year-old California man known as Papa Jake who has a huge TikTok following.