North America

USA: In small-town Wisconsin, looking for the roots of the modern American conspiracy theory

APPLETON, Wis. (AP) — The decades fall away as you open the front doors.

It’s the late 1950s in the cramped little offices — or maybe the pre-hippie 1960s. It’s a place where army-style buzz cuts are still in fashion, communism remains the primary enemy and the decor is dominated by American flags and portraits of once-famous Cold Warriors.

USA: Nikki Haley questions Trump’s mental fitness after he appears to confuse her for Nancy Pelosi

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Nikki Haley on Saturday questioned whether Donald Trump is mentally capable of serving as president again after he repeatedly seemed to confuse her with former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a campaign speech.

As she campaigned in Keene, New Hampshire, Haley referenced Trump’s speech the night before, in which he mistakenly asserted that Haley was in charge of Capitol security on January 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the building seeking to stop the certification of his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

USA: President Joe Biden signs bill to avoid a partial government shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP) —

President Joe Biden on Friday signed a short-term spending bill that keeps the federal government operating until early March.

The bill averts what would’ve been a partial government shutdown starting Saturday. It does not address additional aid for Ukraine, which remains in limbo as key legislators continue to negotiate a border security measure that would go in tandem with more support for Kyiv.

USA: Biden and Netanyahu have finally talked, but their visions still clash for ending Israel-Hamas war

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finally spoke Friday after a glaring, nearly four-week gap in direct communication during which fundamental differences have come into focus over a possible pathway to Palestinian statehood once the fighting in Gaza ends.

USA: Election-year politics threaten Senate border deal as Trump and his allies rally opposition

WASHINGTON (AP) — A politically treacherous dynamic is taking hold as negotiators in Congress work to strike a bipartisan deal on the border and immigration, with vocal opposition from the hard right and former President Donald Trump threatening to topple the carefully negotiated compromise.

USA: GOP Speaker Mike Johnson has a House majority in name only. He’s left with daunting choices ahead

WASHINGTON (AP) — New Speaker Mike Johnson finds himself leading House Republicans with a majority in name only.

Unable to unite his unruly right flank and commanding one of the slimmest House majorities in history, Johnson is being forced to rely on Democrats for the basics of governing, including the latest bill to prevent a federal shutdown.

USA: Alec Baldwin’s grand jury indictment opens up two paths for prosecutors

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Alec Baldwin once again is staring down a felony involuntary manslaughter charge after a grand jury indicted the actor in connection with the fatal 2021 shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western movie in New Mexico.

The lead actor and a co-producer on “Rust,” Baldwin pointed a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during rehearsal on a movie set outside Santa Fe when the gun went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.

USA: Donald Trump goes from calm to indignant in newly released deposition video of civil fraud lawsuit

NEW YORK (AP) — Months before Donald Trump’s defiant turn as a witness at his New York civil fraud trial, the former president came face-to-face with the state attorney general who is suing him when he sat for a deposition last year at her Manhattan office.

Video made public Friday of the seven-hour, closed-door session last April shows the Republican presidential frontrunner’s demeanor going from calm and cool to indignant — at one point ripping Attorney General Letitia James lawsuit against him as a “disgrace” and “a terrible thing.”

USA: Think twice before stopping to take photo on a Las Vegas Strip pedestrian bridge, or risk jail time

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Standing or stopping is now banned on pedestrian bridges on the Las Vegas Strip where visitors often pause to take photos amid the glittery casino lights or to watch street performers.

Violators of the ordinance that took effect Tuesday could face up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine.

USA: Ohio is poised to become the 2nd state to restrict gender-affirming care for adults

Ohio (AP) —Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced proposals this month that transgender advocates say could block access to gender-affirming care provided by independent clinics and general practitioners, leaving thousands of adults scrambling for treatment and facing health risks.

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