WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Jay Clayton as the Trump administration’s spy chief, replacing an interim candidate who sparked broad concerns about the powerful role being used to influence U.S. elections.

Clayton, who was the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, was confirmed as director of national intelligence by a vote of 51 to 47.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — After a tumultuous road to a vote, North Carolina lawmakers further advanced a sweeping elections bill on Tuesday with Senate approval.

The legislation, which was added and subtracted from House and Senate committees numerous times throughout the process due to controversial provisions, passed the Senate 28-13. It must go back...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday evening confirmed Walter “Jay” Clayton to be President Donald Trump’s new director of national intelligence.

It was a party-line vote of 51-47, with no Democrats joining Republicans. Clayton will replace Bill Pulte, whose temporary appointment last month riled many Democrats after the resignation of ...Read more

President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his appeal of an $83.3 million jury verdict against him in E. Jean Carroll’s defamation suit, according to a copy of the petition reviewed by Bloomberg News.

Trump filed his petition with the Supreme Court on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be...Read more

SEATTLE — Three firearms, one of which was a potentially homemade ghost gun and another which was modified to become fully automatic, were recovered from the Bite of Seattle shooting scene that left three dead and four injured, according to police.

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said at a news conference Tuesday that police believe the shooting ...Read more

Florida executed two men Tuesday for separate murder cases from the 1980s amid a record-breaking surge in the state’s pursuit of capital punishment.

James Duckett and Dominick Occhicone both died by lethal injection at Florida State Prison, near the city of Starke, becoming the 11th and 12th prisoners the state has put to death this year.

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Keiko Fujimori has just taken on one of Latin America’s most perilous political jobs as the new president of Peru.

The 51-year-old conservative was sworn in just past midday Tuesday to become the ninth president in a decade in a nation where every leader elected since the 1990s has been impeached, imprisoned or targeted in criminal ...Read more

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the White House Tuesday as the U.S. leader sought to avoid renewed bombing in Iran and instead laid the ground for further diplomacy after both sides paused tit-for-tat strikes.

“I think we have a very strong position right now,” Trump told Fox ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military said it had intercepted an Iranian attack on bases in the region, in what would be the first such attempted strike in days, sending crude oil prices soaring and raising fears of a return to war.

“Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Recordings of former President Joe Biden speaking with his ghostwriter reveal occasional memory gaps amid detailed discussions of foreign policy — and some candid criticism of two-time running mate Barack Obama over his ties to Wall Street and Silicon Valley.

“Between you and me,” Biden told ghostwriter Mark Zwonitzer in ...Read more

DETROIT — Two coalitions say they are taking steps to protect Detroit and Michigan elections from "federal interference" during August primary and again during the November general election as President Donald Trump raises concern about possible widespread voting fraud.

A group representing interfaith clergies asked the Detroit City Council ...Read more

NEW YORK — New York City was under a flood watch as a massive storm threatened to sweep over the five boroughs on Tuesday.

Mayor Mamdani advised New Yorkers in garden and basement apartments to prepare go bags so they can leave quickly as forecasts warn of potentially life-threatening flooding.

“If you live in a basement apartment or an ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The late Sen. Lindsey Graham was remembered Tuesday by President Donald Trump and others as a Senate technician and foreign policy powerhouse, as lawmakers joined world leaders and his loved ones during a Washington National Cathedral funeral service.

As the South Carolina Republican’s casket made its way into the massive ...Read more

As Florida continues state executions at a record-setting pace, Catholic leaders are encouraging the public to oppose the death penalty and instead promote a “culture of life.”

On Monday, the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops released a pastoral letter urging Florida elected officials to end capital punishment, arguing that the ...Read more

Kentucky’s congressional delegation has sent a letter to President Donald Trump, asking him to approve a major disaster declaration for flooding, tornadoes and storms that hit the state between June 17 and June 30.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear sent a formal request for federal assistance to Trump and the Federal Emergency Management Agency July...Read more

Law enforcement agencies around the country are facing new limits on their ability to sweep up location data from cellphone users near crime scenes, as a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a bank robbery case in Virginia found that so-called geofence searches are bound by constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure.

The ...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — A wildfire along the Oregon-Idaho border has swelled in size, prompting officials to close popular recreation areas in Owyhee County.

The National Interagency Fire Center updated the Big Grass fire to 288,119 acres on Tuesday. Just 5% of the wildfire had been contained with 135 personnel, 14 engines and seven dozers working on ...Read more