LANSING — Michigan House Republicans chose a new leader Thursday, Nov. 5, to replace House Speaker Matt Hall in the new year after the GOP lost 11 House seats and majority control of the lower chamber in Tuesday's "blue wave" midterm.

The new 47-member Republican minority instead chose state Rep. Tom Kunse, R-Clare, to lead the caucus and ...Read more

At the direction of Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, three competitive statewide races are being audited in accordance with a state law that requires reviews of results in races that are within one percentage point.

No winner has been declared in the contests for Kansas governor, attorney general and secretary state.

Democrats Cindy ...Read more

NEW YORK — Judges hearing an appeal of Donald Trump’s criminal conviction for concealing a hush-money payment to a porn star focused on whether prosecutors properly applied campaign-finance law to his conduct.

Trump attorney Robert Giuffra Jr. argued to a five-judge panel Thursday that prosecutors improperly elevated a false-business ...Read more

DENVER — Two days after polls closed, a measure restricting which teams transgender athletes may play on has been approved by Colorado voters, while a second measure that would ban gender-affirming surgeries for minors looks likely to pass as well.

The Associated Press called the race in favor of Proposition 134 at 4:12 p.m. Thursday, with an...Read more

NEW YORK — An FBI agent driving the wrong way on a street in Brooklyn blew a red light and struck a pedestrian, then dragged the unconscious man through the snow, across the street and put him on a nearby bench to cover up what he’d done, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

The feds on Thursday arrested the agent, Andrew Reyes, 30, of ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — “People’s lives are in serious danger at the Sigma Nu house. 6 people have been hospitalized.”

This anonymous report was received by NC State University police on Sept. 15. Less than two hours later, another report about the Sigma Nu fraternity came in, university police said in a search warrant for the Sigma Nu house ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Marco Rubio is weighing whether to leave the Trump administration, people familiar with the matter said, as he considers his next moves following Republicans’ midterm elections wipeout this week.

Rubio and his advisers are going over options for his future, according to the people, who asked not to be ...Read more

WASHINGTON — U.S. lawmakers are looking to impeach embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as soon as next week, an effort that’s gained momentum after the Iran war he championed partly led to Republicans losing control of Congress in the midterms.

Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican and frequent critic of President Donald...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he met with Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev at the White House but did not visit with Ukrainian representatives.

Speaking to reporters Thursday in the Oval Office, Trump predicted there would be a “big agreement” that is “going to involve more than Ukraine” and “might involve all ...Read more

OAKLAND, Calif. — The star witness in the corruption trial against ex-Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao resumed his testimony Thursday in an Oakland federal courtroom, recounting a scheme to bribe another East Bay politician — in that case, then-San Leandro Councilman Bryan Azevedo — with thousands of dollars.

The allegations by Mario Juarez ...Read more

CHICAGO — Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch announced Thursday evening he would not seek reelection to the powerful post in January, a move prompted by a rebellion led by 26 current and incoming Democratic lawmakers, nearly a third of his caucus, who called for new leadership following months of criticism over his handling of ...Read more

DES MOINES, Iowa — A female postal worker shot two fellow employees at the main post office in Iowa’s capital city Thursday before being captured nearby, authorities said.

A third employee was injured in a fall while trying to escape. None of the injuries were believed to be life-threatening, police said.

“They’re all at the hospital. ...Read more

Former Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is distancing himself from efforts to rebuild the state’s struggling Republican Party, saying Thursday that he is focused instead on encouraging a new generation of political leaders.

“I’m teaching at school at Washington College, trying to convince the next generation that they should be more ...Read more

The National Hurricane Center on Thursday continued to track a low pressure system in the Atlantic with a chance to develop into a more dangerous storm.

As of the NHC’s 1 p.m. EST tropical outlook, the broad area of nontropical low pressure with gale-force winds was located a few hundred miles south of Bermuda with disorganized storms mostly ...Read more

The measles virus has continued to spread in Minnesota's Todd County because of a lack of widespread vaccination, bringing it to the highest level since at least 1990.

In the past week, 58 confirmed infections in the county helped raise Minnesota’s total this year to 139. The update, provided Thursday by the Minnesota Department of Health, ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — State lawmakers and Gov. Tim Walz joined members of the Hortman family Thursday morning to unveil signs renaming Minnesota Highway 610 in honor of former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark.

The highway, now designated the Hortman Memorial Highway, runs through Brooklyn Park, where the couple lived, and connects ...Read more

The Trump administration on Thursday extended its sanctions on Cuba to the island’s electronics, manufacturing, marine and technology sectors and punished Guillermo Faustino Rodríguez López-Calleja, a shadowy figure involved in the offshore companies that have helped Cuba get around U.S. sanctions.

An executive order President Donald Trump ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — One of Gov.-elect Amy Klobuchar’s first jobs in St. Paul in January will be to name her replacement to the U.S. Senate.

The appointed senator will serve until a new special election is called, which according to state law would be November 2027. That senator would then complete Klobuchar’s term, which is up in 2031.

...Read more

LOS ANGELES — A Culver City ballot measure that would give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in municipal and school board elections was trailing Thursday.

Ballots still were being counted, but Measure YV was losing, with 55% of voters in Culver City voting against it and 45% voting for it, according to early results posted by the Los ...Read more