KANSAS CITY, Mo. — No one blinks when Republicans and Democrats go to battle with each other. But eyebrows and tempers rise when the fight turns inward.

That is precisely what is happening now in rural Vernon County, Missouri, some 90 minutes south of Kansas City, where the Vernon County Republican Committee is headed to circuit court on ...Read more

The Palestinian militant group Hamas said it had agreed to a cease-fire proposal for the Gaza Strip, but Israel’s war Cabinet unanimously rejected it as “far from Israel’s necessary demands,” dashing hopes for an immediate pause in the fighting.

Israel vowed to continue “its operation in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas” ...Read more

ATLANTA — Former U.S. Rep. John Barrow filed a federal lawsuit Monday to block the state’s judicial watchdog agency from seeking misconduct charges against him for centering his campaign for a seat on the Georgia Supreme Court on a pledge to support abortion rights.

The lawsuit came days after the Judicial Qualifications Commission informed...Read more

DAVIS, Calif. — A group of pro-Palestine protesters erected an encampment Monday at UC Davis amid a nationwide chorus of protesters on campuses calling on universities to divest from Israel amid the war in Gaza.

The group, calling itself the Davis Popular University for the Liberation of Palestine, brought tents to Memorial Quad, said ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Once again, Russian President Vladimir Putin is seemingly rattling the nuclear saber. But why now?

The Kremlin, citing recent comments by Western leaders regarding the war in Ukraine, said Monday that it would soon carry out simulated use of battlefield, or tactical, nuclear weapons — marking the first time Moscow announced ...Read more

BOSTON — A Boston city councilor who voted against a cease-fire resolution criticized by Jewish groups for being one-sided in failing to condemn the Hamas terror attack is asking his colleagues to denounce antisemitism and declare support for local Jews.

Ed Flynn, a supporter of Israel who joined fellow moderate Erin Murphy in voting against ...Read more

Palestinian militant group Hamas said it had agreed to a cease-fire proposal put forward by Qatar and Egypt to halt fighting with Israel in Gaza.

There was no immediate official response from Israel. One government official dismissed the Hamas offer while Israel’s Channel 12 said Israel was studying it. The U.S. State Department said it also ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The flow of people into the U.S. over the southwest border has slumped in the first four months of the year by one key metric, according to the Biden administration, which attributed the decline to increased enforcement and steps taken to stem the flow by Mexico and other countries further south.

The number of encounters between ...Read more

MIAMI — The estranged husband of a Fort Lauderdale woman who vanished in Spain earlier this year was detained at Miami International Airport, authorities announced Monday.

David Knezevich, 35, was arrested Saturday in connection to the February disappearance of his wife Ana María Knezevich Henao, according to Spanish news agency EFE. ...Read more

NEW YORK — Donald Trump was threatened with jail time by Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan on Monday after being found in criminal contempt again for the tenth violation of a gag order in his hush money case.

In his sternest warning yet, Merchan, in stunning courtroom remarks, said it appeared the $1,000 fines he has issued for Trump’s ...Read more

CHICAGO — A group of University of Chicago faculty gathered Monday morning on campus to express their support for the pro-Palestine encampment on the school’s Main Quadrangle a day after the university announced it had suspended negotiations with the protesters.

Dozens of faculty members affiliated with the “Faculty for Justice in ...Read more

ATLANTA — After more than a week of pro-Palestinian demonstrations on its Atlanta campus, Emory University announced Monday it will move its commencement ceremonies from campus to the Gas South District in Duluth.

In a letter to community members, Emory President Gregory L. Fenves said safety concerns led officials to move graduation-related ...Read more

CHICAGO — A month before what could have been an embarrassing trial, the city has agreed to a $5.8 million settlement in a lawsuit alleging Black employees at the Chicago Department of Water Management were subjected to years of racist and sexist slurs, including some by politically connected top-level supervisors.

The parties announced they ...Read more

ATLANTA — Georgia dropped more than 300,000 children from the Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids health insurance program, with one of the worst child disenrollment rates in the nation, according to a new study from Georgetown University. The study authors fear the majority of them are now uninsured and might decide they cannot afford health care...Read more

CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson announced Monday he is pulling his proposal to move migrants from downtown to a new shelter in the 11th Ward in the face of stiff opposition from Ald. Nicole Lee, the latest struggle between the administration and an impatient City Council over where to house the asylum seekers.

The change came after the owners...Read more

BEIRUT — Hamas announced Monday that it had accepted a proposal for a cease-fire agreement with Israel, a diplomatic breakthrough that came hours after Israel ordered civilians hunkered in eastern Rafah to evacuate in what was seen as a prelude to a long-anticipated offensive on the area.

In a statement on the messaging service Telegram, ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Lake County Election Board Saturday said they will use complaints filed against a Dyer man serving as a deputy election commissioner in November stemming from his actions on Election Day as a teachable moment for election workers.

Five election workers filed complaints in January against Kyle Rizzo, whom they alleged failed to ...Read more