Coronavirus is skyrocketing in Republican-leaning Sunbelt and interior states, where shifting attitudes about the virus and President Donald Trump's handling of it could spell more trouble for his re-election effort.

New cases have exploded in particular in Arizona and Florida, battlegrounds Trump must retain to win re-election. Jacksonville, ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The city of Raleigh notified parents late Sunday that someone at their child's summer camp tested positive for COVID-19.

Exposure began on June 29 -- the same day that city summer camps reopened -- at the Millbrook Exchange Park youth day camp. A total of 24 families were notified, according to the city.

"Your child had ...Read more

MEXICO CITY -- Donald Trump notoriously kicked off his presidential bid in 2015 by disparaging Mexican immigrants as drug dealers, criminals and "rapists," adding: "And some, I assume, are good people."

During his own campaign two years later, future Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador assailed the U.S. president's "politics of hate" ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- More than a million times last year Los Angeles police officers were dispatched on calls for help.

Contained within that huge volume of 911 calls is a defining aspect of policing in modern America: The job has expanded over time to include far more than fighting crime.

Although armed with weapons and the unique authority to use ...Read more

CHICAGO -- One person was in police custody and charges were pending Monday in the killing of a 7-year-old girl fatally shot July Fourth as she visited her grandmother in the South Austin neighborhood, authorities said.

Natalia Wallace, who was due to start second grade at Crown Community Academy of Fine Arts, was shot just after 7 p.m. in 100 ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Medicaid experts and public health officials are pushing Congress to increase federal funding for the program for low-income people, as the COVID-19 pandemic pushes more individuals into government-sponsored coverage.

Total Medicaid enrollment was up 5.8% over the past three months, data on 15 states by the Georgetown University ...Read more

ATLANTA -- A day after an 8-year-old girl was fatally shot near a Wendy's restaurant where Rayshard Brooks was killed last month by police, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Sunday denounced violence that claimed the life of the child -- and which she said damaged a movement for racial justice and police accountability.

"Enough is enough," ...Read more

WASHINGTON -- Anxious to avoid chaos in the electoral college just months before the U.S. vote, the Supreme Court ruled Monday that electors who formally select the president can be required by the state they represent to cast their ballot for the candidate who won their state's popular vote.

The justices unanimously rejected the claim that ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A statue of Junipero Serra, the Franciscan priest who helped to establish the Spanish missions in California, was torn down by protesters in Sacramento's Capitol Park on Saturday night after a day of marches throughout the city.

Demonstrations across the country Saturday had a focus on the rights and historical struggle of...Read more

Uber Technologies Inc. has agreed to acquire Postmates Inc. in a $2.65 billion all-stock takeover expected to be announced as soon as Monday morning in the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter.

Uber Eats head Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty is expected to continue to run Uber's combined delivery business, according to a person who asked ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles County public health officials on Sunday reported 7,232 more cases of COVID-19 and 30 related deaths, numbers that account for Thursday, Friday and Saturday of last week.

On Friday alone, 3,187 new cases of COVID-19 were reported -- the highest daily total since the pandemic began, officials said.

Bars and indoor ...Read more

MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippines on Sunday reported a record of 2,434 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours as quarantine restrictions eased nearly four months since a lockdown was imposed.

The death toll from COVID-19 rose to 1,297, with seven additional deaths reported over the past 24 hours, the Department of Health said.

Of the ...Read more

President Donald Trump will hold an outdoor rally in New Hampshire on July 11 at which face coverings are "strongly encouraged," a change in tone after months of skepticism about the value of wearing masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The event is set for 8 p.m. EDT outside the Portsmouth International Airport, the Trump campaign said ...Read more

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Dominion Energy is pulling the plug on its controversial plan to build a natural gas pipeline crossing Virginia.

The decision comes in tandem with a major strategic shift out of the energy giant's multi-billion-dollar investment in a gas transmission business with operations as far away as Wyoming.

Dominion wants to focus ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- A month into planning what fall might look like for the 2,700 students in his Gloucester County school district, Jim Lavender tore through 104 pages of guidance from the New Jersey Department of Education.

By Wednesday, Lavender had spent days, nights, and a weekend scouring every page three times, trying to figure out how he ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. -- The 8-year-old boy arrived at Connecticut Children's with stomach pain, a rash and cracked, peeling lips. His blood pressure was dangerously low.

The boy had no underlying health issues but an antibody test suggested he had been infected with COVID-19 at some point.

"He had low blood pressure and his oxygen saturation was ...Read more

AUSTIN, Texas -- Disability rights advocates on Saturday evening gathered in front of St. David's South Austin Medical Center to remember a man whose coronavirus-related death has divided family members yet sparked a public conversation about care given to those with disabilities.

Michael Hickson, 46, died June 11 at St. David's after being ...Read more

With the NBA another day closer to its July 30 reopening, a piece of its plan to battle racial injustice fell into place.

The NBA and the players union agreed Friday on messages players can wear instead of their names on the backs of their jerseys for the first four days of the league's reboot.

Among the approved messages, which several people...Read more