News briefs

Tribune News Service on Jul 20, 2026

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‘Absurd.’ Some Kentucky congressmen unconvinced by Trump’s new election fraud claims

Some of Kentucky’s federal delegation are criticizing President Donald Trump’s speech that doubled down on raising doubts about election integrity in the United States.

In a prime time address Thursday night, Trump announced he has declassified documents that reveal issues in America’s election system in the 2020 and 2018 elections, including allegedly interference by China and election fraud. He ordered the Department of Justice to prosecute those who are believed to be involved, according to reporting from ABC News.

But Trump did not provide specific evidence that the election outcome or votes were altered in the 2020 election, despite his consistent claims that the election was “stolen.”

He said he would immediately declassify the documents that he said reveals China “compromising” election data during the 2020 election and attempts to downplay China’s efforts.

—Lexington Herald-Leader

Denied tenure and alleging discrimination, Northwestern University professor sues school and government officials

A Northwestern University professor filed a federal lawsuit alleging that, under pressure from federal officials, the school denied him tenure in retaliation for his pro-Palestinian activism and on-campus speech.

Steven Thrasher, an assistant professor and the Daniel H. Renberg Chair of social justice in reporting, accused the university of breaching his employment contract, including alleged violations of his academic freedom, denying his tenure appeal and terminating his chair position before the end of his term in August 2028.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, also alleges Thrasher faced discrimination based on his sexual orientation, race, and association with Palestinian people, and retaliation for speech that is protected under the First Amendment.

Also being sued are U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, a Republican from Michigan and the chairman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce; U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon; acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche; and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

—Chicago Tribune

FDA approves new, more efficient pill to lower cholesterol

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved a new daily pill that lowers levels of dangerous cholesterol. The pill is expected to boost compliance rates compared to previously used medications, according to a Thursday news release from the University of Maryland Medical System.

About a quarter of adults in the United States have high LDL cholesterol levels, putting them at higher risks of strokes and heart attacks, according to the release. Lipfendra, a product of the pharmaceutical company Merck, is the first oral drug to block bad cholesterol production — blockers were originally available only in injectable form.

“People don’t want to give themselves shots,” University of Maryland Medical System cardiologist Scott Jerome said. “When you make something easy for people, they’re going to do it.”

The injectable shot is the most efficient cholesterol therapy, outweighing all other medications. The new pill has the same efficiency in a simpler format, Jerome added.

—Baltimore Sun

Hamas picks Iran-aligned Khalil Al-Hayya as its top leader

The militant Palestinian group Hamas chose as the head of its executive body Gaza-born Khalil Al-Hayya, a close affiliate of Iran, over a competitor favored more by Sunni Arab nations.

The secret voting took place in Gaza, the West Bank, inside Israeli prisons and the neighboring Arab countries with refugee Palestinian populations, Hamas said in a statement.

Hamas media described the race between al-Hayya and the other candidate, Khaled Mashaal, as “tight.” Ten months ago, Israel tried to assassinate al-Hayya when it fired missiles into the Qatari capital Doha where he and other Hamas leaders are based.

The election is unlikely to lead to fundamental change in Hamas, battered by over 30 months of devastating war with Israel. Al-Hayya has been the de facto leader since 2024, when Israel killed his predecessor, Yahya Sinwar, in a Gaza operation. Sinwar had been appointed after Israel killed longtime leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran a few months earlier.

—Bloomberg News