AP

By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Louisiana on Wednesday abandoned its defense of a political map that elected two Black members of Congress and instead called on the Supreme Court to reject any consideration of race in redistricting in a case that could bring major changes to the Voting Rights Act. Appealing to

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s chief financial officer said Wednesday that his office had issued subpoenas to county workers in the Orlando area after they didn’t fully cooperate with the state’s version of DOGE, which has been examining local governments for wasteful spending. The subpoenas for Orange County workers over

By The Associated Press The United Nations agency that coordinates international mail deliveries says it is working to get small parcels dispatched to the United States again by resolving confusion over the pending elimination of a U.S. tariff exemption for low-cost imports. The Universal Postal Union said it sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of

By AMANDA SEITZ Associated Press Rural hospitals are preparing to lose billions of dollars from President Donald Trump’s signature tax and spending cut bill signed into law this summer. Dozens, already on the brink, have warned they face the prospect of closure or reduced services because of the bill’s cuts to Medicaid, which is funded

By ISABELLA VOLMERT Associated Press Indiana’s Republican legislative leaders met privately with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office to discuss redistricting, an Indiana House spokesperson confirmed, although it remains unclear if they’ll join other states in trying to change congressional maps mid-cycle ahead of next year’s midterms. Many Indiana lawmakers have expressed hesitation to

By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — The government of Georgia’s most populous county must pay $10,000 a day until it appoints two Republican nominees to its election board under a judge’s ruling issued Wednesday. Superior Court Judge David Emerson found that the Fulton County Board of Commissioners had not complied with his earlier

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer Like its namesake barrels that transported soda crackers until boxes replaced them, Cracker Barrel needed to change. The restaurant chain’s new CEO, Julie Felss Masino, laid out the argument to investors last year: Cracker Barrel’s customer traffic was down 16% compared to 2019. Research showed consumers thought the brand

By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press A Democrat has won a special election for an Iowa state Senate seat in a district that had been held by Republicans and had voted heavily for President Donald Trump in 2024, adding to the Democratic Party’s hope that it can flip more seats during the 2026 midterm elections.

By STEVE PEOPLES AP National Politics Writer MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Democratic National Committee is seriously considering scrambling the party’s 2028 presidential primary calendar. And South Carolina — the state that hosted the Democrats’ first-in-the-nation contest in 2024 — is far from a lock to go first. That’s according to several members of the DNC’s