North America

(AP) --- As the Republican presidential primary intensifies this summer, most White House hopefuls are devoting their time to events in Iowa and New Hampshire, the states that kick off the nomination process early next year. Not Ron DeSantis or Donald Trump.

The Florida governor will address more than 1,500 faithful Republicans on Saturday at Nashville’s Music City Center. A few weeks later, the former president will swing through Alabama to headline the state GOP’s biggest event of the summer.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Former Democratic state Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr. on Monday will announce a campaign for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, one of the nation’s most competitive House districts.

Hertel and another ex-state senator, Republican Tom Barrett, who launched his second run for the seat Sunday night, are the first to announce bids for U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin’s seat. Slotkin, a Democrat, announced earlier this year that she would seek Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Democratic Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who has pushed for police accountability and tougher gun laws after the Uvalde school shooting, announced Monday he will run for U.S. Senate in 2024.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A 14-year-old girl was found in the barracks at a California Marine Corps base last month, two weeks after her grandmother in San Diego reported she had run away from home, and a Marine was detained for questioning, officials said Monday.

The Marine has since been released to his command while federal law enforcement officials investigate, said Marine Capt. Charles Palmer of the 1st Marine Logistics Group at Camp Pendleton, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of San Diego.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar, who was convicted of sexually abusing Olympic and college female gymnasts, was stabbed multiple times by another inmate at a federal prison in Florida that is experiencing staffing shortages.

The attack happened Sunday at United States Penitentiary Coleman, and Nassar was in stable condition on Monday, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

MONTREAL, July 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The number of forest fires continues to rise in Canada, climbing on Friday to more than 670 blazes – more than 380 of them out of control – with a long and difficult summer ahead.

“The numbers are literally off the charts, with at least three more months left in the active wildfire season,” said Michael Norton of the Canadian Ministry of Natural Resources.

And weather forecasts for the coming weeks predict above-average temperatures in many parts of the country in the west, and also in northern Quebec, the worst-hit region.

TORONTO, July 9 (Reuters) - Talks in Pacific Canada between striking dock workers and their employers have resumed after four days away from the negotiation table, a statement on Saturday by the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) showed.

The BCMEA and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU Canada) met on Saturday, supported by federal mediators, the statement said. The talks had stalled on Tuesday and the two sides broke off negotiations.

WASHINGTON, July 9 (Reuters) - Republican U.S. presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on Sunday he would take steps to revoke China's permanent normal trade relations status if he won the 2024 White House race.

"I favor doing that. I think we probably need Congress but I would take executive action as appropriate to be able to move us in that direction," DeSantis said in an interview with Fox News on Sunday.

NEW YORK (AP) — A scooter-riding gunman killed an 87-year-old man and wounded three others in a string of random shootings that stretched across two New York City boroughs, police said Saturday.

A 25-year-old man was taken into custody without incident and his identity was not revealed by police, Assistant Police Chief Joseph Kenny said at a news conference. A 9 mm handgun with an extended magazine and a scooter were recovered.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Republicans announced Saturday that the party’s presidential nominating caucuses will be held Jan. 15, on the federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr., putting the first votes of the 2024 election a little more than six months away as the GOP tries to reclaim the White House.