North America

(AP) --- As Sharon Wilson pulled up to the BP site in Texas last June, production tanks towered above the windblown grass roughly 60 miles southeast of San Antonio. Cows and pumpjacks lined the roadsides.

All looked placid. But when Wilson flipped on a high-tech video camera, a disquieting image became visible: A long black plume poured from a flare pipe. Her camera, designed to detect hydrocarbons, had revealed what appeared to be a stream of methane — a potent climate-warming gas, gushing from the very equipment that is supposed to prevent such emissions.

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — President Joe Biden on Saturday was criticized by West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democratic antagonist and ally, for being “cavalier” and “divorced from reality” after vowing to shutter coal-fired power plants and rely more heavily on wind and solar energy in the future.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in her first public appearance since the brutal attack on her husband, rallied grassroots activists Friday, saying the midterm elections for control of Congress are a fight for democracy and “very winnable.”

“People say to me, ‘What can I do to make you feel better?’ I say: ‘Vote!’” Pelosi told those on the call.

“I believe that this race is very winnable,” Pelosi said.

Her voice cracked at times as she said of her husband’s recovery, “It’s going to be a long haul.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol has extended the deadline for former President Donald Trump to turn over documents as part of a subpoena issued last month, while reiterating its request for a sit-down interview.

The panel — comprised of seven Democrats and two Republicans — issued a statement late Friday saying it is in communication with Trump’s attorneys. Friday had been the committee’s deadline for Trump to produce an extensive number of documents and communications with lawmakers.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Venezuelan government and the political opposition are preparing to resume talks stalled for more than a year, people familiar with the process told The Associated Press on Friday.

Three people — someone close to opposition leader Juan Guaidó and two people involved in negotiation preparations — said the delegations from the two sides might meet in Mexico City around mid-November. All three spoke on condition of anonymity.

(AP) --- Twitter began widespread layoffs Friday as new owner Elon Musk overhauls the company, raising grave concerns about chaos enveloping the social media platform and its ability to fight disinformation just days ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.

The speed and size of the cuts also opened Musk and Twitter to lawsuits. At least one was filed alleging Twitter violated federal law by not providing fired employees the required notice.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Swing-state Pennsylvania is the stage for a clash of presidents on Saturday as each party’s biggest stars work to energize voters just days before voting concludes in high-stakes midterm elections across the country.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has notched an envious record on jobs, with 10.3 million gained during his tenure. But voters in Tuesday’s midterm elections are far more focused on inflation hovering near 40-year highs.

That’s left the president trying to convince the public that the job gains mean better days are ahead, even as fears of a recession build.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court looks more like America than it ever has. The lawyers who argue at the nation’s highest court? Not so much.

The current two-week session of arguments features 25 men and just two women, an imbalance so stark that the Biden administration’s top Supreme Court lawyer made a point of it in her defense of race-conscious college admissions Monday.

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar argued to the court that extreme racial or gender disparities between certain groups “can cause people to wonder whether the path to leadership is open.”

(AP) --- Twitter began widespread layoffs Friday as new owner Elon Musk overhauls the company, raising grave concerns about chaos enveloping the platform as a source of reliable information just days ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.

The speed and size of the cuts also opened Musk and Twitter to lawsuits. At least one was filed Thursday in San Francisco alleging that Twitter intends to lay off more workers and has violated federal law by not providing the required notice.