USA

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court flips to liberal control for the first time in 15 years Tuesday with the start of the term of a new justice who made abortion rights a focus of her winning campaign.

Janet Protasiewicz will be sworn into office with a ceremony in the state Capitol Rotunda, the type of pomp and circumstance typically reserved for governors. Protasiewicz’s win carries tremendous weight in Wisconsin, a battleground where the state Supreme Court has been the last word on some of the biggest political and policy battles of the past decade-plus.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump’s political operation entered the second half of the year in a strained financial position with its bank account drained by tens of millions of dollars that were directed toward defending the former president from mounting legal challenges as he seeks the White House again.

WASHINGTON, July 31 (Reuters) - A former associate of Hunter Biden appeared before a congressional panel on Monday for an interview that Republican lawmakers hope will shed light on unproven allegations against Democratic President Joe Biden and his family.

Devon Archer, who was subpoenaed by the House of Representatives Oversight Committee in June, appeared for an interview behind closed doors led by committee staff. Allies of former President Donald Trump are calling for an impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden.

NEW YORK, July 31 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged online entrepreneur Richard Heart with illegally raising more than $1 billion in three unregistered cryptocurrency offerings, and defrauding investors out of $12.1 million to buy luxuries including the world's largest black diamond.

In a complaint filed on Monday in Brooklyn federal court, the SEC said Heart, also known as Richard Schueler, touted his Hex token, PulseX asset trading platform and PulseChain asset network on YouTube and other websites as pathways to "grandiose wealth."

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI should stop using a U.S. spy database of foreigners’ emails and other communications for investigating crimes that aren’t related to national security, a group of White House intelligence advisers recommended in a report released Monday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will travel to Arizona, New Mexico and Utah next week and is expected to talk about his administration’s efforts to combat climate change as the region endures a brutally hot summer with soaring temperatures, the White House said Monday.

Biden is expected to discuss the Inflation Reduction Act, America’s most significant response to climate change, and the push toward more clean energy manufacturing. The act aims to spur clean energy on a scale that will bend the arc of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

ROCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — In a new policy plan unveiled Monday, Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis is taking aim at China with a “Declaration of Economic Independence” that also targets taxes, regulations, spending and education.

Speaking in a New Hampshire warehouse, the Florida governor promised to boost the economy and fight for the middle class.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A legal advocacy group for journalists wants to get involved in Disney’s free speech lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press says a win by the Florida governor could embolden other governments across the U.S. to take actions against journalists and other media when they exercise their First Amendment rights.

ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia prosecutor is expected to seek a grand jury indictment in the coming weeks in her investigation into efforts by Donald Trump and his Republican allies to overturn the then-president’s 2020 election loss.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis began investigating more than two years ago, shortly after a recording was released of a January 2021 phone call Trump made to Georgia’s secretary of state.

ATLANTA (AP) — The first new U.S. nuclear reactor to be built from scratch in decades is sending electricity reliably to the grid, but the cost of the Georgia power plant could make it a dead end instead of a path to a carbon-free future.

Georgia Power Co. announced Monday that Unit 3 at Plant Vogtle, southeast of Augusta, has completed testing and is now in commercial operation, seven years late and $17 billion over budget.