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USA: Wisconsin Supreme Court chief justice accuses liberal majority of staging a ‘coup’

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The conservative chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday told the new liberal majority in a scathing email that they had staged a “coup” and conducted an “illegal experiment” when they voted to weaken her powers and fire the director of state courts.

Chief Justice Annette Ziegler, in two emails obtained by The Associated Press, said that firing and hiring a new state court director was illegal and ordered interim state court director Audrey Skwierawski to stop signing orders without her knowledge or approval.

USA: GOP silences ‘Tennessee Three’ Democrat on House floor for day on ‘out of order’ rule; crowd erupts

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Republican lawmakers voted Monday to temporarily silence a Democratic member of the so-called Tennessee Three during an already tense House floor session after determining the young Black member violated newly enacted rules designed to punish disruptive members.

The move directed at Rep. Justin Jones prohibited him from speaking on and debating bills for the remainder of the day, which came a week into a special session that Republican Gov. Bill Lee called in reaction to a deadly shooting at a Christian elementary school in Nashville in March.

USA: Recruiting is underway for Trump-like ‘wrecking ball’ to shrink government and fire federal workers

WASHINGTON (AP) — With more than a year to go before the 2024 election, a constellation of conservative organizations is preparing for a possible second White House term for Donald Trump, recruiting thousands of Americans to come to Washington on a mission to dismantle the federal government and replace it with a vision closer to his own.

USA: UNC Chapel Hill shooting suspect’s motive in the killing of a faculty member is unclear, police say

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Police were searching for both the weapon and the motive in a shooting at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that left one faculty member dead and prompted an hourslong lockdown amid a search for the suspect.

USA: Idalia strengthens to a hurricane and dangerous storm surges are forecast for Florida’s Gulf Coast

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Idalia became a hurricane on Tuesday, threatening to bring deadly storm surge and dangerous winds to Florida’s Gulf Coast after lashing Cuba with heavy rain.

A day earlier, Florida residents loaded up on sandbags and evacuated from homes in low-lying areas along the Gulf Coast to prepare for a storm that the National Hurricane Center projected could have sustained winds of up to 120 mph (193 kph). That would make it a Category 3 hurricane — a potentially big blow to a state still dealing with lingering damage from last year’s Hurricane Ian.

Erdogan plans to meet with Putin in Russia on September 8 — Bloomberg

NEW YORK, August 28. /TASS/: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could visit Russia on September 8, Bloomberg reported, citing Turkish officials familiar with the situation.

Erdogan plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss a grain deal, the report said. Following the meeting, Erdogan is set to travel to a G20 summit in India.

The office of the Turkish presidency office declined to comment on Erdogan’s plans for the Bloomberg report.

USA: Jacksonville shooter killed Black shoppers with legally purchased guns

WASHINGTON, Aug 27 (Reuters) - The white gunman who shot and killed three Black people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday was a 21-year-old who bought his guns legally and had no criminal history, local law enforcement said on Sunday.

The shooter, Ryan Christopher Palmeter, lived with his parents in a suburb of Jacksonville, Sheriff T.K. Waters told a news conference. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

US fines American Airlines for keeping passengers on tarmac

Aug 28 (Reuters) - The United States Transportation Department (USDOT) on Monday fined American Airlines (AAL.O) $4.1 million for unlawfully keeping thousands of passengers on the tarmac for hours, the largest-ever penalty for violating the rule.

Of the $4.1 million assessed, $2.05 million will be credited to the airline for compensation provided to passengers of impacted flights.

USA: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to call on Democrats to codify ‘Obamacare’ into state law

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will call on state lawmakers this week to pass legislation proactively protecting key provisions in the Affordable Care Act, including no-cost preventive services, as the nation’s health law continues to face legal challenges in federal court.

Whitmer, who is in her second term and working for the first time with a Legislature under complete Democratic control, will call for a plan to codify the Affordable Care Act during a speech Wednesday where she will outline her legislative priorities for the second half of the year.

USA: Tropical Storm Idalia is expected to become a hurricane and move toward Florida, forecasters say

MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Idalia intensified early Monday and was expected to become a major hurricane before it reaches Florida’s Gulf coast, the National Hurricane Center said Monday, warning of an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and dangerous hurricane-force winds in Florida as soon as late Tuesday.

Heavy rainfall in western Cuba could produce flooding and landslides, forecasters said, and hurricane-force winds were expected later Monday.

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