AP News Summary at 7:20 p.m. EDT (2024)

Biden rolls out asylum restrictions, months in the making, to help 'gain control' of the border

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says he’s restricting asylum to help “gain control” of the U.S.-Mexico border. The American Civil Liberties Union says it'll sue over Biden's plan to enact immediate significant restrictions on migrants seeking asylum at the border. Biden signed the proclamation Tuesday as the White House tries to neutralize immigration as a political liability before November's elections. Biden's order would bar migrants from being granted asylum when U.S. officials deem the southern border to be overwhelmed. The Democratic president has contemplated unilateral action for months, especially after Republican lawmakers rejected a bipartisan security deal at the behest of presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. Trump says Biden has surrendered the southern border.

How Biden's new order to halt asylum at the US border is supposed to work

SAN DIEGO (AP) — President Joe Biden has ordered a halt to asylum processing at the U.S. border with Mexico when illegal entries reach a threshold deemed excessive. The measure takes effect immediately because the new policy is triggered when arrests for illegal entry reach 2,500. About 4,000 people already are entering the U.S. each day. It's a major policy shift on a critical election-year issue that’s exposed Biden to Republican criticism over an unprecedented surge in new arrivals in an election year. Advocates say the new measure will put migrants in danger and violate international obligations to provide safe haven to people whose lives are threatened. The Biden administration denies that. Legal challenges are imminent.

India's popular but polarizing leader Narendra Modi is extending his decade in power. Who is he?

NEW DELHI (AP) — Popular but polarizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has advanced Hindu nationalism in India is returning for a third consecutive term in office after claiming victory in a general election that was seen as a referendum on his decade in power. The win has made Modi, 73, only the second leader in India to return as prime minister for a third-straight term. Supporters see him as a cult figure who has improved India’s standing in the world, and credit his pro-business policies with making the economy the world’s fifth-largest. To his critics, though, Modi is an authoritarian responsible for eroding India’s democratic and advancing divisive politics that have harmed Muslims who make up 14% of the country's population.

Prosecutors spend first day of testimony in Hunter Biden's gun trial detailing his drug problems

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Prosecutors spent the first day of testimony in Hunter Biden's federal gun trial detailing his history of drug use. The case is dredging up painful memories for the president and his family, and revealing new and highly personal details about their struggles with addiction and grief as the presidential election looms. He's accused of lying on a federal gun form in 2018. Jurors also got their first look at the document at the center the trial and heard audio excerpts of Hunter Biden's memoir. He has pleaded not guilty.

Arizona voters will decide if local police can arrest people for crossing into the US from Mexico

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Legislature has given final approval to a proposal that will ask voters to make it a state crime for noncitizens to enter the state through Mexico at any location other than a port of entry. The 31-29 vote Tuesday by the Republican-controlled House bypasses opposition from Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and instead sends the measure to the Nov. 5 ballot. State and local police could arrest people crossing the border without authorization, and state judges would have the power to deport some migrants. The vote comes as President Joe Biden unveiled plans Tuesday to restrict the number of migrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump's lawyers ask judge to lift gag order imposed during New York trial

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s lawyers are asking a New York judge to lift the gag order barring the former president from commenting about witnesses, jurors and others tied to the criminal case that led to his conviction for falsifying records to cover up a potential sex scandal. In a letter Tuesday, Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove asked Judge Juan M. Merchan to end the gag order. They argued there is nothing to justify “continued restrictions on the First Amendment rights of President Trump” now that the trial is over. Messages seeking comment were left Tuesday with the Manhattan district attorney’s office and a spokesperson for the state’s court system.

New study finds Earth warming at record rate, but no evidence of climate change accelerating

Top scientists calculate that the rate Earth is warming hit an all-time high in 2023 with 92% of last year’s surprising record-shattering heat caused by humans. A group of 57 international scientists examining what’s behind last year’s deadly burst of heat say that even with a faster warming rate they don’t see evidence of significant acceleration in human-caused climate change beyond increased fossil fuel burning. Last year’s record temperatures were so unusual that scientists have been debating what’s behind the big jump and whether climate change is accelerating. The study's lead author says temperatures are alarmingly increasing exactly as predicted.

Garland slams attacks on the Justice Department, telling lawmakers: 'I will not be intimidated'

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland is forcefully rebuking what he describes as “unprecedented” attacks on the Justice Department. Garland on Tuesday told House Republicans who have sought to hold him in contempt that he will “not be intimidated.” During a hearing before the the House Judiciary Committee, Garland condemned what he said are “baseless and extremely dangerous falsehoods” being peddled about the FBI and slammed threats to defund the special counsel prosecutions of former President Donald Trump. His appearance comes as Republicans have moved to hold him in contempt for the Biden administration’s refusal to hand over audio of President Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur.

House passes proposal sanctioning top war-crimes court after it sought Netanyahu arrest warrant

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has passed legislation that would sanction the International Criminal Court for seeking an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The 247-155 vote delivered Washington’s first rebuke to the war crimes court even as partisan divisions over the Israel-Hamas war intensified. The Republican-backed proposal only managed to garner modest Democratic support after a bipartisan effort to respond to the court’s stunning action against Israel was rejected by the White House last week. The bill is expected to go to the Senate where it is unlikely that the Democratically-controlled chamber chooses to take it up.

Mexico’s next president faces 3 pressing challenges: money, dialogue and the US election

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s newly elected president faces a long list of challenges, including persistent cartel violence, a deeply divided country, cash-straitened social programs and the long shadow of her mentor, outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. But for some analysts what awaits Claudia Sheinbaum mostly comes down to three things: money, dialogue and what happens in the U.S. election. She begins her six-year presidential term Oct. 1, so has four months to define her agenda. During this time, López Obrador is expected to continue delivering his daily morning press briefings as he tries to solidify his legacy. The coexistence might be far from easy: He has divided society; she says she wants to unite it. He is a leader of the masses; she is an academic and a scientist.

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