Articles by Associated Press

Mamdani and Cuomo face off as New York City chooses new mayor, while Sliwa hopes for an upset

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE and JILL COLVIN, Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s voters are deciding the outcome of a generational and ideological divide that will resonate across the country Tuesday as they choose the next mayor to run the nation’s largest city. Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary earlier this year, faces former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent, and perennial Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, who is trying to land a massive upset. A victory for Mamdani would give the city its first Muslim mayor and its youngest leader in generations, while elevating the democratic socialist to political stardom and giving his brand of economic populism one of the most visible political perches in America. If Cuomo comes out on top, he will have staged a remarkable political comeback four years after resigning as governor over a barrage of sexual harassment allegations. For Sliwa — the creator of the Guardian Angels crime patrol group and a longtime New York tabloid fixture — a win would put a Republican in charge of the nation’s largest city at a time when many New Yorkers are seeking a leader who can keep President Donald Trump at bay. The race has made Mamdani a national figure as he has drawn the ire of Trump and other Republicans, who have tried to cast him as the face of a new, more radical Democratic Party. Trump has also threatened to take over the city if Mamdani wins, as well as arrest and deport the state assemblymember, who was born in Uganda but is a U.S. citizen. Trump reluctantly endorsed Cuomo on the eve of the election, saying Mamdani would bring “disaster” to the city and encouraging Sliwa backers to vote for the former governor instead. A rematch with key differences Mamdani, a 34-year-old state lawmaker, already defeated Cuomo once in the Democratic primary, energizing progressives to score a surprise victory over the once-powerful former governor with a campaign that focused on lowering the cost of living in one of the country’s most expensive cities. This time, Cuomo is counting on support from moderates and Republicans to win. And he’s hoping incumbent Mayor Eric Adams’ late exit from the race and eventual endorsement will give him a boost among their overlapping bases of centrists, Black voters and ultra-Orthodox Jews. He’s also received the endorsement of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire who donated $1.5 million to a super PAC supporting Cuomo in the final days of the contest. Mamdani has generated national buzz and won endorsements from big-name progressives, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He has promised to raise taxes on the richest New Yorkers and use the money to make city buses free and provide free, universal child care. He has also promised to freeze rent for people living in about 1 million rent-regulated apartments. At the same time, Mamdani’s past criticism of the city’s police department and the Israeli government’s military actions in Gaza — which he has called genocidal — have unnerved some centrists who see him as a potential setback in their effort to broaden the party’s national appeal. Some Jewish leaders have also seized on his refusal to support Israel as a Jewish state, calling him a danger to Jews. While Mamdani has distanced himself from some of his past rhetoric, some top New York Democrats remain concerned and have either been slow to endorse him or outright refused to. Tuesday’s general election is being conducted as a traditional one, meaning the candidate who gets the most votes wins. The city’s party primaries were determined using ranked-choice voting, which allowed voters to rank candidates in order of preference. Sliwa’s path to victory is narrow in the overwhelmingly Democratic city, resting on his ability to secure the GOP vote with his tough-on-crime message and Noo Yawk attitude, while picking up moderates who don’t want to elevate Mamdani or return Cuomo to power. Sliwa, 71, has ignored pressure from within his own party to suspend his campaign and create a one-on-one race between Cuomo and Mamdani. Trump himself dismissed Sliwa as “not exactly prime time.” In the race’s final weeks, Cuomo appealed to Sliwa’s supporters, arguing that a vote for the Republican was a vote for Mamdani. Cuomo runs on his record, but is dogged by his past Trump and other Republicans have eagerly painted a dire picture of New York under Mamdani’s potential leadership. Cuomo, 67, has carried a similar message. Running on an independent party line, he has positioned himself as a seasoned executive capable of managing the city’s vast bureaucracy, drawing a contrast with Mamdani’s relative inexperience. Cuomo’s experience as governor is perhaps also his biggest vulnerability. He resigned in 2021 following a report from the attorney general that concluded that Cuomo had sexually harassed at least 11 women. Some of the women complained about unwanted touches, flirting, kisses and suggestive comments. One aide filed a police report accusing him of groping her breast, though a district attorney declined to prosecute. Cuomo initially apologized for some of his behavior, saying he had fallen out of step with what is considered appropriate workplace conduct. However, in recent months, he has been defiant — calling his accusers liars and blaming his downfall on political adversaries.

California voters take up Democrats’ push for new congressional maps that could shape House control

By JONATHAN J. COOPER, MICHAEL R. BLOOD and TRÂN NGUYỄN, Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — The national battle to control the U.S. House shifts to California on Tuesday as voters consider a Democratic proposal that could erase as many as five Republican districts and blunt President Donald Trump’s moves to safeguard his party’s lock on Washington power. The outcome will reverberate into next year’s midterm elections and beyond, with Democrats hoping a victory will set the stage for the party to regain control of the House in 2026. A shift in the majority would imperil Trump’s agenda for the remainder of his term at a time of deep partisan divisions over immigration, health care and the future direction of the nation. “God help us if we lose in California,” Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom says. Democrats need to gain just three seats in the 2026 elections to take control of the House. Heavily Democratic California and its 52 congressional districts represent by far the Democrats’ best opportunity in an unprecedented state-by-state redistricting battle, which started when Texas Republicans heeded Trump’s demand that they redraw their boundaries to help the GOP retain its House majority. Democrats hold 43 of the state’s seats and hope to boost that to 48. Trump is fighting not just the Democrats but history. Midterm elections typically punish the party in the White House, but four GOP-led states so far have adopted new district maps to pack more Republican voters into key districts. Measure supported by Newsom, Obama California’s Proposition 50 asks voters to suspend House maps drawn by an independent commission and replace them with rejiggered districts adopted by the Democratic-controlled Legislature. Those new districts would be in place for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections. The recast districts aim to dilute Republican voters’ power, in one case by uniting rural, conservative-leaning parts of far northern California with Marin County, a famously liberal coastal stronghold across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. The measure has been spearheaded by Newsom, who has thrown the weight of his political operation behind it in a major test of his mettle ahead of a potential 2028 presidential campaign. Former President Barack Obama has urged voters to pass it as well. Newsom has sought to nationalize the campaign, depicting the proposal as a counterweight to all things Trump. “Republicans want to steal enough seats in Congress to rig the next election and wield unchecked power for two more years,” Obama says in one ad. “You can stop Republicans in their tracks.” Critics say two wrongs don’t make a right. They urge Californians to reject what they call a Democratic power grab, even if they have misgivings about Trump’s moves in Republican-led states. Among the most prominent critics is Arnold Schwarzenegger, the movie star and former Republican governor who pushed for the creation of the independent commission, which voters approved in 2008 and 2010. It makes no sense to fight Trump by becoming him, Schwarzenegger said in September, arguing that the proposal would “take the power away from the people.” After an early burst of TV advertising, opponents of the plan have struggled to raise cash in a state with some of the nation’s most expensive media markets. Data compiled by advertising tracker AdImpact last week showed Democrats and other supporters with over $5 million in ad buys booked on broadcast TV, cable and radio. But opponents had virtually no time reserved, though the data didn’t include some popular streaming services like Hulu and YouTube or mail advertising. Total spending on broadcast and cable ads topped $100 million, with more than two-thirds of it coming from supporters. Newsom told people to stop donating in the race’s final weeks. Trump, who overwhelmingly lost California in his three presidential campaigns, largely stayed out of the fray. A week before the election, he urged voters in a social media post not to vote early or by mail — messaging that conflicts with that of top Republicans in the state who urged people to get their ballots in as soon as possible. The national House map is in flux Democrats hope to pick up as many as five seats in California if voters approve the new boundaries, offsetting the five that Republicans hope to pick up through their new Texas maps. Republicans also expect to gain one seat each from new maps in Missouri and North Carolina, and potentially two more in Ohio. Congressional district boundaries are typically redrawn every 10 years to reflect population shifts documented in the census. Mid-decade redistricting is unusual, absent a court order finding fault with the maps in place. Five other GOP-led states are also considering new maps: Kansas, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana and Nebraska. On the Democratic side, Illinois, Maryland, New York and Virginia have proposals to redraw maps, but major hurdles remain. A court has ordered new boundaries be drawn in Utah, where all four House districts are represented by Republicans, but it remains to be seen if the state will approve a map that makes any of them winnable for Democrats. Cooper reported from Phoenix and Nguyen from Sacramento, California.

Virginia governor’s race will test Trump and Democrats nationally — and make history

By OLIVIA DIAZ and BILL BARROW, Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia voters are deciding a history-making race for governor Tuesday that will serve as a barometer of attitudes toward President Donald Trump and Democrats’ attempts to regain their footing on the national stage. Republican Winsome Earle-Sears, a staunch conservative who serves as Virginia’s lieutenant governor, and Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a center-left Democrat and former CIA case officer who helped her party win a House majority during Trump’s first presidency, are vying to become the first-ever woman to lead the commonwealth. Earle-Sears also would make history as the first Black woman elected governor in any state. The race to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has taken on national dimensions from the start, serving as a testing ground for both parties one year ahead of national midterm elections that could redirect the country’s course for the balance of Trump’s second term. It comes as the state Trump lost in three successive presidential contests has been strained by many of his policies, particularly the steep cuts to the civil service and the ongoing government shutdown. For Republicans, Earle-Sears will show whether a candidate in Trump’s general mold — though notably without his full-throated support — can win in a battleground state. For Democrats, Spanberger will signal whether the same center-left approach that worked across the country in the 2018 midterms is the answer in 2026, when the party’s energy has been focused on its progressive base. “With the political turmoil coming out of Washington right now, this election is an opportunity,” Spanberger said on her final campaign swing heading into Election Day. “Virginia voters can and will send a message amid the recklessness and the heartlessness coming out of Washington.” Republicans have placed similarly dire stakes on the outcome. “Abigail Spanberger represents the darkness,” Earle-Sears told supporters last weekend. Spanberger, who gave up her congressional seat to run for governor, has tried to leverage voter concerns about the cost of living and the impacts of Trump’s domestic policy and tax cut law on Virginia’s health care system. She spent millions on television and digital ads tying Earle-Sears to the president, but shied away from Democrats’ 2024 dire warnings about democracy that proved not to be persuasive to voters. Trump has offered only tepid support for Earle-Sears, who three years ago said she wouldn’t back Trump’s return to the White House before recanting. The president did not campaign for her in-person and did not say her name during his only telephone town hall with her supporters Monday night. The lieutenant governor, meanwhile, has given Trump high marks overall for his performance, but did not mention him at her crowning Saturday night rally, where Youngkin provided the star power in lieu of the president. Earle-Sears looked to replicate Trump’s attacks on Democrats on cultural issues like transgender people’s participation in sports, but she spoke less about her career-long opposition to abortion rights — giving Spanberger the opening to emphasize her support for abortion rights in the last Southern state that has not restricted or banned the procedure since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a national right to abortion services. Earle-Sears also sought to pressure Spanberger for refusing to withdraw her endorsement of Jay Jones, the Democratic nominee for Virginia attorney general, who faced calls to drop out of the contest earlier this fall after disclosure of text messages he sent in 2022 suggesting the former Republican House speaker get “two bullets to the head.” That race, the contest to replace Earle-Sears at lieutenant governor and all 100 seats in the state’s Democratic-controlled House of Delegates are on the ballot Tuesday. The Democratic-controlled state Senate will face voters in 2027. Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Barrow reported from Atlanta.

Trump’s policies and inflation drive governor’s race in New Jersey, where GOP has been making gains

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey voters are electing their next governor Tuesday in a race that will reveal whether Democrats maintain their grip on a state that has been reliably blue but has shown signs of shifting toward Republicans in recent years. Jack Ciattarelli, a former state legislator endorsed by President Donald Trump, is trying to become New Jersey’s first Republican governor since 2018. He faces U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat in her fourth term in Congress who would become the state’s second female governor if elected. The outcome could gauge how the electorate is responding to Trump’s policies and whether some groups of core Democratic Party voters still have faith in the party’s leadership. Ciattarelli, 63, is running for governor for the third time. He lost a Republican primary in 2017, then narrowly lost the general election in 2021 to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who is term-limited. This time, he has cast the election as an opportunity for voters to oust Democrats who have controlled both the governor’s office and the state Legislature for nearly eight years. He’s touted his background as a business owner with deep roots in the state and experience as a state and local elected official. He says his close relationship with Trump will help New Jersey. “Make no mistake. We cannot afford another four years of Phil Murphy’s failed policies,” Ciattarelli said during a rally earlier in the campaign. Sherrill, 53, built her campaign around pushing back against Trump. She recently seized on the administration’s decision to abruptly freeze funding for a multibillion-dollar project to replace the aging rail tunnels that connect New Jersey to New York City beneath the Hudson River. “This is what we’re fighting for in this country — to make sure that we have a president who has to follow the law,” she said. Sherrill also has leaned into her biography, which includes serving as a U.S. Navy officer and helicopter pilot and working as a prosecutor. She cast Ciattarelli as someone who would go along with Trump’s actions no matter what. If elected, Sherrill would join Christine Todd Whitman, who served from 1994 to 2001, as the state’s only female governors. In last year’s presidential election, former Vice President Kamala Harris won New Jersey, but Trump shaved his margin of loss significantly, shifting Hispanic voters toward him. The Democrats’ registration edge has eroded in recent years. Ciattarelli has walked a fine line on Trump, praising him and giving the president an “A” grade, but he’s also campaigned to attract Hispanic voters. While he has said he supports the president’s effort to end birthright citizenship, he’s also talked about a “pathway to recognition,” and giving driver’s licenses and Social Security numbers to immigrants who are in the country illegally but do not have a criminal record. That puts him at odds with the Trump administration’s current policies. Ciattarelli has not explained what he means by a “pathway to recognition.” New Jersey already issues driver’s licenses to some immigrants in the country illegally and the federal government issues Social Security numbers. With a close race possible, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would monitor polling sites in Passaic County, a former Democratic stronghold that Trump won in 2024. New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin, a Democrat, called the monitoring program “highly inappropriate” after it was requested by the state Republican Party. Sherrill and Ciattarelli debated two times and have been crisscrossing the state, meeting voters at diners and leaning on surrogates to get their messages out. Democratic governors Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Wes Moore of Maryland, as well as former President Barack Obama, all came to New Jersey to rally voters for Sherrill. Trump campaigned for Ciattarelli in telephone rallies and has been urging voters to back the Republican, saying he would “rapidly” bring energy and other costs down, without specifying how. Also on the ballot are all 80 seats in the state Assembly, which Democrats control 52-28.

Pennsylvania could keep its Democratic high court majority or get partisan deadlock on the bench

By MARC LEVY, Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania voters on Tuesday will decide whether to keep a Democratic majority on the state’s highest court — the center of pivotal fights over voting rights, redistricting and elections — or potentially plunge the court into a partisan deadlock in a premier presidential battleground. The outcome will affect how the state Supreme Court could again be called on to settle partisan battles over election laws ahead of next year’s midterm contests. Democratic Supreme Court justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht are running in a retention election, in which voters are asked to vote “yes” or “no” on whether to give them another term. Reelecting any of them would continue the Democratic majority, which is currently 5-2. Defeating all three could plunge the bench into a partisan 2-2 stalemate for two years if Pennsylvania’s politically divided government were to be unable to agree on temporary appointees to fill in. Supreme Court terms are 10 years, though age limits can shorten that time on the bench. Traditionally, a retention campaign is an under-the-radar election. But on Sunday night, President Donald Trump waded into the campaign, taking to social media to urge voters to “bring back the Rule of Law, and stand up for the Constitution” and reject “three Radical Democrat Supreme Court Justices.” He said they had, among other things, “unlawfully gerrymandered your Congressional maps, which led to my corrupt Impeachment (s).” Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro responded on social media, saying Trump has “zero credibility when it comes to the rule of law” after he “tried to throw out Pennsylvanians’ votes and overturn the 2020 election” and “pardoned the people who assaulted law enforcement” in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. In an era of increasingly polarized judicial elections, Republicans mounted a late-emerging campaign to defeat the justices. Democrats marshaled a reelection campaign with their allies and received help from Shapiro. The campaign was on track to cost more than $15 million, far more than previous retention elections, but nowhere near the $100 million spent earlier this year in Wisconsin — a record amount for a state Supreme Court race in which a Democratic-backed candidate defeated a challenger endorsed by Trump. Still, the stakes in Pennsylvania’s election are very much the same. Democrats have broadcast the justices’ support for abortion rights, voting rights and union rights, warning that losses could leave the court deadlocked and their precedents in jeopardy. If the justices aren’t retained, the Democratic governor and the Republican-controlled Senate could agree on temporary appointees to fill in until the 2027 election to pick successors. However, the last time there was a vacancy, when Justice Max Baer died in 2022, it went unfilled until after the 2023 election. A deadlock means the court might be unable to settle cases involving voting and election laws through the 2026 midterm elections, when the governor’s office and a handful of contested congressional seats will be on the ballot. Lower court decisions could remain in place as a result. The Republicans’ campaign targeted Democratic voters, telling them in flyers and TV ads to “defend Democracy” and that 10 years on the court is enough. GOP ads also complained about the court’s freeing of Bill Cosby in a 2021 decision that threw out his sexual assault conviction — “protect women and children,” flyers said — and its overturning of a Republican-drawn map of Pennsylvania’s congressional districts “so only Democrats could win.” In recent years, the court has made major decisions around voting and elections, necessitated in part by the politically divided and often stalemated state government. The justices in 2018 threw out the GOP congressional map, calling it unconstitutionally gerrymandered, and, four years later, again picked new district boundaries after a stalemate in government. The court also turned away GOP challenges to Pennsylvania’s expansive vote-by-mail law, a focal point of Republican efforts to overturn Trump’s loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Follow Marc Levy on X at https://x.com/timelywriter.

Maine and Texas consider Republican-backed election proposals on voter ID, noncitizen voting

By PATRICK WHITTLE, Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine and Texas are the latest states to become involved in a nationwide Republican push to enact strict voter ID laws and highlight the rare problem of noncitizen voting, with voters set to decide ballot measures on those issues Tuesday. Supporters say the initiatives would help safeguard elections, while opponents claim they are intended to make voting more difficult or address issues that aren’t major problems. The proposal in Texas, where Republicans control the government, is fairly simple: It would amend the Texas Constitution to add “persons who are not citizens of the United States” to the list of those excluded from participating in elections. Maine’s proposal centers on requiring a photo ID to vote, but it is far more sweeping. The Republican-backed initiative also would limit the use of drop boxes for returning completed ballots and make several changes to the state’s absentee voting system, including eliminating two days of absentee voting and ending ongoing absentee voter status for seniors and people with disabilities. Voters will decide on the measures at a time when President Donald Trump and national Republicans have pressed for new restrictions on voting, including requiring proof of citizenship. Maine Gov. Janet Mills is one of many Democrats in the state speaking out against the voter ID initiative that is the centerpiece of Question 1. She said she sees it less as a chance to shore up elections and more as an attack on the right to vote itself. Proponents of the ID push said it’s about ensuring legal votes count in the state. The Maine proposal also would limit the number of ballot drop boxes to just one per municipality in a state where mail voting has been growing in popularity. The ballot initiative is up for approval as the state investigates an allegation that dozens of unmarked ballots, intended for use in this year’s election, were discovered inside a woman’s Amazon order. The secretary of state’s law enforcement division is investigating with assistance from the FBI and other state authorities, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows has said. The Texas proposal arrives as Republicans in the state have also pushed for a requirement that voters show documented proof-of-citizenship in order to vote. A state Senate bill on the subject failed to gain full legislative approval before lawmakers adjourned in June. Voters in Texas must already attest to being a citizen when they register to vote, so the amendment being decided Tuesday will have little practical effect. It will add noncitizens to the list of those who are prohibited from voting and do so as a constitutional amendment, making it difficult to change in the future. Between 2018 and 2024, 14 other states put similar citizenship amendments before voters, and all passed easily. More are expected next year. Opponents say the amendment is unnecessary because voting by noncitizens in Texas and elsewhere is already rare and illegal. It’s a felony punishable with prison time and possible deportation. A handful of cities across the country allow noncitizens to vote in certain local elections, but none is in Texas.

Maine to vote on proposed red flag gun law inspired by mass shooting that killed 18

By PATRICK WHITTLE, Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Two years after the deadliest mass shooting in state history, Maine residents are voting on whether to make it easier for family members to petition a court to restrict a potentially dangerous person’s access to guns. A statewide ballot question Tuesday asks residents if they want to build on the state’s yellow flag law, which allows police officers to initiate a process to keep someone away from firearms. Approval would add Maine to more than 20 states that have a red flag law empowering family members to take the same step. Gun safety advocates began pushing for a stricter red flag law after 18 people were killed when an Army reservist opened fire at a bowling alley and a bar and grill in Lewiston in October 2023. An independent commission appointed by Maine’s governor later concluded that there were numerous opportunities for intervention by both Army officials and civilian law enforcement. In the aftermath of the shooting, law enforcement officers testified before the independent commission that they had difficulty implementing the state’s existing yellow flag law, which they described as cumbersome and time-consuming. Gun control proponents characterized that law as too weak and difficult to implement. The yellow flag law requires police to take the potentially dangerous person into protective custody and hold them for a mental health evaluation. The campaign in favor of the red flag law released an ad this fall in which Arthur Barnard, father of Lewiston shooting victim Artie Strout, said the stronger law could have saved his son’s life. “People who are having a mental health crisis need help, not easy access to guns,” Barnard said in the ad. “Maine’s laws were too weak to save my son’s life. Vote ‘Yes on 2’ to change that.” The red flag proposal has encountered resistance from Republicans, hunting groups, gun rights organizations and some Democrats. Maine is a state with relatively low crime where gun ownership is common, and the state’s laws should reflect that, opponents have said. Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, opposed the ballot question. She said in October that the yellow flag law was “carefully crafted” with Maine in mind, and it remains the right law for the state. “We found common ground on one of the most controversial issues of our time,” Mills wrote in an opinion piece in the Portland Press Herald. “Question 2 would create a new, separate and confusing process that will undermine the effectiveness of the law and endanger public safety along with it.” The ballot question campaign came as the legal aftermath of the Lewiston shooting is still unfolding. The survivors and family members of victims of the deadly shooting have sued the U.S. Army and the Department of Defense, seeking unspecified damages and arguing the U.S. Army could have stopped Robert Card, the reservist, from carrying out the shootings. They also point to a Department of Defense watchdog report issued in September that faults the U.S. Army for a high rate of failure to report violent threats by service members. The report specifically mentions Card, who died by suicide two days after the shootings. It says failure to consistently report violent threats “could increase the risk of additional violent incidents by service members, such as what occurred with SFC (Sgt. 1st Class) Card.” Card was in the midst of a mental health spiral that was known to many, and that led to his hospitalization and left him paranoid, delusional and expressing homicidal ideations, attorneys for the victims have said. Card’s family members and fellow reservists said he had exhibited delusional and paranoid behavior months before the shootings. One fellow reservist said in a text: “I believe he’s going to snap and do a mass shooting.”

Patrick Mahomes has one of the worst games of his career in loss to Bills that halts Chiefs’ mojo

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Patrick Mahomes wasn’t in the mood to look too far ahead after one of the worst performances of his career in Kansas City’s latest showdown — and regular-season loss — against Buffalo. And that was especially true when the discussion turned to the potential of yet another rematch with the Bills in the playoffs. “We’ve got to get there first,” Mahomes said following a 28-21 loss Sunday when he had one of the worst passing games of his career. The Chiefs (5-4) have lost five straight regular-season meetings against Buffalo. But they’re 4-0 when facing the Bills in the playoffs since the 2020 postseason, including a win in last season’s AFC championship game. Just when it appeared the Chiefs had found their groove while winning three straight and five of six, they took a step back against the Bills. “We’ve had great moments and we’ve had bad moments,” Mahomes said. “We’ve got to be more consistent as a team. I’ve got to be more consistent at quarterback. And we’ve got to be able to battle.” Mahomes closed a disappointing performance with three straight incompletions from Buffalo’s 40 and the two-time NFL MVP finished 15 of 34 for 250 yards with an interception. It was the first time in a nine-year career he completed fewer than 50% of his passes, and just the 10th time Mahomes failed to complete a TD pass in a regular-season game. As for his interception, it ended Kansas City’s second-to-last possession with 4:18 left. Facing third-and-11 at the Chiefs 23, Mahomes was being pressured when he threw a pass up the right sideline that was intercepted by rookie Maxwell Hairston. The Bills defense harassed Mahomes throughout with three sacks and 15 quarterback hits. Mahomes was outdueled by Josh Allen, who set a team record by completing 88% of his passes (23 of 26) for 273 yards, and had three TDs — one passing and two rushing. “You know it’s going to come down to a couple of plays, and they made those plays today,” Mahomes said. “Josh was amazing.” The outing for Mahomes came on the heels of a three-game winning streak in which he completed 74% of his passes for an average of 281 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions. It was a three-game run in which the Chiefs beating the Lions, Raiders and Commanders by a combined score of 89-24. “They have good pass rushers and they had a good plan of doing some games up front and pushing the pocket,” Mahomes said. “I’ve got to be better at working the pocket and finding different lanes to step up into.” He had a few highlights, such as completing a 29-yard pass to convert fourth-and-17 on a drive that Kareem Hunt capped with a 1-yard touchdown run to cut Buffalo’s lead to 28-21. There was also his 40-yard completion to Hollywood Brown at the Bills 1 in the final minute of the first half. The Chiefs, however, had to settle for Harrison Butker’s 19-yard field goal after Hunt was stopped for no gain and Mahomes threw two completions. The bad, however, outweighed the good, including the Chiefs turning the ball over on downs in the second quarter, when safety Cole Bishop broke up Mahomes’ short pass over the middle intended for Rashee Rice. The Bills took over at their 40 and built a 21-10 lead on Allen’s first of two 1-yard touchdown runs. Rice had 80 yards on four receptions and ran for a 3-yard touchdown on a direct snap in the first quarter. Hunt also scored on a 2-yard run, while Butker was good on two field-goal attempts. It wasn’t enough. “Against a team like this,” coach Andy Reid said, “you’ve got to be able to score touchdowns. Not field goals.” Mahomes was overheard rallying his teammates in the visiting locker room after the game. “We’ve got to do it now,” Mahomes said. “There’s no easy games coming up and there’s no more chances where we can take losses. We’ve got to learn from it fast.” Kansas City gets a break by entering its bye week before facing current AFC West division-leader Denver (7-2). “It’s going to be an uphill battle when we get back,” Mahomes said. “But I think our guys are up for it.”

21 dead, over 30 still missing following massive landslide in western Kenya

At least 21 people have died and 30 others are missing after a landslide on Saturday in Kenya’s western Rift Valley region, where heavy rains have battered the area for days during the country’s ongoing short rains season. More than 1,000 homes were destroyed by the mudslides in the hilly area of Chesongoch in Elgeyo Marakwet County, in western Kenya. Several roads have been cut off and the government airlifted 30 survivors with serious injuries to a hospital in Eldoret City. Local resident Stephen Kittony told the Citizen Television station that he heard a deafening sound and, together with his children, rushed out of their house and ran in different directions. Rescue efforts continued through Saturday despite the heavy rains as disaster agencies searched through the debris for missing people. The hilly area of Chesongoch is prone to landslides that left dozens of people dead in separate incidents in 2010 and 2012. A shopping center was washed away in 2020 by raging floods. Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said the government is working to identify an alternative settlement area for those affected.

World Series: Blue Jays join Dodgers in wearing tribute to absent LA pitcher Vesia

By IAN HARRISON TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Blue Jays have joined their counterparts on the Los Angeles Dodgers in paying tribute to Dodgers reliever Alex Vesia during the World Series. Vesia is away from the team because of a “deeply personal family matter,” the Dodgers said in a statement posted on social media before Game 1. Pitchers on the Dodgers have been playing with Vesia’s No. 51 on the side of their caps. In a show of solidarity, Blue Jays relievers have started doing the same thing. Toronto’s Chris Bassitt, Seranthony Domínguez, Mason Fluharty and Louis Varland all had the No. 51 written on the side of their caps in Friday’s Game 6, a 3-1 Dodgers win that forced Game 7. Vesia, 29, is Cal State East Bay’s all-time leader in career wins (24), strikeouts (249), and innings pitched (313 2/3). He has been a dependable bullpen arm for the defending champions. The left-hander went 4-2 with a 3.02 ERA in 68 regular-season games. He was 2-0 with a 3.86 ERA in seven postseason appearances. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he was touched to see the Blue Jays recognize an opponent amid the heightened competition of the World Series. “It’s everything,” Roberts said before Saturday’s Game 7 in Toronto. “I didn’t learn that until after the game last night. I think it really speaks to the brotherhood of athletes. … It just speaks to how much respect and love they have for one another. It’s a huge, huge tribute to Alex.” Dodgers outfielder Kiké Hernández was staring at the stadium big screen as he walked back to the dugout after striking out in the ninth inning Friday when he noticed the number written on Bassitt’s cap. “I was looking up at the board to see the replay, and that’s when I saw that he had 51,” Hernández said Saturday. “Instead of being mad that I struck out, I was kind of going back to the dugout thinking ‘Did Bassitt play with Vesia at some point?’ And then after the game I saw that everybody had them. For those guys to do that, it’s incredible. They’re trying to win a World Series, but they understand that life is bigger than baseball, and baseball’s just a game.” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said the tribute to Vesia showed the quality of character among the players in his team’s clubhouse “We have a lot of good people, a lot of good humans in there that are husbands and fathers and all that kind of stuff, that just appreciate what we all do and the hardships that come with it,” Schneider said.

Police investigating break-in at home reported to belong to NBA star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Police on Friday were investigating a burglary at a home reported to belong to the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander that happened while the NBA's reigning MVP was playing a game the night before. The Thunder referred questions to police in Nichols Hills, an enclave north of downtown Oklahoma City. Police would not confirm who lived in the house or say what might have been taken from it. Officers responded to a report of a burglary at the home around 7:45 p.m. on Thursday, when the Thunder were playing at home against the Washington Wizards. Local news stations in Oklahoma City showed police at the home. “The suspects fled the area prior to police arrival,” police said in a statement. “While no arrests have been made, there is no reason to believe the public is in any danger.” The break-in mirrored a slew of burglaries at the homes of well-known professional athletes across the U.S. in recent months. The players have been targeted because of the high-end products believed to be in their homes. Athletes whose homes have been burglarized include the NFL’s Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Joe Burrow, the NBA’s Luka Doncic and the NHL’s Evgeni Malkin. Law enforcement officials have previously warned sports leagues that thieves have been striking on game days when they knew the players would not be home, often smashing through rear windows. The NBA sent a memo to teams in November 2024 urging vigilance when it comes to home security. Among its recommendations, the league suggests players: install updated alarm systems with cameras and utilize them whenever leaving the home, keep valuables in locked and secured safes, remove online real estate listings that may show interior photos of a home, utilize protective guard services during extended trips away from home, and even have dogs assist with home protection.

Photos: Halloween celebrated around the world

From a daytime techno underground rave in Ukraine and pumpkin carving in Romania to a bash hosted by the U.S. President and his wife at the White House, the U.S. Halloween tradition is celebrated around the world. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump greet families during a Halloween event on the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) A girl poses for a friend while kissing a pumpkin at the West Side Hallo Fest, the country’s largest Halloween festival in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru) Women pose with a Halloween pumpkin they carved during an event at the Salcetului day care for the elderly state facility in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) Makenzie Smith-Emrich puts on a costume for her dog Sadie during an event for dog trick-or-treating, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, in Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun) Mojo, a dog owned by Alicia Town, of Kalamazoo, sits in a tank costume during an event for dog trick-or-treating, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, in Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun) Fans are dressed in costumes for Halloween during the first period of an NHL hockey game between the St. Louis Blues and the Vancouver Canucks Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) A girl rings the doorbell of a horror-themed room at the West Side Hallo Fest, the country’s largest Halloween festival in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru) A reveler dressed in a costume poses during a Halloween celebration in Vilnius, Lithuanian, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis) Halloween decorations are on display at a Sam’s Club, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, in Bentonville, Ark. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) A girl adjusts her outfit at the West Side Hallo Fest, the country’s largest Halloween festival in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru) People wearing costumes are silhouetted against the sunset sky at the West Side Hallo Fest, the country’s largest Halloween festival in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru) People dressed up in scary costumes arrive at a train station to take part in a Halloween Zombie protest walk at the city center of Essen, Germany, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) A man dressed as Pennywise, a character from a Steven King novel, checks to see how a selfie turned out with coffee shop worker Jeff Small, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, in Portland, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Pharmacy manager Tyler O’Neil wears an alarm clock costume while taking a work break, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, in Portland, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) People dressed up in scary costumes take part in a Halloween Zombie protest walk at the city center of Essen, Germany, Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

UN human rights chief says US strikes on alleged drug boats are ‘unacceptable’ - AP News

Federal judge in Hawaii rules FDA violated the law by restricting access to abortion medication

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER HONOLULU (AP) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration violated the law by imposing restrictions on accessing mifepristone, a medication for abortions and miscarriage management, a federal judge in Hawaii ruled Thursday. A lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union argues the FDA continues to overly restrict access to a safe medication without scientific justification. ACLU lawyers asked the judge to find that the FDA violated the law but didn’t seek an immediate elimination of the restrictions, which currently include special certification for prescribers and pharmacies and requiring patients to review a counseling form. The FDA’s 2023 decision to maintain the restrictions was unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act, “by failing to provide a reasoned explanation for its restrictive treatment of the drug,” U.S. District Judge Jill Otake’s ruling says. Otake’s ruling instructs the FDA to consider relevant evidence the agency allegedly disregarded. In the meantime, the restrictions remain in place. The decision comes as the pill used in most U.S. abortions continues to be ensnared in politics that have plagued it for nearly a decade, with many wondering if it will be further restricted under President Donald Trump’s Republican administration. Trump’s top health officials, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., face growing pressure from abortion opponents to reevaluate mifepristone, which was approved 25 years ago and has repeatedly been deemed safe and effective by FDA scientists. The case dates to 2017 and has spanned both Republican and Democratic administrations. “Today’s decision is a victory for everyone who believes that our access to safe and essential medicines should be dictated by science, not politics,” Julia Kaye, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, said in a statement. “Despite decades of real-world experience and mountains of evidence proving mifepristone’s safety, the FDA regulates this medication more heavily than 99 percent of prescription drugs.” When the case first started, a key restriction required patients to pick up the medication in person at a hospital, clinic or medical office. That restriction was eventually removed and the pill can be sent through the mail. The lawsuit continues to focus on the remaining restrictions that the ACLU says disproportionately impact patients who already face difficulties accessing healthcare, such as those who are low-income or live in rural areas. Justice Department attorneys involved in the case didn’t immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment on the ruling. They have argued previously the FDA has already reduced the burden by removing the in-person dispensing requirement. Hawaii law allows abortion until a fetus would be viable outside the womb. After that, it’s legal if a patient’s life or health is in danger. The state legalized abortion in 1970, when it became the first in the nation to allow the procedure at a woman’s request.

2 Mississippi sheriffs and 12 officers charged in drug trafficking bribery scheme, officials say

By SOPHIE BATES JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Federal authorities on Thursday announced indictments against 20 people, including 14 current or former Mississippi Delta law enforcement officers, that allege the officers took bribes to provide safe passage to people they believed were drug traffickers. The yearslong investigation swept across multiple counties in the Mississippi Delta region of Mississippi and Tennessee. Two Mississippi sheriffs, Washington County Sheriff Milton Gaston and Humphreys County Sheriff Bruce Williams, were among those arrested. Some bribes were as large as $20,000 and $37,000, authorities said at a news conference. “It’s just a monumental betrayal of public trust,” U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner said at a news conference. One of the indictments, which charges 15 people, says law enforcement officers provided armed escort services on multiple occasions to an FBI agent posing as a member of a Mexican drug cartel. The indictment alleges the officers understood they were transporting 55 pounds of cocaine through Mississippi Delta counties and into Memphis. The officers also provided escort services to protect the transportation of drug proceeds. Gaston and Williams are alleged to have received bribes in exchange for giving the operations their “blessing,” the indictment said. It added that Gaston attempted to disguise the payments as campaign contributions, but did not report them as required by law. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said in a statement that he was disappointed to learn of the allegations. “The law must apply equally to everyone regardless of the title or position they hold,” he wrote. “Know that if you betray the people’s trust in Mississippi, you will face consequences.” Sunflower County Sheriff James Haywood in Mississippi confirmed the arrest of a deputy, Marvin Flowers, on Thursday morning. Haywood said Flowers has worked for the department for 13 years. It wasn’t immediately known if those named in the indictments had lawyers who could comment for them. Multiple Mississippi law enforcement agencies and sheriffs have faced federal scrutiny in recent years. In 2024, the former Hinds County Sheriff Marshand Crisler was convicted of accepting $9,500 in bribes and knowingly providing ammunition to a convicted felon. The same year, former Noxubee County Sheriff Terry Grassaree pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI while being questioned about requesting and receiving nude photos from a female inmate. William Brewer, a former Tallahatchie County sheriff, was sentenced to six years in prison in 2019 for extorting brides from a drug dealer. In 2023, six law enforcement officers pleaded guilty to state and federal charges for torturing two Black men, a case that sparked a Department of Justice investigation into the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office. A similar DOJ probe concluded last year that officers of the Lexington Police Department discriminated against Black people. This version has been corrected to show that people from Mississippi and Tennessee were charged, not just people from Mississippi. Associated Press writer Kate Brumback in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Justice Department investigating fraud allegations in Black Lives Matter movement, AP sources say

By AARON MORRISON and ERIC TUCKER WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is investigating whether leaders in the Black Lives Matter movement defrauded donors who contributed tens of millions of dollars during racial justice protests in 2020, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. In recent weeks, federal law enforcement officials have issued subpoenas and served at least one search warrant as part of an investigation into the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc. and other Black-led organizations that helped spark a national reckoning on systemic racism, said the people, who were not authorized to discuss an ongoing criminal probe by name and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press. It was not clear if the investigation would result in criminal charges, but its mere existence invites fresh scrutiny to a movement that in recent years has faced criticism about its public accounting of donations they have received. The recent burst of investigative activity is also unfolding at a time when civil rights organizations have raised concerns about the potential for the Trump administration to target a variety of progressive and left-leaning groups that have been critical of him, including those affiliated with BLM, the transgender rights movement and anti-ICE protesters. Spokespeople for the Justice Department declined to comment on Thursday. One of the people said the investigation had been initiated during the Biden administration but is getting renewed attention during the Trump administration. A second person confirmed that allegations were examined in the Biden administration. The foundation said it took in over $90 million in donations, following the 2020 murder of George Floyd, a Black man whose last breaths under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer sparked protests across the U.S. and around the world. Critics of the nonprofit foundation, and of the BLM movement broadly, accused organizers of not being transparent about how it was spending the donations. That criticism grew louder after BLM foundation leaders in 2022 confirmed they used donations to purchase a $6 million Los Angeles-area property that includes a home with six bedrooms and bathrooms. Leaders previously have denied wrongdoing and publicly released tax documents. No prior investigations into the nonprofit’s finances have yielded proof of impropriety. Leaders of the foundation have received subpoenas. In a statement emailed to the AP on Thursday, the foundation said it “is not a target of any federal criminal investigation.” “We remain committed to full transparency, accountability, and the responsible stewardship of resources dedicated to building a better future for Black communities,” the foundation said in the statement. The Black Lives Matter movement first emerged in 2013 after the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida. But it was the 2014 death of Michael Brown at the hands of police in Ferguson, Missouri, that made the slogan “Black lives matter” a rallying cry for progressives and a favorite target of derision for conservatives. Movement founders and organizers pledged to build a decentralized organization governed by the consensus of BLM chapters. But as the movement’s influence grew, so did the number of organizations that became affiliated with BLM. In 2020, a tidal wave of public contributions in the aftermath of protests over Floyd’s murder came mainly to the BLM foundation, although other organizations were resourced from those funds. Leaders of the foundation opened up about finances and organizational structure in 2022, revealing detailed accountings of expenditures. The latest Form 990 filing shows the BLM foundation had $28 million in assets for the fiscal year ending June 2024. The investigation is being run out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, in Los Angeles. The top prosecutor there, Bill Essayli, was determined by a federal judge this week to have stayed in his temporary acting U.S. attorney job longer than allowed by law but permitted him to effectively remain the office’s chief prosecutor but with a different title of First Assistant United States Attorney. Essayli had previously served as a Republican assemblyman in California, where he took up conservative causes and criticized the state’s COVID-19 restrictions. He has been outspoken against state policies to protect immigrants living in the country illegally, and he has aggressively prosecuted people who protest Trump’s ramped up immigration enforcement across Southern California. As a private practice attorney, he characterized BLM as a “radical organization” while defending a white couple charged in 2020 with a hate crime after they were videotaped defacing a BLM mural in Martinez, California. At the time, city-sanctioned BLM murals had been painted on roadways in cities throughout the U.S. in an expression of solidarity with the racial justice movement. Essayli was quoted as having told reporters at the time that his clients were simply expressing their political viewpoints and that they disagreed with taxpayer funds being used to “sponsor a radical organization, Black Lives Matter.” The couple took plea deals to resolve the case in 2022. At the height of the Floyd-sparked reckoning on racial injustice, some state officials vowed their own investigations in the foundation’s finances, citing their responsibility to protect residents who may have donated to BLM. But most of those probes were resolved without official action. In 2022, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita filed a lawsuit against the BLM foundation for failing to comply with an investigation into the organization’s finances. Soon after, a representative of the foundation responded with the necessary information and documentation, a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office said, and the lawsuit was dismissed. Alana Durkin Richer in Washington, D.C., and Graham Lee Brewer in Oklahoma City contributed.

Hegseth orders the military to detail dozens of attorneys to the Justice Department, AP learns

By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the military to provide dozens of lawyers to the Justice Department for temporary assignments in Memphis and near the U.S.-Mexico border that could run through next fall, according to a memo released this week and reviewed by The Associated Press. “I am directing you to collectively identify 48 attorneys and 4 paralegals from within your Military Department who may be suitable for detail” to the Justice Department to act as special assistant U.S. attorneys, Hegseth wrote in a memo dated Monday that was sent to all four services and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The memo appears to be the latest effort to send military and civilian attorneys working for the Pentagon to the Justice Department, this time to staff offices based along the U.S. southern border or where federal immigration enforcement operations are taking place. Last month, the Pentagon also approved sending up to 600 military lawyers to the Justice Department to serve as temporary immigration judges in a separate effort. The Trump administration increasingly has tapped the military to bolster its immigration crackdown, from deploying to the southern border and a series of American cities. This week’s memo says the Justice Department asked for 20 lawyers to help support its offices in Memphis, where the National Guard has been deployed by President Donald Trump; 12 for West Texas — specifically for the cities of El Paso, Del Rio, and Midland — and three lawyers and two paralegals for Las Cruces, New Mexico. The memo does not specify what kind of litigation the volunteers would be asked to do, but it says that, ideally, attorneys would have “significant experience” in immigration and administrative law in addition to general prosecution and litigation experience. The Pentagon said in a statement that it was “proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our law enforcement partners, bringing the skill and dedication of America’s service members to deliver justice, restore order, and protect the American people.” The Justice Department also confirmed the memo’s authenticity but did not provide additional details on the reason for its request or what the attorneys would be doing. As with the prior request for hundreds of military attorneys to work as immigration judges, it is not immediately clear what impact removing a growing number of lawyers would have on the armed forces’ justice system. The attorneys, called judge advocates, have a range of duties much like civilian lawyers, from carrying out prosecutions, acting as defense attorneys or offering legal advice to service members. The new request follows a Sept. 26 ask from the Justice Department for 35 attorneys and two paralegals from the military, according to the memo. It wasn’t immediately clear if that number was in addition to the 48 attorneys requested this week. The AP also reviewed an email that was sent to military attorneys on Sept. 12 that said the Pentagon was looking for volunteers to become special assistant U.S. attorneys in West Texas and New Mexico without mentioning a total figure. It is not clear how successful the Pentagon has been at getting lawyers to volunteer, but at least some of the services have been making the case to their attorneys through messages like the one sent by the Army’s top lawyer. “These roles offer unparalleled opportunity to refine your advocacy, courtroom procedure, and functional knowledge of the federal legal system for future use in our military justice system or civil litigation,” Major Gen. Bobby Christine said in an email reviewed by the AP. Christine said the work would be “in support of national priorities.” However, Hegseth’s memo says that services only had until Thursday to identify the attorneys and alluded to troops being subject to involuntary mobilization orders. The Army and Navy did not respond to questions about how many attorneys from their respective services are being sent to the Justice Department. The Air Force directed questions to the Pentagon. Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.

Sudan's paramilitary forces killed hundreds at a hospital in Darfur, residents and aid workers say - AP News

North Korea says it test-fired cruise missiles ahead of Trump’s visit to South Korea

By KIM TONG-HYUNG SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Wednesday it fired sea-to-surface cruise missiles into its western waters, in another display of its growing military capabilities as U.S. President Donald Trump travels to South Korea for a regional summit. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency described Tuesday’s tests as a success, saying the missiles flew for more than two hours before accurately striking targets. The agency claimed that the weapons would contribute to expanding the operational sphere of the country’s nuclear-armed military. South Korea’s military didn’t immediately confirm whether it had detected the tests. The North Korean report came hours before an expected summit between Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in the city of Gyeongju, where South Korea is hosting this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings. KCNA said the tests were attended by senior military official Pak Jong Chon, who also inspected training for sailors aboard North Korea’s newly developed destroyers Choe Hyon and Kang Kon, which leader Kim Jong Un has described as key assets in his efforts to strengthen the navy. North Korea’s latest launches followed short-range ballistic missile tests last week that it said involved a new hypersonic system designed to strengthen its nuclear war deterrent. Trump has expressed interest in meeting with Kim during his stay in South Korea, where he is also scheduled to hold a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. However, South Korean officials have said a Trump–Kim meeting is unlikely. North Korea has shunned any form of talks with Washington and Seoul since Kim’s high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with Trump fell apart in 2019 during the American president’s first term. Kim’s top foreign policy priority is now Russia. In recent months, he has sent thousands of troops and large quantities of military equipment to help fuel President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, while embracing the idea of a “new Cold War” and positions his country as part of a united front against the U.S.-led West. Last month, Kim reiterated he wouldn’t return to talks with the United States unless Washington drops its demand for North Korea’s denuclearization, after Trump repeatedly expressed his hopes for new diplomacy.

US appeals court overturns West Virginia landmark opioid lawsuit decision

By JOHN RABY CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A federal appeals court on Tuesday overturned a landmark decision in West Virginia that had rejected attempts by an opioid-ravaged area to be compensated by U.S. drug distributors for a influx of prescription pain pills into the region. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, ruled that a lower court judge erred when he said West Virginia’s public nuisance law did not apply to the lawsuit involving the distribution of opioids. “West Virginia law permits abatement of a public nuisance to include a requirement that a defendant pay money to fund efforts to eliminate the resulting harm to the public,” the 4th Circuit wrote. “West Virginia has long characterized abatement as an equitable remedy.” The ruling sends the case back to U.S. District Court in Charleston for “further proceedings consistent with the principles expressed in this opinion.” Thousands of state and local governments have sued over the toll of opioids. The suits relied heavily on claims that the companies created a public nuisance by failing to monitor where the powerful prescriptions were ending up. Most of the lawsuits were settled as part of a series of nationwide deals that could be worth more than $50 billion. But there wasn’t a decisive trend in the outcomes of those that have gone to trial. In July 2022, U.S. District Judge David Faber ruled in favor of three major U.S. drug distributors who were accused by Cabell County and the city of Huntington of causing a public health crisis by distributing 81 million pills over eight years in the county. AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. also were accused of ignoring the signs that Cabell County was being ravaged by addiction. Faber said West Virginia’s Supreme Court had only applied public nuisance law in the context of conduct that interferes with public property or resources. He said to extend the law to cover the marketing and sale of opioids “is inconsistent with the history and traditional notions of nuisance.” Last year the federal appeals court sent a certified question to the state Supreme Court, which states: “Under West Virginia’s common law, can conditions caused by the distribution of a controlled substance constitute a public nuisance and, if so, what are the elements of such a public nuisance claim?” The state justices declined to answer. That 3-2 opinion in May returned the case to the federal appears court. “We hold that West Virginia’s highest court would not exclude as a matter of law any common law claim for public nuisance caused by the distribution of a controlled substance,” the 4th Circuit wrote Tuesday. “Therefore, we necessarily conclude that the district court erred when it held that a public nuisance claim based on the distribution of opioids was per se legally insufficient under West Virginia law.” During arguments earlier this year before the state Supreme Court over the certified question, Steve Ruby, an attorney for the companies, called “radical” the plaintiffs’ arguments to extend the public nuisance law to opioid manufacturers. If allowed, he said, that would “create an avalanche of activist litigation.” The appeals court previously noted that the West Virginia Mass Litigation Panel, which works to resolve complex cases in state court, has concluded in several instances that opioid distribution “can form the basis of a public nuisance claim under West Virginia common law.” In his 2022 decision, Faber also said the plaintiffs offered no evidence that the defendants distributed controlled substances to any entity that didn’t hold a proper registration from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration or the state Board of Pharmacy. The defendants also had suspicious monitoring systems in place as required by the Controlled Substances Act, he said. But the 4th Circuit Court found Tuesday that the lower court “misconstrued the distributors’ duties” under the Controlled Substances Act. The plaintiffs had sought more than $2.5 billion that would have gone toward opioid use prevention, treatment and education over 15 years. In 2021 in Cabell County, an Ohio River county of 93,000 residents, there were 1,059 emergency responses to suspected overdoses — significantly higher than each of the previous three years — with at least 162 deaths.