A few clouds. Low 76F. Winds light and variable..

A few clouds. Low 76F. Winds light and variable.

House passes bill banning certain semi-automatic guns

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has passed legislation to revive a ban on certain semi-automatic guns. It's a response to the crush of mass shootings ripping through communities nationwide. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed the bill forward Friday, but the legislation is likely to go nowhere in the Senate. Republicans dismiss the measure as an election-year strategy by Democrats. Once banned in the U.S., the high-powered firearms are now widely blamed in many mass shootings. Congress allowed the restrictions first put in place in 1994 to expire a decade later, unable to muster the political support to counter the powerful gun lobby. President Joe Biden has urged passage.

Governor: Search for Kentucky flood victims could take weeks

JACKSON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s governor said it could take weeks to find all the victims of flash flooding that killed at least 16 people when heavy rains turned streams into torrents that swamped towns across Appalachia. More rainstorms were forecast to roll through in coming days, keeping the region on edge as rescue crews struggled to get into hard-hit areas that include some of the poorest places in America. It’s the latest in a string of catastrophic deluges that have hammered parts of the U.S. this summer, including St. Louis this week. Scientists warn that climate change is making weather disasters more common.

Blinken, Russian top diplomat speak about Griner, Whelan

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he has spoken to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and urged Moscow to accept a U.S. proposal to release WNBA star Brittney Griner and another American detainee, Paul Whelan. Blinken did not provide details of Lavrov’s response to what he had previously called a “substantial proposal” for Russia to release the two. Russian officials issued a chiding statement after the call urging the U.S. to pursue the Americans’ freedom through “quiet diplomacy, without releases of speculative information.”

Russia, Ukraine trade blame for deadly attack on POW prison

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of shelling a prison in a separatist region of eastern Ukraine. Separatist authorities in the Donetsk region said the attack on Friday killed at least 53 Ukrainian prisoners of war who were captured after the fall of the city of Mariupol in May. They also said 75 others were wounded. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Ukraine’s military used U.S.-supplied multiple rocket launchers to strike the prison in Olenivka, a settlement controlled by the Moscow-backed separatists. Ukraine accused the Russians of shelling the prison to cover up the alleged torture and execution of Ukrainian POWs there. Neither claim could be independently verified.

WVa delays chance to pass 1st new bill since abortion ruling

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia lawmakers have passed up the chance to become the first state to approve new legislation restricting access to abortions after the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling. The Senate on Friday adopted its bill along with amendments, one of which removes criminal penalties for physicians who perform illegal abortions. The House of Delegates, which passed its bill Wednesday, then refused to concur with the Senate's amendments. Instead the House asked for a conference committee to iron out the bill's differences. In Indiana, senators are expected to vote Saturday on a measure that includes an exception for rape and incest victims, an issue that's dividing some abortion opponents.

Pope visits Nunavut for final apology of his Canadian tour

IQALUIT, Nunavut (AP) — Pope Francis wrapped up his Canadian pilgrimage by meeting with Indigenous delegations and visiting Inuit territory in northern Nunavut. In one of his addresses, he assailed the Catholic missionaries who “supported oppressive and unjust policies” against Native peoples in the country's notorious residential schools and vowed to pursue truth and healing. Francis is hoping his apology tour of Canada will help the Catholic Church reconcile with Indigenous peoples today. His apologies have received a mixed response, with some school survivors welcoming them but others saying far more needs to be done to correct past wrongs and pursue justice today.

House approves bill to help West fight wildfires, drought

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has approved wide-ranging legislation aimed at helping communities in the West cope with increasingly severe wildfires and drought — fueled by climate change — that have caused billions of dollars of damage to homes and businesses in recent years. The measure combines 49 separate bills and would increase firefighter pay and benefits; boost resiliency and mitigation projects for communities affected by climate change; protect watersheds; and make it easier for wildfire victims to get federal assistance. The bill now goes to the Senate.

US rules out summer COVID boosters to focus on fall campaign

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators say they are no longer considering authorizing second COVID-19 booster shots for all adults under 50 this summer. Instead the Food and Drug Administration said it will await revamped vaccines targeting the newest viral subvariants that are expected by September. Some members of the Biden administration had been pressing regulators to open a fourth dose of the Moderna and Pfizer shots to all adults before the fall. They had argued that another round of booster shots now could help head off rising cases and hospitalizations caused by the highly transmissible omicron strains.

$1.28 billion Mega Millions jackpot on the line Friday night

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A giant Mega Millions lottery jackpot keeps getting larger as officials raised the massive prize to $1.28 billion, just hours before the next drawing. The giant jackpot remains the nation’s third-largest prize and is the result of 29 consecutive drawings without anyone matching all of the game’s six numbers. If no one wins the Mega Millions jackpot Friday night, lottery officials expect the prize will grow to an estimated $1.7 billion for the next drawing Tuesday, making it the nation’s largest lottery prize. The estimated $1.28 billion prize is for players who get their winnings through an annuity, paid annually over 29 years. Nearly all winners take the cash option, which for Friday’s drawing is an estimated $747.2 million.

Review: Beyoncé escapes to dance world in 'Renaissance'

Beyoncé has been reborn again; this time it’s on a shimmering dance floor. In her seventh studio album, “Renaissance,” she has subverted the public’s perception of her hitmaking history. Six years since her Grammy award-winning “Lemonade,” people expect Beyoncé to consistently deliver. But she does not allow herself to be pigeonholed in her consistency, perfectionism and pop/R&B genre. She croons confidently in “Cozy,” that she is “comfortable in my skin. Cozy with who I am,” and it shows in this hourlong 16-track album.

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