Politics

Michigan governor's budget promises free education, GOP says plan doesn't provide 'real value'

By Joey Cappelletti, Associated Press

Whitmer's budget proposal unveiled Wednesday followed a State of the State address last month when she announced initiatives to provide free community college for all high school students and free preschool for 4-year-olds.

Ohio backs off proposed restrictions on gender-affirming medical care for adults

By Geoff Mulvihill, Hannah Schoenbaum, Associated Press

Transgender people and their healthcare providers feared the original rules would have left thousands of patients scrambling to find care — and facing health risks in the meantime.

Preliminary results show Azerbaijan's president wins re-election

By Aida Sultanova, Associated Press

Aliyev, 62, has been in power for more than 20 years, succeeding his father who was Azerbaijan's Communist boss and then president for a decade when it became independent after the 1991 Soviet collapse.

Florida asks state Supreme Court to keep abortion rights amendment off the November ballot

By Brendan Farrington, Associated Press

They say voters won't realize how much it will expand access to the procedure. But justices hearing arguments Wednesday seemed to think voters will clearly see that the proposed ballot question would keep the state from restricting most abortions.

Russia says former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has interviewed Putin

By David Bauder, Emma Burrows, Associated Press

It's Putin's first interview to a Western media figure since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago.

Senate Republicans block bipartisan border package, scrapping deal they had demanded from Democrats

By Stephen Groves, Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press

Many Republicans said the election-year compromise wasn't enough, even as supporters of the bill insisted it was the best that could be gotten in divided government.

ExxonMobil to explore for oil and gas in offshore area under dispute by Guyana and Venezuela

By Bert Wilkinson, Associated Press

The move could escalate tensions between Venezuela and neighboring Guyana, which awarded the exploration license. The area is considered part of Guyana's Essequibo region, but Venezuela has long claimed it as its own.

Mexico overtakes China as the leading source of goods imported to U.S.

By Paul Wiseman, Associated Press

The shift reflects the growing tensions between Washington and Beijing as well as U.S. efforts to import from countries that are friendlier and closer to home.

Half of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders want more U.S. support of Palestinians, AP-NORC poll says

By Terry Tang, Linley Sanders, Associated Press

The poll from AAPI Data and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that adults in those groups are more likely than U.S. adults overall to say the U.S. is "not supportive enough" of the Palestinians and "too…