AP Top News at 8:54 p.m. EDT

Biden rejects independent medical evaluation in ABC interview as he fights to stay in race

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — President Joe Biden, fighting to save his endangered reelection effort Friday, repeatedly rejected taking an independent medical evaluation that would show voters he is up for serving another term in office while blaming his disastrous debate performance on a “bad episode” and saying there were “no indications of any serious condition." “Look, I have a cognitive test every single day," Biden told ABC's George Stephanopoulos, referring to the tasks he faces daily in a rigorous job. “Every day, I’ve had tests. Everything I do.” He insisted that he was not more frail and that he is “still in good shape." He said he has an “ongoing assessment” by his personal doctors and they “don't hesitate to tell me” if something is wrong.

Federal Reserve highlights its political independence as presidential campaign heats up

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is highlighting the importance of its political independence at a time when Donald Trump, who frequently attacked the Fed's policymaking in the past, edges closer to formally becoming the Republican nominee for president. On Friday, the Fed released its twice-yearly report on its interest-rate policies, a typically dry document that primarily includes its analysis of job growth, inflation, interest rates and other economic trends. The report includes short text boxes that focus on often-technical issues such as monetary policy rules. The report is typically released the Friday before the Fed chair testifies to House and Senate committees as part of the central bank's semi-annual report to Congress.

What we learned from the UK's general election that will shape politics over the coming years

LONDON (AP) — The U.K. has its first change in government in 14 years after the Labour Party won a landslide victory early Friday in a general election that saw the Conservative Party suffer its biggest defeat ever. The new government faces huge challenges, including fixing the country's sluggish economic and social malaise resulting in part from the U.K's exit from the European Union, the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and several Conservative Party scandals. Here are some things we learned: For the past 100 years, Britain's two main political parties have garnered the vast majority of votes. In 1951, for example, the Conservatives and Labour netted nearly 97% of the vote combined.

US says troops are leaving Niger bases this weekend and in August after coup

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. will remove all its forces and equipment from a small base in Niger this weekend and fewer than 500 remaining troops will leave a critical drone base in the West African country in August, ahead of a Sept. 15 deadline set in an agreement with the new ruling junta, the American commander there said Friday. Air Force Maj. Gen. Kenneth Ekman said in an interview that a number of small teams of 10-20 U.S. troops, including special operations forces, have moved to other countries in West Africa. But the bulk of the forces will go to Europe, at least initially.

A dangerous heat wave is scorching much of the US. Weather experts predict record temperatures

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A slow-moving and potentially record-setting heat wave is spreading across the Western U.S., the National Weather Service said, sending many residents in search of a cool haven from the dangerously high temperatures. The Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S. are also sweltering, with oppressive heat and humidity expected to last through Saturday. Widespread temperature records are expected to be tied or even broken during the heat wave, with much of the West Coast likely to see triple-digit temperatures that are between 15 and 30 degrees Fahrenheit (8 and 16 degrees Celsius) higher than average, the National Weather Service said.

Beryl moves over Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula as Texas officials urge coastal residents to prepare

TULUM, Mexico (AP) — Beryl moved over Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Friday after battering the resort town of Tulum and started to emerge into the Gulf of Mexico, prompting Texas officials to urge coastal residents to prepare as the storm headed their way. Beryl hit Tulum as a Category 2 hurricane and toppled trees but caused no injuries or deaths before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved across the peninsula. The U.S. National Hurricane Center expects the storm to regain hurricane strength in the warm waters of the Gulf and hit south Texas by late Sunday or early Monday.

Vatican excommunicates a former ambassador to the US and declares him guilty of schism

ROME (AP) — The Vatican on Friday excommunicated its former ambassador to Washington after finding him guilty of schism, an inevitable outcome for Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano. The conservative had became one of Pope Francis ' most ardent critics and a symbol of the polarized Catholic Church in the United States and beyond. While once enjoying support in the Vatican and U.S. church hierarchies, the Italian archbishop alienated many as he developed a fringe following while delving deeper into conspiracy theories on everything — from the coronavirus pandemic to what he called the “Great Reset” and Russia's war in Ukraine.

7 Palestinians killed in West Bank by an Israeli raid and airstrike in the Jenin area

JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinian authorities say seven people were killed Friday during an Israeli military operation in the area of the West Bank city of Jenin, where the Israeli military said it had been carrying out “counterterrorism activity” that included an airstrike. The military said Israeli soldiers had “encircled a building where terrorists have barricaded themselves in” and the soldiers had exchanged fire with those inside, while an airstrike had “struck several armed terrorists” in the area. The Palestinian Health Ministry said a total of seven people had been killed, but did not specify whether they died in the exchange of fire or the airstrike.

Wisconsin Supreme Court changes course, will allow expanded use of ballot drop boxes this fall

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Friday that officials can place ballot drop boxes around their communities in this fall's elections, overturning its own ruling two years ago limiting their use in the presidential swing state. The court limited the use of drop boxes in July 2022, ruling then that they could be placed only in local election clerks' offices and no one other than the voter could return a ballot in person. Conservatives controlled the court at that time, but Janet Protasiewicz's election victory in April 2023 flipped the court to liberal control. Seeing an opening, Priorities USA, a progressive voter mobilization group, asked the court in February to revisit the decision.

Kansas’ top court bolsters a state right to abortion and strikes down 2 anti-abortion laws

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ highest court strongly reaffirmed Friday that the state constitution protects abortion access, striking down a ban on a common second-trimester procedure and laws regulating abortion providers more strictly than other health care providers. The pair of 5-1 decisions suggests that other restrictions — even ones decades on the books — might not withstand legal challenges. The court's dissenting justice, widely seen as its most conservative, warned that Kansas is headed toward “a legal regime of unrestricted access to abortion.” “This is an immense victory for the health, safety, and dignity of people in Kansas and the entire Midwestern region, where millions have been cut off from abortion access,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which represented the abortion providers challenging the two laws.