By Abby Sewell | Associated Press ISTANBUL — A top Hamas political official told The Associated Press the Islamic militant group is willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and that it would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders. The comments by Khalil al-Hayya in an interview Wednesday came amid a stalemate in months of talks for a cease-fire in Gaza. The suggestion that Hamas would disarm appeared to be a significant concession by the militant group officially committed to Israel ..read more

The tie in the Congressional District 16 race has been broken yet again as more preliminary results for the ongoing recount pour in — Assemblymember Evan Low is now up one vote over Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian. Since April 15, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties have been recounting the more than 182,000 votes cast in the March primary race to replace U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo. San Mateo County wrapped up its counting on Wednesday afternoon with no vote changes for either Low or Simitian, though a number of ballots that were challenged are still being adjudicated. Some of those challe ..read more

By David Bauder | Associated Press NEW YORK — Catch and kill. Checkbook journalism. Secret deals. Friends helping friends. Even by National Enquirer standards, testimony by its former publisher David Pecker at Donald Trump’s hush money trial this week has revealed an astonishing level of corruption at America’s best-known tabloid and may one day be seen as the moment it effectively died. “It just has zero credibility,” said Lachlan Cartwright, executive editor of the Enquirer from 2014 to 2017. “Whatever sort of credibility it had was totally damaged by what happened in court this week.” On Th ..read more

A controversial housing law that abolished single-family zoning across California has been ruled unconstitutional by a Los Angeles County judge — but the narrow ruling is likely to be appealed by the state. Passed in 2021, SB 9 allows single-family homeowners to split their lots in two and build two homes on each lot — allowing up to four units in each lot previously zoned for just one. Five Southern California cities — Redondo Beach, Carson, Torrance, and Whittier and Del Mar — sued the state in 2022, claiming the law was unconstitutional because it interfered with their local authority ..read more

By Kate Brumback | Associated Press ATLANTA — As Donald Trump seeks a return to the White House, criminal charges are piling up for the people who tried to help him stay there in 2020 by promoting false theories of voter fraud. At least five states won in 2020 by President Joe Biden have investigated efforts to install slates of electors who would cast Electoral College votes for Trump despite his loss. Those slates were to be used by Trump allies in the House and Senate to justify delaying or blocking the certification of the election during the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, whic ..read more

By Steve LeBlanc and Nick Perry | Associated Press The University of Southern California canceled its main graduation ceremony Thursday and dozens more college students were arrested at other campuses nationwide as protests against the Israel-Hamas war continued to spread. College officials across the U.S. are worried the ongoing protests could disrupt plans for commencement ceremonies next month. Some universities called in police to break up the demonstrations, resulting in ugly scuffles and arrests nationwide, while others appeared content to wait out student protests as the final days of t ..read more

By Kimberly Kruesi | Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee’s GOP-controlled Statehouse on Thursday gave their final approval to legislation criminalizing adults who help minors receive gender-affirming care without parental consent, clearing the way for the first-in-the-nation proposal to be sent to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk for his signature. The bill mirrors almost the same language from a so-called “anti-abortion trafficking” proposal Tennessee Republican lawmakers approved just a day prior. In that version, supporters are hoping to stop adults from helping young people obtain abortions ..read more

One of the South Bay’s largest high school districts has finalized a new system for electing members of the board of trustees, just in time for its fall elections. The Fremont Union High School District — which includes parts of Cupertino, Los Altos, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga and Sunnyvale — approved a map Wednesday night that splits the district into five geographic zones. Voters in each zone will elect a candidate from that zone as part of the district’s move to implement a by-trustee area election system. The new election system will replace the district’s at-large election process ..read more

Stephanie Lai | (TNS) Bloomberg News Republican nominee Donald Trump and his campaign will host a donor retreat next week in Palm Beach, Florida, with some prominent Republicans who have been discussed as his potential running mate. Senators Marco Rubio of Florida and Tim Scott of South Carolina; North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem; and Representatives Elise Stefanik of New York and Byron Donalds of Florida are scheduled to appear, according to an invitation obtained by Bloomberg News. About 400 donors to Trump’s political operation are expected to attend th ..read more

David G. Savage | Los Angeles Times (TNS) The Supreme Court on Thursday heard former President Trump’s claim that he is entirely immune from prosecution for all of his “official acts” during his time in the White House, including his effort to overturn his loss in the 2020 election. Trump’s claim of absolute immunity has been derided by legal experts and rejected by a federal trial judge and the U.S. appeals court in Washington. But the former president and his lawyers have been winning delays with their losing arguments. Special counsel Jack Smith indicted Trump for conspiring to subvert the ..read more