By STEPHEN GROVES and MARY CLARE JALONICK WASHINGTON — For Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Mike Johnson, the necessity of providing Ukraine with weapons and other aid as it fends off Russia’s invasion is rooted in their earliest and most formative political memories. McConnell, 82, tells the story of his father’s letters from Eastern Europe in 1945, at the end of World War II, when the foot soldier observed that the Russians were “going to be a big problem” before the communist takeover to come. Johnson, 30 years younger, came of age as the Cold War was ending. As bo ..read more

Gopal Ratnam | (TNS) CQ-Roll Call WASHINGTON — After 20,000 or more New Hampshire voters received a call with the artificial-intelligence-doctored voice of President Joe Biden asking them to skip the state’s primary in January, state officials were in a quandary. Attorney General John M. Formella launched an investigation alongside others into the robocall that urged recipients to “save your vote for the November election,” ultimately identifying a Texas-based organization as the culprit. But New Hampshire lawmakers who say simply identifying the origins of these deepfakes isn’t enough are bac ..read more

By Fatima Hussein | Associated Press WASHINGTON — More than one-quarter of U.S. adults over age 50 say they expect to never retire and 70% are concerned about prices rising faster than their income, an AARP survey finds. About 1 in 4 have no retirement savings, according to research released Wednesday by the organization that shows how a graying America is worrying more and more about how to make ends meet even as economists and policymakers say the U.S. economy has all but achieved a soft landing after two years of record inflation. Everyday expenses and housing costs, including rent and mort ..read more

By Brody Ford | Bloomberg Oracle Corp. is planning to make Nashville its “world headquarters” to be closer to a major health care hub, reflecting the software giant’s ambitions in the industry. At the company’s health care summit in Nashville on Tuesday, Chairman Larry Ellison said Oracle is developing a health campus in the city that will “ultimately be our world headquarters.” Nashville’s status as a health center makes it attractive, Ellison said in a conversation with Bill Frist, a physician and former US Senate majority leader, at the conference. Oracle, best-known for its database techno ..read more

By AAMER MADHANI and SEUNG MIN KIM WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed into law on Wednesday a $95 billion war aid measure that includes assistance for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and that also has a provision that would force social media site TikTok to be sold or be banned in the U.S. The announcement marks an end to long, painful battle with Republicans in Congress over urgently needed assistance for Ukraine. “We rose to the moment. we came together. and we got it done,” Biden said at White House event to announce the signing. “Now we need to move fast, and we are.” UPPER CHAMBER: Senate ..read more

An occupation of Siemens Hall at Cal Poly Humboldt that started Monday is ongoing. Every entrance to the building was barricaded Tuesday morning after activists successfully kept out a line of police in riot gear from evacuating students the previous evening. Three were arrested at the scene, according to the university, where hundreds of protesters eventually gathered. Cal Poly Humboldt estimated dozens of students are still in the building. Activists Tuesday said the building was chosen because administrators work out of it. The occupation calls on the University to divest from companies tha ..read more

No, TikTok will not suddenly disappear from your phone. Nor will you go to jail if you continue using it after it is banned. Related Articles National Politics | Ousted fabulist Santos ends his long-shot bid to return to Congress National Politics | It began with defiance at Columbia. Now students nationwide are upping their Gaza war protests National Politics | Senate moves ahead with massive aid bill for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan National Politics | Trump hush money trial transcripts to be made public National Politics | Red states fight growing efforts to give ‘basic income’ cash to res ..read more

By Christopher Rugaber | Associated Press WASHINGTON — U.S. companies would no longer be able to bar employees from taking jobs with competitors under a rule approved by a federal agency Tuesday, though the rule is sure to be challenged in court. The Federal Trade Commission voted Tuesday 3-2 to ban measures known as noncompete agreements, which bar workers from jumping to or starting competing companies for a prescribed period of time. According to the FTC, 30 million people — roughly one in five workers — are now subject to such restrictions. The Biden administration has taken aim at noncomp ..read more

By TERRI VERMEULEN KEITH A man with a prior conviction in Massachusetts was charged Tuesday with breaking into the Windsor Square residence of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, and the district attorney said investigators believe the suspect knew it was the mayor’s home and specifically targeted her. Ephraim Hunter, 29, of Los Angeles, was charged with one count each of first-degree residential burglary with a person present and vandalism causing damage of $400 or more. Prosecutors also allege a prior strike for Hunter stemming from a 2016 robbery conviction in Massachusetts. District Attorney Geo ..read more

By Danica Coto | Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — On a recent morning at a hospital in the heart of gang territory in Haiti’s capital, a woman began convulsing before her body went limp as a doctor and two nurses raced to save her. They stuck electrodes to her chest and flipped on an oxygen machine while keeping their eyes on a computer screen that reflected a dangerously low oxygen level of 84%. No one knew what was wrong with her. Even more worrisome, the Doctors Without Borders hospital in the Cite Soleil slum was running low on key medicine to treat convulsions. “The medication she ..read more