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German govt sets out plan to safeguard highest court

Germany's governing coalition and the conservative opposition on Tuesday presented a plan to protect the country's highest court against possible future manipulation or obstruction by extremist or authoritarian politicians.

Justice Minister Marco Buschmann cited experiences in Poland, Hungary and Israel as illustrating the need to bolster the Federal Constitutional Court. Germany's own political landscape has become increasingly fragmented in recent years, with the far-right Alternative for Germany party emerging as a significant political force.

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Hurricanes and earthquakes grab headlines but inland counties top disaster list

Floyd County keeps flooding and the federal government keeps coming to the rescue.

In July 2022, at least 40 people died and 300 homes were damaged when the eastern Kentucky county flooded. It was the 13th time in 12 years that the rural county was declared a federal disaster. These are disasters so costly that local governments feel they can't pay for it all, so the governor asks the president to declare a disaster freeing up federal funds.

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Wildfires plague the US West amid a scorching heat wave and high winds

At least a half-dozen homes lay in ruins after one of many dangerous wildfires in the West suddenly swept into a Southern California neighborhood during a blistering heat wave.

Six homes were ravaged and seven damaged when the fire sparked by fireworks erupted Sunday afternoon in a hilly area of Riverside, a city about 60 miles (95 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, authorities said at a media briefing Monday evening.

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Rise of women's sports brings greater emphasis on maternity and parental needs

The support being provided at the Paris Olympics for athletes who are also parents is just part of a larger trend as the rise of women's sports puts greater emphasis on maternity and parental needs.

In France, a nursery is available for athletes' children in the Olympic village for the first time and private rooms will be provided by organizers for nursing mothers. But the Olympics aren't alone.

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Coca-Cola raises full-year sales guidance after stronger-than-expected second quarter

Coca-Cola is raising its full-year sales guidance after a stronger-than-expected second quarter boosted by continued price increases.

The Atlanta beverage giant said Tuesday it now expects organic sales to grow between 9% and 10% this year, up from 8% to 9% previously.

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Death toll in southern Ethiopia mudslides rises to at least 157

At least 157 people were killed in mudslides in a remote part of Ethiopia that has been hit with heavy rainfall, many of them as they tried to rescue survivors of an earlier mudslide, local authorities said Tuesday.

Young children and pregnant women were among the victims of the mudslides in the Kencho Shacha Gozdi district of southern Ethiopia, said Dagmawi Ayele, a local administrator.

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Harris has enough support to become Democrats presidential nominee

Vice President Kamala Harris has secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to become her party's nominee against Republican Donald Trump, according to an Associated Press survey, as top Democrats rallied to her in the aftermath of President Joe Biden's decision to drop his bid for reelection.

The quick coalescing behind Harris marked an attempt by the party to put weeks of internecine drama over Biden's political future behind them and to unify behind the task of defeating Trump with just over 100 days until Election Day. Prominent Democratic elected officials, party leaders and political organizations quickly lined up behind Harris in the day after Biden's exit from the race and her campaign set a new 24-hour record for presidential donations on Monday.

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Harris stepped into limelight, coconut trees and memes followed

If you're trying to get up to speed on Vice President Kamala Harris' swift emergence as Democrats' possible nominee this fall, you really need to know your memes.

From "brat summer" to "coconut tree," it's been a timeline full of Harris-related memes for many people since President Joe Biden exited the 2024 presidential race on Sunday and endorsed his No. 2 to lead the party.

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Israeli govt quietly sends millions to unauthorized West Bank settler outposts

The Israeli government has budgeted millions of dollars to protect small, unauthorized Jewish farms in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, underwriting tiny outposts meant to grow into full-fledged settlements, according to an anti-settlement monitoring group.

Documents uncovered by Peace Now illustrate how Israel's pro-settler government has quietly poured money into the unauthorized outposts, which are separate from its more than 100 officially recognized settlements. Some of those outposts have been linked to settler violence against Palestinians and are sanctioned by the U.S.

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Biden aims for more achievements in final six months at White House

President Joe Biden says he's "determined to get as much done" as he possibly can in his final six months in the White House as he tries to beat back a defining force that his lame-duck predecessors struggled to vanquish: diminished relevance.

Biden hopes to keep the spigot flowing with hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding from a series of major legislative wins early in his term — signature policy victories that could be undone should Republican Donald Trump return to the White House.

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