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BY MELINA WALLING AND SETH BORENSTEIN The entire planet sweltered for the two unofficial hottest days in human recordkeeping Monday and Tuesday, according to University of Maine scientists at the Climate Reanalyzer project. For two straight days, the global average temperature spiked into uncharted territory. After scientists talked about Monday's dramatic heat, Tuesday soared 0.17 degrees Celsius (0.31 degrees Fahrenheit) even hotter, which is a huge temperature jump in terms of

BY PAUL WISEMAN WASHINGTON (AP) - The reprieve is over. Just as the American economy is struggling with high inflation and interest rates, the coming resumption of student loan payments poses yet another potential challenge. The suspension of federal student loan payments, which took effect at the height of the pandemic in 2020, expires late this summer. Interest will start accruing again in September. Payments will resume in October. Though many

BY SHARON LURYE AND ANNIE MA Whitney Jean Alim, a 27-year-old educator in Chicago, dreamed of buying a house sooner with the room in her budget from President Joe Biden's student loan cancellation plan. It would have cut in half the $40,000 she owes on loans taken out for college and a master's degree. On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the forgiveness plan, dashing the hopes of Alim and

Millions of Americans will attend parades, fireworks and other Independence Day events on Tuesday, celebrating the courage of the nation's 18th century patriots who fought for independence from Great Britain and what they considered an unjust government. Those events also will honor the military and those who sacrificed in other conflicts that helped preserve the nation's freedom over its 247-year history. That is only one version of a "patriot." Today,

North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Mike Morgan, who announced last month he won't seek reelection to the court next year, says he's weighing a 2024 bid for governor. Morgan, one of two registered Democrats on the state's highest court, said this week that many within the party are asking him to look at a gubernatorial candidacy. Attorney General Josh Stein has been the only high-profile Democrat to get into

BY CARA ANNA AND NICOLAS GARRIGA NANTERRE, France (AP) - Crowds gathered at town halls across France Monday to show solidarity with local governments targeted in six nights of violence touched off by the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old in suburban Paris. The unrest, which appeared to be easing on Sunday night, was driven by a mainly teenage backlash in the suburbs and urban housing projects against a French state

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - A North Carolina amusement park closed one of its roller coasters Friday after a crack was found on a support beam. According to news reports, Carowinds shut down Fury 325. The park's website advertises the ride as the "tallest, fastest, longest giga coaster in North America" that crosses into both North Carolina and South Carolina. Video of the ride showed the beam bending, the top of

BY COLLIN BINKLEY WASHINGTON (AP) - A civil rights group is challenging legacy admissions at Harvard University, saying the practice discriminates against students of color by giving an unfair boost to the mostly white children of alumni. It's the latest effort in a growing push against legacy admissions, the practice of giving admissions priority to the children of alumni. Backlash against the practice has been building in the wake of last

BY PETER SMITH Less than a month after finalizing the ouster of one of its largest churches for having women pastors, the Southern Baptist Convention has lost another of its biggest congregations. Elevation Church - a North Carolina-based megachurch that draws thousands of worshippers to its multiple campuses and has wielded a strong influence on contemporary Christian worship music - sent notice to the SBC on June 26 that it was

Nathan Hill started receiving $12.75 an hour from a state Medicaid program to help care for his severely disabled son during the pandemic, money he said allowed his family to stop using food stamps. The program was designed to provide a continuation of care and ease a home health worker shortage that grew worse after COVID-19 hit. But now, with the COVID-19 public health emergency over, he worries that the