NAHUNTA, Ga. (AP) — Huge plumes of smoke blanketed swaths of the Southeast on Wednesday as crews battled rapidly growing wildfires that destroyed more than 50 homes in Georgia and forced hundreds to flee the drought- and wind-fueled flames. Some of the biggest blazes were near Georgia’s coast, while others were popping up in northern Florida, a state facing one of its worst fire seasons in decades. It was not yet clear how the wildfires started, but the bottom half of Georgia is perilously...

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Times says the FBI investigated whether one of its reporters, Elizabeth Williamson, violated laws against stalking after she wrote a story nearly two months ago about how federal agents had been assigned to protect and give rides to FBI Director Kash Patel's girlfriend. The FBI said Wednesday that its agents interviewed Patel's girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins, when she expressed concern about a death threat received after Williamson's article was but no...

A Republican senator juggling three roles — lawmaker, doctor and political candidate seeking reelection — walked a fine line on Wednesday as he questioned Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. , a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has moved to dramatically roll back the nation's childhood vaccine recommendations. Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, who chairs one committee that oversees Kennedy's department and sits on another, took a tough but measured posture in two high-stakes hearings where...