MIAMI (AP) — The first tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season formed Wednesday near the Gulf Coast, bringing intense rain and the threat of dangerous flash floods to states including Texas and Louisiana, meteorologists said. Tropical Storm Arthur was a disorganized cluster of storms that brought rain for days over parts of eastern Mexico and the Gulf. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said conditions were conducive for a short-lived tropical storm to form. Arthur was forecast...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he was delaying federal prosecutor Jay Clayton’s nomination to lead the U. S. intelligence community in a bid to force Congress to act on a voter ID bill that currently lacks enough support for passage, but a key senator said he’d push forward with a hearing. The chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, said he planned to proceed with Wednesday's confirmation hearing unless Trump orders Clayton to...

NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists have found the oldest known evidence of the plague, which sparked deadly outbreaks dating back about 5,500 years ago — some 200 years earlier than previously thought. The disease has sickened humans for thousands of years and wiped out a significant chunk of Europe's population in the 14th century during what's known as the Black Death. Though rare, the plague is still around today and is treated with antibiotics. “To understand our own history, we believe that...