BOSTON (AP) — Former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell used one of his first major public appearances since leaving office to defend independent institutions while accepting an award Sunday honoring his efforts to preserve the central bank’s independence. Speaking at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library overlooking Boston Harbor, Powell called universities, courts, Congress and the central bank “the foundation and the embodiment of our democracy” and argued that the Fed’s was a...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Montana voters will select nominees in Tuesday’s state primary to replace departing Republican incumbents in the U. S. Senate and House, but one major contender won’t be on the ballot. Meanwhile, several state legislative primaries will highlight divisions within Montana’s dominant Republican Party. Republicans hold slim majorities in both chambers of Congress. Montana has not been at the top of the list of seats Democrats hope to flip to regain control of either but...

VENICE, Italy (AP) — Perhaps nothing better illustrates the flamingo’s status as a newcomer to the Venetian Lagoon than the fact that the local dialect has no word for them. But the pale pink birds — called “fenicotteri” in Italian — are now flocking to Venice in record numbers, as ecological efforts to restore damaged wetlands could help expand their habitat and possibly induce them to nest in the lagoon. Flamingos — which most famously nest in Spain and France — started up in...