by David A. Lieb JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.  — Missouri lawmakers are meeting in a special session to redraw the state’s U.S. House districts as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to bolster Republicans’ chances of retaining control of Congress in next year’s elections. The special session called by Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe is scheduled to begin at noon Wednesday and will run at least a week. Missouri is the third state to pursue the unusual task of mid-decade redistricting for partisan advantage. Republican-led Texas, prodded by Trump, was the first to take up redistricting with a new map aimed at…

by Will Weissert and Sophia Tareen WASHINGTON  — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he’s ready to order federal authorities to mobilize and combat crime in Chicago and Baltimore, despite staunch opposition from elected leaders and many residents in both cities. Asked by reporters in the Oval Office about sending National Guard troops to the nation’s third-largest city, Trump said, “We’re going in,” but added, “I didn’t say when.” “I have an obligation,” the president said. ”This isn’t a political thing.” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, scoffed at the notion of sending military troops and…

by Andrew Seligman LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson hopes to be ready for the season opener against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field on Monday night. He just wasn’t ready to make any promises after missing all of training camp because of a groin injury he suffered while working out in the summer. “I’m doing everything I can to play,” he said in his first comments since last spring. “I know I had a good workout this morning, so I’m feeling good, probably the best I felt all offseason — well, training camp, per se —…

\by Joey Cappelletti and Bill Barrow WASHINGTON  — JB Pritzker took a water taxi along the Chicago Riverwalk, past one of Donald Trump’s famous downtown towers. The gleaming and heavily trafficked tourist district was a deliberate backdrop on the day the Illinois governor directed a defiant message toward the White House: “Mr. President, do not come to Chicago. You are neither wanted here nor needed here.” The governor’s protests, however, may not matter. After Trump’s National Guard deployments to Los Angeles in June and Washington, D.C. this month, the Republican says his next targets for federal intervention may be two…

by Mark Sherman WASHINGTON  — Public schools reopened Monday in the nation’s capital with parents on edge over the presence of thousands of National Guard troops, some armed, and federal law enforcement officers. Even as President Donald Trump again touted a drop in crime that he attributed to his extraordinary effort to take over policing in Washington, D.C., the district’s mayor was lamenting the effect of Trump’s actions on children. “Parents are anxious,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said at a news conference, noting that some might keep their children out of school because of immigration concerns. “We know that our schools…

by Angele Woolse George Mason University’s efforts to diversify its workforce violate a civil rights law intended to end segregation, according to the Trump administration. Following a roughly six-week-long investigation of GMU’s hiring practices, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has found that the Northern Virginia-based university violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race in public education. To resolve the alleged violation, the department has proposed an agreement that would require Mason President Gregory Washington to issue a statement and “personal apology … for promoting unlawful discriminatory…

by Christine Fernando, John O’Connor and Michelle L. Price CHICAGO  — President Donald Trump on Friday said Chicago will likely be the next target of his efforts to crack down on crime, homelessness and illegal immigration. Trump indicated that the Midwestern city could receive similar treatment to what he’s done in Washington, D.C., where he’s deployed 2,000 troops on the streets. “I think Chicago will be our next,” Trump told reporters at the White House, later adding, “And then we’ll help with New York.” The comments came as the Pentagon on Friday began ordering troops in Washington to carry firearms,…

by Sam Mcneil, David Mchugh and Fatima Hussein BRUSSELS — American and European Union officials released a bare-bones account Thursday of their trade deal that imposes a 15% import tax on 70% of European goods exported to the United States, but they left blank key areas such as wine and spirits as well as steel and indicated that talks would continue on those and a slew of other important sectors. The two sides said the document was only “a first step in a process that can be further expanded to cover additional areas.” They are dealing with the vast range…

by Sara Cline Louisiana lawmakers are being told to keep their calendars open in the weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments over the state’s embattled congressional map. Legislators say they have received texts and emails from House Speaker Phillip DeVillier telling them to keep their schedules flexible between Oct. 23 and Nov. 13. While the communications did not specify the reasoning, multiple lawmakers have told The Associated Press that it is assumed to be for a possible special legislative session for congressional redistricting. DeVillier could not immediately be reached for comment. Rep. Edmond Jordan,…

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Uganda has agreed to a deal with the United States to take deported migrants as long as they don’t have criminal records and are not unaccompanied minors, the foreign ministry said Thursday. The ministry said in a statement that the agreement had been concluded but that terms were still being worked out. It added that Uganda prefers that the migrants sent there be of African nationalities, but did not elaborate on what Uganda might get in return for accepting deportees. The U.S. embassy in Uganda declined to comment on what it called “diplomatic negotiations,” but said…