Millions brace themselves as Hurricane Florence approaches US coast

Hurricane Florence has more than 10 million people in its crosshairs as the monster storm closes in on the US East Coast with uncertainty over its projected path spreading worry across a widening swathe of the country. Faced with new forecasts that showed a more southerly threat, Georgia's governor joined his counterparts in Virginia and North and South Carolina in declaring a state of emergency, and some residents who had thought they were safely out of range boarded up their homes.

Scott starts process to pick new justices

Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday started what will be a closely watched process to replace three Florida Supreme Court justices who will retire in January, with the appointments possibly leading to a major ideological shift on the court. Scott said he asked the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission to begin a process that includes accepting and reviewing applications, interviewing candidates and making nominations for appointment.

Some Tennessee Lawmakers Living the Life

Early in his U.S. Senate campaign, former governor Phil Bredesen shied away from talking about his opponent, Republican U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn , preferring to focus instead on ideas. But a new TV ad paid for by Majority Forward, a Democrat-leaning group, dubs her as "Air Blackburn" for taking all sorts of junkets and voting herself pay raises over 10 years in Congress.

Hurricane Florence shifts south as Georgia and Carolinas hunker down

Fears about Hurricane Florence spread south on Wednesday, with Georgia declaring a state of emergency after officials in the Carolinas urged people to evacuate the coast ahead of the storm's expected pounding winds and rain-driven floods. Florence weakened slightly to a Category 3 storm on a five-step scale but had maximum sustained winds of 125 miles per hour as of 2 p.m. EDT , down from 130 mph earlier in the day.

U.S. lawmakers back sanctions over China’s Muslim crackdown

The Republican leaders of a U.S. congressional commission on China urged President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday to broaden sanctions on Chinese officials over its treatment of minority Muslims in the Xinjiang region. FILE PHOTO - U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio asks a question of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during Pompeo's appearance before a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing titled "An Update on American Diplomacy to Advance Our National Security Strategy" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 25, 2018.

Don’t play games with it’: Hurricane Florence takes aim at Southeast

People who thought they were safe from the onslaught of Hurricane Florence began boarding up and Georgia's governor declared a state of emergency Wednesday as uncertainty over the path of the monster storm spread worry along the Southeastern coast. Closing in with terrifying winds of 130 mph and potentially catastrophic rain and storm surge, Florence is expected to blow ashore Saturday morning along the North Carolina-South Carolina line, the National Hurricane Center said.

Mike Pence praises Rich DeVos, touts federal tax cuts in Grand Rapids visit

Speaking Wednesday at Mill Steel Company, Vice President Mike Pence touted the economic impact of federal tax cuts, praised the Trump administration's efforts to bolster domestic steel production and paid tribute to late Amway co-founder Rich DeVos. "When it comes to small business America, when it comes to steel America, you have a champion in president Donald Trump," Pence said, later highlighting that Mill Steel doled out $1,000 bonuses to 400 employees following the passage of Republican-backed federal tax cuts in December.

Louisiana abortion clinic wants regulatory rewrite nullified

A Louisiana abortion clinic is asking a state judge to throw out a 2015 state rewrite of clinic regulations, saying the health department ignored the rules for making such changes. Hope Medical Group for Women says the Louisiana Department of Health disregarded reams of public comments about the regulations when they were being proposed.

Work For Welfare

The Farm Bill conference committee should make an announcement this week about whether or not there will be a work requirement attached to food stamp benefits. The Foundation for Government Accountability has long promoted work requirements for food stamp recipients: able-bodied people under age 59 who aren't caring for small children should work or volunteer 20 hours a week for their benefits.

Wisconsin GOP Senate Hopes Rely on Underdog Leah Vukmir

Few gave the Republican U.S. Senate candidate from Wisconsin much of a chance of defeating her better-funded primary challenger last month, but she prevailed thanks largely to support from the party establishment. Now Vukmir faces another opponent with deeper pockets - Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin - in one of the most expensive Senate races in the country.

Papadopoulos says he’d testify in Senate Source: AP

George Papadopoulos, the former Trump campaign adviser who triggered the Russia investigation, is willing to testify before the Senate intelligence committee, Thomas Breen, his lawyer, said Wednesday. Now that the criminal case is resolved, Breen said, "we'll make him available upon a proper request."

APNewsBreak: Firm worked for Cordray’s agency, then campaign Source: AP

An advertising and media firm to which Ohio gubernatorial candidate Richard Cordray's agency gave government work while he was a federal official now is doing political work for him. Records reviewed by The Associated Press show Washington-based GMMB recently has been making Ohio ad buys for Democrat Cordray's gubernatorial campaign against Republican Attorney General Mike DeWine.

In battle for the House, many Dems start from scratch

When the Democratic Party told Lauren Underwood she needed to raise $100,000 in six weeks to get her campaign for Congress off the ground, she wasn't sure what to do. The nurse from suburban Chicago had never run for office, and her fundraising experience was mostly limited to selling Girl Scout cookies for $4 a box.

VA hospital renamed to honor Woody Williams

Ryan Fischer/The Herald-Dispatch J. Brian Nimo, Director of the Hershal "Woody" Williams VA Medical Center, speaks on the decision to rename the center as the Hershel "Woody" Williams VA Medical Center renaming ceremony takes place on Sunday, September 9, 2018, in Huntington.

Bob Woodward: Aides tried to persuade Donald Trump to let them fact-check his tweets

WASHINGTON Top White House aides tried in vain to persuade President Donald Trump that he should let them check his tweets for accuracy, spelling and tone before he posted them for the world to see, journalist Bob Woodward wrote in his book that was released Tuesday. Woodward said the aides led by former communications director Hope Hicks were alarmed by the outrage over Trump's June 2017 tweet attacking the appearance and intelligence of Mika Brzezinski, a co-host of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" political talk show.