Author: AP, AP

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the sex trafficking accusations against billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein “horrendous,” but said he is deferring to President Trump regarding Labor Secretary Alex Acosta’s handling of the case. (July 9)

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi came to the Capitol steps to show the faces of Americans who would be hurt if the Trump administration and Republicans succeed in efforts to overturn the ACA. (July 9)

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Good clean fun meets down-and-dirty during Mud Day in a suburban Detroit park (July 9)

H. Ross Perot, the colorful, self-made Texas billionaire who rose from a childhood of Depression-era poverty and twice ran for president as a third-party candidate, has died. He was 89 years old. (July 9)

Police in Cleveland say they are trying to question “some persons of interest” in connection with the deaths of four people found Tuesday morning. (July 9)

Flash flood warnings have been issued for a section of Nebraska after an overnight deluge. Up to nine inches of rain fell from storms that struck Buffalo, Dawson, Kearney and Phelps counties. (July 9)

Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and a growing list of Democrats say Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta should resign for his role in a 2008 plea deal that let Jeffrey Epstein escape prison time for allegedly molesting dozens of teenage girls. (July 9)…

Low-income mobile home residents in hurricane-ravaged Robeson County, North Carolina are seeing dramatic increases in rent after Florida-based Time Out Communities bought 21 mobile home parks in the low-income county over the past two years. (July 9)
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White House counselor Kellyanne Conway says President Donald Trump told her on Tuesday that he hasn’t spoken with or seen billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein in 10 or 15 years. (July 9)