DECATUR, GA. For an hour they stood shoulder to shoulder, those who supported Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, praying together in a service of post-election healing. Noting the painful labels and divisions of the just-finished campaign, the Rev. Jenna Faith Strizak said, “We’ve got to figure out how to live together. And not just live […]

WASHINGTON Donald Trump’s muscular performance with working-class whites overwhelmed the national trend toward a more diverse population that tends to favor Democrats. That dynamic was amplified by the peculiar mathematics of the Electoral College, which gave a megaphone to less-educated voters in the Midwest. A look at the building blocks of Trump’s win over Hillary […]

MENOMONIE, Wis. On election night, when Donald Trump claimed victory in her home state of Wisconsin, Shay Chamberlin was so excited she passed out. Chamberlain believes Trump is her savior, sent by God to save America from ruin. She owns a women’s clothing store in this remote town; her husband runs a construction company. They […]

WASHINGTON President Barack Obama hands over the White House to Republican Donald Trump in 71 days, leaving the Democratic Party leaderless and with few up-and-coming stars among its aging cast of stalwarts. In what appeared to be a wave election, Republicans also secured majorities they already enjoyed in the Senate and the House and in […]

CHICAGO A largely white Chicago neighborhood that many police officers and firefighters call home took center stage this week in the city’s tensions over gun violence, race and policing as protests erupted following the fatal police shooting of a black man. Some residents used racial slurs, revved motorcycle engines and yelled “go home” Tuesday night […]

SEATTLE A man opened fire on a crowd outside a convenience store in downtown Seattle, wounding five people and setting off an intense police search, authorities said. Seattle Assistant Police Chief Robert Merner said four men and one woman were hurt after an argument near Pine Street and Third Avenue outside a 7-Eleven store near […]

CONCORD, N.H. Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte conceded defeat to her Democratic challenger, Gov. Maggie Hassan, on Wednesday, ending what for months had been one of nation’s most closely-watched contests. The secretary of state’s office showed Hassan with a lead of 1,023 votes out of 738,420. Ayotte, who was elected in 2010, offered her congratulations […]

LOS ANGELES The number of Americans living in states with recreational marijuana more than tripled after at least three states voted to fully legalize the drug. But the election of Republican Donald Trump and GOP majorities in the Senate and House tempered advocates’ excitement about an easing of federal restrictions. “There is a massive sense […]

Two bodies found on the rural property of a South Carolina man linked to five other deaths were a couple who had a history of panhandling and had been buried there for nearly a year, authorities said Wednesday. One of the victims was 25-year-old Meagan Leigh McCraw-Coxie of Spartanburg, who appears to have died from […]

NEW YORK Instead of looking to its creative team, Starbucks turned to its latte-sipping customers to design its latest holiday red cups. The company asked people to post their designs on Instagram last December, and 1,200 ideas came in from customers who’ve made it clear on social media they care about the holiday cups Starbucks […]