COLU @ CONCEPTS

DALLAS (AP) — Ten of the 15 fastest-growing cities with populations of 50,000 or more were spread across the South in 2016, with four of the top five found in Texas, according to new population estimates released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau. Conroe, Texas, a northern Houston suburb, was the fastest-growing of the 15, seeing a 7.8 percent increase from 2015 to 2016, a growth rate more than 11 times that of the nation. The rest of the top five fastest-growing large cities were Frisco, Texas, a northern Dallas suburb, with a 6.2 percent increase; McKinney, Texas, another northern Dallas suburb, saw a 5.9 percent increase; Greenville, South Carolina, ran up a 5.8 percent increase; and Georgetown, Texas, a northern Austin suburb, had a 5.5 percent increase. “Overall, cities in the South continue to grow at a faster rate than any other U.S. region,” said demographer Amel Toukabri of the bureau’s population division. Since the 2010 Census, the populations of large southern ci...

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Scott Walker wants to make Wisconsin the first state in the country to require childless adults applying for Medicaid to undergo drug screening, a move that could serve as a national model. Walker’s plan, which needs federal approval, comes as he prepares to run for a third term next year. Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled Legislature approved Walker’s request for a waiver to do the drug tests two years ago, but is now digging into the details of how it would actually work. The Legislature’s budget-writing Joint Finance Committee was to review a wide range of Walker’s welfare reform proposals Thursday, including imposing a new work requirement on childless adult Medicaid recipients and parents who receive food stamps. The committee could vote to give the Legislature more oversight of the programs or make changes to what Walker wants. Walker has talked for years about drug testing Medicaid and food stamp recipients, touting it as a way to make welfar...

ELLENABAD, India (AP) — To see Manjeet Kaur around her little daughter is to see joy at its purest. The 15-month-old toddles about the sprawling courtyard of her parents’ farm, her oily curls tied up in a top knot, her rubber-soled shoes squeaking. Kaur’s eyes don’t miss a thing, and they often mist up with tears. Gurjeet is the child Kaur yearned for desperately, after 40 years of being that thing which a rural Indian woman dreads more than almost anything else — barren. She gave birth at 58 years old, with help from a controversial IVF clinic in this corner of north India that specializes in fertility treatments for women over 50. Scores of women in India are giving birth at advanced ages with help from a controversial IVF clinic that specializes in fertility treatments for women over 50. (May 24) Such treatments have become more common across the world, and they strike a cultural chord in India, where a woman is often defined by her ability to be a wife and mother...

Recreational marijuana has been legal in Oregon for two years now and some winemakers in one of the most fertile growing regions for both grapes and pot are branching out into marijuana as a new business venture. (May 25) Source: www.apnews.com 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress’ official budget analyst is projecting that the House Republican health care bill would produce 23 million more uninsured people and costly, perhaps unaffordable coverage for the seriously ill. Now Republicans in the Senate have to decide how to make their version different. The Congressional Budget Office report, issued Wednesday, also found that average premiums would fall compared with President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, a chief goal of many Republicans. But that would be partly because policies would typically provide fewer benefits and sicker people would be priced out, it concluded. The results gave Democrats ammunition to attack the GOP drive to scuttle former President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul as damaging to patients. Three weeks after the House narrowly approved the measure with GOP-only votes and after several embarrassing setbacks, Republican senators said they’d move in their own direction and dismissed the report’...

MARAWI, Philippines (AP) — Backed by tanks and helicopters, Philippine government forces launched “precision attacks” Thursday to clear militants linked to the Islamic State group from a city that has been under siege since a failed raid to capture a militant on the U.S. list of most-wanted terrorists. Militants have torn through the streets of Marawi since Tuesday night, torching buildings, taking a priest and his worshippers hostage and sealing off much of the city. The violence forced thousands to flee and raised fears of growing extremism in the country. Around 20 people have died in the fighting, including 13 militants and five soldiers, said Lt. Col. Jo-ar Herrera, a military spokesman. President Rodrigo Duterte said a local police chief was stopped at a militant checkpoint and beheaded. It was not immediately clear whether civilians were among the dead. “At night we can hear the gunfire,” said Mohammad Usman, who watched from his home just outside Marawi as thousand...

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — The Republican candidate in the nationally-watched election Thursday for Montana’s sole congressional seat has been charged with misdemeanor assault for allegedly grabbing a reporter by the neck and throwing him to the ground. Voters decide in the special election whether Republican Greg Gianforte or Democrat Rob Quist will fill the U.S. House seat left vacant when Ryan Zinke resigned to join President Donald Trump’s Cabinet as secretary of the Interior Department. The Republican candidate for Montana’s US House Seat, Greg Gianforte, is charged with misdemeanor assault of a reporter, hours before polls open. Jacobs, who works for The Guardian, recorded the sound of his confrontation with Gianforte. (May 25) Gianforte, who has tried to align himself with Trump, defended himself as the criminal charge was announced Wednesday, saying the reporter was being aggressive and grabbed him by the wrist in their exchange at his campaign office. Quist has d...

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO’s chief affirmed Thursday that the alliance will join the international coalition fighting the Islamic State group but will not wage direct war against the extremists — an announcement timed for U.S. President Donald Trump’s first appearance at a summit of the alliance’s leaders. In the wake of this week’s suicide bomb attack at a concert in Manchester, NATO leaders are keen to show that the alliance born in the Cold War is responding to today’s security threats as they meet in Brussels. Trump has questioned its relevance and pushed members to do more to defend themselves. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that joining the U.S.-led anti-Islamic State coalition “will send a strong political message of NATO’s commitment to the fight against terrorism and also improve our coordination within the coalition.” But he underlined that “it does not mean that NATO will engage in combat operations.” All 28 NATO allies are individual members of the ...

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Home searches across Manchester have uncovered important items for the investigation into the concert bombing that left 22 people dead, Manchester’s police chief announced Thursday. A British official said Manchester police have decided not to share further information on the probe with the United States due to leaks blamed on U.S. officials. Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said the eight suspects detained so far were “significant” arrests and said the searches will take several more days to complete. Police have swooped in on multiple addresses in the northwestern city since Tuesday and those arrested include bomber Salman Abedi’s brother Ismail. Manchester mayor Andy Burnham led a minute of silence in the city’s Albert Square on Thursday, in memory of the victims of Monday’s bombing attack. (May 25) Hopkins did not elaborate on the material that has been found so far. British Prime Minister Theresa May said she plans to discuss the leaks with...

BRUSSELS (AP) — President Donald Trump opened meetings with European Union leaders Thursday against the backdrop of striking anger from Britain over intelligence leaks and a decision by Manchester police to withhold information from the United States about the investigation into this week’s bombing. A British official said Thursday that Manchester police have decided not to share further information on the investigation due to leaks blamed on U.S. officials. The sharp rebuke comes as Trump is in Brussels, a city he once called a hellhole, to address leaders at both the European Union and NATO, a pair of alliances whose necessity he has questioned. Traveling on the fourth leg of his journey through the Middle East and Europe, President Donald Trump arrives in Belgium in advance of a round of meetings with NATO allies. (May 24) British Prime Minister Theresa May said she plans to discuss the leaks with her American counterpart at the NATO gathering to “make clear to Pres...