COLU @ CONCEPTS

SAN DIEGO (AP) — When Thomas Homan, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was awakened Sunday morning with news that migrants were found dead inside a sweltering tractor-trailer outside a San Antonio Walmart, his mind flashed back to 2003, when he stood at the back of a truck about 120 miles (200 kilometers) southeast of San Antonio that carried 19 dead migrants. “It is sad that 14 years later people are still being smuggled in tractor-trailers,” he said. “There still isn’t water, there still isn’t ventilation. These criminal organizations, they’re all about making money.” The striking similarities of the Texas tragedies demonstrate how smugglers have found a durable business model carrying large groups — often in big rigs — through an elaborate network of foot guides, safe house operators and drivers. A criminal complaint about Sunday’s discovery that 10 were dead and dozens injured in the truck opens a window on their degree of sophistication and o...

WASHINGTON (AP) — At the twilight of a storied career and battling a brain tumor, Sen. John McCain stands poised to deliver for his party and his president on the issue that’s defined the GOP for the past seven years. It’s a situation heavy with drama and symbolism. The 80-year-old Arizona senator will return to Washington just days after a cancer diagnosis, to cast what could be the deciding vote Tuesday to open debate on legislation to repeal and replace “Obamacare.” McCain himself campaigned heavily on the “Obamacare” repeal issue last year as he won re-election to a sixth and almost certainly final Senate term. And there could be sweet revenge in defying cancer to undo the signature legislation of the man who beat him for the presidency in 2008, Barack Obama. The Arizona senator would also deliver a key victory to President Donald Trump, despite emerging as one of the president’s most outspoken GOP critics on Capitol Hill. During last year’s campaign Trump shockingly rid...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional investigators probing Russia’s meddling in the U.S. election will have their first opportunity this week to hear from someone in President Donald Trump’s innermost circle: son-in-law Jared Kushner. Kushner, who is a senior adviser to the president and is married to Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, will talk to staff on the Senate Intelligence Committee Monday behind closed doors. On Tuesday, he’ll talk privately to members of the House Intelligence Committee. Both panels are investigating Russian interference and possible connections to Trump’s campaign. Kushner has attracted attention for a December meeting with a leading Russian diplomat. He oversaw digital strategy for the campaign, and some lawmakers have said they want more answers about whether Russian social media “trolls” were connected to Trump’s election efforts. Kushner also attended a June 2016 meeting with Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., and his former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and...

SOUTHPORT, England (AP) — The start was not what anyone expected out of Jordan Spieth. All that mattered to him was how he finished the British Open. And that might have been the biggest surprise of all. The record will show that Spieth took a three-shot lead into the final round at Royal Birkdale, closed with a 1-under 69 and won by three shots over Matt Kuchar, giving him the third leg of the career Grand Slam. “Seventeen pars and a birdie would have been fine, too,” Spieth said, the silver claret jug at his side. “But there’s a lot of roads to get there.” The road less traveled? This was more like blazing a new trail. Seve Ballesteros won the 1979 British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes by making birdie from the parking lot. Spieth was spared at Royal Birkdale by making a bogey from the driving range when he was expecting no better than a double bogey. Henrik Stenson finished with four birdies over the last five holes at Royal Troon last year to pull away from ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Politically ambitious pups and kittens: Put your resumes aside. The job of first pet — an enviable White House gig with luxurious live-in privileges, after-hours access to the president and guaranteed positive press coverage — is not currently available. That’s because President Donald Trump is not looking for a fluffy sidekick at the moment. Asked about plans for a four-legged addition to the White House, Stephanie Grisham, a spokeswoman for Melania Trump, said in a statement: “The first family is still getting settled so there are no plans at this time.” The job of First Pet is not currently available. That’s because President Donald Trump is not in the market for a fluffy sidekick for now. That may cost him some easy goodwill from the press and public. (July 24) If Trump stays pet-free, he will be breaking with a long held tradition of presidential pet ownership. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s had his beloved terrier Fala. President Geor...

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Sitting in a classroom above a gun range, a woman hesitantly says she isn’t sure she could ever shoot and kill someone, even to protect herself. Couldn’t she just aim for their leg and try to maim them? Her instructor says self-defense is not about killing someone, but is instead about eliminating a threat. If the gun gets taken away by a bad guy, the instructor says, “I promise you they’re not going to be having any sympathy or going through the thought process you are.” Gently she adds that if the student isn’t comfortable with the lethal potential of the gun, buying one might not be for her. Marchelle Tigner, known to her students and others as “Tig,” is on a mission: to train at least 1 million women how to shoot a firearm. She had spent no time around guns before joining the National Guard. Now, as a survivor of domestic violence and sexual assault, she wants to give other women of color the training she hadn’t had. “It’s important, especia...

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A year ago Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte promised to cleanse his Southeast Asian nation of illegal drugs in three to six months. He said he would tame corruption and began a profanity-spiked tongue lashing of America — which he called “lousy” last week. Those “shock and awe” declarations of a year ago have collided with reality. Drugs and corruption have persisted and he grudgingly thanked the United States recently for helping to quell a disastrous siege in the south by pro-Islamic State group militants. Thousands of protesters marched with Duterte’s effigy Monday to demand that he deliver on promises he made in his first state of the nation speech last year, from pressing peace talks with Marxist guerrillas, which is currently on hold, to upholding human rights and the rule of law. A look at the major issues confronting Duterte as he enters his second year in power. ___ ISLAMIC STATE-LINKED SIEGE Two months after more than 600 pro-Isla...