WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration's top intelligence officials are facing Congress this week to offer their first testimony in office about the threats confronting the United States and tackle urgent questions about the security breach that unfolded when war plans were mistakenly leaked to a journalist.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Turnout during the first week of early voting ahead of Wisconsin's pivotal state Supreme Court race is far exceeding levels from another high-stakes election just two years ago, the latest sign of the intense interest in a contest that has obliterated spending records and drawn attention from President Donald Trump and his billionaire adviser, Elon Musk.

Wildfires forced a mandatory evacuation Sunday in a North Carolina county still recovering from Hurricane Helene, and South Carolina's governor declared an emergency in response to a growing wildfire in that state. Hundreds of miles north, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service was battling a blaze in the Wharton State Forest.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday calling for the dismantling of the U.S. Education Department, advancing a campaign promise to take apart an agency that’s been a longtime target of conservatives.

MANDAN, N.D. (AP) — Environmental group Greenpeace must pay more than $660 million in damages for defamation and other claims brought by a pipeline company in connection with protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline’s construction in North Dakota, a jury found Wednesday.

DALLAS (AP) — More than 63,000 pages of records related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy were released Tuesday following an order by President Donald Trump, many without the redactions that had confounded historians for years and helped fuel conspiracy theories.

SEATTLE (AP) — Cybertrucks set ablaze. Bullets and Molotov cocktails aimed at Tesla showrooms. Attacks on property carrying the logo of Elon Musk's electric car company are cropping up across the U.S. and overseas. While no injuries have been reported, Tesla showrooms, vehicle lots, charging stations and privately owned cars have been targeted.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Stuck in space no more, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams returned to Earth on Tuesday, hitching a different ride home to close out a saga that began with a bungled test flight more than nine months ago.

DALLAS (AP) — President Donald Trump says files related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy will be released Tuesday without any redactions, making good on a promise he made during his campaign.

HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas midwife has been arrested and accused of providing illegal abortions, marking the first time authorities have filed criminal charges under the state’s near-total abortion ban, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Monday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in a possible pivot point in efforts to end the war in Ukraine and an opportunity for Trump to continue reorienting American foreign policy.

A dynamic storm that prompted foreboding predictions of dangerous weekend weather spawned tornadoes, dust storms, and wildfires that killed at least 39 people and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses.

TYLERTOWN, Miss. (AP) — Unusually vicious and damaging weather across multiple U.S. states spawned violent tornadoes, blinding dust storms, and fast-moving wildfires this weekend, leaving at least 37 people dead.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Just over a day after blasting off, a SpaceX crew capsule arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday, delivering the replacements for NASA’s two stuck astronauts.

The Trump administration has transferred hundreds of suspected Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador even as a federal judge issued an order temporarily barring the deportations, officials said Sunday. Flights were in the air at the time of the ruling.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has signed into law legislation funding the government through the end of September, ending the threat of a partial government shutdown and capping off a struggle in Congress that deeply divided Democrats.

Violent tornadoes ripped through parts of the U.S., wiping out schools and toppling semitractor-trailers in several states, part of a monster storm that has killed at least 26 people as more severe weather was expected late Saturday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate was preparing Friday to give final approval to a bill that could result in harsher prison sentences for fentanyl traffickers as both Republicans and Democrats seek to show they can act to rein in distribution of the deadly drug.

More than 100 million people in the U.S. will be in the path of an intense March storm starting Friday as the sprawling multi-day system threatens fires, blizzards, tornadoes, and flooding as it tracks eastward across the Great Plains.

NEW YORK (AP) — Columbia University has expelled or suspended some students who took over a campus building during pro-Palestinian protests last spring and temporarily revoked the diplomas of others who have since graduated, officials said Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Postmaster General Louis DeJoy plans to cut 10,000 workers and billions of dollars from the U.S. Postal Service budget, and he’ll do that working with Elon Musk ’s Department of Government Efficiency, according to a letter sent to members of Congress on Thursday.

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — The Federal Emergency Management Agency has launched a review of organizations that provide temporary housing and other aid to migrants, suggesting they may have violated a law used to prosecute smugglers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kuwait has released a group of American prisoners, including veterans and military contractors jailed for years on drug-related charges, in a move seen as a gesture of goodwill between two allies, a representative for the detainees told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A launch pad problem prompted SpaceX to delay a flight to the International Space Station on Wednesday to replace NASA's two stuck astronauts.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Education Department plans to lay off more than 1,300 of its employees as part of an effort to halve the organization’s staff- a prelude to President Donald Trump’s plan to dismantle the agency.