A political newcomer’s closer-than-expected finish in Tuesday’s special congressional election in Ohio surprised Republicans and jolted Democrats in a former bellwether state.

Donald Trump’s allies could soon add another U.S. House member to their ranks, as Ohio voters head to the polls in a district the Republican former president carried comfortably in 2020.

Voting in the races for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations happens again Tuesday.

The most high-profile election in Ohio’s primary on Tuesday will be the Republican contest to take on the state’s Democratic U.S. senator.

House Speaker Mike Johnson’s margin for error in getting Republican priorities through the House is getting slimmer.

Congress responded to the fiery train derailment in eastern Ohio earlier this year with bipartisan alarm at railroad crashes causing potential disasters.

Republicans say the federal response to a train derailment in an eastern Ohio village shows Democrats are not focused on policy at home.

The Biden administration is defending its response to a freight train derailment in Ohio that left toxic chemicals spilled or burned off, even as local leaders and members of Congress demanded that more be done.

It was a stunning revelation: One of the officers involved in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols took a cellphone photo of the bloodied and handcuffed man and shared it with five other people.

New census data shows declining populations in rural areas and some Rust Belt cities, which could make them targets during redistricting for the U.S. House.

One Ohio U.S. Senate candidate has been circulating a who’s-done-more-for-Donald Trump scorecard.

Every adult in Louisiana over the age of 16 is now eligible to get vaccinated against the coronavirus as the state's expanded eligibility went into effect Monday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)More than a dozen states will open vaccine eligibility to all adults this week in a major expansion of COVID-19 shots for tens of millions of Americans amid a worrisome increase in virus cases and concerns about balancing supply and demand for the vaccines. Demand "has definitely decreased over the past couple of weeks,” said Imelda Garcia, head of the state’s expert vaccine allocation panel. California officials said the state can administer 3 million shots a week now, and Democratic Gov. Lena Lawson, a 37-year-old technology consultant in Phoenix, tried to book a vaccine appointment since the new eligibility rules started.

Rob Portman, R-Ohio, speaks to members of the media outside a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. Portman said Monday, Jan. 25 that he won't seek reelection and plans to end a career in federal government spanning more than three decades. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)CINCINNATI – Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, a fiery Donald Trump supporter, won't run to succeed Ohio Sen. The former star college wrestler's style doesn't reflect that of Portman, a career establishment Republican with a reputation for bipartisanship. AdTrump rewarded Jordan, 56, for his steady support by giving him the Presidential Medal of Freedom before leaving office this month.

DES MOINES, Iowa – Democrats once dominated Koochiching County in the blue-collar Iron Range of northern Minnesota. But in this month's presidential election, President Donald Trump won it with 60% of the vote. Though Democrats’ rural woes aren’t new, they now heap pressure on Biden to begin reversing the trend. In clinging to their majority, House Democrats lost rural seats, notably the one held for 30 years by Rep. Collin Peterson in western Minnesota. For now, Democrats' future in rural America rests largely on how Biden is viewed there, Heitkamp said.

DETROIT – A new Detroit fire boat was named on Friday in honor of fallen Detroit firefighter Sivad Johnson. Johnson died on Aug. 21 after going into the Detroit River, near Belle Isle, to save young children from drowning in the river. READ: Memorial service honors Detroit Fire Department sergeant who drowned while rescuing childrenLocal 4 spoke with Johnson’s brother, Jamal Johnson, and father, Bill Johnson, who were also Detroit firefighters. The two are now helping raise Sivad Johnson’s two daughters. Detroit firefighters are selling t-shirts to help the Johnson’s raise money to support the family.

The speakers tearfully told of holiday and birthday celebrations that will never be celebrated after their loved ones perished in the November 2018 fire that nearly wiped out Paradise, California. You had the capacity to know what you were doing would kill people, said Philip Binstock, referring to PG&E executives. His 88-year-old father, Julian Binstock, was found with his dog in the shower of his Paradise, California home. Binstock noted that PG&E was previously found to have falsified safety and maintenance records for its natural gas lines to make more money before the 2018 wildfire. Wednesday was the second day of an extraordinary court proceeding that will culminate in PG&E being sentenced for 85 felony counts.

Pacific Gas & Electric officials are to be expected to appear in court Tuesday, June 16, 2020, to plead guilty for the deadly wildfire that nearly wiped out the Northern California town of Paradise in 2018. The fire killed 85 people, but prosecutors weren't certain they could prove PG&E was responsible for one of the deaths. The proceedings will continue Wednesday when surviving family members of those who died in the 2018 wildfire will be allowed to make statements before Deems. As part of a deal with California power regulators, PG&E will replace 11 of its 14 board members. Despite PG&E's pledge to turn over a new leaf, the utility's critics fear more danger looms during an upcoming wildfire season after an unusually dry winter in Northern California.

Meanwhile, the Public Utilities Commission will vote on the bankruptcy plan. U.S. District Judge William Alsup blasted PG&E for flim flamming him about its newfound commitment to safety in previous hearings. He also raised worries that state power regulators havent done enough to prevent a recalcitrant criminal from causing more death and destruction as the risk of wildfires rises with the summer temperatures. If there ever was a corporation that deserved to go to prison, it is PG&E, Alsup said. But the reforms included in PG&E's plan still might not be enough, acknowledged Clifford Rechtschaffen, one of the the five PUC board members.

Johnson is scheduled to testify before lawmakers about the utilities' decision to turnoff power for millions of people to prevent California wildfires. Johnson has defended the companys actions as well planned and executed, arguing the power shutoffs have saved lives during the lengthy wildfire season. The latest planned blackout is expected to affect 660,000 people throughout Northern California, including the San Francisco suburbs, Sierra Nevada foothills and wine country. Preemptive power shutoffs are not new to California, but the scope of those by PG&E this year have been unprecedented. The company has more than 5 million customers in Northern California, including the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley.

Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. CEO Bill Johnson is scheduled to testify during a Legislative oversight hearing on Monday, Nov. 18, at the state Capitol. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)SACRAMENTO, CA The Latest on state legislative hearing into power outages by Pacific Gas & Electric (all times local):3:20 p.m. The head of Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. has told a California legislative committee that the utility became complacent about power shutdowns after successfully completing a few smaller ones. ___12:35 p.m.Northern California is bracing for more power outages after Pacific Gas & Electric started notifying customers that it may turn off electricity Wednesday because of strong winds that could spark wildfires. Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. CEO Bill Johnson is scheduled to testify during a Legislative oversight hearing on Monday at the state Capitol.

(AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)SAN FRANCISCO, CA Pacific Gas & Electric is reporting substantial losses for the third quarter driven by catastrophic wildfires. The company anticipates those costs could escalate to as much as $6.3 billion. That's a per-share loss of $3.06, or $1.11 when one-time costs are removed. The bankrupt company is facing criticism for blackouts intended to limit wildfires, but that have left millions without power. _____Some of this story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research.

Newsom also reiterated the state would consider a potential takeover of the utility if the bankruptcy is not resolved by June 30. Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. CEO Bill Johnson defended the company, telling reporters after the meeting that the power shutoffs have been "well planned and executed." Last year, strong winds knocked down some of PG&E's power lines, which sparked a series of devastating wildfires. Johnson said Tuesday he believes the company won't have power shutoffs on this scale in 10 years as it works to "sectionalize the system." "There will be fewer (power shutoffs) every year, and eventually we will get out of it," he said.

(CNN) - Power outages to prevent fires in Northern California may continue for a decade, the state's biggest utility said Friday. Utility PG&E chief executive Bill Johnson made the announcement during a California Public Utilities Commission meeting Friday. Earlier this month, PG&E shut off power to almost 800,000 customers in Northern California to lower the risk of wildfires started by the company's equipment. The power company has said that it's "probable" that its equipment started last year's Camp Fire when a powerline touched nearby trees. As the environment changes, "dealing with wildfires is the new abnormal within California," PG&E's Sumeet Singh told reporters at the time.

A sign posted on the door of Saltaj Indian Cafe announces closure due to power outages on Oct. 10, 2019, in Sausalito, California. "I do apologize for the hardship but I think we made the right call on safety," said Johnson, who took over as CEO in May after heading the Tennessee Valley Authority. The night before, someone fired a bullet into a PG&E vehicle, according to the California Highway Patrol. We have thousands of men and women, literally thousands, out there right now working tirelessly to restore power, including many who actually lost power themselves," Johnson said. Gavin Newsom has blasted the utility over the outages, blaming the action on years of neglect and putting profits ahead of customers.

Copyright 2019 CNN(CNN) - Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) announced it has reached an $11 billion settlement with insurance companies for claims stemming from the devastating 2017 wildfires in northern California and the 2018 Camp Fire. A statement from the company Friday said the settlement covers 85% of the claims. "Today's settlement is another step in doing what's right for the communities, businesses, and individuals affected by the devastating wildfires," said Bill Johnson, CEO and president of PG&E Corporation. The hardest-hit town of Paradise, which was left in charred ruins, will get $270 million to resolve wildfire claims. In May, Cal Fire released a final determination that PG&E power lines did cause the Camp Fire.