Politics

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey interim Sen. George Helmy, a Democrat appointed when Bob Menendez resigned after a federal corruption conviction , is stepping down this weekend so Sen.-elect Andy Kim can be sworn in early.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is ramping up efforts to address a crisis of suicides and systemic failures in federal prisons and jails, announcing sweeping reforms aimed at overhauling how mental health care is provided behind bars.

OTTAWA — The government's decision to pause most private refugee sponsorships is because there is an "oversupply" of applications and Canada doesn't want to give people fleeing war zones false hope, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump's transition team on Tuesday signed an agreement to allow the Justice Department to conduct background checks on his nominees and appointees after a weeks-long delay.

NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers formally asked a judge Monday to throw out his hush money criminal conviction, arguing continuing the case would present unconstitutional “disruptions to the institution of the Presidency.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump's transition team on Tuesday signed an agreement to allow the Justice Department to conduct background checks on his nominees and appointees after a weeks-long delay.

QUÉBEC — Quebec's health minister has tabled a bill that would force new doctors trained in the province to spend the first five years of their careers working in Quebec's public health network.

TORONTO — Ontario's ministerial zoning order process needs to be overhauled, even after the introduction of a new framework for the land use planning tool, the province's auditor general said Tuesday.

Ohio's top elections official has rejected a Republican challenge over the legal residency of one of the state's Democratic members of Congress.

TORONTO — A European company developing a spa and waterpark at Ontario Place got special access to provincial executives during a submission process that was not fair or transparent, Ontario's auditor general said Tuesday in her annual report.