Left-hander Blake Snell lowered his major league-leading ERA from 2.60 to 2.50 and struck out eight in six scoreless innings as the San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants 6-1

A trio of Republican House committee chairs is demanding information from the Department of Justice on the pending plea and diversion agreements between prosecutors and Hunter Biden as part of their ongoing effort to inflict political damage on his father, President Joe Biden. In a letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland, House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, and Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith said the decision by Delaware US Attorney David Weiss to allow Hunter Biden to plead guilty to two misdemeanour tax charges and enter into a deferred sentencing agreement on a single charge of lying on a gun background check form “raise serious concerns ... that the Department has provided preferential treatment toward Mr. Biden in the course of its investigation and proposed resolution of his alleged criminal conduct”. Mr Biden, who is President Biden’s youngest and only surviving son, has admitted to what have been well-documented struggles with alcohol and drugs, and during an aborted plea hearing last week said he’d been in and out of rehabilitation facilities on numerous occasions over the last few decades. During that court appearance, US District Judge Maryellen Noreika objected to a provision of the diversion agreement which stated that she — not prosecutors — would be responsible for determining whether Mr Biden might have breached the agreement’s terms, which would necessitate new criminal charges. The judge said the provision in question was “not standard” and “different from what I normally see” and suggested it violates the separation of powers in the US Constitution because it would put the judicial branch in the position of making a charging decision that is an executive branch function. Legal experts have opined that the provision at issue was an attempt by the department to protect Mr Biden from a situation in which a future Republican administration would manufacture charges against him. The current GOP frontrunner for the party’s 2024 presidential nomination, Donald Trump, has repeatedly pledged to jail Mr Biden, his father, and numerous other prominent Democrats. The GOP representatives asked Mr Garland to provide them with data on how often, if at all, the Delaware US Attorney’s office and the Justice Department have included similar provisions in diversion agreements. They also demanded information on who — prosecutors or Mr Biden’s defence attorneys — suggested that the agreement should place a final decision on new charges in a judge’s hands, and asked Mr Garland to provide a list of pretrial division agreements for other defendants who’ve been charged with the same gun-related offence as Mr Biden, as well as “all documents and communications referring or relating to each similar pretrial diversion agreement entered into by the Department in the last ten years”. Additionally, the committee chairs asked Mr Garland to provide a “generalized description of the nature of the Department’s ongoing investigation” into Mr Biden and an “explanation of why the Department originally agreed to a plea agreement” with Mr Biden if there are ongoing probes into him. It is unlikely that Mr Garland will provide any response that satisfies the GOP representatives, as the Justice Department’s policy for decades has been to not comment on ongoing investigations, even in response to congressional inquiries. Read More House Oversight chair admits GOP can’t back up Biden bribery accusations Hunter Biden’s ex-business partner testifies to Congress. Here’s what to know Biden acknowledges Hunter’s daughter Navy in public for first time

By Trevor Hunnicutt WASHINGTON The deal to end the United States' debt limit standoff was classic Joe Biden

Oil was steady after its first weekly loss since June, with macroenomic concerns outweighing signs of a tight

Lyft Inc. shares fell after the company reported its slowest revenue growth in two years, overshadowing a better-than-expected

The U_S_ Federal Reserve has hit “pause.”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign is accelerating layoffs initiated in recent weeks to cut more than a

Shaedon Sharpe scored 29 points, rookie Duop Reath added a season-high 13 and the Portland Trail Blazers got their second straight impressive road win this week, 103-95 over the Cleveland Cavaliers

Highly-rated Red Bull Salzburg youngster Oscar Gloukh has admitted that he "dreams" of playing for Real Madrid despite recent interest from Barcelona.

Craig Counsell is headed to the Windy City. However, there are several teams that could have benefitted from him, and probably should have fired their current managers to clear a spot for him.

From casual chic looks to glamorous looks, let's dig inside three cute sheer dresses that the TikTok star owns

Andreas Maxsø scored in the 41st minute, Marko Ilic made five saves and the Colorado Rapids beat Austin 1-0 on Saturday night for just their fifth victory of the season