Kansas voters have sent a resounding message about their desire to protect abortion rights by rejecting a measure that would have allowed the Republican-controlled Legislature to tighten abortion restrictions or ban the procedure outright.

The vote Tuesday in a conservative state with deep ties to the anti-abortion movement was the first test of voters’ feelings about abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in late June. Voters rejected a change in the Kansas Constitution to ensure that it does not grant a right to an abortion, overturning a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court decision protecting abortion rights.

That was among the highlights of a busy day for primaries in multiple states around the country, including Michigan and Missouri.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she and other members of Congress are visiting Taiwan to show they will not abandon their commitment to the self-governing island. China claims Taiwan as its territory and opposes any engagement by Taiwanese officials with foreign governments.

Turkey’s defense ministry says the first Ukrainian grain ship traveling under a wartime deal is preparing to pass through Istanbul’s Bosporus Strait on its way to Lebanon. The ministry said an inspection team finished its review aboard the Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni on Wednesday.

In sports, another legend was lost with the death of longtime Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully. In other news, Juan Soto is finally traded in a frenzy of deals at the baseball trading deadline, Jacob deGrom returns to the mound, and the Dolphins pay the price for tampering.

The Senate has given final approval to a bill enhancing health care and disability benefits for millions of veterans exposed to toxic burn pits while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill now goes to President Joe Biden's desk, and he says he is looking forward to signing it into law so those veterans "finally get the benefits and comprehensive health care they earned and deserve.”

The Biden administration is holding out the CIA operation that killed al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri as a monumental strike against the global terror network responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks of 2001. But the moment is also putting into stark relief mounting evidence that after America's withdrawal, Afghanistan has once again become an active staging ground for Islamic terror groups looking to attack the West.

The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit that challenges Idaho’s restrictive abortion law, arguing that it would criminalize doctors who provide medically-necessary treatment that is protected under federal law. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the suit on Tuesday.

Water and cleaning supplies have arrived in Kentucky following floods.

Authorities say two more bodies have been found within the burn zone of a huge Northern California wildfire, raising the death toll to four in the state’s largest blaze of the year.

American employers posted fewer job openings in June as the economy contends with raging inflation and rising interest rates. The Labor Department said Tuesday job openings fell to a still-high 10.7 million in June from 11.3 million in May.

Jill Biden says she didn't doubt that she could keep teaching as first lady and overcame skepticism that she could handle both jobs by instructing her staff to “figure it out.”

In an interview in the September issue of Real Simple magazine, she also describes using Post-it notes to manage her family and offers marriage advice to newlyweds.

Beyoncé is the second artist to remove an offensive term for disabled people from a new song after complaints. Both Beyoncé and rapper Lizzo decided to remove the word “spaz” from their lyrics.