By MICHELLE L. PRICE

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday made a brief trip to Montana, where he spoke to media mogul Rupert Murdoch; his son Lachlan Murdoch, the head of Fox News and News Corp.; and a group of other Fox News executives, according to two people familiar with the trip.

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Vance met with the group at the Murdoch family ranch in southwest Montana near Dillon, according to the people. They confirmed the visit to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about it.

It’s not clear why the vice president addressed the group or what they spoke about.

A spokesperson for Fox News Channel did not respond to a message seeking comment.

The vice president’s office does not release a schedule for Vance and did not offer advance notice of the trip, so the surprise arrival of Air Force Two in Butte, Montana, set off local speculation as his motorcade was seen driving away.

The Murdoch ranch near Dillon is roughly 70 miles south of Butte. The ranch, which Murdoch purchased in 2021, is spread across two valleys and a mountain range and has some 12,000 cattle. It sits near Yellowstone National Park along the Montana-Idaho border.

According to flight restrictions issued by the Federal Aviation Administration, the vice presidential aircraft was only on the ground for a matter of hours.

Vance was scheduled to have lunch with President Donald Trump on Wednesday, according to the president’s publicly released schedule, meaning the vice president presumably returned to Washington shortly after meeting the Murdochs 2,200 miles away on Tuesday night.

Rupert Murdoch and his media organization have long been friendly with Republicans and have, for the most part, had a friendly relationship with Trump. He appeared at Trump’s inauguration and was spotted earlier this year in the Oval Office.

Rupert Murdoch, 94, stepped down as the head of Fox News and News Corp. in 2023 and handed control over to son Lachlan.

Montana state Auditor James Brown told the Montana Talks radio show that he helped Vance’s staff arrange the trip.

Brown, who did not respond to a message Wednesday from the AP, said he met the vice president when Vance landed at the airport and then helped escort Vance’s entourage on an hourlong drive by driving second lady Usha Vance’s staff.

Associated Press writers Zeke Miller in Washington and Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, contributed to this report.

By MICHELLE L. PRICE and SOPHIE AUSTIN

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is expected to sign a measure Thursday that blocks California’s first-in-the-nation rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, a White House official told The Associated Press.

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The resolution Trump plans to sign, which Congress approved last month, aims to quash the country’s most aggressive attempt to phase out gas-powered cars. He also plans to approve measures to overturn state policies curbing tailpipe emissions in certain vehicles and smog-forming nitrogen oxide pollution from trucks.

The timing of the signing was confirmed Wednesday by a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to share plans not yet public.

The development comes as the Republican president is mired in a clash with California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, over Trump’s move to deploy troops to Los Angeles in response to immigration protests. It’s the latest in an ongoing battle between the Trump administration and heavily Democratic California over everything from tariffs to the rights of LGBTQ+ youth and funding for electric vehicle chargers.

“If it’s a day ending in Y, it’s another day of Trump’s war on California,” Newsom spokesperson Daniel Villaseñor said in an email. “We’re fighting back.”

According to the White House official, Trump is expected to sign resolutions that block California’s rule phasing out gas-powered cars and ending the sale of new ones by 2035. He will also kill rules that phase out the sale of medium- and heavy-duty diesel vehicles and cut tailpipe emissions from trucks.

The president is scheduled to sign the measures and make remarks during an event at the White House on Thursday morning.

Newsom, who is considered a likely 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, and California officials contend that what the federal government is doing is illegal and said the state plans to sue.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin are expected to attend, along with members of Congress and representatives from the energy, trucking and gas station industries.

The signings come as Trump has pledged to revive American auto manufacturing and boost oil and gas drilling.

The move will also come a day after the Environmental Protection Agency proposed repealing rules that limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fueled by coal and natural gas. Zeldin said it would remove billions of dollars in costs for industry and help “unleash” American energy.

California, which has some of the nation’s worst air pollution, has been able to seek waivers for decades from the EPA, allowing it to adopt stricter emissions standards than the federal government.

In his first term, Trump revoked California’s ability to enforce its standards, but President Joe Biden reinstated it in 2022. Trump has not yet sought to revoke it again.

Republicans have long criticized those waivers and earlier this year opted to use the Congressional Review Act, a law aimed at improving congressional oversight of actions by federal agencies, to try to block the rules.

That’s despite a finding from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog, that California’s standards cannot legally be blocked using the Congressional Review Act. The Senate parliamentarian agreed with that finding.

California, which makes up roughly 11% of the U.S. car market, has significant power to sway trends in the auto industry. About a dozen states signed on to adopt California’s rule phasing out the sale of new gas-powered cars.

The National Automobile Dealers Association supported the federal government’s move to block California’s ban on gas-powered cars, saying Congress should decide on such a national issue, not the state.

The American Trucking Associations said the rules were not feasible and celebrated Congress’ move to block them.

Chris Spear, the CEO of the American Trucking Associations, said in a statement Wednesday: “This is not the United States of California.”

It was also applauded by Detroit automaker General Motors, which said it will “help align emissions standards with today’s market realities.”

“We have long advocated for one national standard that will allow us to stay competitive, continue to invest in U.S. innovation, and offer customer choice across the broadest lineup of gas-powered and electric vehicles,” the company said in a statement.

Dan Becker with the Center for Biological Diversity, in anticipation of the president signing the measures, said earlier Thursday that the move would be “Trump’s latest betrayal of democracy.”

“Signing this bill is a flagrant abuse of the law to reward Big Oil and Big Auto corporations at the expense of everyday people’s health and their wallets,” Becker said in a statement.

Austin reported from Sacramento, Calif.

Take away his first start of the season, one during which Bailey Ober was pitching through an illness, and by and large, the starter has been decent this season.

He has a 2.85 earned-run average since that point and has given up three earned runs or less in every start but his last. But behind the scenes, Ober has felt mechanically off for parts of the season, something that he noted during spring training and again after his last two starts when his velocity dipped.

Ober, who is scheduled to start in the series finale against the Texas Rangers on Thursday, said his Tuesday bullpen felt good, and he believes he’s moving in the right direction — it’s just a matter of time.

“It’s harder to change patterns that are ingrained in how you’ve been throwing,” Ober said. “It’s all about just getting reps and moving the right way. Eventually, it’ll be muscle memory kind of (taking) over. But if you’re throwing for an extended period of time kind of the wrong way, your body is going to revert to that. So now it’s just time to get the reps in throughout the weeks.”

After his last start, Ober said his mechanics felt “not smooth and disjointed,” and he had been putting the work in to try to get his velocity back up. The average velocity on his four-seam fastball is currently 90.4 miles per hour this season, down from 91.7 mph last year.

The issues initially started this spring, Ober said, when he was dealing with a knee, hip issue. Nothing, he said, that would put him on the injured list, but still something that bothered him.

Now, he said, he is doing maintenance to keep his lower half healthy every day this season, and he physically “would like to be better,” but it’s “nothing I haven’t pitched through.”

“I was able to kind of figure it out for a little while at the beginning of the season. Up until mainly the last two or three starts ago,” Ober said. “But the stuff just kind of kicks back to, when something is off, you revert back to the way you were throwing. And that’s unfortunately the way I’ve been throwing. It hasn’t been the most efficient movement-wise. That’s why we’re seeing the lower velos. Just trying to work through it and stay healthy.”

Twins claim Wentz

The Twins claimed reliever Joey Wentz off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday and expect him to arrive for Thursday’s game.

Wentz, a 27-year-old lefty, had been designated for assignment over the weekend after posting a 4.15 ERA across 26 innings this season with the Pirates. He initially came up as a starter with the Detroit Tigers before shifting to relief.

“We’re excited to have him,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He’s a guy … that can give you length if you need i. But he also has good stuff so it gives you an opportunity to make good adjustments and maybe even help him go beyond even anything that he has been doing to this point.”

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Twins moved Pablo López to the 60-day injured list. López landed on the injured list last week with a teres major strain in his shoulder, and the Twins have said he will be out for eight to 12 weeks.

They are expected to make a move to add Wentz to the 26-man roster on Thursday. That move could be for Jorge Alcala, who currently has an 8.88 ERA and gave up six runs (five earned) on Tuesday.

Briefly

The Twins will cap their homestand today with a game against the Texas Rangers that begins at 12:10 p.m. Ober will be opposed by left-hander Patrick Corbin. After that, they will head out on a road trip that will take them to Houston and Cincinnati.

Bailey Ober #17 of the Minnesota Twins poses for a portrait at Lee Health Sports Complex during the Minnesota Twins Photo Day on Feb. 21, 2025 at the Lee County Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Joey Wentz #43 of the Detroit Tigers poses for a portrait during photo day at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium on Feb. 23, 2024 in Lakeland, Florida. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

A familiar face to Twin Cities drag fans is returning to reality TV competition.

Ethan Mundt, who performs as Utica Queen, is one of 12 contestants competing on the upcoming 21st season of “Project Runway,” which debuts July 31 on Freeform, Hulu and Disney+.

Minnesota native and Hamline graduate Ethan Mundt, whose drag name is Utica Queen, is a contestant on the upcoming 21st season of “Project Runway,” which debuts July 31, 2025 on Freeform, Hulu and Disney+. (Heidi Gutman / Disney)

“Walking into the ‘Project Runway’ workroom felt like stepping into a dream, but even more surreal was walking in wearing something that carries the spirit of Drag with me,” Mundt wrote on Instagram. “This is for every artist who dares to blur the lines, stitch the seams between worlds, and wear their truth like armor.”

Mundt made his television debut in 2021, when he placed sixth on the 13th season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” He earned praise on the show for the intricate costumes he created for himself. In the years since, Mundt has designed looks for numerous “Drag Race” contestants and judges.

Mundt took his drag name from his hometown of Utica, located about two hours southeast of St. Paul. “It’s a tiny, tiny town of 291 people,” he said during a January 2019 interview with the Pioneer Press. “We don’t even have a school or a gas station, but we do have four bars. And one gay who escaped.”

He first tried his hand at drag in kindergarten, when he dressed as Mary Poppins for Halloween. In high school, he joined a teenage improv troupe in Rochester that did a drag scene at the end of every show. After high school, Mundt went on to earn a double major in fine art and theater production from Hamline University: “I basically went to school to become a drag queen and it’s awesome.”

Mundt started doing shows as an amateur while studying at Hamline and eventually befriended some veteran queens who helped him refine his approach and look. He got more serious about drag after he graduated in 2017. He had firmly established himself in the Twin Cities when he relocated to Chicago as his season of “Drag Race” was airing.

“Project Runway” producers have rebooted the show, which debuted on Bravo in 2004, moved to Lifetime in 2009 and returned to Bravo in 2019. Original host and judge Heidi Klum, who left “Project Runway” after its stint on Lifetime, has returned to the show and will be joined by judges Nina Garcia and Law Roach. Fourth season winner Christian Siriano will return as the contestants’ mentor.

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