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By KRISTIN M. HALL AP Entertainment Writer NASHVILLE, Ten.. (AP) — R&B legend Ray Charles, who helped redefine country music in the Civil Rights era, and Grammy-winning duo The Judds will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The Country Music Association on Monday announced the new class of Hall of Fame members,

By DARIA LITVINOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — An Afghan military plane crashed in Uzbekistan over the weekend and Uzbek authorities issued conflicting reports on the cause. That came as dozens of Afghan military aircraft carrying hundreds of servicemen reportedly reached Uzbekistan, among the thousands fleeing after the Taliban recaptured Kabul. The plane crash in

By SYLVIA HUI and LORNE COOK Associated Press LONDON (AP) — European leaders say they will press for a unified international approach to dealing with a Taliban government in Afghanistan, as they looked on with dismay at the rapid collapse of two decades of a U.S.-led Western campaign in the country. British Prime Minister Boris

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s government says its ambassador to Israel will remain in Poland until further notice. The move comes after Israel downgraded diplomatic ties with Warsaw and strongly criticized a new Polish law that restricts the rights of Holocaust survivors and others to reclaim property seized by the

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press A young Afghan woman stands between two worlds at Kabul’s airport, engulfed in panic as thousands of Afghans scramble desperate to get out following the Taliban takeover of the country. In one world, the 22-year-old would board a flight to a country she does not know, destined to become a

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago police say a 7-year-old girl was fatally shot and her 6-year-old sister was seriously wounded when someone opened fire as the siblings sat in a parked car. The 7-year-old was pronounced dead at a hospital after being shot Sunday afternoon and the Cook County medical examiner’s office identified her as Serenity

By JAY REEVES Associated Press Health officials have an unsteady partner as they try to get more people vaccinated against COVID-19 in the Bible Belt: churches and pastors. Some preachers are praying for more inoculations and hosting vaccination clinics. Others are skirting the topic of vaccines or openly preaching against them in a region that’s

By The Associated Press This week’s new entertainment releases includes an album from Lorde called “Solar Power” and Hugh Jackman starring in the sci-fi thriller “Reminiscence.” On the small screen, Sandra Oh is in charge in Netflix’s “The Chair” as Professor Ji-Yoon Kim, the first woman to head the English department at a small university

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai police and anti-government protesters have clashed for a second straight day in Bangkok as anger over the handling of the coronavirus pandemic continues to simmer. Police in riot gear fired a water cannon and tear gas to force back about 200 protesters as they approached Government House, where Prime Minister Prayuth

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Marc Maron, Bill Maher, Michelle Wolf, Ronny Chieng and Nick Kroll will headline this year’s New York Comedy Festival, which returns for laughs after last year’s event was canceled due to the pandemic. The weeklong festival this fall will also feature Michelle Buteau, Vir Das,

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The former head of the Food and Drug Administration says there is a strong case for restructuring the agency to shield it from outside pressure. Dr. Stephen Hahn took over as FDA commissioner just as COVID-19 plunged the agency into a period of political tumult.  His

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese prosecutors say Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu has been arrested on suspicion of rape. The high-profile case followed an accusation the singer had sex with a 17-year-old while she was drunk and lured young women into sexual relationships. A statement from prosecutors says Wu’s arrest was formally approved but gives no