AP-National

By MARCIO SANCHEZ Associated Press AGUANGA, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters aided by aircraft are battling to contain a wind-driven wildfire that has damaged or destroyed at least nine buildings in rural Southern California and forced authorities to issue evacuation orders for 4,000 residents. The Highland Fire is burning Tuesday near the Riverside County hamlet of

By MAURICIO SAVARESE AP Sports Writer SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Mental health and how athletes deal with it has become top of mind for athletes, coaches and sports executives alike. That’s even more so since the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 when American superstar gymnast Simone Biles skipped several title defenses in an attempt to protect

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s leader is defending the rules for the upcoming local elections as open and fair after an electoral overhaul effectively barred the city’s remaining pro-democracy activists from joining the race. The city’s largest pro-democracy party, the Democratic Party, will be absent in December’s district council

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A trial of New Zealand tourism operators accused of safety breaches after 22 people died in a 2019 volcanic eruption has ended with the last remaining defendant found guilty on one count. The three-month, judge-only trial against 13 groups already saw six plead guilty and

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal judge on Monday dismissed Brett Favre’s defamation lawsuit against fellow retired NFL player Shannon Sharpe, ruling that Sharpe used constitutionally protected speech on a sports broadcast when he criticized Favre’s connection to a welfare misspending case in Mississippi. U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett

By DAVID SHARP Associated Press LISBON FALLS, Maine (AP) — Communities that were sheltering in place in the aftermath of Maine’s shootings are beginning to move forward, with kids returning to school and residents celebrating Halloween. But dozens of family members are struck with loss, including a Maine woman who’s still waiting for the arrival

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Israel-Hamas war is spilling into Syria, fueled by growing instability, violence and a lack of progress toward a political solution to its 12-year conflict, the United Nations special envoy for the country said Monday. Geir Pedersen told the Security Council that, on top of

By MATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (AP) — A race that could determine control of Virginia’s state legislature will not be a standard battle between a Democrat and a Republican. It also features a credible independent candidate who happens to be a former stripper. And then there’s the write-in campaign of a right-wing restaurateur

By STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — In 1648, Margaret Jones, a midwife, became the first person in Massachusetts — the second in New England — to be executed for witchcraft, decades before the infamous Salem witch trials. Nearly four centuries later, the state and region are still working to come to grips with

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A little-known New York City jail believed to be the last operating prison ship in the country is set to shutter the week. The barge first arrived in the South Bronx in 1992 and was one of several floating jails used by the city at the

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press DENVER (AP) — Then-President Donald Trump could have mobilized the National Guard and other federal agencies to protect the U.S. Capitol once violence broke out on Jan. 6, 2021, a law professor testified Tuesday as a case to bar the former president from the 2024 ballot moved into a new

BEIJING (AP) — State media report the remains of former Chinese premier Li Keqiang are to be cremated on Thursday, with flags around the country to be flown at half-staff to mourn the official who helped guide the world’s second-largest economy for a decade. Li died Friday of a heart attack at 68. Mourners gathered

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Three astronauts have returned to Earth after six months aboard China’s orbiting space station. Jing Haipeng, Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao emerged from the return capsule at a Chinese space center Tuesday morning. They are reportedly in good health. The station’s new three-person crew arrived to

By DAVID BRANDT AP Baseball Writer PHOENIX (AP) — Corey Seager smashed a homer that rocketed off his bat at a speed few other mortals can match. Then he made a sliding stop and started a double play in the eighth inning that might have saved the game. The star shortstop is once again playing

By AUDREY McAVOY, REBECCA BOONE, GENE JOHNSON and CLAUDIA LAUER Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — An officer sprinted from house to house in the historic town of Lahaina, Hawaii, alerting people to the approaching inferno. Another coughed and swore as he drove through thick smoke past burning buildings with people he rescued crammed in the

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s Democratic U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer has announced that he won’t be running for reelection next year. Blumenauer has represented a solidly Democratic district that includes north and southeast Portland since 1996. He has served in public office for roughly five decades. He notably served on the House’s powerful Ways and

By MARK SHERMAN and MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats say they will subpoena Republican megadonor Harlan Crow and conservative activist Leonard Leo for more information about their roles in organizing and paying for luxury travel for Supreme Court justices. The announcement by Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee comes as

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB and LUJAIN JO Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — A watchdog group advocating for press freedom has said that the strikes that hit a group of journalists in southern Lebanon earlier this month, killing one, were targeted rather than accidental and that the journalists were clearly identified as press. Reporters Without Borders, or

By The Associated Press The United Auto Workers won at least partial victories on many of the key demands that led to the six-week strike against Ford, General Motors and Jeep maker Stellantis. The union has given some details of the deals, including a detailed explanation of the agreement it reached with Ford. The agreement