AP-National

By REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuadorians put aside fears of leaving their homes amid unprecedented violence and voted for a new president Sunday in a special election that was heavily guarded by police and soldiers in part due to the assassination of a presidential candidate this month. No candidate received

By JEFF AMY Associated Press CUMMING, Ga. (AP) — When Allison Strickland urged a suburban Atlanta school board in June to remove four books from school libraries, she was following a path cleared by Georgia’s Republican lawmakers. But after the bitterly debated Georgia law took effect Jan. 1, The Associated Press found few book challengers

By SONIA PÉREZ D. and CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN Associated Press GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Outsider Bernardo Arévalo appeared to be the “virtual winner” of Sunday’s election to be Guatemala’s next president after voters angry at widespread corruption and leaders’ failure to tackle it made a decisive choice for change. A potential victory by the progressive candidate

By HALLIE GOLDEN Associated Press Inside a jail cell at Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico, Albertyn Pino’s only plan was to finish the six-month sentence for public intoxication, along with other charges, and to return to her abusive boyfriend. That’s when she was offered a lifeline: An invitation to the tribe’s Healing to Wellness Court.

By DAVID KEYTON Associated Press NYHAMNSLÄGE, Sweden (AP) — It’s mid-afternoon in late summer and a fresh North Sea breeze blows through the vines at Kullabergs Vingård, a vineyard and winery at the vanguard of producers seeking to redefine what Swedish wine can be. Scandinavia isn’t exactly what connoisseurs would define as prime wine country

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant Sunday and said an impending release of treated radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean cannot be postponed. He said the move is safe but his government will do its utmost to support fishing communities from the

FORT PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota Democratic Party has ousted Jennifer Slaight-Hansen as state chair amid accusations that she violated party rules and created a hostile work environment for staff. The party’s State Central Committee voted 57-0 with two abstentions Saturday, to remove Slaight-Hansen. She can appeal. If her appeal is rejected, a

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russia reported an “abnormal situation” Saturday on its moon-bound Luna-25 spacecraft, which launched earlier this month. The country’s space agency, Roscosmos, said the spacecraft ran into unspecified trouble while trying to enter a pre-landing orbit, and that its specialists were analyzing the situation. “During the operation, an abnormal situation occurred on

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. State Department has imposed visa restrictions on 100 more Nicaraguan officials for their role in supporting the regime of President Daniel Ortega. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote in his social media accounts Saturday that his office has imposed visa restrictions on 100 Nicaraguan officials “who restrict Nicaraguans’ human

PASADENA, Texas (AP) — A man suspected of sexually assaulting and killing an 11-year-old girl before stashing her body under her bed in her family’s suburban Houston apartment has been arrested, police said Saturday. The 18-year-old man was identified as a person of interest Friday. The Pasadena Police Department said in a statement Saturday that

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A judge has agreed to allow the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas to intervene in a lawsuit that seeks to force the state to list the sex that people were assigned at birth on their driver’s licenses. Attorney General Kris Kobach filed a lawsuit last month seeking to compel the

BOSTON (AP) — Communities across New England were picking up Saturday a day after a spate of tornadoes swept through the region. Four tornadoes were confirmed Friday in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and the National Weather Service was investigating a possible fifth in eastern Connecticut. Friday’s strong winds knocked down trees, damaged homes, flooded roadways

Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A mistake made by a hot air balloon pilot who had drugs including cocaine in his system caused a crash in 2021 in New Mexico that killed all five people on board, investigators have determined. The National Transportation Safety Board said in its final report released this week that

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A statement from Ohio State’s wrestling coach says two-time Big Ten champion Sammy Sasso has been shot in Columbus. The statement says Sasso is in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The Columbus Dispatch reports that police said a call came in around 8:30 p.m. Friday for a shooting near the University

SAYREVILLE, N.J. (AP) — A power outage that cut electricity to a New Jersey community a week ago was due to an unlikely culprit — a fish that was apparently dropped by a bird and landed on a transformer, officials said. Sayreville police said Jersey Central Power and Light Company workers working on the Aug.

MEDICAL LAKE, Wash. (AP) — A fast-moving wildfire in eastern Washington state has destroyed at least 185 structures, closed a major highway and left one person dead. The blaze began shortly after midday Friday on the west side of Medical Lake, a town west of Spokane. A Washington State Department of Natural Resources spokesperson says

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Howard Hubbard, a retired Catholic bishop who acknowledged covering up allegations of sexual abuse in his upstate New York diocese and recently married a woman in a civil ceremony, has died after suffering from a massive stroke. He was 84. He passed away at Albany Medical Center on Saturday after being