AP-National

By ANITA SNOW Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — A historic heat wave that has gripped the U.S. Southwest throughout July, blasting residents and baking surfaces like brick, is beginning to abate with the late arrival of monsoon rains. Forecasters expect that by Monday, people in metro Phoenix will begin to see high temperatures fall under

By CAROLYN THOMPSON Associated Press CHAUTAUQUA, N.Y. (AP) — For a single, unthinkable moment last summer, the Chautauqua Institution was a hostile place for the freedom of expression that has been its hallmark for 150 years: As Salman Rushdie was about to speak, an audience member leapt onto the stage and stabbed the celebrated author

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico man who confessed to five bank robberies last year, including one bank he robbed twice, has been sentenced to more than two years in prison. Jason Smeltzer made off with a total of less than $4,000 during the five robberies over five weeks in early 2022. The 41-year-old

By RENATA BRITO, ELAINE GANLEY and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press When Mbengue Nyimbilo Crepin regained consciousness after collapsing in the desert, the sun had already set. Tunisian authorities had violently forced him, his wife and their 6-year-old daughter across the border to Libya by foot without water, in the blazing heat, he said. Nyimbilo crumpled

By MICHAEL PHILLIS, BEATRICE DUPUY and REBECCA BLACKWELL Associated Press KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) — In the sweltering summer heat, nobody tries to cool off by jumping into a hot tub. In parts of Florida, however, that’s what the ocean has felt like. Earlier this week, sea surface temperatures reached as high as 101.2 degrees

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron is visiting his Sri Lankan counterpart in the first visit by a French leader to the Indian Ocean island nation. The two discussed an open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region Saturday, along with politics, maritime activities and climate change. Macron’s visit follows his trip to the South

By MAX RALPH Associated Press AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand striker Hannah Wilkinson has helped create two milestones at the Women’s World Cup. With her 48th-minute goal in the tournament opener against Norway, she led the co-host Football Ferns to their first win in six trips to the Women’s World Cup. She’s also

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers broke for their August recess this week with work on funding the government largely incomplete, fueling worries about whether Congress will be able to avoid a partial government shutdown this fall. Congress has until Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year, to act on

By CHRISTINE FERNANDO Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Leading up to the 2020 election, Facebook ads targeting Latino and Asian American voters described Joe Biden as a communist. A local station claimed a Black Lives Matter co-founder practiced witchcraft. Doctored images showed dogs urinating on Donald Trump campaign posters. None of these claims was true,

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Former Puerto Rican boxer Félix Verdejo has been found guilty on two charges related to the death of his 27-year-old pregnant lover. The jury could not agree on verdicts for two other charges Friday after a 25-week trial in which the jury heard gruesome details about the April 2021

By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Typhoon Doksuri weakened into a tropical storm late night Friday after bringing heavy rain and winds that left more than a million people without power in southern China. After making landfall Friday morning in southern Fujian province, where at least 400,000 people were evacuated, the storm

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The troubled brother of the late NFL player Aaron Hernandez was charged Friday, now in federal court, with new counts of threatening and stalking after authorities say he threatened to shoot up the University of Connecticut and kill three people in another state. Dennis Hernandez was ordered to be held in

By NOMAAN MERCHANT and TARA COPP Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Pentagon official has attacked this week’s widely watched congressional hearing on UFOs, calling the claims “insulting” to employees who are investigating sightings and accusing a key witness of not cooperating with the official U.S. government investigation. Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick’s letter, published on

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Four air crew members are missing after an Australian army helicopter ditched into waters off the Queensland state coast during joint military exercises with the United States. Officials said on Saturday that the MRH-90 Taipan helicopter went down near Lindeman Island on the Great Barrier Reef at

By JOHN RABY Associated Press During a two-month break in the a cappella group Pentatonix’s world tour, baritone Scott Hoying became a newlywed. He also broke out on his own, with his most personal music to date. The 31-year-old Grammy winner sings from the heart about falling in love and losing his best four-legged friend

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Racing will resume at Churchill Downs in September, with no changes being made after a review of surfaces and safety protocols in the wake of 12 horse deaths, including seven in the days leading up to the Kentucky Derby in May. The Louisville track suspended racing operations on June 7 and

By JANIE HAR and HAVEN DALEY Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The city of San Francisco has opened a complaint and launched an investigation into a giant “X” sign that was installed Friday on top of the downtown building formerly known as Twitter headquarters as owner Elon Musk continues his rebrand of the social

BERLIN (AP) — Police say three people were shot and killed at a residential building in southern Germany on Friday and another two wounded in a nearby house. A suspect has been arrested. The shooting took place Friday evening in Langweid, just outside the Bavarian city of Augsburg. Police said the suspect, a 64-year-old man,