AP-National

By SUMAN NAISHADHAM Associated Press Carpets of yellow, orange and gold flowers are beginning to cover Southern California’s vast deserts, the Bay Area’s dramatic bluffs and even near Los Angeles International Airport. But do they add up to a “superbloom”? There is no single definition of the event, but so far this year’s blooms haven’t

By ISABEL DEBRE and ALMUDENA CALATRAVA Associated Press ROSARIO, Argentina (AP) — The order to kill came from inside a federal prison near Argentina’s capital. Unwitting authorities patched a call from drug traffickers tied to one of the country’s most notorious gangs to collaborators on the outside. Hiring a 15-year-old hit man, they sealed the

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Police in Tennessee say nine people were shot — including two men who were killed — at an unsanctioned public party in a Memphis city park. Police Chief Cerelyn Davis says officers responded early Saturday evening to a reported shooting in Orange Mound Park. Two men were pronounced dead at the

By MOHAMED SHARUHAN Associated Press MALE, Maldives (AP) — Maldivians voted in parliamentary elections Sunday, in a ballot crucial for President Mohamed Muizzu, whose policies are keenly watched by India and China as they vie for influence in the archipelago nation. Both countries are seeking a foothold in the Maldives, which has a strategic location

GONZALO SOLANO QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador’s fledgling president got a resounding victory Sunday in a referendum that he touted as a way to crack down on criminal gangs behind a spiraling wave of violence. An official quick count showed that Ecuadorians overwhelmingly voted “yes” to all nine questions focused on tightening security measures, rejecting

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen is expected to take the stand as the prosecution’s star witness in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president. The witnesses in the New York hush money case include porn actor Stormy Daniels, a former

BERLIN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A young brother and sister died and several people were injured, some of them seriously, when a vehicle driven by a suspected drunken driver crashed into a young child’s birthday party Saturday at a boat club, a Michigan sheriff said. An 8-year-old girl and her 5-year-old brother died at the

NEW YORK (AP) — Police in New York City say a knife attack on a crowded party boat at a pier in Brooklyn has resulted in the hospitalization of three people. Detective Sophia Mason says a 911 call came in around 5 p.m. Saturday reporting the assault at a pier along the Brooklyn waterfront. The

GOVERNMENT CAMP, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s historic Timberline Lodge, which featured in Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film “The Shining,” will reopen to guests Sunday after a fire that prompted evacuations but caused only minimal damage. The lodge said Saturday in a Facebook post that it will support guests while repairs are being done, as well as

By DAVID KOENIG AP Business Writer DALLAS (AP) — The United Auto Workers’ overwhelming election victory at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee is giving the union hope that it can make broader inroads in the South, the least unionized part of the country. The UAW won a stunning 73% of the vote at VW after

GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — Police say three of the five youths shot in a suburban Washington, D.C., park during a high school “senior skip day” gathering have been released from the hospital, while the condition of the most seriously injured student has improved. The Greenbelt, Maryland, police department is still seeking information about Friday’s shootings

By MAYSOON KHAN and ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York lawmakers have approved a $237 billion state budget that includes plans to spur housing construction, combat unlicensed marijuana stores and address the migrant crisis. The package also includes measures such as expediting the closure of some state prisons and addressing the

By The Associated Press Roman Gabriel had big size and a big arm when he was the No. 2 draft pick of the Los Angeles Rams in 1962. Even while playing in an era of grinding it out on the ground, he still holds the Rams’ team record with 154 touchdown passes. Gabriel, the first

By The Associated Press The House’s $95 billion foreign aid package provides military aid to Ukraine and Israel, replenishes U.S. weapons systems and gives humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza. After House approval Saturday, it heads to the Senate, where it’s expected to pass in the coming week. President Joe Biden has promised to sign

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — A Fort Wayne city councilwoman has been chosen as the new mayor of Indiana’s second most populous city, and its first Black leader, during a caucus to replace its late mayor, who died in March. Councilwoman Sharon Tucker, a Democrat, will also become the second woman to serve as mayor

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A police official in Kabul says a sticky bomb has killed one person and wounded three others. Saturday evening’s blast happened in the mostly Shiite neighborhood of Kot-e-Sangi, a bustling commercial and residential area. The bomb was attached to a car and killed the driver. The police official didn’t say if

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Country music star Morgan Wallen, who faces charges stemming in part from accusations that he threw a chair off the rooftop of a six-story bar, says he’s “not proud” of his behavior and accepts responsibility. The “One Thing at a Time” singer responded publicly Friday night on social media to his

MIAMI (AP) — Venezuela’s opposition is rallying behind an unknown former diplomat to challenge Nicolas Maduro in this summer’s presidential election. It’s the latest gambit to unseat the self-declared socialist, whose lock on power seems all but assured. On Friday night, all 10 parties in the chief opposition coalition announced they would back Edmundo González

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to China this coming week as Washington and Beijing try to keep ties on an even keel despite major differences on a range of issue, from the Middle East to opioids. The U.S. and China are at odds over

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Two Japanese navy helicopters carrying eight crew members have crashed in the Pacific Ocean south of Tokyo during nighttime training in a possible collision, leaving one dead. Rescuers on Sunday searched for seven others missing. Defense Minister Minoru Kihara says the cause of the crash was not