AP National News

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s highest volcano on its most densely populated island released searing gas clouds and rivers of lava Sunday in its latest eruption. Monsoon rains eroded and finally collapsed the lava dome atop 3,676-meter (12,060-foot) Mount Semeru, causing the eruption, according to National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari. Several villages were

By ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — China has reported two additional deaths from COVID-19 as some cities move cautiously to ease anti-pandemic restrictions following increasingly vocal public frustrations. The National Health Commission said Sunday one death was reported each in the provinces of Shandong and Sichuan. China is the last major country

ATLANTA (AP) — Just what the Dr ordered. Two college students each wound up winning $100,000 in tuition Saturday, shortly after boos filled Mercedes-Benz Stadium because of a confusing ending in a halftime contest during the SEC championship game. Fans at the LSU-Georgia game jeered when one of the competitors appeared to capture the Dr

By TARA COPP Associated Press ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he wants to keep the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in place to protect the health of the troops, as Republican governors and lawmakers press to rescind it. This past week more than 20 Republican governors sent a letter

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli military said aircraft struck several military sites in the Gaza Strip hours after Palestinian militants fired a missile into southern Israel in a move apparently linked to rising tension in the occupied West Bank. The military said the early Sunday airstrikes targeted a weapons manufacturing facility and

PHOENIX (AP) — Jim Kolbe, who represented Arizona in Congress for more than two decades, has died. A statement from Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s office says Kolbe died Saturday at the age of 80. Kolbe was elected to the U.S. House in 1984, serving 11 terms before he retired. In Congress, he often was at

ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) — The listing agent for the Victorian home featured in the “The Goonies” film in Astoria, Oregon, said this week the likely new owner is a fan of the classic coming-of-age movie about friendships and treasure hunting, and he promises to preserve and protect the landmark. The 1896 home with sweeping views

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous, is getting a new sheriff. Robert Luna took a ceremonial oath of office Saturday to head the county Sheriff’s Department. He promised to focus on integrity and collaboration. Luna takes charge after the turbulent single term of Alex Villanueva, which was marked by clashes

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — The government of El Salvador sent 10,000 soldiers and police to seal off a town on the outskirts of the nation’s capital Saturday to search for gang members. The operation was one of the largest mobilizations yet in President Nayib Bukele’s nine-month-old crackdown on street gangs that long extorted

By JENNA FRYER AP National Writer AL RAYYAN, Qatar (AP) — The United States soccer team captivated the nation with its brief World Cup run. That run ended Saturday with a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands in the round of 16. The second-youngest team at the tournament played only four games but it was enough

By Tara Copp Associated Press SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — The U.S. is at a pivotal point with China and will need military strength to ensure that American values, not Beijing’s, set global norms in the 21st century, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday. Austin’s speech at the Reagan National Defense Forum capped a week

By MAURICIO SAVARESE AP Sports Writer SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilian soccer great Pelé is responding well to treatment for a respiratory infection and his health condition has not worsened over the latest 24 hours, the Albert Einstein hospital said Saturday. The 82-year-old Pelé has been at the hospital since Tuesday. “I’m strong, with a

PARADISE, Texas (AP) — A 7-year-old Texas girl has been found dead, two days after being reported missing, and a FedEx delivery driver arrested in her death, authorities said. The body of Athena Strand was found Friday and Tanner Lynn Horner, 31, was arrested on kidnapping and murder charges after confessing to killing the girl

BANGOR, Maine (AP) — A jury in Maine has awarded a former state trooper $300,000 after determining the state police wrongly retaliated when he raised concerns about its intelligence gathering work. George Loder filed a whistleblower lawsuit claiming he was reassigned and then denied a transfer after he took his concerns about the Maine Intelligence

ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) — Scientists along the West Coast are seeking action to help sunflower sea stars recover from catastrophic population declines. The Astorian reports experts say a wasting disease epidemic that started in 2013 has decimated about 95% of the population from the Aleutian Islands of Alaska to Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. The source

By The Associated Press Noodles, a senior pug who predicted on social media whether it would be a bones day or a no bones day, has died, according to his owner. Jonathan Graziano posted on Instagram on Saturday that his 14-year-old dog died Friday, calling it a “day I always knew was coming but never

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s state health commissioner will resign Jan. 1 after 13 months in the job to return to Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Mary Bassett said in a statement Friday that she was “leaving now so the next commissioner can have the chance to lead this great department