AP National News

By ROD McGUIRK Asspociated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s prime minister has urged China to allow detained Chinese-born Australian journalist Cheng Lei to make her first contact with her children in more than two years. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday renewed his government’s call for Cheng to have access to her family after

By STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Attorney General Maura Healey won the Democratic primary for Massachusetts governor on Tuesday, bringing her one step closer to becoming the first openly gay candidate and first woman elected to the state’s top political office — eight years after she was elected the nation’s first openly gay

By JULIE WATSON Associated Press SAN DIEGO (AP) — The escape of the Malaysian defense contractor at the center of one of the Navy’s biggest corruption scandals is as stunning and brazen as the case itself. U-Haul trucks were seen at his home in a tony San Diego neighborhood before Leonard Glenn Francis, known as

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s defense minister says he has ordered a ministry-wide special investigation into growing reports of sexual assault after allegations of harassment were brought by a former soldier. Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada’s order came after a female former soldier requested a reinvestigation of an alleged assault by former

By DANICA KIRKA and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Liz Truss became U.K. prime minister on Tuesday and immediately faced up to the enormous tasks ahead of her: curbing soaring prices, boosting the economy, easing labor unrest and fixing a national health care system burdened by long waiting lists and staff shortages. Truss

By STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Attorney General Maura Healey won the Democratic primary for Massachusetts governor on Tuesday, bringing her one step closer to becoming the first openly gay candidate and first woman elected to the state’s top political office — eight years after she was elected the nation’s first openly gay

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Boris Johnson’s term as British leader was a mix of high drama and low disgrace. But he left office Tuesday with a casual shrug of a farewell, saying: “Well, this is it, folks.” The prime minister’s final speech outside 10 Downing Street was vintage Johnson — a

By JANET McCONNAUGHEY Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Louisiana congressman says an animated horror comedy featuring Danny DeVito as the voice of Satan is “clearly evil.” Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson wrote on Monday that he quickly turned off the TV to shield his 11-year-old when a trailer for “Little Demon” aired Sunday

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle Public Schools canceled Wednesday’s first day of school after teachers voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike over issues that include pay, mental health support, and staffing ratios for special education and multilingual students. Seattle Education Association President Jennifer Matter announced Tuesday that 95% of ballots returned

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s unprecedented monsoon season and flooding have killed hundreds of people and made hundreds of thousands homeless. The rains now threaten a famed archeological site dating back 4,500 years. Curator Ahsan Abbasi said on Tuesday that flooding has not directly hit Mohenjo Daro, a UNESCO World Heritage

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Police have released a photo of a vehicle that may be linked in the fatal stabbing of a Las Vegas newspaper’s investigator reporter. They also said Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German apparently was killed Friday and not Saturday as police previously reported. The 69-year-old German was found stabbed to death

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A record-setting heat wave is making life miserable in the West and brought California perilously close to ordering rolling blackouts as customers trying to keep cool strain the power system. Temperatures hit an all-time high of 116 Tuesday in Sacramento, California, while Reno, Nevada and Salt

By MEG KINNARD, CURT ANDERSON and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A little-known federal judge appointed to the bench two years ago by Donald Trump is in the spotlight this week over her decision to hand the former president a major procedural win. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon granted

By MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico state district court judge has disqualified county commissioner and Cowboys for Trump cofounder Couy Griffin from holding public office. State District Court Judge Francis Mathew issued a ruling Tuesday that permanently prohibits Griffin from holding or seeking local or federal office. Griffin

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency has denied a request by Cheniere Energy, a leading U.S. producer of liquefied natural gas, to exempt two Gulf Coast plants from a federal air pollution rule. An EPA spokesman says the agency on Tuesday denied Cheniere’s request to waive a rule that

By MARC LEVY Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz is teaming up with U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey to publicly call on his Democratic rival in Pennsylvania, John Fetterman, to participate in a debate. Holding a news conference in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Oz questioned Fetterman’s readiness for office and criticized

By JOHN O’CONNOR AP Political Writer SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Republican candidate for Illinois governor, Darren Bailey, is promising to restore the death penalty and repeal a criminal justice overhaul that will eliminate cash bail, following a Labor Day weekend that left 11 dead in Chicago. The state senator from Xenia met privately in

By CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden ended the summer on a legislative winning streak, chalking up victories that once appeared out of reach in this polarized capital. Now he wants to make sure voters reward him for that when they cast ballots in November’s big congressional elections. It’s a tough

By STEFANIE DAZIO, FRANK BAJAK and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A ransomware attack targeting the huge Los Angeles Unified School District over the Labor Day weekend prompted an unprecedented shutdown of the district’s information technology systems as authorities scrambled to trace the perpetrators and restrict potential damage. Schools in the nation’s