AP National News

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER and PATRICK QUINN Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union and for many the man who restored democracy to then-communist-ruled European nations, was saluted Wednesday as a rare leader who changed the world and for a time brought hope for peace among the superpowers. But

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s emergency services says one person has died after a three-story building under construction in northwestern Nigeria collapsed. Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency said. the victim died at the hospital where six others pulled from the rubble were treated and released. Nura Abdullahi, head of Kano’s

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The return of dragons has been a hit. Now it’s time for the return of the elves and dwarves. Amazon Studios is launching “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” an ambitious, years-in-the-making and very expensive salvo that will go head-to-head with another

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press Behind a closed chapel office door inside a federal women’s prison in California, a chaplain forced inmates seeking his spiritual guidance to have sex with him — exploiting their faith and their powerlessness behind bars for his own gratification, prosecutors said. James Theodore Highhouse, who pleaded

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer Catherine Deneuve is not that fond of reminiscing, even as she prepares to collect a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Venice International Film Festival. She tells reporters “we don’t have time to look backwards … This is our present and we have to continue to go forward.” At 78,

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street was pointing toward small gains before the opening bell on Wednesday as markets try to break a three-day selloff spurred by comments last week from Federal Reserve officials suggesting more interest rate increases were likely. Futures for the benchmark S&P 500 gained 0.4% and futures for the Dow industrials

GENEVA (AP) — Independent human rights experts working with the United Nations say Spain violated the political rights of members of the Catalan government and parliament by stripping them of their duties prior to any conviction following the illegal independence vote in the region five years ago. The Human Rights Committee, a group of 18

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea plans to challenge a World Bank tribunal’s order to pay $216.5 million plus interest to Texas-based Lone Star Funds in their dispute over the private equity firm’s sale of Korea Exchange Bank. Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon called the ruling unacceptable because there was no fault in the way

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press Behind a closed chapel office door inside a federal women’s prison in California, a chaplain forced inmates seeking his spiritual guidance to have sex with him — exploiting their faith and their powerlessness behind bars for his own gratification, prosecutors said. James Theodore Highhouse, who pleaded

BERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors have raided the office of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Frankfurt as part of a broader tax evasion investigation targeting numerous banks in Germany and beyond. Cologne prosecutors said Wednesday that dozens of investigators began searching the offices Tuesday of a Frankfurt-based financial institution and several auditing and tax firms.

By MARK PRATT Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — There is a silver lining to the drought affecting the northeastern U.S. that has frustrated farmers, dried up rivers and reservoirs, and brought water use restrictions and brush fires to the region. The arid conditions have benefited amusement parks, minor league baseball teams, construction contractors and other

CAIRO (AP) — A Sudanese official says flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains across much of Sudan have killed at least 100 people since the start of the rainy season in May. He says Wednesday the  downpours, which began earlier than normal this year, also injured at least 96 others. The United Nations says

LONDON (AP) — Buckingham Palace says Queen Elizabeth II will remain in Scotland, where she is taking her summer break, to receive Britain’s outgoing Prime Minster Boris Johnson and his successor next week. The 96-year-old monarch traditionally holds audiences with outgoing and incoming prime ministers at Buckingham Palace in London. Officials said Johnson will travel

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press LA PORTE, Texas (AP) — It’s the only surviving battleship that served in both world wars, having fought Nazis and the Japanese Army during World War II. But the greatest challenge in recent years for the USS Texas has been a leaky, rusty hull that at times forced workers

By ALICIA LEÓN Associated Press BUNOL, Spain (AP) — People from around the world pasted each other with tomatoes Wednesday as Spain’s famous “Tomatina” street tomato fight took place once again Wednesday following a two-year suspension because of the coronavirus pandemic. Workers on trucks unloaded 130 tons of over-ripe tomatoes along the main street of

By KATE ASHFORD of NerdWallet Continuing to work past the traditional retirement age gives many the opportunity to add more money to their nest egg — and delay taking Social Security, which will bump up their eventual benefits check. In May, 21.9% of Americans ages 65 and older were working, compared with 19.5% in May

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — It was a warm Saturday evening and a group of journalists had gathered at a Paris restaurant to enjoy the last weekend of summer. At sometime past midnight, phones around the table began to ring — seemingly all at once — as news desks contacted reporters and

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus has lifted the obligatory use of face masks in all indoor areas after the island nation’s top health official said epidemiological data have “significantly improved” amid the coronavirus pandemic. The country’s health minister said Wednesday the mask rule still applies to hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, pharmacies and public transportation. All