AP National News

By JIM HEINTZ Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Before Mikhail Gorbachev came along, the Soviet Union seemed an immovable superpower in perpetual antagonism to the United States. With a breathtaking series of reforms, Gorbachev changed all that — and redirected the course of the 20th century. Alongside Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, Gorbachev was a

By TERRY SPENCER Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Testimony at his penalty trial showed that Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz went through middle school frequently cursing at teachers and making threats. Testimony presented Tuesday also showed that his drawings of gunshot victims so disturbed one teacher that she kept them for years and

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. political chief is warning that failure to resolve Libya’s political crisis and hold delayed elections poses a growing threat in the country. Rosemary DiCarlo pointed to violent clashes Saturday that killed at least 42 people and injured 159 others according to Libyan authorities.

By JIM HEINTZ Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, has died at 91. He waged a losing battle to salvage a crumbling empire but produced extraordinary reforms that led to the end of the Cold War. The Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow said in a statement that

By COLLEEN SLEVIN Associated Press DENVER (AP) — A prison psychologist and a psychiatrist say a mentally ill man charged with killing three people and wounding eight others at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic in 2015 could be made well enough to stand trial if he is given anti-psychotic medication. They testified Tuesday during a

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $2.6 million in COVID-19 relief funds. Court records show that 35-year-old Daniel Joseph Tisone pleaded guilty Monday in Fort Myers federal court to wire fraud, bank fraud, illegal monetary transaction and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. He faces

By AARON MORRISON Associated Press President Joe Biden says he hopes his proposal to forgive federal student loans will narrow the nation’s racial wealth gap. But a generation of Black and Hispanic Americans was disproportionately shut out of one of the keys to Biden’s plan: the Pell Grant program. As part of the “war on

By MICHAEL TARM AP Legal Affairs Writer CHICAGO (AP) — Prosecutors rested their case Tuesday at R. Kelly’s federal trial in Chicago after presenting two weeks of testimony, including from four Kelly accusers, in their bid to prove the singer enticed underage girls for sex, produced child pornography and successfully rigged his 2008 state trial.

By BEN FINLEY Associated Press NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A judge in Virginia has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to declare two books as obscene for children and to restrict their distribution to minors by booksellers and libraries. The books in question were “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe and “A Court of Mist

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A House oversight subcommittee wants regulators and industry leaders to explain what they are doing to stop cryptocurrency fraud and other scams perpetrated on consumers. On Tuesday, Illinois Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, head of the Economic and Consumer Policy subcommittee, asked leaders of the Treasury Department, Securities and

By The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Charlbi Dean, the South African actor and model who had a breakout role in “Triangle of Sadness,” which won this year’s top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, has died at age 32. Dean died Monday at a hospital in New York from a sudden unexpected illness,

By JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — A Los Angeles attorney detained in Venezuela is pleading for help from the Biden administration, saying in a jailhouse message that he feels forgotten by the U.S. government as he faces criminal charges at the hands of one of the nation’s top adversaries. Eyvin Hernandez, who has

NEW YORK (AP) — “60 Minutes” leads for Aug. 22-28 in television’s prime-time ratings as measured by the Nielsen company, in another quiet week for the television industry. The CBS newsmagazine beat out the week’s two editions of “America’s Got Talent” on NBC, traditionally the most popular prime time program during the summer months. Otherwise,

By DAVID PITT Associated Press The small northwest Iowa city of Sheldon planned to make the opening of a time capsule one of the centerpiece events of its 150th anniversary this weekend, but it ran into a slight problem. No one is sure where the time capsule is buried. “We’re trying to find instructions on

By JIM SALTER Associated Press The Missouri Supreme Court has reprimanded St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner for mistakes made in the 2018 prosecution of then-Gov. Eric Greitens, but agrees with an advisory counsel’s decision that suspension of her law license or disbarment are not merited. The brief ruling Tuesday from the state’s high court

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A three-story building under construction has collapsed in Nigeria’s northwestern Kano state. That has trapped some shoppers who were already doing business on its ground floor. Eight people trapped in the debris have so far been rescued, according to the head of Nigeria’s National Emergency Management

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal of a $25 million judgment awarded to a business that successfully claimed it was libeled by Oberlin College. The court on Tuesday did not explain why it won’t accept the appeal. The 9th District Court of Appeals in late March upheld

By ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A man who was beaten and held down by Arkansas law enforcement officers during an arrest outside a convenience store has filed a lawsuit over the encounter. Attorneys for Randal Worcester filed the lawsuit on Monday over the 27-year-old’s arrest on August 21 that’s prompted

By COLLEEN SLEVIN Associated Press DENVER (AP) — A prison psychologist says a mentally ill man charged with killing three people and wounding eight others at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic in 2015 is substantially likely to be made well enough to stand trial if he is given anti-psychotic medication. She testified Tuesday during a

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates says it will grant visas to those holding tickets to the World Cup in neighboring Qatar. The UAE said in a statement Tuesday that those registered for Qatar’s Hayya fan card will be able to apply for multiple-entry visas 19 days before the tournament starts.