AP National News

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Demolition of a 19th-century church in Philadelphia has begun following a yearslong battle by some neighbors to save the crumbling structure. Crews last week surrounded the 140-year-old St. Laurentius Church with scaffolding, fencing and barricades. KYW reported that neighbors gathered Wednesday to get their final look. They took pictures and pointed to

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A potential tropical storm is heading for the U.S.-Mexico border area, and could cause rains and flash flooding in northeastern Mexico and south Texas. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Saturday that potential Tropical Cyclone Four was located about 165 miles (270 kilometers) south-southeast of the mouth of the

LONDON (AP) — Almost 2,000 workers at the U.K.’s biggest container port will launch an eight-day strike Sunday over a pay dispute. It’s the latest industrial action to hit the U.K. economy, which is struggling with high inflation and soaring prices for food and fuel. Workers including crane drivers and machine operators will walk off

By SAM METZ Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Survivors and faith leaders are demanding Utah change a law that exempts religious leaders from requirements that they report sexual abuse brought to their attention in spiritual confessions. Reform advocates on Friday held a rally in Salt Lake City to share stories of survivors who

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The fast-food chain Wendy’s says it is pulling lettuce from sandwiches in its restaurants in Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania after people eating them there reported falling ill. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday it is trying to determine whether romaine lettuce is the source of an E. coli

By SUSAN HAIGH Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Republicans have found success in Democratic strongholds like Maryland and Massachusetts when they have fielded moderate candidates who could appeal to voters in both parties. With Democrats facing headwinds this year, Republicans had hoped that strategy could pay off yet again. But Republican voters have nominated

By KOSTYA MANENKOV and KARL RITTER Associated Press HELSINKI (AP) — In a leaked video, Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin is seen dancing and singing with friends at a private party. The 36-year-old leader poses for the camera. She sits on her knees, hands behind her head. She’s entangled in a group hug. She’s having

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The first surprise, for the Finnish conscripts and officers taking part in a NATO-hosted military exercise in the Arctic this spring: the sudden roar of a U.S. Marine helicopter assault force, touching down in a field right next to the Finns’ well-hidden command post. The second surprise:

By PAUL BYRNE and JOANNA KOZLOWSKA Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces stepped up their battle to seize one of the dwindling number of cities in embattled eastern Ukraine not already under their control while continuing to fire on towns and villages in the country’s north and south, Ukrainian officials said Saturday. Russian

ISTANBUL (AP) — Officials in southern Turkey say at least 15 people were killed when a passenger bus collided with emergency teams handling an earlier road accident. Three firefighters, two paramedics and two journalists were among those killed on the highway between Gaziantep and Nizip on Saturday, the interior minister said. The other eight fatalities

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, often knocks President Joe Biden for high inflation and a looming recession — a standard GOP argument going into the November elections. But inflation is even worse in major Texas cities than across the nation as a whole. Government figures show inflation is

By MARK PRATT Associated Press A bronze statue of an enslaved woman from Massachusetts who went to court to win her freedom in 1781 has been unveiled in the Berkshires. The statue of Elizabeth Freeman was unveiled Sunday during a ceremony in Sheffield that was expected to attract about 200 people. Freeman was inspired to

By MARK SCHIEFELBEIN Associated Press LONGQUAN, China (AP) — Hundreds of persimmon trees that should be loaded with yellow fruit lie wilted in Gan Bingdong’s greenhouse in southwestern China, adding to mounting farm losses in a scorching summer that is the country’s driest in six decades. Gan’s farm south of the industrial metropolis of Chongqing

By JADE LE DELEY Associated Press Family, friends and fans have paid tribute to French cartoonist Jean-Jacques Sempé, who died last week at age 89. Sempé’s work graced more than 100 covers of The New Yorker magazine and granted him international acclaim. In his native France, he found fame with illustrations for the classic “Le

By CARA ANNA Associated Press BULLA HAGAR, Kenya (AP) — The United States is stepping up to buy about 150,000 metric tons of grain from Ukraine in the next few weeks for an upcoming shipment of food aid from ports no longer blockaded by war, the World Food Program chief has told The Associated Press.

By KOSTYA MANENKOV and KARL RITTER Associated Press HELSINKI (AP) — In a leaked video, Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin is seen dancing and singing with friends at a private party. The 36-year-old leader poses for the camera. She sits on her knees, hands behind her head. She’s entangled in a group hug. She’s having

By YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese chemical tanker ship crashed into a cargo ship off the coast of southwestern Japan, the coast guard said Saturday. No one was injured among the six Japanese crew members aboard the tanker Ryoshinmaru and 14 Chinese crew members aboard the Belize-registered cargo ship Xin Hai