AP National News

By SOPHIA TAREEN Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Five years after Barack Obama chose a Chicago site for his presidential center, construction has officially begun in the historic lakefront park. The Obama Presidential Center says roadway improvements and construction start Monday on a 19 acre site near the family’s home and the University of Chicago

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer Alabama is No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 preseason college football poll for fourth time in the past six seasons. The Crimson Tide are the defending national champions. Alabama received 47 of 63 first-place votes from sports writers and broadcasters who vote in the poll

By HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer Edgar Villanueva is on a mission to change philanthropy. The 44-year-old racial justice activist argues institutionalized philanthropy in America perpetuates practices that marginalize minority communities. Villanueva says he came to that conclusion after his many years of working in philanthropies from Washington state to North Carolina. Through his book,

By KRISTIN M. HALL AP Entertainment Writer NASHVILLE, Ten.. (AP) — R&B legend Ray Charles, who helped redefine country music in the Civil Rights era, and Grammy-winning duo The Judds will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The Country Music Association on Monday announced the new class of Hall of Fame members,

By DARIA LITVINOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — An Afghan military plane crashed in Uzbekistan over the weekend and Uzbek authorities issued conflicting reports on the cause. That came as dozens of Afghan military aircraft carrying hundreds of servicemen reportedly reached Uzbekistan, among the thousands fleeing after the Taliban recaptured Kabul. The plane crash in

By SYLVIA HUI and LORNE COOK Associated Press LONDON (AP) — European leaders say they will press for a unified international approach to dealing with a Taliban government in Afghanistan, as they looked on with dismay at the rapid collapse of two decades of a U.S.-led Western campaign in the country. British Prime Minister Boris

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s government says its ambassador to Israel will remain in Poland until further notice. The move comes after Israel downgraded diplomatic ties with Warsaw and strongly criticized a new Polish law that restricts the rights of Holocaust survivors and others to reclaim property seized by the

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press A young Afghan woman stands between two worlds at Kabul’s airport, engulfed in panic as thousands of Afghans scramble desperate to get out following the Taliban takeover of the country. In one world, the 22-year-old would board a flight to a country she does not know, destined to become a

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago police say a 7-year-old girl was fatally shot and her 6-year-old sister was seriously wounded when someone opened fire as the siblings sat in a parked car. The 7-year-old was pronounced dead at a hospital after being shot Sunday afternoon and the Cook County medical examiner’s office identified her as Serenity

By JAY REEVES Associated Press Health officials have an unsteady partner as they try to get more people vaccinated against COVID-19 in the Bible Belt: churches and pastors. Some preachers are praying for more inoculations and hosting vaccination clinics. Others are skirting the topic of vaccines or openly preaching against them in a region that’s

By The Associated Press This week’s new entertainment releases includes an album from Lorde called “Solar Power” and Hugh Jackman starring in the sci-fi thriller “Reminiscence.” On the small screen, Sandra Oh is in charge in Netflix’s “The Chair” as Professor Ji-Yoon Kim, the first woman to head the English department at a small university

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai police and anti-government protesters have clashed for a second straight day in Bangkok as anger over the handling of the coronavirus pandemic continues to simmer. Police in riot gear fired a water cannon and tear gas to force back about 200 protesters as they approached Government House, where Prime Minister Prayuth

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Marc Maron, Bill Maher, Michelle Wolf, Ronny Chieng and Nick Kroll will headline this year’s New York Comedy Festival, which returns for laughs after last year’s event was canceled due to the pandemic. The weeklong festival this fall will also feature Michelle Buteau, Vir Das,

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The former head of the Food and Drug Administration says there is a strong case for restructuring the agency to shield it from outside pressure. Dr. Stephen Hahn took over as FDA commissioner just as COVID-19 plunged the agency into a period of political tumult.  His

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese prosecutors say Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu has been arrested on suspicion of rape. The high-profile case followed an accusation the singer had sex with a 17-year-old while she was drunk and lured young women into sexual relationships. A statement from prosecutors says Wu’s arrest was formally approved but gives no

By DARIA LITVINOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — A court in Moscow has sentenced another ally of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny to 1½ years of parole-like restrictions in a controversial case targeting opposition supporters in the wake of mass protests earlier this year. Kira Yarmysh was found guilty of inciting people to violate coronavirus

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — An appellate court in Poland has rejected a lawsuit brought against two Holocaust scholars in a case that has been closely watched. Their case has been expected to serve as a precedent for research into the highly sensitive issue of Polish behavior toward Jews during World

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — New York-based Human Rights Watch is urging the United Nations to lead an independent investigation into the alleged disappearances of government critics and others at the hands of security forces in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi and global human rights groups have long raised such allegations, which have been  denied by the government of

By ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer LONDON (AP) — Nine of the teams who were part of the ill-fated launch of a breakaway Super League have been welcomed back into the decision-making organization overseeing the European club game. Six English clubs — Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham — will be

NEW YORK (AP) — Megan Rapinoe is such a fan of #MeToo pioneer Tarana Burke that the soccer star chose Burke’s upcoming memoir, “Unbound,” for her new online book club before she had even read it. Rapinoe says she’s sure whatever Burke is writing will be worth reading. Rapinoe has made several choices for her