AP National News

By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — State election officials say they are confronting a myriad of challenges heading into the 2022 midterm elections. That includes threats of foreign interference and ransomware along with changes to election laws and concerns of physical safety. And they continue to deal with a wave

By MICHAEL BALSAMO, NOMAAN MERCHANT and MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s top general said Sunday that the United States could now face a rise in terrorist threats from a Taliban-run Afghanistan. That warning comes as intelligence agencies charged with anticipating those threats face new questions after the U.S.-backed Afghan military collapsed

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press The chop of U.S. military helicopters whisking American diplomats to Kabul’s airport has punctuated a frantic rush by thousands of other foreigners and Afghans to flee to safety as well, as a stunningly swift Taliban takeover reached Afghanistan’s capital. U.S. reports of gunfire at the airport Sunday

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algerian authorities say they have detained 36 people in the mob killing and burning of a man in a town in the country’s Kabyle region that the crowd wrongly suspected of starting dozens of wildfires. The head of the judicial police said Sunday that the victim had gone to the town

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland’s capital city gave honors this weekend to the late author Alex Haley and his extended family on the centennial of his birth. The family of the writer of “Roots” received keys to the city of Annapolis on Saturday. Haley completed genealogical research that led him to discover he was a

By KATHY GANNON Associated Press President Ashraf Ghani has quietly slipped out of Afghanistan, a lonely figure after seven years as president. The isolated Ghani abandoned the presidential palace Sunday with only a coterie of confidants. His style of rule was often characterized as cantankerous and arrogant, rarely heeding the advice of his government and

By HOPE YEN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The director of the National Institutes of Health is warning of tough days ahead amid surging COVID-19 infections. Dr. Francis Collins says the U.S. could decide in the next few weeks whether to offer coronavirus booster shots to more Americans this fall. Among the first to receive

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A man who drew worldwide sympathy and support after his wife was killed in the mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart has died. An El Paso funeral home says Antonio Basco died Saturday. A representative of Perches Funeral Home said no other details are immediately available. Basco and Margie

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — “Free Guy,” an action comedy starring Ryan Reynolds as a background character in a videogame, opened better than expected over the weekend. It collected an estimated $28.4 million in ticket sales despite a marketplace challenged by a few weeks of declining audiences and underwhelming debuts

By MICHAEL BALSAMO and MARINA VILLENEUVE New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul is considering two New York City Democrats for the lieutenant spot when she assumes the governor’s role later this month. That’s according to a person familiar with the matter tells The Associated Press who could not publicly discuss the internal deliberations and spoke

By FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) — Veteran Zambian opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema appears on the verge of clinching the country’s presidency, with a commanding lead in votes. The 59-year old businessman, contesting the presidency for the sixth time, has more than 2.3 million votes to President Edgar Lungu’s 1.4 million votes, according

CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) — The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline jumped 3 cents over the past three weeks, to $3.25 per gallon. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey says Sunday that gas prices could stop climbing now that crude oil costs have started to fall. The price at the pump is a

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A second person has died from flooding caused by monsoon-type rains in far western Texas and southern New Mexico and Arizona. A family spokesman said a 2-year-old girl died Friday of injuries she suffered in the collapse of a basement wall at her family’s El Paso home. The girl’s 65-year-old

ISTANBUL (AP) — The death toll in Turkey’s severe floods this week has climbed to at least 62 people Sunday. Torrential rains that pounded northwestern Black Sea provinces on Wednesday caused flooding that demolished homes, severed bridges, swept away cars and rendered numerous roads unpassable. Turkish disaster agency AFAD said 52 people were killed in

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A woman who has accused New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of inappropriate behavior has added her voice to those criticizing state lawmakers for not pushing forward with impeachment proceedings. In a tweet Sunday, Charlotte Bennett says Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie’s decision to end the probe sends a message that sexual harassment

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Work has begun to make a museum out of the crumbling Alabama church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was elected to his first leadership position in the civil rights movement. King was 26 when he was chosen to lead the Montgomery Improvement Association in 1955, on the first day

By JENNIFER O’MAHONY MADRID (AP) — At least 800 people in Spain have been evacuated as forest fires were burning in two regions. Extremely dry conditions were worsening the fire risks during the hottest weekend of the year so far. Two planes, a helicopter and 200 firefighters were dispatched to the province of Ávila in

By AYA BATRAWY Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — One young woman in Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul described the anxiety, fears and dashed hopes her generation feels as embassies evacuate staff and the government all but crumbles. But Sunday wasn’t supposed to be like this. In the morning, she made her way to

By ROB GILLIES Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has triggered an election amid a new wave of COVID as he seeks to capitalize on Canada being one of the most fully vaccinated countries in the world.  Trudeau is seeking to win a majority of seats in Parliament. His Liberal Party fell

JERUSALEM (AP) — A massive wildfire outside of Jerusalem has sent a thick cloud of smoke over the city as authorities struggle to contain the blaze. The cloud stretched over much of the city on Sunday afternoon. It covered the skies overhead with a black and orange blanket of smoke and remained out of control