AP National News

By BOB CHRISTIE Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is upping the pressure on the growing number of public school districts defying a state ban on mask mandates as they try to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The Republican governor announced Tuesday that schools won’t get any cash from a $163

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian officials say at least 1,150 people fled their homes in the country’s Choco province over the weekend to escape fighting between leftist insurgents and a paramilitary group that is expanding its influence in the region. The nation’s Human Rights Ombudsman said Tuesday that the clash involved armed members of the

HOUSTON (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped a murder charge against a Houston police officer for his role in a fraudulent drug raid that left two homeowners dead. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said Tuesday that the case against Officer Felipe Gallegos would be re-presented to the grand jury. That’s after concerns arose about the

By LEAH WILLINGHAM Associated Press/Report for America JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Missisippi, one of the nation’s least vaccinated states, has opened its second field hospital in days to treat a surge of coronavirus patients. The Christian charity relief group Samaritan’s Purse arrived in Mississippi has brought in more than 50 medical professionals and set up

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — A former Nevada prison inmate was sentenced Tuesday to three consecutive life sentences in the long-unsolved 1984 hammer killings of three Colorado family members, including a 7-year-old girl, inside their suburban Denver home. Sixty-one-year-old Alex Ewing was convicted Aug. 6 of first-degree murder after a two-day trial in which prosecutors contended

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Treasury Department is releasing a shipment of tiles that were intended for a northern Virginia mosque but were confiscated at Dulles International Airport after they were determined to have violated sanctions on Iran. Word of the release came through the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which released a letter from the

By JAMIE STENGLE and JULIE WATSON Associated Press DALLAS (AP) — Across the U.S., the agencies that resettle refugees and volunteers are scrambling to help Afghan citizens who are fleeing their country after helping the U.S. during the 20-year war there. Russell Smith, CEO of Refugee Services of Texas, said they would typically get a

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON The Associated Press Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been criticized for efforts to ban mask mandates and vaccine passports. Meanwhile, he’s touting a COVID-19 antibody treatment in which a top donor’s company has invested millions of dollars. DeSantis has been promoting the effectiveness of the monoclonal antibody treatment sold by Regeneron. Filings

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peru’s foreign secretary has resigned amid criticism for comments he made about terrorism in the country in the late 20th century, leaving the new government of President Pedro Castillo less than a month after it assumed power. The presidency’s press office said in a statement that Foreign Affairs Secretary Héctor Béjar

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The family of one of the two men fatally shot during a demonstration against police violence in Kenosha, Wisconsin, has filed a federal civil lawsuit against local law enforcement, accusing officers of facilitating Kyle Rittenhouse’s attacks. Anthony Huber was participating in an Aug. 25 protest sparked by the police shooting of Jacob

NEW YORK (AP) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo has granted clemency to 10 people in his last days in office. Cuomo has issued pardons and clemencies on several occasions in recent years, with many of the pardons going to immigrants facing deportation, where a pardon could be beneficial to their attempts to be allowed to remain

ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) — Nearly 30 years after an infant girl’s stabbed body was found floating on a South Carolina river, authorities have announced the arrest of the child’s mother in connection with the death.  News outlets report 48-year-old Stacy Michelle Costner Rabon, of Rock Hill, South Carolina, faces a charge of homicide by

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The embattled chair of the Minnesota Republican Party says she won’t resign amid the uproar over the indictment of a major GOP donor on sex-trafficking charges. Jennifer Carnahan said on KNSI and WCCO Radio that the people calling for her ouster are the same ones who opposed

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Kingdom is calling for an immediate and sustained pause in clashes and unrest that have followed the military takeover in Myanmar in order to allow vaccinations against a third wave of COVID-19 that is ravaging the country. Britain’s deputy U.N. ambassador told reporters

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — As the new school year begins for Texas students, at least four school districts have had to temporarily close campuses due to COVID-19 outbreaks. The shutdowns are taking place as more school districts and communities continue this week to defy Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask

By JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press CLEVELAND (AP) — A major Thai asphalt company has been implicated for money laundering in a criminal complaint against a Miami businessman accused of violating U.S. sanctions for doing maintenance work on Venezuela’s fleet of Russian fighter jets. Jorge Nobrega was arrested Sunday at Miami’s international airport. A criminal complaint

By CARLOS VALDEZ and JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivia’s past interim government came to power by sidestepping constitutional rules for presidential succession and relied on systematic torture to persecute opponents in the tumultuous aftermath of Evo Morales’ resignation in 2019. That’s according to a new report by independent human rights

By RANDALL CHASE Associated Press DOVER, Del. (AP) — The judge presiding over the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy is considering whether the organization can pursue an $850 million agreement as the foundation for a reorganization plan. A three-day hearing ended Monday. The agreement involves the national Boy Scouts organization, about 250 local Boy Scout

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer If you’re flying on a plane or taking a train, be ready to keep wearing that face mask for a few more months. The Transportation Security Administration said Tuesday it will extend the face-mask rule on public transportation. The mandate was scheduled to expire Sept. 13 but will now

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina lawmakers have finalized legislation to raise the minimum age to get married in the state from 14 or 16. The Senate voted unanimously on Tuesday to accept House changes to the measure, which now goes to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper for his expected