AP National News

By ROBERT BURNS AP National Security Writer BLACKSTONE, Va. (AP) — Civil War history casts a long shadow in Virginia, the birthplace of Confederate generals, scene of their surrender and now a crossroad of controversy over renaming military bases that honor rebel leaders. In and around the town of Blackstone, that shadow can stir passions

By STEVE PEOPLES, SARAH RANKIN and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press ASHLAND, Va. (AP) — Republican Glenn Youngkin is highlighting cases of alleged sex crime in schools to help repair the GOP’s standing in the Virginia suburbs, where educated moms and dads have turned against Donald Trump’s Republican Party. Youngkin’s suburban strategy emphasizes an approachable image

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump struggled during his first year in office to get his nominees confirmed in a timely fashion in the Senate. President Joe Biden is faring even worse. Biden has seen about 36% of his nominees confirmed by the Senate. Trump had a success rate

By LISA MASCARO and HOPE YEN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — White House proposals for new taxes on billionaires and certain corporations to help pay for President Joe Biden’s big domestic policy bill is drawing the backing of Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin. A person who insisted on anonymity to discuss Manchin’s position tells The Associated

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A slightly strengthened and compact Hurricane Rick is closing in on Mexico’s southern Pacific coast, heading toward a predicted landfall late Monday morning amid warnings of potential flash floods in the coastal mountains. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Rick had maximum sustained winds of 90 miles per hour (150 kph)

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets rose Monday after Wall Street slipped and China tightened travel controls in some areas in response to coronavirus infections. Shanghai and Hong Kong advanced while London and Frankfurt opened higher. Tokyo declined. On Wall Street, futures for the S&P 500 index and the

By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin judge may decide at a hearing whether use-of-force experts can testify at Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial for shooting three people during a protest against police brutality in Kenosha last year. Monday’s hearing is likely the last before Rittenhouse goes on trial Nov. 1 . He

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Sudanese officials say military forces have detained at least five senior government officials, and the main pro-democratic political group called on people to take to the streets to counter an apparent military coup. The Sudanese Professionals’ Association also said there were internet and phone signal outages in

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s president says he’ll keep striving to promote peace with North Korea through dialogue until the end of his term next May, after Pyongyang raised animosities with a resumption of provocative weapons tests. In his final policy speech at parliament, President Moon Jae-in said

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hurricane Rick has strengthened a bit while heading for Mexico’s southern Pacific coast, where it is expected to make landfall Monday. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Rick had winds as high as 90 miles per hour (150 kph) and was expected to hit somewhere in the area from the seaport

BEIJING (AP) — A northwestern Chinese province heavily dependent on tourism has closed all tourist sites after finding new COVID-19 cases. Gansu lies along the ancient Silk Road and is famed for the Dunhuang grottoes filled with Buddhist images and other religious sites. China counted 35 new cases Monday, four of them in Gansu. China

By YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Boxers, janitors, fishermen, the heroes of Keisuke Yoshida’s movies are Japanese society’s angst-filled losers, struggling in an imperfect world. The director and his three latest works are featured at the Tokyo International Film Festival opening Oct. 30. Yoshida told The Associated Press that what’s lacking in the

By LISA MASCARO and HOPE YEN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin appears to be on board with White House proposals for new taxes on billionaires and certain corporations to help pay for President Joe Biden’s big domestic policy bill. A person who requested anonymity to discuss Manchin’s position tells The Associated

By EILEEN NG and JIM GOMEZ Associated Press KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Southeast Asian leaders are holding their annual summit with world leaders this week but without Myanmar’s top general. He has been shut out for refusing to take steps to end the deadly violence sparked by his seizure of power in February. Myanmar

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hurricane Rick has strengthened a bit while heading for Mexico’s southern Pacific coast, where it is expected to make landfall Monday. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Rick had winds as high as 90 miles per hour (150 kph) and was expected to hit somewhere around the seaport of Lazaro Cardenas

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that a fifth National’s party minister will join his Cabinet as part of deal to cement the junior coalition partner’s support for a national target of zero net carbon emissions by 2050. The National party’s in-principle support for the target

By AYA BATRAWY Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A former senior Saudi security official who helped oversee joint counter-terrorism efforts with the U.S. claims the kingdom’s crown prince once spoke of killing a sitting Saudi monarch before his own father was crowned king. The former official, Saad al-Jabri, did not provide evidence

By ANNA LIZ NICHOLS Associated Press/Report for America HART, Mich. (AP) — More than 100 people gathered in a small Michigan town to pray for the safe release of a local family among 17 members of a missionary group kidnapped by a gang in Haiti more than a week ago. The vigil Sunday evening in

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A powerful storm barreled toward Southern California after flooding highways, toppling trees and causing mud flows in areas burned bare by recent fires across the northern part of the state. Drenching showers and strong winds accompanied the arrival of an atmospheric river — a long and wide plume of moisture pulled

By HOPE YEN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden spent hours Sunday at his home in Delaware with two pivotal senators as they seek to resolve the disputes over the Democrats’ wide-ranging social safety net and environmental bill. The White House calls Biden’s time with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and West Virginia