AP National News

By DAVID KOENIG and ALI SWENSON Associated Press DALLAS (AP) — When Southwest Airlines canceled more than 2,000 flights over the weekend, unsupported claims blaming vaccine mandates began taking off. The airline cited bad weather and air traffic control issues. But Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, as well as other Conservative politicians and pundits,

BEIJING (AP) — Hong Kong has suspended schools, stock market trading and government services as a typhoon passes to the south. Forecasters say Typhoon Kompasu could cause flooding in low-lying areas as it passes the territory while moving toward China’s Hainan island and Vietnam. The typhoon had winds of 51 miles per hour with stronger

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer Shares are mixed in Asia after an up-and-down day on Wall Street ended with most benchmarks lower as traders waited for updates on inflation and corporate earnings. Stocks fell in Tokyo, Sydney and Shanghai but rose in Seoul. Hong Kong was closed for a holiday. The S&P 500 fell

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Walgreens says it will close five more stores in San Francisco next month because of organized retail theft. The drugstore chain has closed at least 10 stores in the city since the start of 2019. San Francisco is fighting an embarrassing reputation for brazen shoplifting. This summer, masked shoplifters carried off

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s High Court has dismissed an intellectual freedom claim by a university physicist who was fired in part over his public statements that scientists exaggerated damage to the Great Barrier Reef caused by climate change. Physicist Peter Ridd had argued he was unlawfully dismissed in 2018 by James Cook University in

SOLVANG, Calif. (AP) — A major Southern California highway remained closed by a growing blaze driven by intense winds.  At least 200 firefighters battled the Alisal Fire. By Tuesday, the blaze had scorched 21 square miles along coastal Santa Barbara County and remained completely uncontained. In Northern California, fire crews increased containment of a blaze

BEIJING (AP) — China’s imports slowed while exports accelerated in September, customs data showed Wednesday, pushing the trade surplus higher on sustained demand in the U.S. and Asia. Exports rose 28.1% to $305.7 billion. That was faster than the 26% increase logged in August. Imports rose 17.6% to $240 billion, slowing from a 33% jump

By JULIE WATSON Associated Press A recording shows that the pilot of a twin-engine plane was repeatedly warned to fly straight and to climb before he crashed into a San Diego suburb, killing himself and someone on the ground. An air traffic controller repeated warnings more than a dozen times to Dr. Sugata Das before

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Tropical Storm Pamela is picking up momentum in the Pacific off Mexico and forecasters say it should be back to hurricane strength again before striking the coast north of the port of Mazatlan on Wednesday morning. Pamela weakened to a tropical storm Tuesday afternoon. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says the

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Two-time Olympic champion Shim Suk-hee has been cut from South Korea’s short track speedskating team after a reported text message exchange that suggested she may have intentionally tripped a teammate during the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang. The Korea Staking Union is preparing to launch

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Distance runner Mary Cain, whose career fizzled after what she called four miserable years at the Nike Oregon Project, has filed a $20 million lawsuit against her former coach, Alberto Salazar, and their employer, Nike. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Cain accused Salazar of emotionally abusing her when she joined the team at

By HYUNG-JIN KIM and KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A North Korean soldier clad in a super-tight blue outfit in a state media photo has generated a buzz on social media, with some calling him “a superhero,” “a captain DPRK,” or “a rocket man.” He was among nearly 30 soldiers who

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hurricane Pamela has weakened to a tropical storm off Mexico’s Pacific coast. But forecasters say it is expected to regain strength overnight and make landfall as a hurricane near the port of Mazatlan on Wednesday. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Pamela’s center was about 170 miles (275 kilometers) west-southwest of

By ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says the U.S. will reopen its land borders to nonessential travel next month, ending a 19-month freeze due to the COVID-19 pandemic. International visitors will need to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. Vehicle, rail and ferry travel between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government has announced the death of Raúl Isaías Baduel, a former Venezuelan defense minister and ally-turned-critic of the late President Hugo Chávez who was in prison awaiting trial since 2017 for alleged links to a purported plot to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro. Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced Tuesday via

DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines appears to be fixing problems that caused the cancellation of nearly 2,400 flights over the previous three days. By midday Tuesday, Southwest had canceled fewer than 100 flights, although more than 400 others were running late. That’s according to tracking service FlightAware. Southwest says bad weather and air traffic control

ST. PETER, Minn. (AP) — A private college in Minnesota has renamed its arboretum that honored an 18th-century Swedish botanist who has been criticized for classifying humans in a way now seen as racist. The 120-acre greenspace at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter has been known as the “Linnaeus Arboretum” since 1988. It recognized

ST. PETER, Minn. (AP) — A private college in Minnesota has renamed its arboretum that originally honored an 18th century Swedish botanist who has been lambasted for promoting racist scientific theory. The 120-acre greenspace at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter has been known as the “Linnaeus Arboretum” since 1988. It recognized Carl Linnaeus, who

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — One by one, South Africa’s former president listed African countries where the failure to deal with diversity was a root cause of conflict, from the Biafran war in Nigeria in the late 1960s to the current clashes in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. Thabo Mbeki also cited