AP National News

By DANIEL COLE Associated Press LE CANNET-DES-MAURES, France (AP) — Winemakers are taking stock of the damage after a wildfire blazed through a once-picturesque nature reserve near the French Riviera. Rows of charred grapevines stand next to a vast expanse of steaming black vegetation devastated by the fire, which raged for a week in late

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Authorities say attackers believed to be West Papua rebels killed four soldiers and wounded two others at a military post in Indonesia’s troubled easternmost region. A military spokesman says about 50 attackers believed to be from the West Papua Liberation Army stormed the post and attacked the six soldiers with arrows,

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Angela Merkel will leave office as one of modern Germany’s longest-serving leaders and as a global diplomatic heavyweight. Her legacy has been defined by her management of a succession of crises that shook a fragile Europe rather than any grand visions for her own country. In 16

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press VENICE (AP) — Italian director Paolo Sorrentino is turning the camera on his own personal tragedy. Sorrentino’s autobiographical “The Hand of God” premieres Thursday at the Venice Film Festival. It recounts how his otherwise normal childhood in 1980s Naples was upended by the sudden, accidental death of his parents and

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese regulators have ordered ride-hailing platforms to correct unfair market tactics amid a crackdown on the internet sector that has spooked investors and shaved billions off the valuations of some of China’s biggest technology companies. Eleven platforms were ordered by year’s end to stop unfair competition tactics and practices such as recruiting

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets are mixed as investors await U.S. jobs numbers some appear to hope will be weak enough to persuade the Federal Reserve to postpone winding down economic stimulus. Tokyo advanced after Wall Street hit a record. Shanghai and Hong Kong declined. Mizuho Bank said

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN, DAVID PORTER and JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A stunned U.S. East Coast is facing a sobering death toll, surging rivers, tornado damage and continuing calls for rescue after the remnants of Hurricane Ida walloped the region with record-breaking rain. More than 40 deaths have been linked to

By AIJAZ HUSSAIN Associated Press SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Indian authorities have restricted public movement and cut communications in disputed Kashmir after the death of top separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani. Armed police and soldiers patrolled tense, barricaded streets while most Kashmiris remained locked inside their homes. The crackdown and near-blackout of communications are tactics

By KATHY GANNON Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — In the final days of the chaotic American airlift from Afghanistan, Javed Habibi, a green card holder from Richmond, Virginia, said he was getting emails and phone calls from the U.S. government promising that he, his wife and their four daughters would not be left behind.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Former first lady Michelle Obama and The Poor People’s Campaign have been chosen to receive Freedom Awards from the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. The museum said Wednesday that Obama and the campaign’s leaders, the Rev. William Barber and the Rev. Liz Theoharis, will be honored at a virtual

By REBECCA SANTANA, MELINDA DESLATTE and JANET McCONNAUGHEY Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Commercial flights have resumed in New Orleans and power has returned to parts of the business district in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. The progress comes four days after the storm slammed into the Gulf Coast. But electricity, drinking water and

By DON THOMPSON Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Last week, managers overseeing the fight against the massive wildfire scorching California’s Lake Tahoe region thought they could have it contained by the start of this week. But on Monday the Caldor Fire crested the Sierra Nevada, forcing the unprecedented evacuation of all 22,000 residents of

By JESSICA GRESKO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is denouncing the Supreme Court’s decision not to block a new Texas law banning most abortions in the state. He said Thursday he is directing federal agencies to do what they can to “insulate women and providers” from the impact. Hours earlier, in the

By ROBERT BURNS and LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Mark Milley, says it’s “possible” the U.S. will coordinate with the Taliban on any future counterterrorism strikes in Afghanistan against Islamic State militants or others. Milley says the Taliban is a “ruthless” group,

By MICHAEL BALSAMO, ERIC TUCKER and LISA MASCARO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Far right extremist groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers are planning to attend a rally later this month at the U.S. Capitol that is designed to demand “justice” for the hundreds of people who have been charged in connection with

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military pilots and aircrew who made the final flights out of Afghanistan say the sky was lit up with fireworks and sporadic gunfire and the airfield littered with battered shells of airplanes and destroyed equipment. In interviews with The Associated Press, one American said

By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee investigating the U.S. Capitol insurrection has requested that telecommunications and social media companies preserve the personal communications of hundreds of people who may have somehow been connected to the attack. It’s a sweeping public demand from Congress that is rare in its breadth

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE and CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY Associated Press Texas has become the latest state where Republicans have rolled back access to voting methods that soared in popularity during last year’s pandemic presidential election. It’s part of a wider GOP effort to tighten voting rules, fueled in part by former President Donald Trump’s falsehoods about

By TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer More companies are requiring COVID-19 vaccines and taking actions to motivate employees into getting their shots. Some may fire workers who don’t comply or charge them more for their health insurance. Employers also might limit business travel or perks like access to the company gym only to the vaccinated.