AP National News

By AIJAZ HUSSAIN and SHEIKH SAALIQ Associated Press SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Syed Ali Geelani, an icon of disputed Kashmir’s resistance against Indian rule and a top separatist leader who became the emblem of the region’s defiance against New Delhi, has died at 91. Geelani died at his home in the region’s main city of

By JOHN RABY Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A part-time police officer and former firefighter in West Virginia has been indicted on federal civil rights charges involving two victims, including a teenage girl who was allegedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted. Christopher Osborne was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Charleston. Prosecutors say

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Paramount Pictures on Wednesday postponed the release of “Top Gun: Maverick,” sending another of the fall’s top movies out of 2021 due to the rise in coronavirus cases and the delta variant. Instead of opening Nov. 19, the “Top Gun” sequel, starring Tom Cruise, will

By AL-HADJI KUDRA MALIRO Associated Press BENI, Congo (AP) — Rebels in eastern Congo have ambushed a civilian convoy that was under military escort and killed five people. At least 20 others are still being held hostage late Wednesday. The army said it had been able to free 60 others during the attack in Congo’s

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Israel Buendía sat up in the bed closest to the window, a machine forcing oxygen into his nose. He’d been at the Hospital Ajusco Medio for two weeks and now he was marveling at the sound of his own voice. Just last Friday, Buendía had felt

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Joe Biden will visit Louisiana later this week to survey storm damage from Hurricane Ida. It was the fifth most powerful storm to strike the U.S. when it hit Louisiana on Sunday with maximum winds of 150 mph (240 kph), likely causing

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts select board has ruled that it does not have the authority to fire the police officer that kept a photo of Adolf Hitler in his locker for two decades. The Berkshire Eagle reports that board chair Andrew S. Hogeland says that even if the board had the authority to

By TATIANA POLLASTRI and DAVID BILLER Associated Press SAO PAULO (AP) — Packages have only just started reaching doorsteps in Sao Paulo’s second-biggest favela, Paraisopolis. It’s thanks to a bespectacled 21-year-old with a degree in information technology. Inspired by community-led distribution of food kits and donations during the pandemic, Giva Pereira founded a logistics startup

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Police in northwestern Nigeria say gunmen have attacked another remote school, kidnapping 73 students. Wednesday’s attack prompted authorities to close all primary and secondary schools across Zamfar state. The latest abductions come just days after Nigerians celebrated the release of three different groups of young hostages

By BRYAN ANDERSON Associated Press/Report for America RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina House Republicans have given final legislative approval to a bill to limit how teachers can discuss certain racial concepts inside the classroom. The proposal would prohibit teachers from compelling students to personally adopt any ideas from a list of 13 beliefs. The

By LUIS ANDRES HENAO, PETER SMITH and MARIAM FAM Associated Press America’s major religious faiths and denominations, often divided on other big issues, are preparing to receive an influx of refugees from Afghanistan. Among those gearing up to help are Jewish and Islamic groups; conservative and liberal Protestant churches; and prominent Catholic relief organizations. The

By TOM HAYS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — One of R. Kelly’s accusers has told a jury that he kept a gun by his side while he berated her before forcing her to give him oral sex in a Los Angeles music studio. The testimony came Wednesday at the R&B singer’s sex-trafficking trail in

NEW YORK (AP) — Authorities say a 9-year-old boy was killed and more than a dozen people were injured in a fire caused by an electric scooter that was charging overnight. New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said Wednesday that firefighters worked “heroically” to remove 14 people from the Queens building where the fire

By KEN MILLER Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma judge says she is temporarily blocking a state law banning public school mask mandates, but that personal exemptions to mask-wearing will be required. Judge Natalie Mai’s ruling Wednesday drew praise from Gov. Kevin Stitt, who opposes mask mandates without exemptions, and Dr. Mary Clarke,

BERLIN (AP) — The World Health Organization has inaugurated a new “hub” in Berlin that aims to help prepare the globe better to prevent future pandemics. The U.N. health agency’s director-general and Germany’s chancellor cut the ribbon to launch the new WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence. WHO says Germany is making an initial

By TOM FOREMAN Jr. Associated Press WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say one student was killed in a shooting at a North Carolina high school and a suspect has been taken into custody. Winston-Salem police Chief Catrina Thompson fought back tears at a Wednesday afternoon news conference as she said the student died at the

By CURT ANDERSON AP Legal Affairs Writer A judge has ordered the examination of a proposed land swap to allow for an on-site memorial to the victims of the Florida beachfront condominium collapse. Many survivors and victim family members of the Champlain Towers South collapse oppose a memorial at a nearby Miami Beach park. The

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says he is heading to the region around Afghanistan in a push to rescue stranded British citizens and Afghan allies. Raab didn’t provide any details, citing security reasons, but he is expected to visit Pakistan for talks on establishing routes out of

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The authoritarian leader of Belarus says the country will soon receive a large batch of Russian weapons, including dozens of combat jets, helicopters and top-of-the-line air defense missile systems. President Alexander Lukashenko announced the expected acquisition as Russia and Belarus prepare to conduct joint war games

By MICHAEL PHILLIS, SUMAN NAISHADHAM and TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press Before reaching the seawalls, levees and other flood controls that shield New Orleans, Hurricane Ida’s storm surge also encountered natural barriers that can help blunt the impact of storms. Natural defenses like wetlands have their limits — especially with major events like Ida. But experts