AP National News

By ROBERT BURNS and ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The last-minute decision to send 3,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan to help partially evacuate the U.S. Embassy is calling into question whether President Joe Biden can meet his deadline for fully withdrawing by the end of the month. The vanguard of a Marine contingent

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — The Tokyo Olympics have ended, but it’s still vacation season in Japan and many people are ignoring government requests to avoid travel and gathering at bars and restaurants even as the coronavirus spikes. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is pinning his hopes on vaccinations to slow the infections.

By LAURAN NEERGAARD and MATTHEW PERRONE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health regulators have authorized an extra dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines in people with weakened immune systems to better protect them from the virus. The announcement Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration applies to millions of Americans who take

By The Associated Press .

By REGINA GARCIA CANO and FABIOLA SANCHEZ Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — The government of Venezuela and its opposition have met for the first time in two years to look for a change in the South American nation’s prolonged political standoff. Both sides signed a memorandum of understanding Friday in Mexico City for talks

By MARIA VERZA Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Walking for hours through the gritty streets in the center of Mexico City, you can hear the daily urban soundtrack. It’s hard to imagine that some of these streets trace the outline of what was, five centuries ago, Tenochtitlan, where a great civilization flourished. The Aztec

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Torrential rain pounding southwestern Japan triggered a mudslide that swallowed four people and was threatening to cause flooding and more landslides in the region. The mudslide in Nagasaki prefecture hit two houses with four residents total. One was presumed dead when found, while another was seriously injured.

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand has long been associated with “The Lord of the Rings” but with the filming of a major new television series suddenly snatched away, the nation has become more like Mordor than the Shire for hundreds of workers. In a major blow to the

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Sports Writer DYERSVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Tim Anderson hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning into the cornfield to end the Field of Dreams game in cinematic fashion. The Chicago White Sox outslugged the New York Yankees 9-8 in the first Major League Baseball game in Iowa. Aaron Judge and

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Samsung leader Lee Jae-yong walked out of prison a year early in a parole decision demonstrating the conglomerate’s outsized influence in South Korea as well as continuing leniency for bosses who commit corporate corruption. Lee bowed in apology over the anger ignited by his crimes,

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — A Texas death-row inmate has sued state prison officials to allow his pastor to lay hands on him as he dies from a lethal injection. John Henry Ramirez is scheduled to be put to death in the Texas death chamber on Sept. 8. His attorneys filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday

By ROB GILLIES Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — A source familiar with the plan told The Associated Press Canadian special forces will deploy to Afghanistan where Canadian staff in the Kabul embassy will be evacuated before closing. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Sports Writer The NCAA infractions committee decided against punishing Baylor for its mishandling of sexual assault allegations against athletes for a simple reason: Its rules don’t allow it. It was a jarring decision, even for members of the committee. The infractions committee says the question was whether athletes were given an

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Sports Writer DYERSVILLE, Iowa (AP) — The New York Yankees, the Chicago White Sox and fans all over were in awe at the scene at the Field of Dreams game. The two teams were picked to play among the cornfields, next to the filming site of the 1989 movie in Dyersville,

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s Asian population grew by 25% in the past decade, making it the fastest growing ethnic group in the nation’s most populous state, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau released Thursday. California’s white population plummeted by 24% between 2010 and 2020, confirming California

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Washington’s Supreme Court has issued a key decision that helps protect people who are living in their vehicles from having them towed. In a case that drew widespread attention amid Seattle’s housing crisis, the justices held that it was unconstitutionally excessive for the city to impound a

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is blocking part of New York’s moratorium on evictions, put into effect because of the coronavirus pandemic, less than a month before it is supposed to expire anyway. The legal issue is distinct from those surrounding a new moratorium that applies in most of the country that the Centers

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Texas’ most populous county has joined the legal battle by local officials seeking to override Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates and institute protections against COVID-19 as hospitals around the state continue to swell with patients sickened by the virus.  Harris County, where Houston is