AP National News

AP Film Writer “ A Quiet Place: Day One ” is making noise at the box office. The prequel earned an estimated $53 million in its first weekend in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday. It’s both a franchise best and significantly more than expected. Going into the weekend, prerelease tracking had “Day

Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Two large wildfires are burning Sunday near Greece’s capital of Athens, and authorities have sent emergency messages for some residents to evacuate and others to stay at home to protect themselves from smoke. Wildfires have become an annual feature in the Mediterranean. Earlier this month, Greece and Turkey saw

Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Some Venezuelans have cast mock votes in a rehearsal less than a month before the highly anticipated election in which President Nicolas Maduro seeks a third term. The test allows Venezuela’s ruling party to gauge its voter-mobilizing powers, which have significantly diminished during Maduro’s crisis-ridden presidency. The exercise is

Two people are dead after a shooting at a Virginia gym. Alexandria police say they responded to reports of shots fired at a OneLife Fitness gym at about 4 p.m. on Saturday. The alleged shooter and a male victim were hospitalized but both were pronounced dead by the end of the night. OneLife Fitness confirmed

Associated Press NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania (AP) — Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani is on track to secure a second mandate, provisional results show. Ghazouani has positioned the country as a strategic ally of the West in a region swept by coups and violence and ran on a pledge to provide security and economic growth. He obtained

AP Sports Writer DENVER (AP) — The parade last June to honor the NBA champion Denver Nuggets was a day the city and 750,000 fans won’t soon forget. It also was a life-changing moment for police Sgt. Justin Dodge, the SWAT team supervisor who was providing security along the parade route when the fire truck

Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The English bulldog had never been featured prominently in West Virginia history, until now. Republican Gov. Jim Justice’s 4-year-old pure breed Babydog has joined the ranks of Abraham Lincoln, Civil War soldiers and odes to Appalachian folk music in new murals under the golden dome of the state Capitol.

AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — With summer having gotten off to a scorching start, workers across the country may be dreaming of a seaside escape or cutting out early to watch a movie in an air-conditioned theater. For some, that can be a reality. Business owners have found that offering summer hours –

Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Throughout Tim Scott’s life, people have offered him a hand to help him get ahead. Now the South Carolina senator is waiting to see if Donald Trump gives him another boost and makes him the vice presidential nominee. Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, is among those

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban is saying the West should look past their harsh edicts on Afghan women and girls to improve relations. No country officially recognies the Taliban as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan and the U.N. has said that recognition remains almost impossible while bans on female education and employment remain. But the

Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Beryl has restrengthened into an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm was located about 70 miles east of Grenada on Monday morning and had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph.

BERLIN (AP) — Authorities say weekend storms in Switzerland and northern Italy caused extensive flooding and landslides, leaving at least four people dead. Storms and heavy rain affected southern and western Switzerland on Saturday and overnight. There was a significant landslide in the Fontana area of the Maggia valley in the Italian-speaking Ticino canton on

Associated Press DONETSK REGION, Ukraine (AP) — Drone footage from Ukraine’s military released Sunday has shown what appears to be bodies in a civilian area in the embattled eastern town of Toretsk, which has come under heavy Russian bombardment in recent days. The attacks in the war-torn Donetsk region have prompted a scaled-up evacuation effort

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s upcoming general election is widely expected to lead to a change of government for the first time in 14 years. Many analysts believe it will be one of the country’s most consequential elections since the end of World War II. One significant election was the one in May 1979,