News

ADGER, Ala. (AP) — Two electric company employees contracted to work with Alabama Power were killed while working on storm restoration. WBMA-TV reports that the Pike Electric workers were on duty near an intersection in Adger, about 23 miles southwest of Birmingham, just before noon when the accident happened, according to the The Jefferson County

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel approved a series of measures easing its blockade of the Gaza Strip, including opening the main commercial crossing with the Palestinian enclave to imports. Wednesday’s announcement by COGAT, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, came as tensions have run high in recent weeks as Hamas activists have launched

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has warned U.S. climate envoy John Kerry that deteriorating U.S.-China relations could undermine cooperation between the two on climate change. Wang told Kerry by video link that such cooperation cannot be separated from the broader relationship and called on the U.S. to take steps to improve ties.

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets are higher as investors waited for U.S. jobs data that might influence when the Federal Reserve starts to wind down its stimulus. Shanghai and Hong Kong advanced. Tokyo, South Korea and Sydney declined. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index added 0.1%, pushed up

By JAY REEVES Associated Press HOUMA, La. (AP) — Main Street in the Louisiana town of Houma resembles a canyon of rubble after Hurricane Ida. Metal roofs peeled off buildings covered the sidewalks Tuesday, and red bricks from a collapsed building mingled with broken glass on a corner. A once shady square a block away

By GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press A federal bankruptcy judge has approved with conditions a historic opioid settlement between Purdue Pharma and thousands of local and state governments. The agreement accepted Wednesday caps a long-running legal drama involving a company that had come to symbolize the corporate culpability behind an epidemic that has claimed more than

By REBECCA SANTANA, MELINDA DESLATTE and JANET MCCONAUGHEY Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Residents of Louisiana communities hit hard by Hurricane Ida are seeing small signs of progress amid the need for a monumental recovery. About 11,000 people in New Orleans saw their lights come back on early Wednesday. But officials say full restoration

By JESSICA GRESKO, PAUL J. WEBER and MARK SHERMAN Associated Press The nation’s most far-reaching curb on abortions has taken effect in Texas, with the Supreme Court silent so far on an emergency appeal to put the law on hold. If allowed to remain in force, the law would be the most dramatic restriction on

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) — The wildfire threatening communities around Lake Tahoe has drawn what officials call an aggressive response to try to stop it from reaching areas, including the town of South Lake Tahoe, home to more than 20,000 people. The fire is named the Caldor Fire, after the road where it started

By TERENCE CHEA and MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) — While more than 20,000 people packed roads leading out of Lake Tahoe on Monday to flee the Caldor Fire closing in on the resort community, a handful of people decided to buck the mandatory evacuation orders and stay behind. In

By ROBERT BURNS and LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, say 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, and

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Response to disasters such as Hurricane Ida falls primarily to state and local officials, but the federal government is playing an important support role. It is making available millions of dollars in aid and coordinating with local officials and private relief groups for everything from meals to

By AAMER MADHANI, LYNN BERRY and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden used his first meeting with a foreign leader since ending the war in Afghanistan to send the message that the United States — unburdened of its “forever war”— is determined to become a more reliable ally to its friends.

By ROXANA HEGEMAN and ALLEN G. BREED Associated Press BOYDTON, Va. (AP) — U.S. farmers of color are battling in the courts to save a $4 billion debt relief program approved by Congress. Congress approved the debt relief for 16,000 farmers of color in March as part of a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package. The