News

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A SpaceX shipment of ants, avocados and a human-sized robotic arm is on its way to the International Space Station. A recycled Falcon rocket blasted off early Sunday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After hoisting the Dragon capsule, the first-stage booster landed

By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer TOKYO (AP) — Afghan athletes Zakia Khudadadi and Hossain Rasouli have arrived in Tokyo, via what’s been described as a harrowing journey from Kabul to Paris, to compete in the Paralympics. But for now, they are sequestered in the Paralympics Village alongside Tokyo Bay. Officials say they will not

By WAFAA SHURAFA Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Hundreds of Palestinians have ended a protest along Gaza’s separation fence with Israel. The protesters have been pressing ahead with a series of protests staged by the territory’s Hamas rulers aimed at pressuring Israel to ease a stifling blockade of the territory. Sunday’s demonstration was the second

By DARKO BANDIC Associated Press DUBROVNIK, Croatia (AP) — Summer tourism has exceeded even the most optimistic expectations in Croatia this year. Beaches along the country’s Adriatic Sea coastline are swarming with people. Guided tours are fully booked, restaurants are packed and sailboats were chartered well in advance. Croatia’s tourism industry was caught by surprise.

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer “Dune” is just one of the high-profile premieres coming to 78th Venice International Film Festival, which begins Wednesday on the Lido with new films from acclaimed directors like Jane Campion, Ridley Scott, Pedro Almodóvar, Paolo Sorrentino, Paul Schrader and Edgar Wright. Stars including Ben Affleck, Kristen Stewart, Penelope Cruz,

REBECCA SANTANA and MELINDA DESLATTE Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Southern Louisiana’s hospitals are packed with patients from the latest coronavirus surge. Now many of them are confronting another challenge — the Category 4 hurricane that slammed ashore Sunday. Hurricane Ida struck as hospitals and their intensive care units were filled with patients with

By REBECCA SANTANA, KEVIN McGILL and JANET McCONNAUGHEY Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Louisiana sheriff’s office has reported the first death from Hurricane Ida. The Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office says on Facebook that deputies responding to a report of someone injured by a fallen tree at a home in Prairieville confirmed the person

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Biden administration officials say the United States has the capacity to evacuate the approximately 300 U.S. citizens remaining in Afghanistan who want to leave before President Joe Biden’s Tuesday deadline. That commitment comes as another U.S. drone strike against suspected Islamic State militants highlights the

By PAUL DAVENPORT Associated Press Writer PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona’s top court is eliminating the longstanding practice of allowing lawyers in criminal and civil trials in state courts to remove potential jurors without explanation. The move by the Arizona Supreme Court in an order dated Tuesday and released Friday is one that proponents said would

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hurricane Nora has weakened to a tropical storm as it causes floods and landslides along Mexico’s Pacific coast. At midday Sunday, it passed just inland of the Mazatlan resort area as a Category 1 hurricane, then veered into the Gulf of California and weakened into a tropical storm. The Jalisco state

By BEN FOX Associated Press JEREMIE, Haiti (AP) — U.S. military aircraft are ferrying food, tarps and other material into southern Haiti amid a shift in the international relief effort to focus on helping people hit by the recent earthquake to make it through hurricane season. Aircraft flying out of the capital of Port-au-Prince arrived