News

By TAMEEM AKHGAR, RAHIM FAIEZ and JOSEPH KRAUSS Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban have completed their sweep of Afghanistan’s south. They took four more provincial capitals Friday in a lightning offensive that brought them closer to Kabul, just weeks before the U.S. is set to officially end its two-decade war. In just

By CALEB JONES and VICTORIA MILKO Associated Press WAIMEA, Hawaii (AP) — Huge wildfires highlight the dangers of climate change-related heat and drought for many communities throughout the U.S. West and other hotspots around the world. But relatively small fires on typically wet, tropical islands in the Pacific are also on the rise. These fires

By MICHAEL HILL Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s two-year “look-back window” closes this week. It allows people who claim they were abused long ago to sue churches, hospitals, camps, scout groups and schools. The tidal wave of more than 7,600 lawsuits could deliver a financial blow to Catholic dioceses and other organizations.

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press No racial or ethnic group dominates for people under age 18 in the newly released 2020 census figures. In the overall U.S. population, white people declined in numbers for the first time on record. And Hispanic and Asian populations boomed last decade. These were some of the findings from Thursday’s

By KEN RITTER Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — A coronavirus pandemic mask mandate in Nevada has drawn a federal lawsuit from attorneys seeking class-action status for claims that the constitutional rights of thousands of parents and children at Las Vegas-area schools are being violated. The complaint filed Thursday against Gov. Steve Sisolak, state Attorney

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Australian government says it remains seriously concerned about the welfare of a Chinese-born Australian journalist a year after she was first detained in China. Foreign Minister Marise Payne used the first anniversary of Cheng Lei’s detention on Aug. 13 to tell China that Australia expects

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) — Police in central Florida say a toddler fatally shot a woman while she was on a work-related video call. News outlets report the woman was the mother of the young child who found a loaded gun Wednesday and opened fire. Altamonte Springs police say another person on the video call

BEIJING (AP) — Flooding in central China continues to cause havoc in both cities and rural areas. Authorities said Friday that another 21 people had been killed and another four were missing. Floodwaters rose to 3.5 meters (11.4 feet) in Hubei province’s Liulin township following heavy rains that began Wednesday. The latest deaths add to

By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Officials are investigating one possible heat-related death in Oregon from a Pacific Northwest heat wave. Emergency room visits for heat-related illness also have risen sharply as sweltering temperatures gripped the normally temperate Pacific Northwest for the second time this summer. Hot weather and wildfire smoke will

By EUGENE GARCIA and DAISY NGUYEN Associated Press WESTWOOD, Calif. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service said Friday it’s operating in crisis mode, fully deploying firefighters and maxing out its support system as wildfires continue to break out across the U.S. West. The agency says it has more than twice the number of firefighters working

By ALAN FRAM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Prospects seem increasingly dicey for a bipartisan Senate deal on overhauling policing practices. Deadlocked lawmakers have left the Capitol for August recess. Congress will have to devote much of its time this fall to handling President Joe Biden’s drive for huge pots of social, environment and infrastructure

By ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Even as President Joe Biden becomes more aggressive in pressuring Americans to get vaccinated, he has refrained from using all his powers. He’s held off, for instance, on proposals to require vaccinations for all air travelers or, for that matter, the federal workforce. The result is a

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