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By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Official election campaigning started Friday for the next head of Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party. The winner will almost certainly become leader of the world’s No. 3 economy, shaping key political, military and security roles in the region. Two men and, unusually for Japan, two women are

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Official campaigning has begun for the new head of Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party, who typically becomes the national leader. Four candidates are competing in the Sept. 29 vote to replace outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who will quit when his term ends at the end of

By SARAH RANKIN and STEVE HELBER Associated Press GRUNDY, Va. (AP) — Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin clashed over abortion and vaccination policies in Virginia’s first gubernatorial debate of the general election season. Each sought to cast the other as extreme on major issues Thursday. The race is being closely watched as a

By BRIAN SLODYSKO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The architect of an upcoming Washington protest that aims to rewrite history about the violent January assault on the U.S. Capitol is hardly a household name. Matt Braynard toiled in obscurity in Republican politics for decades. But his fortunes changed with Donald Trump’s 2020 election defeat. He

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s decision to form a strategic Indo-Pacific alliance with Australia and Britain has angered France and the European Union with a go-it-alone move they see as a return to the Trump era. The new security initiative — to counter China — appears to have

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — With flames advancing toward the signature grove of ancient massive trees in Sequoia National Park, firefighters Thursday fought fire with fire. Using firing operations to burn out flammable vegetation and other matter before the wildfire was expected to arrive in the Giant Forest is one of

THREE RIVERS, Calif. (AP) — California wildfires have burned into at least four groves of gigantic ancient sequoias in national parks and forests. But cooler weather Friday helped crews trying to keep the flames away from a famous cluster containing the world’s largest tree. The fires lapped into the groves with trees that can be

By NOAH TRISTER AP Sports Writer LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Dustin Hopkins made a 43-yard field goal on an untimed down, and Washington defeated the New York Giants 30-29. Hopkins missed his first attempt to win the game, but he was given a reprieve when Dexter Lawrence was flagged for being offside. His next attempt

By HYUNG-JIN KIM and KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea’s recent sword-rattling after months of relative quiet makes clear that leader Kim Jong Un is working on expanding his weapons arsenal. Nuclear-capable missiles hidden in trains that can be launched anywhere along a railway. A new cruise missile that can

By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Opposition from some leading moderate Democrats over a $3.5 trillion budget proposal championed by the party’s most liberal, progressive wing has left the party grappling with deeper ideological questions. Fully embracing an unprecedented expansion of the federal social safety net could jeopardize the bill’s passage and ultimately

BEIJING (AP) — China has applied to join an 11-nation Asia-Pacific free trade group in an effort to increase its influence over international policies. The Commerce Ministry said Beijing submitted an application to New Zealand, which acts as a representative of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. The CPTPP previously was known as

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A 40-year-old woman has been charged with killing three young girls in a crime that has shocked New Zealand. Police did not immediately identify the woman but the Stuff news agency said she was the girls’ mother, Lauren Dickason, a doctor who had just moved

By ASTRID SUAREZ Associated Press ACANDI, Colombia (AP) — As borders open around the world after months of pandemic related lockdowns some illegal migration routes are also seeing an uptick in crossings. Muddy paths across the Darien jungle, where people can be swept away by rivers, have long been used by smugglers to take migrants

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By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A judge says prosecutors can’t argue a man who shot three people, killing two, during a protest against police brutality in Wisconsin is linked to the Proud Boys white nationalist group. Kyle Rittenhouse, of Antioch, Illinois, faces multiple charges in the August 2020 shootings in Kenosha.