AP National News

By TOM HAYS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The second week of the R. Kelly sex-trafficking trial in New York City proved to be an exercise by prosecutors to paint the “I Believe I Can Fly” R&B star as a man-child control freak and a compulsive sex offender who exploited vulnerable victims way less

ROME (AP) — Italian military vessels on Saturday aided a decrepit fishing boat crammed with 539 migrants that was approaching the tiny southern Italian island of Lampedusa. Alida Serrachieri, a nurse who runs the Doctors Without Borders’ operation on Lampedusa, said the passengers included three women and several unaccompanied minors. Two coast guard vessels and

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The rancorous debate over whether returning students should wear masks in the classroom has moved from school boards to courtrooms. In at least 14 states, lawsuits have been filed either for or against masks in schools. In some cases, normally rule-enforcing school administrators are

By CALVIN WOODWARD Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s called the loneliest job in the world for a reason. Surrounded by everything a superpower can offer and watched by all, President Joe Biden wore the weight of a lonely man as he came to grips in recent days with the deadly end of the American

By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Republican efforts questioning the outcome of the 2020 presidential race have led to voting system breaches that election security experts say pose a heightened risk to future elections. Copies of the Dominion Voting Systems software used to manage elections — from designing ballots to configuring voting

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Saturday replaced an Australian bishop who stepped down amid a Vatican investigation into what Australian media have described as allegations of sexual misconduct. The Vatican said Francis accepted Bishop Christopher Alan Saunders’ resignation as head of the Broome diocese in Western Australia state. Francis appointed another prelate, Bishop

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British troops left Kabul on Saturday, ending the U.K.’s evacuation operation and its 20-year military involvement in Afghanistan. Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised the “heroic” evacuation effort, even as the government acknowledged some eligible Afghan civilians had been left behind. The U.K.’s top military officer conceded that

Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Survivors of last month’s extreme flooding in western Germany have joined first responders, religious leaders and government officials in remembering the more than 180 killed in the disaster and to express hope for the future. Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Bundestag President Wolfgang Schäuble, the leader of Germany’s

By SAYED ZIARMAL HASHEMI, RAHIM FAIEZ, JILL LAWLESS and ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban forces sealed off Kabul’s airport Saturday to most Afghans hoping for evacuation, as the U.S. and its allies were ending a chaotic airlift that will end their troops’ two decades in Afghanistan. Western leaders acknowledged their withdrawal

By WAFAA SHURAFA Associated Press GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hundreds of Hamas-backed activists on Saturday launched what they said was the first in a series of nighttime protests along the Israeli border, throwing explosives toward Israeli forces who responded with live fire. Organizers said the gatherings, which are to continue throughout the week,

By JARI TANNER Associated Press HELSINKI (AP) — Estonia is gearing up for an unusual presidential election in parliament. There will be only one candidate in Monday’s vote, a situation unprecedented since the Baltic nation regained its independence 30 years ago. President Kersti Kaljulaid’s five-year term expires on Oct. 10, and lawmakers in the 101-seat

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer NBC’s Olympics coverage has long been built on a foundation of human-interest stories and showcasing athletes’ road to the Games. The same philosophies will apply to the coverage of Paralympics, which will air on the network for the first time. Sunday will mark the first time that Paralympics coverage

By ARITZ PARRA Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Until last week, Shabeer Ahmadi was busy covering the news in Afghanistan. But after a hasty and excruciating decision to leave his Taliban-controlled country for an uncertain future in Spain, he’s helplessly glued to news feeds on his cellphone, following every twist in the dramatic end of

By JEFFREY SCHAEFFER Associated Press PARIS (AP) — The Arc de Triomphe has seen parades, protests and tourists galore, but never before has the war monument in Paris been wrapped in silver and blue recyclable polypropylene fabric. That’s about to happen next month in a posthumous art installation designed by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude. “Christo

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and ZEINA KARAM Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Arab heads of state and senior officials from the region including archenemies Iran and Saudi Arabia held a rare meeting Saturday at a conference hosted by Iraq. The meeting is aimed at easing Mideast tensions and underscored the Arab country’s new role as mediator.

By REBECCA SANTANA and KEVIN McGILL Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Forecasters warned residents along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast to rush preparations ahead of Hurricane Ida, which is expected to rapidly intensify and bring winds as high as 130 mph (209 kph), life-threatening storm surge and flooding rain when it slams ashore

By JEFF AMY Associated Press New Orleans finds itself in the path of Hurricane Ida 16 years to the day after 2005’s Hurricane Katrina caused catastrophic flooding. But Ida arrives at the doorstep of a region transformed since 2005 by a giant civil works project and closer attention to flood control. The federal government spent

By ROBERT BURNS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden vowed Saturday to keep up airstrikes against the Islamic extremist group whose suicide bombing at the Kabul airport killed scores of Afghans and 13 American service members. He warned another attack was “highly likely” and the State Department called the threat “specific” and “credible.”

By ALEXANDRA JAFFE Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — In Singapore, in between a foreign policy speech and a roundtable talk about supply chain issues, Vice President Kamala Harris stopped to smell the flowers. Specifically, she checked out an orchid that the country named after her — a light fuschia hybrid named Papilionanda Kamala Harris —

By JILL COLVIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — As the U.S. rushes to evacuate Americans and allies from the chaos of Afghanistan, a growing number of Republicans are questioning why the U.S. should take in Afghan citizens who worked side by side with Americans, further exacerbating divides within the party heading into next year’s midterm