AP National News

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE and MICHAEL R. BLOOD Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — The leading Republican candidate is California’s recall election that could remove Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is denying that he brandished a gun during a heated domestic argument with his former fiancee. Talk radio host Larry Elder says “I have never brandished a

By YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese actor Sonny Chiba, who wowed the world with his martial arts skills in more than 100 films, including “Kill Bill,” has died. He was 82. Chiba, known in Japan as Shinichi Chiba, died late Thursday in a hospital near Tokyo where he had been treated for

By KEN RITTER Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — In a court ruling with potentially broad implications for U.S. immigration cases, a federal judge in Nevada found that a criminal law that dates to 1929 and makes it a felony for a person who has been deported to return to the United States is unconstitutional.

PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona state senator who resigned after being arrested early this month on child molestation charges has been indicted, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced Thursday. The indictment charges Tony Navarrete with six felony counts related to sexual contact he’s accused of having with a boy. He’s charged with one count for

By PAUL J. WEBER and ACACIA CORONADO Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A standoff in Texas over new voting restrictions that gridlocked the state Capitol for 38 consecutive days ended Thursday when some Democrats who fled to Washington, D.C., dropped their holdout, paving the way for Republicans to resume pushing an elections overhaul. It

By DEEPTI HAJELA Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Chuck Close, a painter, photographer and printmaker best known for his monumental grid portraits and photo-based paintings of family and famous friends, has died. He was 81. His attorney, John Silberman, said Close died Thursday at a hospital in Oceanside, New York. He did not give

NEW YORK (AP) — A tech entrepreneur who invested in the film studio that made the “Twilight” movies has been sentenced to five years in prison for a fraud conviction. Omar Amanat was sentenced Thursday in Manhattan federal court by Judge Paul G. Gardephe. U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a release that Amanat defrauded

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Britney Spears is under investigation over misdemeanor battery after a staff member at her home alleged the singer struck her, authorities said Thursday. Deputies responded to Spears’ home in Southern California after the staff member reported the Monday night dispute, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said. No one was injured.

By BOB CHRISTIE Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — An appeals court on Thursday rejected an effort by the Arizona Senate to keep secret records of its ongoing review of the 2020 election in Maricopa County that are in the possession of the contractors conducting the recount. The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that the documents

HONOLULU (AP) — Organizers of the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii say this year’s contest will be postponed to February because of increasing COVID-19 cases in the state. A statement on the group’s website says COVID-19 in Hawaii is worse now than it has been at any point during the pandemic. The race had been

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Three senators said Thursday they have tested positive for COVID-19 despite being vaccinated, a high-profile collection of breakthrough cases that comes as the highly infectious delta variant spreads rapidly across the United States. Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., all said they

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Department of Justice says prosecutors have not filed criminal charges for about 30 sexual assault cases mishandled by the Wisconsin National Guard. The justice department on Thursday released findings and results of its 18-month investigation. It determined that while no criminal charges have been

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — The chief medical examiner in North Carolina says a man visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last year was likely killed by a bear. A news release from the National Park Service said Thurdsay that the death of Patrick Madura of Elgin, Illinois, was the second bear-related fatality in the

BOSTON (AP) — It’s exactly 30 years since a hurricane last made a direct hit on New England — and now the region is bracing for the possibility of another. New Englanders were warily watching on Thursday as Tropical Storm Henri gathered strength in the Atlantic and headed for the northeastern U.S. Forecasters say Henri

BIGELOW, Ark. (AP) — Officials at an Arkansas high school physically tore out pages from the school’s published yearbook claiming “community backlash,” an action the Student Press Law Center condemned as censorship. The SPLC and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette both requested documentation regarding the community backlash. Hadar Harris, executive director of SPLC, said when asked for

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Investigators are considering whether toxic algae blooms or other hazards may have contributed to the deaths of a Northern California couple, their baby and the family dog on a remote hiking trail, authorities said. The area in the Sierra National Forest where the bodies were found on Tuesday had been treated

HONOLULU (AP) — The project director of a new solar telescope in Hawaii hopes scientists will be able to start observations in three months. The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope at the summit of Haleakalā volcano on Maui was supposed to open last fall. But Thomas Rimmele told Hawaii Public Radio COVID-19 travel restrictions set

By BABA AHMED Associated Press BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Mali’s military says gunmen have ambushed an army convoy, killing at least 15 soldiers. The army announced on its Twitter account that the army vehicles came under attack Thursday in central Mali. A vehicle exploded as it passed the convoy, and intense gunfire followed, according to

By MEAD GRUVER Associated Press CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The outdoor gear and clothing company Patagonia has stopped providing its merchandise for sale at a Wyoming ski resort to protest the owners’ sponsorship of a Republican fundraiser featuring Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and other top supporters of former President Donald Trump. Well known for decades

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD AP Political Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — California’s Sept. 14 recall election could remove first-term Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom from office. Mail-in ballots, the form of voting most Californians use, already have arrived at voters’ homes. The contest is unfolding as the state sees a surge in coronavirus cases from the