AP National News

By AGNIESZKA PIKULICKA-WILCZEWSKA Associated Press TERMEZ, Uzbekistan (AP) — As the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, thousands of Afghans looked for ways to escape what they see as a return of a ruthless fundamentalist rule. A 30-year-old man who operated a cross-border oil company still had a business visa that allowed him to enter neighboring

By The Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — UNITED NATIONS — The head of the U.N. food agency in Afghanistan says a humanitarian crisis is unfolding with 14 million people facing severe hunger following the Taliban takeover of the country. Mary Ellen McGroarty, the World Food Program’s country director, said in a video briefing to

HONG KONG (AP) — Police say four members of a Hong Kong university student union have been arrested for allegedly advocating terrorism by paying tribute to a person who stabbed a police officer and then killed himself. Local media say those arrested Wednesday include the president and council chairman of the University of Hong Kong’s

BEIJING (AP) — China’s ruling Communist Party has expelled a leading internet censor and accused him of a range of crimes and rule breaking from corruption to failing to properly guide public opinion. Peng Bo had been deputy head of a body set up after the party launched a sweeping crackdown against the Falun Gong

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON Associated Press BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A South Florida suburb holds deep ties to the town in southwestern Haiti that was hard hit by Saturday’s 7.2 magnitude earthquake. Many residents of Boynton Beach have been worried about their loved ones. Some are already mourning cousins and uncles who died while

By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s State Election Board on Wednesday took a step toward a possible eventual takeover of elections in the state’s most populous county under a process outlined in the state’s sweeping new voting law. The board voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a bipartisan, three-person review panel to investigate

By TOM HAYS and JIM MUSTIAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — R&B star R. Kelly is a predator who lured girls, boys and young women with his fame and dominated them physically, sexually and psychologically, a prosecutor said Wednesday, while a defense lawyer warned jurors they’ll have to sift through lies from accusers with

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A prominent Cambodian labor union leader has been sentenced to two years in prison for inciting social unrest with sensitive comments about the country’s border. Rong Chhun was arrested last year after he spoke to U.S. government-supported Radio Free Asia about farmers in eastern Cambodia who complained their land was

By BRIAN MELLEY and TERENCE CHEA Associated Press POLLOCK PINES, Calif. (AP) — Record-setting blazes raging across Northern California are wiping out forests central to plans to reduce carbon emissions and testing projects designed to protect communities, the state’s top fire official said Wednesday, hours before a fast-moving new blaze erupted. Fires that are “exceedingly

BY ALAN FRAM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Democrats are planning House votes next week on a budget resolution that would clear a path for future passage of the party’s ambitious plans for social and environment programs. And that suggests a showdown ahead with rebellious party moderates. Nine centrist Democrats have said they’ll vote

By ROBERT BURNS, ELLEN KNICKMEYER and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he is committed to keeping U.S. troops in Afghanistan until every American is evacuated, even if that means maintaining a military presence there beyond his Aug. 31 deadline for withdrawal. He also pushed back against criticism

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Robert Durst said he deeply regretted telling his life story to filmmakers in hopes of restoring his reputation. The New York real estate heir may wish he hadn’t decided to appeal directly to jurors at his murder trial if a Los Angeles prosecutor keeps exposing a

By EILEEN NG Associated Press KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s king says the new prime minister he picks must swiftly test his leadership in Parliament as the deadline for lawmakers to submit the names of their preferred candidates passed. Based on the lawmakers’ choices, Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah said he will pick a

By MATT SEDENSKY AP National Writer Just a week before Afghanistan’s collapse, things looked staggeringly different, but even for a country scarred by generations of war, the weeklong string of victories by the Taliban stood out as a remarkable turn of events. A stunning rout, in just days, seemed to declare two decades of American

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and JAMES ANDERSON Associated Press TOOELE, Utah (AP) — Tens of thousands of wild horses roam the American West, their power and beauty a potent symbol of rugged freedom central to the mythology of the range. But the region is also in the clutches of a megadrought worsened by climate change, and

By MARK STEVENSON and EVENS SANON Associated Press LES CAYES, Haiti (AP) — Pressure for a coordinated response to Haiti’s deadly weekend earthquake mounted Wednesday as more bodies were pulled from the rubble and the injured continued to arrive from remote areas in search of medical care. Aid was slowly trickling in to help the

SYDNEY (AP) — Australia’s most populous state has reported a record 633 new infections as concerns grew about the delta variant’s spread beyond Sydney. The state’s chief health officer said: “I can’t express enough my level of concern at these rising numbers of cases.” Infections were reported in towns in the west, north and central

By MARK BAKER Associated Press SYDNEY (AP) — Australia-based Associated Press photographer Mark Baker is spending 14 days in mandatory hotel quarantine after returning home to Sydney after covering the Tokyo Olympics. Baker says while the food is grim, the staff has been wonderful. He spends much of his time documenting the world outside his

By BOB CHRISTIE Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is upping the pressure on the growing number of public school districts defying a state ban on mask mandates as they try to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The Republican governor announced Tuesday that schools won’t get any cash from a $163

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian officials say at least 1,150 people fled their homes in the country’s Choco province over the weekend to escape fighting between leftist insurgents and a paramilitary group that is expanding its influence in the region. The nation’s Human Rights Ombudsman said Tuesday that the clash involved armed members of the