AP National News

The leader of the Federal Emergency Management Agency says a worker has been fired after she directed workers helping hurricane survivors to avoid homes with yard signs supporting President-elect Donald Trump. In a statement Saturday, Deanne Criswell said it was a violation of FEMA’s values and called it “reprehensible.” The agency didn’t identify the worker

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Southern California firefighters gained ground Saturday on a wildfire that has ravaged more than 100 structures as gusty winds subsided with favorable weather conditions expected through the weekend. Evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings for residents in several areas of Ventura County, where the Mountain Fire held at around 32 square

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico and the United States have reached an agreement they hope will address Mexico’s habit of falling behind in water-sharing payments in the Rio Bravo watershed, also known as the Rio Grande. The agreement announced Saturday “provides Mexico with tools and flexibility to deliver water earlier in the five-year cycle under

CHICAGO (AP) — Authorities say a Chicago man has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of two workers at the city’s popular Navy Pier tourist attraction. Chicago police said Saturday that 36-year-old Raylon East is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of felon in possession/use of a weapon in

Associated Press VALENCIA, Spain (AP) — Tens of thousands of Spaniards marched in the eastern city of Valencia on Saturday to demand the resignation of the regional president in charge of the emergency response to last week’s catastrophic floods that left more than 200 dead and others missing. A group of protestors clashed with riot

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — One of 43 monkeys bred for medical research that escaped a compound in South Carolina has been recovered unharmed, officials said Saturday. Many of the others are still located a few yards from the property, jumping back and forth over the facility’s fence, police said in a statement. The Rhesus macaques

Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees have returned to their country since Israel launched a massive aerial bombardment on wide swathes of Lebanon in September. Many who fled to Lebanon after the war in Syria started in 2011 did not want to go back. But for officials in Lebanon, the

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Rafael has weakened to a tropical storm and was expected to dissolve over the Gulf of Mexico in the coming days after barreling across Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane. Rafael was located 2,490 miles (470 km) north-northwest of Progreso, Mexico on Saturday. It had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph

Associated Press QUITO (AP) — Ecuador’s Vice President Veronica Abad has been suspended for 150 days accused of “unjustified abandonment” of her duties. It comes during a public rift between Abad and President Daniel Noboa that could have implications for Ecuador’s February elections. Abad’s suspension without pay came at midnight, her lawyer Dominique Dávila told

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Another man charged with carrying a flaming torch with the intent to intimidate during a 2017 rally at the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville has agreed to a plea deal. The Daily Progress reported that 32-year-old Dallas Medina of Ravenna, Ohio, was originally indicted on a felony intimidation charge, but

Associated Press Actor Tony Todd, known for his haunting portrayal of a killer in the horror film “Candyman” and roles in many other films and television shows, has died, his longtime manager confirmed. He was 69. Todd died Wednesday at his home in the Los Angeles area, his manager Jeffrey Goldberg said in a statement

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Defense Department will appeal a military judge’s ruling that plea agreements struck by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, and two of his co-defendants are valid, a defense official said Saturday. The ruling this past week voided Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s order to

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Election officials say a ranked-choice voting tabulation aimed at determining the winner of a key congressional race in Maine starts in the coming week. Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden claims he won the election but the secretary of state said neither Golden nor Republican Austin Theriault surpassed 50% of first-place votes.

Associated Press PRAGUE (AP) — Lithuania’s defense minister says European nations should not repeat the same mistake of creating a barrier between them and President-elect Donald Trump but instead cooperate on issues of common interest. Assuming that Trump will again apply what Laurynas Kasčiūnas called “his contract approach to our relations,” Kasčiūnas outlined areas where

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will host President-elect Donald Trump for a traditional postelection meeting in the Oval Office on Wednesday, the White House said Saturday. Such a meeting is customary between the outgoing president and the incoming president, and is meant partly to mark the start of a peaceful transfer of

GENEVA (AP) — Authorities in eastern Switzerland on Saturday ordered residents of a tiny village to prepare to evacuate as an Alpine rockslide looming overhead threatened to break loose and spill down on their homes. It was the second time that residents of Brienz received evacuation orders after a similar threat last summer. Local officials

Associated Press TYRE, Lebanon (AP) — A resident of the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre says an Israeli airstrike has left at least seven dead, among them five siblings, three of whom were deaf and mute. Elsewhere in Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes killed 31 people. Israel meanwhile carried out airstrikes on different parts of southern