Year: 2021

BEIJING (AP) — China’s ruling Communist Party says the police chief and vice mayor of a northeastern industrial city is under investigation for suspected graft. The party’s watchdog against corruption said Yang Jianjun was suspected of “serious violations of discipline and the law” but gave no details. The city of Shenyang has a population of

By ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ Associated Press HAVANA (AP) — Forecasters say tropical depression Fred is slowly strengthening and could regain tropical storm status on Saturday. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says the system is dumping heavy rain along the north coast of Cuba on a forecast track toward Florida. Maximum sustained winds are around 35 mph.

By SAMY MAGDY The Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Yemenis in the country’s north are dying because of a lack of hospital beds, many at home. But it’s not just a struggling health care system that’s to blame. An information blackout has characterized the coronavirus response of Yemen’s Houthi authorities since the beginning of the

By SUZAN FRASER Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The death toll from floods and mudslides in northern Turkey has risen to at least 31 as emergency crews search demolished buildings, swamped homes, and submerged basements for more victims and survivors. An opposition politician said Friday that more than 300 people have been reported unaccounted

By CALEB JONES and VICTORIA MILKO Associated Press WAIMEA, Hawaii (AP) — Huge wildfires highlight the dangers of climate change-related heat and drought for many communities throughout the U.S. West and other hotspots around the world. But relatively small fires on typically wet, tropical islands in the Pacific are also on the rise. These fires

By MICHAEL HILL Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s two-year “look-back window” closes this week. It allows people who claim they were abused long ago to sue churches, hospitals, camps, scout groups and schools. The tidal wave of more than 7,600 lawsuits could deliver a financial blow to Catholic dioceses and other organizations.

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Australian government says it remains seriously concerned about the welfare of a Chinese-born Australian journalist a year after she was first detained in China. Foreign Minister Marise Payne used the first anniversary of Cheng Lei’s detention on Aug. 13 to tell China that Australia expects

By KEN RITTER Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — A coronavirus pandemic mask mandate in Nevada has drawn a federal lawsuit from attorneys seeking class-action status for claims that the constitutional rights of thousands of parents and children at Las Vegas-area schools are being violated. The complaint filed Thursday against Gov. Steve Sisolak, state Attorney

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) — Police in central Florida say a toddler fatally shot a woman while she was on a work-related video call. News outlets report the woman was the mother of the young child who found a loaded gun Wednesday and opened fire. Altamonte Springs police say another person on the video call

By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Officials are investigating one possible heat-related death in Oregon from a Pacific Northwest heat wave. Emergency room visits for heat-related illness also have risen sharply as sweltering temperatures gripped the normally temperate Pacific Northwest for the second time this summer. Hot weather and wildfire smoke will

By EUGENE GARCIA and DAISY NGUYEN Associated Press WESTWOOD, Calif. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service said Friday it’s operating in crisis mode, fully deploying firefighters and maxing out its support system as wildfires continue to break out across the U.S. West. The agency says it has more than twice the number of firefighters working

By ALAN FRAM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Prospects seem increasingly dicey for a bipartisan Senate deal on overhauling policing practices. Deadlocked lawmakers have left the Capitol for August recess. Congress will have to devote much of its time this fall to handling President Joe Biden’s drive for huge pots of social, environment and infrastructure

By ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Even as President Joe Biden becomes more aggressive in pressuring Americans to get vaccinated, he has refrained from using all his powers. He’s held off, for instance, on proposals to require vaccinations for all air travelers or, for that matter, the federal workforce. The result is a