General strike in Israel over hostages leads to uneven closures, reflecting political divisions
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare call for a general strike in Israel to protest the failure to return hostages held in Gaza led to closures and other disruptions around the country on Monday, including at its main international airport. But it was ignored in some areas, reflecting deep political divisions. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis had poured into the streets late Sunday in grief and anger after six hostages were found dead in Gaza. The families and much of the public blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying they could have been returned alive in a deal with Hamas to end the nearly 11-month-old war.
Some Lebanese who fear war is coming have an unusual backup plan: Moving to Syria
BEIRUT (AP) — Residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs have been scrambling to make contingency plans since an Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in a busy neighborhood killed a top Hezbollah commander and touched off fears of a full-scale war. For most, that means moving in with relatives or renting homes in Christian, Druze or Sunni-majority areas of Lebanon that are generally considered safer than the Shiite-majority areas where the Hezbollah militant group has its main operations and base of support. But for a small number, plan B is a move to neighboring Syria. Although Syria is in its 14th year of civil war, active fighting has long been frozen in much of the country.
Russia fires a barrage of drones, cruise and ballistic missiles at Kyiv as children return to school
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched an overnight barrage of drones and cruise and ballistic missiles at Kyiv, Ukraine’s air force said Monday, as children prepared their return to school across the country after the summer vacation. Several series of explosions rocked the Ukrainian capital in the early hours. Debris from intercepted missiles and drones fell in every district of Kyiv, injuring three people and damaging two kindergartens, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said. City authorities reported multiple fires. After more than 900 days of war, the two sides show no sign of letting up in the fight or moving closer to the negotiating table.
Three Ukrainian teens begin their final year of high school holding onto hopes for the future
UZHHOROD, Ukraine (AP) — This week marks the start of the school year in Ukraine, a pivotal time for any student, especially for teenagers in their final year of high school. Ukrainian teens have more than just grades and university choices on their minds — they are grappling with the realities of war. One student, still haunted by memories of his hometown in the Luhansk region, nearly all under Russian control, struggles to adapt to life in the Kyiv area after surviving the Russian occupation. Homesickness lingers, a constant reminder of what he left behind. Two other teens agonize over choosing their future professions: They make plans for the future while navigating daily threats from Russian-guided bombs and missiles in their front-line cities.
Harris looks to Biden for a boost in Pennsylvania as the two are set to attend a Labor Day parade
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden are co-headlining a campaign event Monday in the marquee battleground state of Pennsylvania as Harris balances presenting herself as “a new way forward” while remaining intensely loyal to Biden and the policies he has pushed. The pair will attend Pittsburgh’s Labor Day parade and offer some remarks, the first time the two have shared a speaking slot on the political stage together since the surprising election shakeup that provided a fresh jolt of Democratic enthusiasm to the 2024 election. Harris’ campaign has said Pennsylvania voters are newly energized since Harris moved to the top of the ticket six weeks ago, with tens of thousands of new volunteers signed up to canvass for her and Minnesota Gov.
Federal workers around nation’s capital worry over Trump’s plans to send some of them elsewhere
WASHINGTON (AP) — Worries of being uprooted from their jobs have returned for Laura Dodson and other federal workers, who have long been the economic backbone of the nation’s capital and its suburbs. During former President Donald Trump ‘s administration, her office under the U.S. Department of Agriculture was told it would be moving. About 75 people were going to be relocated to Kansas City, Missouri, Dodson said, but less than 40 actually moved. A rushed process that failed to consider the need to find homes, jobs for spouses and schools for children prompted some retirements, she said, and some took other federal jobs, hurting the agency in the end.
Far-right success in German votes piles new pressure on Scholz’s coalition
BERLIN (AP) — The Alternative for Germany party’s success in two state elections piled new pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s fractious government and left the country’s main opposition party facing political contortions on Monday to find a way to govern a pair of eastern regions without involving the far-right party. Alternative for Germany, or AfD, became the first far-right party to win a state election in post-World War II Germany in Thuringia on Sunday under one of its hardest-right figures, Björn Höcke. In neighboring Saxony, it finished only just behind the mainstream conservative Christian Democratic Union, which leads the national opposition. Voters punished the three parties in Scholz’s governing coalition, which took well under 15% of the vote between them.
Linda Deutsch, AP trial writer who had front row to courtroom history, dies at 80
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Linda Deutsch, a special correspondent for The Associated Press who for nearly 50 years wrote glittering first drafts of history from many of the nation’s most significant criminal and civil trials — Charles Manson, O.J. Simpson, Michael Jackson, among others — died Sunday. She was 80. Deutsch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2022 and underwent successful treatment, but the cancer returned this summer. She died at her Los Angeles home, surrounded by family and friends, said nurse Narek Petrosian of Olympia Hospice Care. AP chief United Nations correspondent Edith Lederer was among those with Deutsch at the end.
Coco Gauff loses at the U.S. Open to Emma Navarro, ending her title defense with 19 double-faults
NEW YORK (AP) — This is pretty much all anyone needs to know about defending champion Coco Gauff’s 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 loss to Emma Navarro in the U.S. Open’s fourth round on Sunday: Gauff wound up with more double-faults, 19, than winners, 14. It was the latest in a series of early-for-her exits in recent weeks, including bowing out in the third round at the Paris Olympics, then going 1-2 at hard-court tuneup events before arriving in New York. “I feel like there’s 70 other players in the draw that would love to have the summer that I had, even though it’s (the) least, probably, (I’ve) done well during this time of the year,” said the No.
ESPN networks, ABC and Disney channels go dark on DirecTV on a busy night for sports
ESPN has gone off the air on a major carrier for the second straight year during the U.S. Open tennis tournament and in the midst of the first full weekend of college football. Disney Entertainment channels went dark on DirecTV Sunday night after the sides were unable to reach a new carriage agreement. The move angered some sports fans, who posted their displeasure on social media. And the U.S. Tennis Association wasn’t pleased with another carriage dispute. ESPN was showing the fourth round of the U.S. Open when it went off the air on DirecTV at 7:20 p.m. EDT. That was a half-hour before the start of the match between Frances Tiafoe, an American who reached the 2022 U.S.
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