Texas governor tests positive for COVID-19, in 'good health'

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, according to his office, who said the Republican is in good health and experiencing no symptoms.

Fueled by winds, largest wildfire moves near California city

GRIZZLY FLATS, Calif. (AP) — A wildfire raged through a small Northern California forest town Tuesday, burning dozens of homes as dangerously dry and windy weather also continued to fuel other massive blazes and prompted the nation's largest utility to begin shutting off power to 51,000 customers.

EXPLAINER: Western states face first federal water cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials on Monday declared the first-ever water shortage from a river that serves 40 million people in the West, triggering cuts to some Arizona farmers next year amid a gripping drought.

AP FACT CHECK: Biden skirts US failures in Afghan mayhem

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden ignored his own administration's failures Monday when he tried to explain why desperate civilians in Afghanistan's capital

Democrats unveil plan to update landmark voting law

ATLANTA (AP) — House Democrats on Tuesday put forward a new proposal to update the landmark Voting Rights Act, seeking against long odds to revive the civil rights-era legislation that once served as a barrier against discriminatory voting laws.

'Game over': Westerners rush to leave Kabul, rescue Afghans

The chop of U.S. military helicopters whisking American diplomats to Kabul’s airport punctuated a frantic rush by thousands of other foreigners and Afghans to flee to safety as well, as a stunningly swift

As COVID-19 surges, 93% of Oregon's hospital beds are full

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — As Oregon's health system continues to be clobbered by the state's worst COVID-19 surge, officials reported on Tuesday that 93% of the state's hospital beds for adults and 90% of the intensive care unit beds are full.

Billions spent on Afghan army ultimately benefited Taliban

WASHINGTON (AP) — Built and trained at a two-decade cost of $83 billion, Afghan security forces collapsed so quickly and completely — in some cases without a shot fired — that the ultimate beneficiary of the American investment turned out to be the Taliban. They grabbed not only political power but also U.S.-supplied firepower — guns, ammunition, helicopters and more.

California fire threatens homes as blazes burn across West

QUINCY, Calif. (AP) — Thousands of Northern California homes were threatened Sunday by the nation's largest wildfire and officials warned the danger of new blazes erupting across the West was high because of unstable weather.

Amid new virus surge, Florida skeptics reconsider vaccines

CALLAHAN, Fla. (AP) — In a rural stretch of northeastern Florida where barely half the people have gotten a coronavirus shot, Roger West had no problem telling others he was “adamantly anti-vaccination.”

Biden: Afghan chaos 'gut-wrenching' but stands by withdrawal

WASHINGTON (AP) — A defiant President Joe Biden rejected blame Monday for chaotic scenes of Afghans clinging to U.S. military planes in Kabul in a desperate bid to flee their home country after the Taliban's easy victory over an Afghan military that America and NATO allies

Japan marks 76th anniversary of WWII defeat; no Suga apology

TOKYO (AP) — Japan marked the 76th anniversary of its World War II surrender on Sunday with a somber ceremony in which Prime Minister Yosihide Suga pledged for the tragedy of war to never be repeated but avoided apologizing for his country's aggression.

Analysis: Defiant Biden is face of chaotic Afghan evacuation

Four presidents share responsibility for the missteps in Afghanistan that accumulated over two decades. But only President Joe Biden will be the face of the war's chaotic, violent conclusion.

DeSantis top donor invests in COVID drug governor promotes

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — who has been criticized for opposing mask mandates and vaccine passports — is now touting a COVID-19 antibody treatment in which a top donor's company has invested millions of dollars.

Biden team surprised by rapid Taliban gains in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and other top U.S. officials were stunned on Sunday by the pace of the Taliban's nearly complete takeover of Afghanistan, as the planned withdrawal of American forces urgently became a mission to ensure a safe evacuation.

Legals for August, 18 2021

DeSantis top donor invests in COVID drug governor promotes

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — who has been criticized for opposing mask mandates and vaccine passports — is now touting a COVID-19 antibody treatment in which a top donor's company has invested millions of dollars.

As COVID-19 surges, 93% of Oregon's hospital beds are full

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — As Oregon's health system continues to be clobbered by the state's worst COVID-19 surge, officials reported on Tuesday that 93% of the state's hospital beds for adults and 90% of the intensive care unit beds are full.

'Do not give up': Americans help Afghans in new homeland

DALLAS (AP) — Pleas for help from Afghans have been filling up Caroline Clarin’s phone for days as she works from her rural Minnesota home and tries to provide hope to those who ping heart-wrenching messages of desperation from a world away.

Democrats unveil plan to update landmark voting law

ATLANTA (AP) — House Democrats on Tuesday put forward a new proposal to update the landmark Voting Rights Act, seeking against long odds to revive the civil rights-era legislation that once served as a barrier against discriminatory voting laws.