August 23, 2021 4:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S military troops flying round the clock have managed their biggest day of airlifts out of Afghanistan by far. But deadly violence that has blocked many desperate Afghans and foreigners from entering Kabul’s airport persisted Monday. And the Taliban signaled they may insist on the airlifts ending at the end of the month. A White House official says 28 U.S. military flights carried about 10,400 people to safety out of Taliban-held Afghanistan over the 24 hours that ended early Monday morning. In a 9-day-old evacuation plagued by Taliban forces and crushing crowds preventing entrance to the airport and a series of logistical problems, the number for the first time met – and exceeded – U.S. projections.
August 23, 2021 4:12 am
WAVERLY, Tenn. (AP) – Search crews are working through shattered homes and tangled debris in Tennessee, looking for about a dozen people still missing after record-breaking rain unleashed floods that killed at least 22 people. Saturday’s flooding took out roads, cellphone towers and telephone lines in a rural area northwest of Nashville, leaving people uncertain about whether family and friends survived. Emergency workers are still searching door to door in neighborhoods where the water rose the fastest. The National Weather Service says up to 17 inches of rain fell in Humphreys County in less than 24 hours Saturday, triple the forecast and shattering the Tennessee record for one-day rainfall.
August 23, 2021 4:10 am
MONROE TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) – Residents across the waterlogged Northeast are clearing mud and tearing out soggy carpets after deluges dropped by Tropical Storm Henri. The smell of sewage filled the air in a New Jersey retirement community as people returned to their soaked homes and possessions Monday. The storm’s remnants still threaten further flooding in New England as they made a slow trek back to the sea. Officials fret that just a few more inches would be a back-breaker following a wet summer. Henri hit Rhode Island on Sunday as a tropical storm but spared coastal areas major damage.
August 23, 2021 4:07 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A county in southern Pennsylvania is suing over last month’s decertification of its voting machines, and asking a court to reverse the order by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s top elections official. In the suit filed Wednesday in Commonwealth Court, Fulton County said it had complied with the guidance in force at the time for the inspection of voting machines by third-party vendors. The lawsuit also said Acting Secretary of State Veronica Degraffenreid should have re-examined the machines before decertifying them. Degraffenreid ordered the machines decertified after Fulton County agreed to an “audit” amid former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims about election fraud.
August 23, 2021 4:05 am
HELENA, Mont. (AP) – A shortage of bus drivers is complicating the start of a new school year already facing a surge in COVID-19 cases and conflicts over whether masks should be required in school buildings. School districts are offering hiring bonuses, training to get commercial driver’s licenses and pay increases in an effort to attract more drivers. First Student contracts with school districts across the country to provide bus service, and held test driving events this summer. Its “Big Bus, No Big Deal” events were an effort to show people that driving a bus is not as difficult as people might think.
August 22, 2021 7:32 am
PLACERVILLE, Calif. (AP) – Crews were digging in and burning out fire lines amid another round of high winds Saturday that contributed to the fury to a Northern California wildfire. The Caldor Fire in the northern Sierra Nevada has destroyed dozens of homes and on Friday authorities closed down a 46-mile stretch of Interstate 50, the main route between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe. The National Weather Service says that by Saturday evening winds “combined with continued extremely dry fuels will result in critical fire weather conditions in the vicinity of the Caldor Fire.” The blaze is one of about a dozen large wildfires that have scorched Northern California, incinerating at least 700 homes.
August 22, 2021 7:30 am
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – The British military says seven Afghan civilians have been killed in a panicked crush of people trying to enter Kabul’s international airport. The deaths happened amid the chaos of those fleeing the Taliban takeover of the country. The Defense Ministry said in a statement Sunday that “conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely and securely as possible.” The airport has been the focal point for thousands trying to flee the Taliban, who swept into Kabul a week ago after their lightning advance seized the country.
August 22, 2021 7:29 am
PHOENIX (AP) – Across the country, more anti-vaccine and anti-mask demonstrations are taking scary and violent turns. People have been stabbed, punched or harassed at their homes for being in favor of vaccine and mask mandates. Often the assailants are parents. Educators, medical professionals and public figures have been stunned at the level at which they have been vilified. But with just over half the U.S. population vaccinated and the surging delta variant, harassment and outright assaults over efforts to curb the virus’ spread are looking to become their own epidemic. There is worry this kind of conduct will be tolerated as a new normal.
August 22, 2021 7:28 am
Henri weakened slightly to a tropical storm early Sunday as it edged closer to landfall. Millions of people on New York’s Long Island and in southern New England braced for flooding, toppled trees and extended power outages. Henri was on course to crash into a long stretch of northeastern coastline by midday Sunday. The center of the storm was projected to pass over the eastern tip of Long Island. Rain and flooding began in some areas late Saturday. Storm surges were also expected early Sunday. People in the projected path spent Saturday scrambling to stock up on groceries and gasoline. Those close to the coast boarded up windows, and some evacuated.
August 22, 2021 4:23 am
NORTH UNION TWP, Pa. — State police are investigating a deadly shooting Friday afternoon in North Union Township. It happened at Meridian Point Apartments on Confer Vista Drive shortly after 12:30 p.m. According to police, Michael Cole Debeary, 32, was shot during an altercation involving two other men. Debeary died at the scene. The other two men required medical treatment for unspecified injuries. State Police said the Fayette County district attorney has been consulted as part of the ongoing investigation.
