AP National News

The Latest: Australian state sees 478 new virus infections

By The Associated Press
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by Rayos Syndication User

SYDNEY — Australia’s most populous state on Monday reported its worst day of the pandemic with 478 new COVID-19 infections and seven deaths. The previous record daily tally in New South Wales was 466 new cases reported on Saturday. Two of the dead had taken a single dose of a two-shot vaccine. The rest were unvaccinated, New South Wales Premier…

Rural population losses add to farm and ranch labor shortage

By GRANT SCHULTE and DAVID PITT - Associated Press
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by Rayos Syndication User

Rural America lost more population in the latest census. The trend highlighted an already severe worker shortage in the nation’s farming and ranching regions and drew calls from those industries for immigration reform to help ease the problem. The census data released last week showed that population gains in many rural areas were driven by increases in Hispanic and Latino residents. Many of them come as immigrants to work on farms or in meatpacking plants or to start their own businesses. John Hansen is president of the Nebraska Farmers Union. He wants to see a common-sense approach and says vilifying immigrants just makes that harder to achieve.

The Latest: Poland sends 1 million vaccines to Australia

By The Associated Press
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by Rayos Syndication User

SYDNEY — Poland has sent one million COVID-19 vaccines to Sydney where the delta variant continues to spread, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday. The first of the Pfizer vaccines left Warsaw via the United Arab Emirates and will arrive in Sydney over Sunday night, Morrison said. Australia bought the vaccines after weeks of negotiations between Morrison and…

The Latest: Biden sending 1,000 more troops to Afghanistan

By The Associated Press
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by Rayos Syndication User

A defense official says President Joe Biden has authorized an additional 1,000 U.S. troops for deployment to Afghanistan. That raises to roughly 5,000 the number of U.S. troops to ensure what Biden calls an “orderly and safe drawdown” of American and allied personnel. U.S. troops will also help evacuate Afghans who worked with the military during the nearly two-decade war. The Pentagon said earlier that 3,000 troops are being sent to Kabul to join the nearly 1,000 already there. In a statement Saturday, Biden didn’t explain the breakdown of the 5,000 troops he said have been deployed. 

Census data puts target on rural, Rust Belt House districts

By DAVID A. LIEB - Associated Press
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by Rayos Syndication User

New census data shows declining populations in rural areas and some Rust Belt cities, which could make them targets during redistricting for the U.S. House. State politicians and commissions must redraw U.S. House districts before the 2022 elections to account for population shifts toward big cities and suburbs. That means that some districts that lost residents will need to be eliminated or expanded geographically to take in more people. Rural areas in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania showed population losses, as did some of their cities. Republicans and Democrats will be battling over which districts must be eliminated. 

AP Week in Pictures: Global

AP
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by Rayos Syndication User

AUG. 7 – 13, 2021 From Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, to a hermit in New Hampshire, to preparations for India’s Independence Day celebrations, this photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images from around the world made or published by The Associated Press in the past week. The selection was curated by AP photo editor Patrick Sison. Follow AP…

Multiracial boom reflects US racial, ethnic complexity

By ASTRID GALVAN and MIKE SCHNEIDER - Associated Press
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by Rayos Syndication User

Growth in the number of people who identified as multiracial on 2020 census responses soared over the last decade, rising from under 3% to more than 10% of the U.S. population. Experts say the multiracial boom is a reflection of the complex racial and ethnic diversity of the U.S. It also may be the result of changes the U.S. Census Bureau made in processing responses that better capture diversity and how it asked about race and ethnicity in order to better reflect the nation’s changing mosaic. The number of people who identify as multiracial went from 9 million in 2010 to 33.8 million in 2020.

The Latest: Alabama gov issues state of emergency amid surge

By The Associated Press
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by Rayos Syndication User

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday issued a state of emergency as state hospitals face a surge in COVID-19 cases, an order that came the same day the state tied a record low for available intensive care unit beds. Ivey issued a limited state of emergency aimed at giving medical providers flexibility on staffing and capacity decisions…