AP National News

The Latest: New Zealand has first local virus case in months

By The Associated Press
Posted:
Updated:

by Rayos Syndication User

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand has detected its first community transmission of the coronavirus in months, triggering urgent meetings among top lawmakers. Health officials say the positive case was found in Auckland on Tuesday afternoon and has no known link to outside the country. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has promised a tough approach, including possible lockdowns, for any outbreaks…

The Latest: Taliban leader reported in Kabul for talks

By The Associated Press
Posted:
Updated:

by Rayos Syndication User

Senior Taliban leader Amir Khan Muttaqi is said to be in the Afghan capital negotiating with Kabul’s political leadership, including Abdullah Abdullah, who once headed the country’s negotiating council, and former President Hamid Karzai. That is according to an official familiar with the talks and who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the…

The Latest: Nations call for safe passage out of Afghanistan

By The Associated Press
Posted:
Updated:

by Rayos Syndication User

WASHINGTON — Dozens of nations from around the world are calling on all involved in events in Afghanistan to respect and facilitate the departure of foreign nationals and Afghans who wish to leave the country. More than 60 nations released a joint statement Sunday night citing what they call “the deteriorating security situation” in Afghanistan. The statement says that those…

The Latest: Australian state sees 478 new virus infections

By The Associated Press
Posted:
Updated:

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
Posted:
Updated:

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
Posted:
Updated:

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
Posted:
Updated:

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
Posted:
Updated:

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.