TOKYO — Maki Kaji, the creator of the popular numbers puzzle Sudoku whose life's work was spreading the joy of puzzles, has died, his Japanese company said Tuesday. He was 69 and had bile duct cancer. Known as the “Godfather of Sudoku,” Kaji created the puzzle to be easy for...
AP FACT CHECK: Biden Skirts US Failures in Afghan Mayhem
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden ignored his own administration's failures Monday when he tried to explain why desperate civilians in Afghanistan's capital have been left stranded and in danger from the Taliban because of the swift U.S. departure. While asserting “the buck stops with me,” Biden blamed Afghans in large...
California Drought Takes Toll on World’s Top Almond Producers
FIREBAUGH — As temperatures recently reached triple digits, farmer Joe Del Bosque inspected the almonds in his parched orchard in California’s agriculture-rich San Joaquin Valley, where a deepening drought threatens one of the state's most profitable crops. Del Bosque doesn’t have enough water to properly irrigate his almond orchards, so...
Sources: US to Recommend COVID Vaccine Boosters at 8 Months
WASHINGTON — U.S. experts are expected to recommend COVID-19 vaccine boosters for all Americans, regardless of age, eight months after they received their second dose of the shot, to ensure lasting protection against the coronavirus as the delta variant spreads across the country. Federal health officials have been actively looking...
Pentagon: US, Taliban Coordinate as Kabul Evacuation Speeds
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is coordinating with the Taliban while accelerating the airlift of Americans and Afghan allies from the Kabul airport, and also bringing in additional U.S. troops in a scramble to complete the evacuation in two weeks, Pentagon officials said Tuesday. The disclosure by Pentagon spokesman John...
Newsom Using Stark Language as He Seeks to Stay in Office
Gov. Gavin Newsom is using increasingly stark language as he campaigns in the final month of a tight recall election, calling it “a matter of life or death" that voters keep him in office and he is increasingly targeting a single Republican candidate: talk show host Larry Elder. Mail-in voting...
Kabul Airport Plunges Into Chaos as Taliban Patrols Capital
KABUL, Afghanistan — Thousands of Afghans rushed into Kabul’s main airport Monday, some so desperate to escape the Taliban that they held onto a military jet as it took off and plunged to their deaths. At least seven people died in the chaos, U.S. officials said, as America’s longest war...
Biden Says He Stands ‘Squarely Behind’ Afghanistan Decision
WASHINGTON — Striking a defiant tone, President Joe Biden said Monday that he stands “squarely behind” his decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan and that the Afghan government's collapse was quicker than anticipated. Biden said he was faced with a choice between sticking to a previously negotiated agreement to...
Rural Population Losses Add to Farm and Ranch Labor Shortage
OMAHA, Neb. — Rural America lost more population in the latest census, highlighting an already severe worker shortage in the nation's farming and ranching regions and drawing calls from those industries for immigration reform to help ease the problem. The census data released last week showed that population gains in...
Death Toll of Powerful Earthquake in Haiti Soars to 1,297
LES CAYES, Haiti — The death toll from a 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Haiti climbed to 1,297 on Sunday, a day after the powerful temblor turned thousands of structures into rubble and set off frantic rescue efforts ahead of a potential deluge from an approaching storm. Saturday's earthquake also left at...