AP-US-CALIFORNIA-WILDFIRES

10 dead as California fire becomes deadliest of year

GRIDLEY, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California wildfire that destroyed a foothill hamlet has become the state’s deadliest blaze of the year with 10 people confirmed dead — and the toll could climb as searchers look for 16 missing people. Authorities say the North Complex fire that exploded in wind-driven flames earlier in the week is advancing more slowly Friday after the winds eased and smoke from the blaze shaded the area and lowered the temperature, allowing firefighters to make progress. That was a change from the hot weather and gusty winds that two days earlier sent flames exploding through foothills northeast of San Francisco, destroying at least 2,000 buildings.

PACIFIC NORTHWEST-WILDFIRES

‘Evacuate now:’ Wildfires grow in Oregon as 500K flee

PHOENIX, Ore. (AP) — Deadly wildfires in heavily populated northwest Oregon were growing, with hundreds of thousands of people told to flee encroaching flames while residents to the south tearfully assessed their losses. The Oregon Office of Emergency Management reported that by Thursday evening, the number of people evacuated statewide because of fires had climbed to an estimated 500,000. That’s over 10% of the 4.2 million residents of the state.  One fire approached Molalla, triggering a mandatory evacuation order for the community of about 9,000 people located 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Portland. A police car rolled through the streets with a loudspeaker blaring “evacuate now.”

AFGHANISTAN-PEACE TALKS

Pompeo says Afghan negotiations likely to be ‘contentious’

ISLAMABAD (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is warning that much anticipated negotiations between Afghanistan’s warring parties are likely to be “contentious.” But he says Friday that they are the only way forward if Afghans are to find peace after decades of relentless conflict. Pompeo made his comments en route to the Middle Eastern State of Qatar, where intra-Afghan negotiations are to begin Saturday, a day mostly reserved for ceremony before the hard task of hammering out a road map for a post-war Afghanistan begins. The negotiations were laid out in a peace deal Washington brokered with the Taliban and signed in Doha on Feb. 29 aimed at ending the war and bringing U.S. troops home ending America’s longest conflict.

SYRIA-ISRAEL

Syria reports Israeli airstrike near northern city of Aleppo

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian state media is reporting that Israeli warplanes have fired missiles on suburbs of the northern city of Aleppo. The attack comes amid increased Israeli airstrikes on Syria in recent weeks. There were no immediate reports of casualties. On Aug. 31, an attack targeted the southern suburbs of the capital Damascus killing two soldiers and wounding seven. Israel rarely comments on such reports, but is believed to have carried out scores of raids targeting Iran’s military presence in Syria. In the past three months alone, Syria has accused Israel of carrying out at least nine air raids on its territory.

SEPT 11-ANNIVERSARY-THE LATEST

The Latest: Remembering 9/11 in the age of coronavirus

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans are set to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks with tributes altered by the coronavirus. President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden both plan to visit the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania Friday, though not at the same time. In New York, a dispute over coronavirus precautions is leading to separate remembrances. Vice President Mike Pence plans to attend both events. Biden will also attend a ceremony at the World Trade Center memorial site in New York before heading to Pennsylvania.

AP-EU-BRITAIN-ECONOMY

UK inks Japan trade deal in principle just as EU talks sour

LONDON (AP) — The U.K. has secured its first major post-Brexit trade deal after signing an agreement with Japan just as discussions with the European Union appeared to be on the verge of collapse. The agreement was reached only in principle and details are thin. The government said the pact will increase commerce with Japan by around 15 billion pounds, or $19 billion. Skeptics say no amount of trade deals can mitigate for the losses that may accrue if Britain does not reach a trade agreement with the EU when the current pacts expire at the end of the year. Trade with the 27-nation bloc accounts for around half the country’s total.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-ATTACKING SCHOOLS

UN urges end to attacks on schools, especially in Africa

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council is urging warring parties in all conflicts to immediately stop attacking schools and teachers. And it is reaffirming Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call for global cease-fires to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. A presidential statement approved by the council Thursday expressed grave concern about the significant increase of attacks on schools in recent years and the resulting alarming number of children denied access to quality education. U.N. envoy Virginia Gamba says attacking schools and teachers seems to be an emerging tactic of war, particularly in Africa’s Sahel region. And she says the COVID-19 pandemic has made things worse.

DEPUTY KILLED-SUSPECT

North Carolina deputy shot to death; suspect killed

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Authorities in North Carolina say a sheriff’s deputy was fatally shot by a break-in suspect, and that the suspect was then killed when other deputies returned fire. News outlets report 35-year-old Henderson County Deputy Ryan Hendrix died Thursday afternoon, hours after being shot when he and other deputies responded to a call about a vehicle break-in. Sheriff Lowell Griffin said a homeowner noticed someone breaking into a car. Griffin said the man and the homeowner exchanged gunfire before deputies arrived. The sheriff said the suspect appeared to comply with commands to show his hands before shooting Hendrix in the face.

GOLD STAR FAMILIES-TRUMP

Gold Star families fault Trump on alleged ‘loser’ remarks

SALEM, Mass. (AP) — Two Gold Star families in Massachusetts are criticizing disparaging remarks President Donald Trump allegedly made about veterans and those in the military. The families of Pfc. John Hart and Lance Cpl. Travis Desiato — who were both killed serving in Iraq — spoke out in front of the Hart-Desiato Bridge on Thursday, which was dedicated in honor of the two in 2018. Trump has faced criticism for allegedly denigrating American war dead as “losers” and “suckers.” He has denied the allegation, first reported by The Atlantic magazine last week. Joseph DeSiato, father of Travis, said the pair joined the military after the 9/11 attacks.

AP-US-ELECTION-2020-TRUMP

Trump revels in packed Michigan crowd amid book fallout

FREELAND, Mich. (AP) — Reeling from another crisis of his own making, President Donald Trump tried to refocus attention on his Democratic rival at a rally in battleground Michigan Thursday as he pushed to move past revelations that he purposefully played down the danger of the coronavirus last winter. But the virus controversy followed him as he faced new pushback from local officials worried about the growing size of his rallies and his campaign’s repeated flouting of public health guidelines intended to halt the COVID-19 spread. That includes Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who raised alarms about Thursday’s event. Trump, however, reveled in the crowd of several thousand, packed shoulder-to-shoulder in a cavernous airport hangar, mostly without masks.