National & International | The Daily Courier

Harry and Meghan bring rain to drought-stricken Outback town

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were jokingly thanked for bringing England's notoriously inclement weather to a drought-stricken Outback town on Wednesday in a rain-drenched visit to Dubbo during their Australian royal tour.

California winds ease, wildfire risk narrows

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California remained on guard Tuesday, but gusty winds that raised the threat of wildfires were decreasing in strength and becoming less widespread a day after knocking out power to thousands and forcing utilities to proactively cut electricity to prevent sparks.

Trump criticizes rush to condemn Saudi Arabia over Khashoggi

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump Tuesday criticized rapidly mounting global condemnation of Saudi Arabia over the mystery of missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi, warning of a rush to judgment and echoing the Saudis' request for patience.

Elizabeth Warren's DNA claim inflames some Native Americans

OKLAHOMA CITY — The DNA test that Sen. Elizabeth Warren used to try to rebut the ridicule of President Donald Trump angered some Native Americans, who complained that the genetic analysis cheapens the identities of tribal members with deeper ties to the Indian past.

California winds easing, wildfire risk narrowing

LOS ANGELES — California remained on guard Tuesday, but gusty winds that raised the threat of wildfires were decreasing in strength and becoming less widespread a day after knocking out power to thousands and forcing utilities to proactively cut electricity to prevent sparks.

Claims of voter suppression and 'illegals' in Georgia

ATLANTA — A bitter political battle over access to the polls is consuming the final stretch of the hotly contested Georgia governor's race.

Hurricane is blamed for 16 deaths in Florida alone

PANAMA CITY, Fla. — Hurricane Michael killed at least 16 people in Florida, most of them in the coastal county that took a direct hit from the storm, state emergency authorities said Tuesday. That's in addition to at least 10 deaths elsewhere across the South.

Trump warns Honduras over migrant caravan now in Guatemala

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Tuesday to cut aid to Honduras if it doesn't stop a caravan of some 2,000 migrants, even as they resumed their northward trek through Guatemala with hopes of reaching the U.S. border.

Sheriff: Missing Wisconsin teenager in danger, not a runaway

Police say a girl resembling a missing, endangered Wisconsin teen has been spotted at a gas station in Florida.

Pompeo meets Saudi king, prince on writer's disappearance

America's top diplomat met on Tuesday with Saudi Arabia's King Salman and his son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the disappearance and alleged killing of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul.

Paul Allen's passions: Rock n' roll, sports and philanthropy

Personal computers, conservation, pro football, rock n' roll and rocket ships: Paul G. Allen couldn't have asked for a better way to spend, invest and donate the billions he reaped from co-founding Microsoft with childhood friend Bill Gates.

Border agent abuse hard to pin down

Immigrants face hurdles to prove claims

Within hours of being booked at a Border Patrol station in far West Texas, two teenage sisters from Guatemala came forward to allege that an agent conducted an improper strip search.

Families search for the missing in the hurricane's aftermath

Joanne Garone Behnke has replayed every possible scenario in her mind a hundred times.

Girdles and socket wrenches: Sears was the Amazon of its day

Before there was Amazon — or, for that matter, Home Depot or Walmart or Kmart — there was Sears.

West Coast military installations eyed for US fuel exports

The Trump administration is considering using West Coast military installations or other federal properties to open the way for more U.S. fossil fuel exports to Asia in the name of national security and despite opposition from coastal states.

California utilities shut off power amid wildfire concerns

Concerned about downed power lines sparking wildfires, two major California utilities took the rare step of cutting power to customers amid high winds — and another power provider was considering similar action.

Alleged lottery scam kingpin gets 6 years for conning elderly victims

A Jamaican man who authorities said masterminded a lottery scam that defrauded at least 95 mostly elderly Americans out of more than $5.8 million has been sentenced to six years in federal prison.

No cellphones, no gas: No end to misery in Florida hurricane zone

PANAMA CITY, Fla. — Residents of hurricane-ravaged communities in Florida's Panhandle turned to volunteers and each other for help Monday, the fifth day without cell service, electricity or, in many cases, shelter.

France: 12 die in floods unseen in more than a century

PARIS — Flash floods that tore through several towns in southwest France following an overnight storm killed at least 12 people, authorities said Monday. Some residents had to be helicoptered from rooftops as the equivalent of several months of rain poured down in a few hours and turned waterways into raging torrents.

Warren DNA analysis points to Native American heritage

BOSTON — Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Monday released the results of a DNA analysis that she said indicated she has some Native American heritage, a direct rebuttal to President Donald Trump, who has long mocked her ancestral claims and repeatedly referred to her as "Pocahontas."

U.S. lacks Latino historical sites and landmarks, scholars say

GLORIETA PASS, N.M. — A makeshift memorial to Hispanic Civil War Union soldiers in an isolated part northern New Mexico is a typical representation of sites linked to U.S. Latino history: It's shabby, largely unknown and at risk of disappearing.

Trump says climate change not a hoax, not sure of its source

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is backing off his claim that climate change is a hoax but says he doesn't know if it's manmade and suggests that the climate will "change back again."

Saudis reject threats as stocks plunge after Trump comments

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates— Saudi Arabia warned on Sunday that it will respond to threats and political pressure with tough measures of its own after President Donald Trump said the oil-rich kingdom deserves "severe punishment" if responsible for the disappearance and suspected murder of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi.

Trump on rally blitz as he tries to stave off Dem gains

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump gazes out over his rally crowd and looses a stream of insults with a theatrical flourish and playful grin. He jabs at Cory Booker the "disaster" mayor, Elizabeth Warren the "Pocahontas" pretender and "sleepy" Joe Biden.

4 days after storm, large swath of Florida Panhandle suffering

MEXICO BEACH, Fla. — Crews with backhoes and other heavy equipment scooped up splintered boards, broken glass, chunks of asphalt and other debris in hurricane-flattened Mexico Beach on Sunday as the mayor held out hope for the 250 or so residents who may have tried to ride out the storm.