COLU @ CONCEPTS

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the world’s leaders Tuesday that the threat of a nuclear attack is at its highest level since the end of the Cold War and “fiery talk can lead to fatal misunderstandings.” In his first state-of-the-world report since taking the reins of the United Nations on Jan. 1, Guterres put “nuclear peril” as the leading threat warning that “we must not sleepwalk our way into war.” The U.N. chief told presidents, prime ministers and monarchs at the opening of the General Assembly’s annual ministerial meeting that millions of people are living in fear “under a shadow of dread cast by the provocative nuclear and missile tests” of North Korea. His message on “fiery” rhetoric was implicitly directed at North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, but also at the United States and President Donald Trump, who has warned of “fire and fury” if North Korea does not back down. Guterres said a solution to the North Korea must be political...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be U.S. ambassador to Russia, says Moscow’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election led directly to the low level of trust between the two former Cold War foes. Appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, Huntsman says there’s no question that Russia interfered and continues to intrude “in the democratic processes of our friends and allies.” If he’s confirmed, Huntsman would take over a high-profile post amid ongoing investigations by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russia’s election intrusions and potential contacts between Russian officials and the Trump campaign. The relationship between the United States and Russia is badly strained and has been marred in recent months by a series of expulsions of diplomats and closures of diplomatic missions. Source: www.apnews.com By RICHARD LARDNER

WASHINGTON (AP) — An abandoned proposal to develop a Trump Tower in Moscow during the 2016 presidential election was “solely a real estate deal and nothing more,” the personal lawyer for President Donald Trump was expected to tell congressional staff on Tuesday. Michael Cohen appeared Tuesday morning at the offices of the Senate Intelligence Committee, one of multiple congressional panels investigating Russian interference in the presidential race and potential ties to the Trump campaign. Special counsel Robert Mueller and his team of investigators are conducting their own criminal investigation. Cohen was in the committee’s offices for about an hour and a half before emerging and telling reporters that the committee had postponed his interview. He did not give a reason for the delay, referring questions to the committee. “I’ll be back,” Cohen said. In a prepared statement obtained by The Associated Press, Cohen addressed revelations from last month that the Trump Organiza...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday praised the revived Republican effort to uproot former President Barack Obama’s health care law, giving a public boost to a proposal that’s given new life to a drive that seemed all but dead earlier this summer. McConnell, R-Ky., said the bill would let states “implement better health care ideas by taking more decision-making power out of Washington.” He said the measure would “make quality and affordable health care available to their citizens in a way that works better in their own particular states.” Backed by the White House and Senate leaders, the bill’s chief sponsors, Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Louisiana’s Bill Cassidy, are still hunting for the 50 GOP votes they’d need to prevail over solid Democratic opposition. Vice President Mike Pence would cast the tie-breaking vote in a roll call that must happen by the end of September, before special procedures shielding the bill from a Democr...

ROSEAU, Dominica (AP) — Hurricane Maria smashed into Dominica with 160 mph winds, ripping the roof off even the prime minister’s residence and causing what he called “mind-boggling” devastation Tuesday as it plunged into a Caribbean region already ravaged by Hurricane Irma. The storm was on a track to wallop Puerto Rico on Wednesday “with a force and violence that we haven’t seen for several generations,” the territory’s governor said. Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said on his Facebook page that “initial reports are of widespread devastation” and said he feared there would be deaths due to rain-fed landslides. “So far the winds have swept away the roofs of almost every person I have spoken to or otherwise made contact with,” Skerrit wrote. “The roof to my own official residence was among the first to go.” And he appealed for international aid: “We will need help, my friend, we will need help of all kinds.” Maria’s eye roared over the island late Monday ni...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the GOP effort to repeal former President Barack Obama’s health care law (all times local): 10:40 a.m. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is praising a last-ditch Republican bill to repeal and replace “Obamacare” — the latest sign the GOP’s repeal effort may be back from the dead. McConnell calls the bill by Sens. Bill Cassidy and Lindsey Graham “an intriguing idea, and one that has a great deal of support.” The bill would undo major elements of Barack Obama’s health care law and send block grants to the states instead. The Senate must act on the bill by Sept. 30 — or face a certain Democratic filibuster. McConnell says the GOP’s ability to repeal the law after years of promises “may well pass us by if we don’t act.” ___ 3:28 a.m. Top Senate Republicans say their last-ditch push to uproot President Barack Obama’s health care law is gaining momentum. But the GOP has less than two weeks to succeed. And it still faces a tough figh...

NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on U.S. President Donald Trump at the United Nations (all times local): 11 a.m. President Donald Trump has concluded his first address to the United Nations General Assembly, a speech of more than 40 minutes marked by tough talk for North Korea and Iran. The president referred to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as “rocket man.” And he threatened to “totally destroy North Korea” if the United States is forced to defend itself or allies against the North’s aggression. Trump also said the Iranian government is an “economically depleted rogue state” whose chief export is violence. Trump said the world can’t allow the “murderous regime” to continue its destabilizing activities. And he knocked the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, saying world leaders “cannot abide” by the agreement if it “provides cover” for Iran to build its nuclear program. ___ 10:56 a.m. President Donald Trump says the socialist government in Venezuela has brought a once-thriv...

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — President Donald Trump, in a combative debut speech to the U.N. General Assembly, threatened the “total destruction’” of North Korea if it does not abandon its drive toward nuclear weapons. Trump, who has ramped up his rhetoric throughout the escalating crisis with North Korea, told the murmuring crowd at the U.N. that “it is far past time for the nations of the world to confront” Kim Jong Un and said that Kim’s “reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons” poses a threat to “the entire world with an unthinkable loss of human life. “Rocket man is on a suicide mission for himself and his regime,” Trump said about the North Korean leader. He said of the U.S.: “If it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.” Trump, who has previously warned of “fire and fury” if Pyongyang does not back down, claimed that “no one has shown more contempt for other nations and for the wellbeing of their own people than the...

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the world’s leaders Tuesday that the threat of a nuclear attack is at its highest level since the end of the Cold War and “fiery talk can lead to fatal misunderstandings.” In his first state-of-the-world report since taking the reins of the United Nations on Jan. 1, Guterres put “nuclear peril” as the leading threat warning that “we must not sleepwalk our way into war.” The U.N. chief told presidents, prime ministers and monarchs at the opening of the General Assembly’s annual ministerial meeting that millions of people are living in fear “under a shadow of dread cast by the provocative nuclear and missile tests” of North Korea. His message on “fiery” rhetoric was implicitly directed at North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, but also at the United States and President Donald Trump, who has warned of “fire and fury” if North Korea does not back down. Guterres said a solution to the North Korea must be politic...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Senate Republicans say their last-ditch push to uproot former President Barack Obama’s health care law is gaining momentum. But they have less than two weeks to succeed and face a tough fight to win enough GOP support to reverse the summer’s self-inflicted defeat on the party’s high-priority issue. “We feel pretty good about it,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a leader of the effort along with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Monday. “He’s the grave robber,” No. 3 Senate GOP leader John Thune of South Dakota said of Cassidy. “This thing was six feet under” but now has “a lot of very positive buzz,” Thune said. The 140-page bill would replace much of Obama’s law with block grants to states, giving them wide leeway on spending the money, and would cut and reshape Medicaid. It would let states set their own coverage health requirements, allow insurers to boost premiums on people with serious medical conditions and end Obama’s mandates that most Americans buy...

NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on U.S. President Donald Trump at the United Nations (all times local): 10:15 a.m. President Donald Trump is opening his maiden address in front of the United Nationals General Assembly by praising his accomplishments in office so far. He’s also sending thanks to the leaders of countries that have offered assistance to the U.S. as it recovers from a pair of damaging hurricanes. Trump is praising the American people as “strong and resilient” and says the U.S. has done “very well” since his election. He’s pointing to the stock market and the employment rate and says the U.S. military will soon be the strongest it has ever been. ___ 3:40 a.m. Elected on the slogan “America First,” President Donald Trump is making his debut address to the U.N. General Assembly. He’s expected to argue Tuesday that nations should act in their own self-interest, yet rally together when faced with a common threat such as North Korea. He plans to address other c...

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The Latest on tensions created by North Korea’s nuclear weapons program (all times local): 4 p.m. Japanese professional wrestler-turned-lawmaker Antonio Inoki, who has conducted sports diplomacy with North Korea since the 1990s, has urged Japan to do more to calm escalating tensions between the U.S. and North Korea. Inoki, who returned from a visit to North Korea earlier this week, told a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday that Japan, as the world’s only country to have been attacked by atomic bombs, should stay more neutral and mediate between the U.S. and North Korea. He said the two sides seemed to be competing to show how high they could raise their fists. “Essentially, I would like to see Japan pursue its own diplomacy and mediate so they will lower their fists,” he said. Inoki stressed the importance of keeping the door open for communication even at difficult times. He has now visited North Korea 32 times as part of his “sports exchang...

NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Hart has publicly apologized to his pregnant wife and his kids for what he described as a “bad error in judgment.” The comedian and box office star, looking morose, posted a  video  to Instagram on Saturday in which he said he wasn’t perfect and recently made poor decisions. He said there was “no excuses” but added that someone was trying to seek financial gain over his mistakes, and he’d rather confess than let that happen. Hart married wife Eniko last year. She is expecting their first child soon. He has two children from a previous marriage. Earlier this summer, a video emerged of Hart looking cozy with a brunette in the back of a car, but he laughed off any suggestions of infidelity in an Instagram post. Source: www.apnews.com 

ATLANTA (AP) — A summer of natural catastrophes, from epic hurricanes to scorching wildfires, has exposed another peril in disaster-prone states: How to pay for the rescues, repairs and rebuilding. The combined tab from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma is expected to hit $200 billion or more. While the federal government is expected to pay most of that, the affected state and local governments have to start paying for recovery now and eventually could be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars or more. States vary on how prepared they are to weather such costs. Florida and South Carolina, both hit by Hurricane Irma, are among the dozen or so states that do not have dedicated disaster funds and opt to cover the expenses after the fact, potentially by dipping into reserves or shifting money from other state agencies. Experts say such pay-as-you-go disaster funding can be risky. Add an economic downturn when reserves are low and budgets are tight, and state and local officials ...

TORONTO (AP) — Walking through a tunnel alongside Billie Jean King at the grounds of the U.S. Open, Emma Stone gasped at the size of its main court. King, of course, was more familiar with the sprawling tennis center in Queens, New York — it’s named after her, after all (the stadium itself is named after another tennis legend, Arthur Ashe). But as accustomed as Stone is to the spotlight, her playing fields are usually private film sets or more intimate television show audiences. In making “Battle of the Sexes,” a new film about King’s infamous 1973 showdown with Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell), Stone was often both awed and a little jealous of the stages on which King crusaded for sport and for women’s rights. (King helped win equal prize money for women at the U.S. Open that same year.) In tennis, the lines are clear, the scoreboard is final and a landmark victory against sexism could go down in straight sets. “It’s just such a longer conversation in the movie industry,” Stone...