COLU @ CONCEPTS

BALI, Indonesia (AP) — Mount Agung on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali is threatening to erupt after more than half a century of quiet. Here’s what you need to know. ___ IS BALI STILL SAFE FOR TOURISTS? Seismic activity from the volcano has escalated dramatically in the past two weeks but officials say there is no reason for tourists to panic and the island famous for its surfing, beaches and elegant Hindu culture is still safe to visit. Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport has been operating normally since the alert status for Mount Agung was raised to the highest level on Friday but a significant eruption would force its closure and strand thousands. Nearly 5 million tourists visited Bali last year. Videos circulating on social media that purport to show the mountain already violently erupting are hoaxes; they show previous eruptions from other volcanoes in Indonesia. Agung is in the north of the island about 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the tourist hotspo...

BALI, Indonesia (AP) — Mount Agung on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali is threatening to erupt after more than half a century of quiet. Here’s what you need to know. ___ IS BALI STILL SAFE FOR TOURISTS? Seismic activity from the volcano has escalated dramatically in the past two weeks but officials say there is no reason for tourists to panic and the island famous for its surfing, beaches and elegant Hindu culture is still safe to visit. Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport has been operating normally since the alert status for Mount Agung was raised to the highest level on Friday but a significant eruption would force its closure and strand thousands. Nearly 5 million tourists visited Bali last year. Videos circulating on social media that purport to show the mountain already violently erupting are hoaxes; they show previous eruptions from other volcanoes in Indonesia. Agung is in the north of the island about 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the tourist hotspo...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Witnesses and police described a chaotic scene as a masked attacker armed with two guns shot seven people, killing one, in a Tennessee church before he was subdued. Burnette Chapel Church of Christ member Minerva Rosa said members were talking about the success of their yard sale the previous day when they heard gunshots outside. The church pastor, David Spann, 60, shouted, “Run, run, gunshots!” as congregants hid under pews or in bathrooms, according to a witness. A masked gunman carrying two guns entered the church from the back after fatally shooting a woman outside, police said. He then walked through the church silently, shooting six more people before he was subdued by an usher, police said. Police later recovered another pistol and a shotgun from the suspect’s vehicle. Rosa said the reading that day had been from Luke, Chapter 8, and she recalled the part about a woman who touched Jesus and was cured of bleeding. By the end of the shooting...

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s baby panda now has a name: Xiang Xiang, or fragrance. Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike announced Monday that the 3-month-old giant panda is called Shan Shan in Japanese, or Xiang Xiang in Chinese. The name, whose Chinese characters mean fragrance, was chosen from more than 320,000 suggestions and was approved by Chinese authorities. The Ueno Zoo in Tokyo says the panda is healthy and growing rapidly. She now weighs 6 kilograms (13 pounds) and measures 65 centimeters (26 inches) long, nearly twice as big as she was a month ago, according to the latest measurement marking the 100th day since birth. Videos released last week showed the fluffy black-and-white cub crawling, and some teeth coming in. Xiang Xiang was born on June 12 to the zoo’s resident giant panda, Shin Shin. Source: www.apnews.com 

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Claire Richardson remembers taking off from Nome in an airplane uniquely configured for Alaska when a horrible smell seeped into the passenger area. The captain soon came on the speaker to apologize for the odor, which was coming from 70 skittish baby reindeer headed for Texas. “Guess they all pooped as we lifted off from the runway,” Richardson said. Those days will be coming to a close as the special plane that hauls people, goods and even animals on the same flight is taken out of service in a state with few roads. Alaska Airlines is retiring its last four combi planes, special Boeing 737-400s designed to carry cargo in the middle of the plane and 72 passengers in the rear, company vice president Marilyn Romano told The Associated Press ahead of this week’s unveiling of the first of three new cargo planes for the state. ’They’ve been our workhorses,” said Jason Berry, manager of the company’s cargo division. The new freight carriers are a de...

LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England is warning of “a pocket of risk” in the rapid growth of consumer credit in the British economy. Though it says that it is “not a material risk to economic growth” as consumer credit only accounts for 11 percent of household debt, the bank says the increase is a “risk to banks’ ability to withstand severe economic downturns” because consumer credit is the asset class that is “disproportionately more likely to default.” The bank’s Financial Policy Committee said Monday that lenders have been “underestimating the losses they could incur in a downturn.” The committee, which assesses financial risks to the British economy, also said that overall risks to the country’s financial stability from domestic sources “are broadly unchanged” and “at a standard level.” Source: www.apnews.com 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House intelligence panel will interview two of President Donald Trump’s associates behind closed doors this week as congressional committees step up their investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Longtime Trump associate Roger Stone and former staffer Boris Epshteyn will talk to the House panel. Stone confirmed his interview, which will be held Tuesday. Epshteyn will also speak to the committee this week, according to a source familiar with the interview. The person declined to be named because the panel’s meetings are private. The interviews come as the House and Senate intelligence panels are looking into the meddling and scrutinizing the spread of false news stories and propaganda on social media. The Senate intelligence committee will speak to officials from Twitter on Wednesday, also behind closed doors. Stone is a Republican strategist who has known Trump for many years and informally advised him during the 2016 campaign. He ha...

TOKYO (AP) — Tokyo’s popular governor announced Monday that she is launching a new political party to challenge Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling party in national elections expected next month. Yuriko Koike said she is heading the Hope Party and plans to send candidates to vie for some of the 475 seats in the lower house. Abe was expected to announce later Monday that he plans to dissolve the lower house of Japan’s two-chamber parliament on Thursday and call snap elections for Oct. 22. Koike said her party will be conservative and push for transparency in government, women’s advancement, elimination of nuclear energy and other reforms. Several parliamentarians, including defectors from the main opposition Democratic Party, have announced their intention to join her party. “This is going to be a new force formed by members aiming to achieve reforms and conservativism,” Koike said. “We are going to create a Japan where there is hope for everyone that tomorrow will certai...

The Associated Press observed more than 200 players around the NFL kneeling or sitting during the national anthem on Sunday. The highest total was in Washington before the nationally televised night game, where nearly the entire Oakland Raiders team protested, in addition to six Redskins. No one sat or knelt at the Pittsburgh at Chicago game, although the Steelers stayed in the tunnel. In Tennessee, both the Titans and Seattle Seahawks remained inside through the anthem. Here’s a breakdown at each game, as observed by AP reporters: — Oakland Raiders at Washington Redskins: Roughly 50 Raiders sat or kneeled, plus six Redskins. — Cleveland Browns at Indianapolis Colts: About 24. — New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles: At least three (and three other players raising their fists). — Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills: About 35, including Bills RB LeSean McCoy and about half of the Broncos’ roster. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Minnesota Vikings: At least two, including Bucs...

WASHINGTON (AP) — With his attacks on activist athletes, President Donald Trump plunged into the middle of his favorite kind of drama — personal, aggressive, culturally volatile and entirely of his own making. For three days, the provocateur president has drawn criticism from the worlds of politics and sports for saying that football players who kneel during the national anthem should be fired. The conflict peaked Sunday with Trump’s remarks, which had the effect of uniting a newly minted opposition coalition that included a growing number of players and coaches, as well as some owners who have backed the president. Late Sunday, Trump continued to defend the scrap — which prompted about 200 players to stand, kneel or raise their fists during the national anthem at games — telling reporters in New Jersey that kneeling was “very disrespectful to our flag and to our country” and that “owners should do something.” Trump also offered his own take on the players and coaches who ...

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — A closely watched survey says German business optimism took a dip in September ahead of federal elections and amid concerns about a stronger euro. The Ifo business climate indicator fell to 115.2 points from 115.9 in August. Stephen Brown, European economist at Capital Economics, says the stronger euro may have weighed on sentiment. A stronger currency can hurt a country’s exports. The euro has risen to around $1.20 from $1.05 at the start of the year. Nonetheless, the survey result remains well above the long-term average since 1991 of 102.1 as Germany enjoys steady growth and low unemployment. The survey published Monday by the Munich-based Ifo institute is a leading indicator, meaning it is intended to give a sense of where the economy is going in coming months. Source: www.apnews.com 

WASHINGTON (AP) — John McCain faced a choice that balanced friendship, party loyalty and his convictions. He made the decision some of his closest advisers expected. Looking at the twilight of his career and a grim cancer diagnosis, the Republican senator from Arizona who prides himself on an independent streak could not be moved to go along with a last-ditch GOP push to overhaul the nation’s health care system. Those close to him say he wrestled with the choice — the legislation was championed by his best friend in the Senate — but rarely strayed from his intention to send a message to the institution where he’s spent three decades. That message was bipartisanship and what he cast as the integrity of the Senate process that insists on debate and often yields compromise. The call for “regular order” isn’t the stuff of campaign bumper stickers, but it has become McCain’s mission since he’s returned to Washington, to keep up his work and treatment for an often fatal brain tu...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Struggling with an embarrassing series of misconduct and behavior problems among senior officers, the Army is putting together new mental health, counseling and career management programs to shape stronger, more ethical leaders. The programs stem from a broader worry across the military about the need to bolster professionalism within the officer corps while holding accountable those who abuse their power. The Army plan appears to focus more on building character than berating bad conduct. In recent years, general officers from the one-star to four-star level have violated the military code of conduct they’ve lived under and enforced — often for decades. Some infractions involved extramarital affairs, inappropriate relationships with subordinates or improper use of government funds. “The idea that we’ll be perfect, I think, is unrealistic, but we can be better and we strive to be better,” said Lt. Gen. Ed Cardon, tasked by the Army’s top officer to review...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Memo to Republican senators: Many of the states President Donald Trump won last year would lose significant federal financing under the last-ditch Republican health care bill headed for a possible showdown in the Senate this week. Among states expected to lose are Arizona, Florida, Kentucky, and Ohio, where cuts could swell the number of uninsured people. That has political implications for Republicans girding for congressional midterm elections next year, as well as for the next presidential race in 2020. That year is when the biggest spending reductions from the legislation by GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy would start taking effect. Consider the following: Of the 30 states Trump carried in his surprise victory, 16 would lose federal health care money under the bill to dismantle Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, according to Kaiser Family Foundation estimates reviewed by The Associated Press. Among the losers are not just Democratic strongh...

BERLIN (AP) — The Latest on the outcome of Germany’s national election (all times local): 11:30 a.m. A German business leader is calling on the country’s politicians to form a stable government after a complicated election result. Conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel’s junior partners in the outgoing government, the center-left Social Democrats, vowed to go into opposition after Sunday’s election. That leaves her facing lengthy talks with the pro-business Free Democrats and traditionally left-leaning Greens to form a new, previously untried coalition. Eric Schweitzer, the head of the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said Monday: “In these difficult times, and this is a central issue for business, we need a stable government.” Germany enjoys healthy economic growth and low unemployment. Schweitzer said that “the economic situation is good, no question about that, but companies are concerned about whether it will stay that way.” ___ 11 a.m. A...

BERLIN (AP) — The Latest on the outcome of Germany’s national election (all times local): 11:30 a.m. A German business leader is calling on the country’s politicians to form a stable government after a complicated election result. Conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel’s junior partners in the outgoing government, the center-left Social Democrats, vowed to go into opposition after Sunday’s election. That leaves her facing lengthy talks with the pro-business Free Democrats and traditionally left-leaning Greens to form a new, previously untried coalition. Eric Schweitzer, the head of the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said Monday: “In these difficult times, and this is a central issue for business, we need a stable government.” Germany enjoys healthy economic growth and low unemployment. Schweitzer said that “the economic situation is good, no question about that, but companies are concerned about whether it will stay that way.” ___ 11 a.m. A...

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Even though President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation imposing strict new restrictions on visitors from North Korea and several other nations, the move is largely symbolic for the North because not many people from the country visit the United States. The North Korean government, led by dictator Kim Jong Un, disallows most of its 24 million people to travel to foreign countries including the United States, except in special cases like jobs that bring in foreign currency or participation in sporting events. North Korea has tens of thousands of such workers abroad, but none are believed to be in the United States. Reports say there is a dwindling number of North Koreans visiting the United States amid the standoff over the North’s nuclear and missile programs. According a report last month by the Voice of America broadcaster, the United States issued 100 visas to North Koreans last year. VOA, citing an analysis of visa records, said 52 of the...

President Donald Trump probably didn’t realize he’d struck such a nerve with NFL players when he implored team owners to “get that son of a bitch off the field” for protesting during the national anthem. The line drew loud applause at the president’s political rally in Huntsville, Alabama, but the words cut deep into America’s most popular sports league, where the majority of players are black and many of them grew up in tough neighborhoods, raised by strong women. “I’m a son of a queen,” an emotional Falcons defensive lineman Grady Jarrett said. “There are no SOBs in this league,” Lions coach Jim Caldwell said Sunday, when at least 200 NFL players either knelt, sat, stretched or prayed during the “Star Spangled Banner” to protest Trump’s remarks. Three teams didn’t even take the field until the national anthem was over. The protest campaign that started last year with former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was down to just six players last week. But Tru...