CASTAIC, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters are battling two California blazes that are raging in rural areas and have prompted evacuations in the midst of a scorching heat wave. Authorities are battling a 4,625-acre blaze that prompted the evacuation of a mobile home park in the Castaic area in northwestern Los Angeles County. Eight firefighters have been treated for heat-related injuries.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Reports of sexual assaults across the U.S. military jumped by 13% last year, driven by significant increases in the Army and the Navy as bases began to move out of pandemic restrictions and public venues opened back up. U.S. defense and military officials also told The Associated Press that close to 36,000 service members said in a confidential survey that they had experienced unwanted sexual contact. That's a dramatic increase over the roughly 20,000 who said that in a similar 2018 survey.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s state Board of Canvassers has rejected a ballot initiative seeking to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution. The state Board of Canvassers denied the initiative Wednesday after its two Republican members voted against putting the proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — People are waiting in lines for water in Jackson, Mississippi, after the partial failure of the city water system. Some homes and businesses have running water, but many do not. Flooding of the Pearl River worsened longstanding problems in one of two water-treatment plants.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Atlantic hurricane season has been oddly quiet. There's been a record-tying zero storms formed in August, which normally is the beginning of peak season. What's really strange is that all the major factors for a busy season are there: warm water, low winds and a La Nina. All the experts predicted this would be a more active than normal season, but then nothing happened.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky will receive up to 300 donated travel trailers from Louisiana to shelter people displaced by flooding that ravaged parts of Appalachia. The governors of both states made the announcement Wednesday. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says the first 65 donated trailers are being transported this week to eastern Kentucky. He says more trailers will be sent to the region in phases.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. life expectancy dropped for the second consecutive year in 2021, falling by nearly a year from 2020. That's according to a new government report. In the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the estimated American lifespan has shortened by nearly three years. The last comparable decrease happened in the early 1940s, during the height of World War II.

LA PORTE, Texas (AP) — The greatest challenge in recent years for the only surviving battleship that served in both world wars has been a leaky hull that's raised concerns it could sink. Now the foundation in charge of the USS Texas' care is towing it Wednesday from its longtime home along the Houston Ship Channel to a shipyard in Galveston for much-needed repairs.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — State governments flush with money are returning billions of dollars to their residents. Already this year, at least 31 states have enacted some form of tax cut or rebate. That's likely to grow when Missouri and Idaho convene special sessions in September to consider tax breaks. The number of states enacting tax breaks is far beyond usual. States have extra money because of surging tax revenue and federal pandemic aid.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi’s capital city is struggling with multiple water problems — too much on the ground after heavy rainfall in the past week, and not enough safe water coming through the pipes for people to use. Parts of Jackson were without running water Tuesday because flooding worsened problems in one of two water-treatment plants. The city of 150,000 had already been under a boil-water notice for a month because the Health Department found cloudy water that could cause digestive problems.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — There is a limited amount of farmland, so when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last spring prompted worries that people would go hungry as wheat remained stuck in blockaded ports, there was little U.S. farmers could do to meet the new demand. But that may be changing. Earlier this summer, the U.S. Department of Agriculture instituted new policies to encourage American farmers to begin growing two crops on one piece of land, one after the other.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Authorities in Bend, Oregon, say an employee who died in a shooting at a Safeway supermarket attacked the gunman in the produce section and tried to disarm him, likely preventing more deaths. The 66-year-old employee, identified as Donald Ray Surrett Jr., was hailed as a hero by police. Surrett and a customer, 84-year-old Glenn Edward Bennett, were killed Sunday evening and two others were injured.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A member of the San Diego Zoo’s African penguin colony has been fitted with orthopedic footwear to help it deal with a degenerative foot condition. The San Diego Wildlife Alliance says the 4-year-old penguin named Lucas has lesions on his feet due to a chronic condition known as bumblefoot. If left untreated, bumblefoot could lead to sepsis and death by infection.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The large fencing that has encircled the U.S. Supreme Court for months has now been removed. The non-scalable fencing was gone Monday morning, leaving only small barricades blocking off the plaza and steps in front of the high court. Court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe would say only that the fence came down sometime during the weekend. “The Court as a matter of policy does not discuss security arrangements,” McCabe said in an email.

JACKSON, Miss (AP) — Some Jackson residents are moving belongings out of their homes while others are stocking up on sandbags in anticipation of the Pearl River flooding Mississippi’s capital city. Officials have not implemented a mandatory evacuation order but the city’s mayor urged anyone who could leave to do so immediately. Officials said residents risk fending for themselves if they choose to stay home.

DETROIT (AP) — Detroit police say a tip from someone close to the suspect led to his capture in the random shootings of four people, three fatally. Chief James White also said that the 19-year-old man may have been suffering from mental illness. He said an investigation is still underway into a motive for shootings that erupted early Sunday and fueled anxiety across the city until the man was captured later that evening.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A fuel leak and then an engine problem has forced NASA to scrub the launch of its new moon rocket on a crewless test flight. The next launch attempt will not take place until Friday at the earliest. The 322-foot Space Launch System rocket was set to lift off Monday morning with three test dummies aboard on its first flight, a mission to propel a capsule into orbit around the moon.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has told the Justice Department to provide her with more specific information about the classified records removed from former President Donald Trump's Florida estate. In an order on Saturday, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida says it's her “preliminary intent” to appoint a special master in the case. A special master is often a former judge.

FORT JACKSON, S.C. (AP) — There's a new Army program that gives lower-performing recruits up to 90 days of academic or fitness instruction to help them meet military standards. The program is one way the Army is hoping to fill the ranks as it struggles with recruiting efforts that are expected to fall dramatically short of the goals this year. According to estimates, just 23% of young people age 17 to 24 are physically, mentally and morally qualified to serve without receiving some type of waiver. Moral behavior issues include drug use, gang ties or a criminal record.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Friday released a partially blacked-out document explaining the justification for an FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate this month, when agents removed top secret government records and other classified documents.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The U.S. government has begun scattering millions of packets of oral rabies vaccine from helicopters and planes in 13 states from Maine to Alabama. The major aim is to help keep raccoons from spreading their variant of the deadly virus to states where it's less prevalent.

JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivered a stark message Friday: The Fed will likely impose more large interest rate hikes in coming months and is resolutely focused on taming the highest inflation in four decades. Powell acknowledged that the Fed’s continued tightening of credit will cause pain for many households and businesses as its higher rates further slow the economy and potentially lead to job losses.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California has set itself on a path to end the era of gas-powered cars in the state. The policy approved Thursday by the California Air Resources Board is the world's most stringent set of rules for transitioning to electric vehicles. It doesn't ban the use of gas-powered cars or the sale of used ones. But it would require 100% of new sales of passenger cars, trucks and SUVs to be powered by electricity or hydrogen by 2035, with one-fifth allowed to be plug-in hybrids.

MT. MORRIS, Mich. (AP) — A blind Michigan judge went for a drive and a sheriff rode shotgun. As 100 people watched, Richard Bernstein of the Michigan Supreme Court drove a car on a dirt track Tuesday at the Genesee County fairgrounds, northwest of Flint. The 47-year-old Bernstein says he's always wanted to know “what it’s like to hit the gas.”

HENDERSON, Ky. (AP) — Two people were killed and two were wounded in a shooting at a homeless shelter for men in western Kentucky, and a suspect has been arrested, authorities said. Officers responded Thursday evening to a report of an active shooter at the Harbor House Christian Center, the Henderson Police Department said in a statement on social media.