MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the U.S. of trying to encourage extended hostilities in Ukraine as part of what he described as part of Washington’s alleged efforts to maintain its global hegemony. Addressing a security conference attended by military officials from Africa, Asia and Latin America on Tuesday, Putin reaffirmed his long-held claim that he sent troops into Ukraine in response to Washington turning the country into an “anti-Russia” bulwark.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Massive explosions and fires have hit a military depot in Russia-annexed Crimea. They forced the evacuation of more than 3,000 people Tuesday. it was the second time in recent days that the Ukraine war’s focus has turned to the peninsula. Russia blamed the blasts at an ammunition storage facility in Mayskoye on an “act of sabotage” without naming the perpetrators.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. – Two pastors who have seen massive growth in their churches in Florida and Georgia will be featured speakers at the SPARK total church conference’s regional training events on Saturday. Jimmy Scroggins, lead pastor at Family Church in South Florida, will be at First Baptist Church in Alpharetta, and Ken Adams, pastor at Crossroads Church in Newnan, will be at Byne Memorial Baptist in Albany.

MIAMI (AP) — Authorities say a Miami-Dade police officer was critically wounded and an armed robbery suspect was killed in an exchange of gunfire during a car chase. Officials say the suspect smashed his vehicle into a police cruiser and another car while trying to flee Monday night in the Liberty City neighborhood as officers responded to a reported armed robbery.

Atlanta and South Florida have been selected to host College Football Playoff national championship games for the second time. The CFP announced that Miami Gardens, Fla., would be the site of the title game scheduled to be played in January 2026, the final game of the current 12-year media rights deal with ESPN. A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press that Atlanta would host the championship game in 2025.

ATLANTA (AP) — William Contreras and Eddie Rosario hit back-to-back homers off Carlos Carrasco in the second inning, Ronald Acuña Jr. doubled three times and drove in three runs, and the Atlanta Braves routed the New York Mets 13-1 for their seventh straight win. The victory moved the second-place Braves 4 1/2 games back of New York for the NL East lead.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (BP) – As a kid, Asleigh Wilson certainly had no plans to work in missions, but through Calvary Baptist Church and the Baptist Campus Ministry at Middle Tennessee State …

HOUSTON (BP) – Fanny Baltanado planned to spend just six months visiting her new granddaughter in Texas when the unanticipated COVID-19 pandemic thwarted her return to Nicaragua. She would need to find a church home near Humble, Texas. An adult English as a second language class attracted Baltanado in March to Cross Community Church, where she became a regular attendee and in August, helped the church teach ESL to local Hispanic elementary students in a back-to-school camp.

HOUSTON (BP) – Fanny Baltanado planeó pasar solo seis meses visitando a su nueva nieta en Texas cuando la inesperada pandemia de COVID-19 frustró su regreso a Nicaragua. Tras encontrar una iglesia cerca de Humble, Texas, ahora Baltanado enseña inglés como segundo idioma,

ATLANTA – Gov. Brian Kemp announced Monday he plans to distribute one-time $350 payments to Georgians enrolled in certain public benefit programs.  Kemp said the total amount distributed will be more than $1 billion.  

ATLANTA – Georgia’s “heartbeat” abortion law will stay in effect while a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law is pending, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled Monday.  The order represents a setback for pro-abortion rights advocates who had argued the judge should immediately block the law while their case against it was pending.  

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is rebuffing an effort to make public the affidavit supporting the search warrant for former President Donald Trump’s estate in Florida. In court papers Monday, prosecutors argue the investigation “implicates highly classified material” and the affidavit contains sensitive information about witnesses.

GARRETT, Ky. (BP) – Garrett First Baptist Church participated in a Kentucky Baptist Disaster Relief program called Ready Church earlier this year. While no one could be completely prepared for the worst flood in Kentucky history, Pastor Blaine Deploy said he was glad the church went through Ready Church. Garrett FBC, located in Floyd County, wasn’t impacted by the flooding, the pastor said, but added, “It touched the threshold.”

ATLANTA (AP) — Nearly 200 Georgia state prison employees have been arrested for job-related crimes since the beginning of 2020. The list obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shows 195 Georgia Department of Corrections employees arrested through June 30. Of those, 143 are state-certified police officers. The charges include 69 arrests related to drugs, with some prison employees bringing drugs into prison to provide to inmates.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — After last-minute chaos that could foreshadow a court challenge, Kenya’s electoral commission chairman has declared Deputy President William Ruto the winner of the close presidential election over five-time contender Raila Odinga. It's a triumph for the man who shook up politics by appealing to struggling Kenyans on economic terms and not on ethnic ones.

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Under the leadership of pastor Frank Cox, North Metro First Baptist Church will move to a new location for the second time. Most pastors would not have the grit or grace to even contemplate such a monumental endeavor, but Cox has been the pastor for 42 years and has rightfully won the favor and support of his congregation.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban are marking a year since they seized the Afghan capital of Kabul. The rapid takeover triggered a hasty escape of the nation's Western-backed leaders, sent the economy into a tailspin and has fundamentally transformed the country. On Monday, bearded Taliban fighters staged small victory parades on foot, bicycles and motorcycles in the streets of the capital.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Seven states in the U.S. West are facing a deadline from the federal government to come up with a plan to use substantially less Colorado River water in 2023. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is expected to publish hydrology projections on Tuesday that will trigger agreed-upon cuts to states that rely on the river. On top of that, states are facing a threat to propose additional cuts or have them mandated by the federal government.

GURNEE, Ill. (AP) — Authorities say three people were injured in a shooting in a parking lot of an amusement park north of Chicago that sent visitors scrambling for safety. The Gurnee Police Department says officers responded about 7:50 p.m. Sunday to Six Flags Great America, about 45 miles north of Chicago. Police say in a statement that the shooting “was not a random act, and appeared to be a targeted incident.”

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A wooden bridge over a river in southern Norway has collapsed with a car plunging into the water and a truck getting stuck on a raised section. Police said the drivers of both vehicles were rescued and doing well. Police were alerted Monday morning that the bridge had collapsed as a truck and a car were crossing over it. The car plunged into the river while the truck got stuck in a nearly vertical position on the bridge

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian authorities say at least three civilians have been killed and nearly 20 others wounded in the latest Russian artillery barrages. The eastern region of Donetsk, one of the two provinces making up the country’s industrial heartland of Donbas, has faced the most intense shelling. Regional officials said Monday at least three people were killed and another 13 wounded by Russian shelling that hit numerous towns and villages in Donetsk.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Drew Rasmussen took a perfect game into the ninth inning, and the Tampa Bay Rays expanded their lead over Baltimore for the final AL wild card to 1 1/2 games with a 4-1 victory over the Orioles. Rasmussen allowed his first baserunner when Jorge Mateo doubled down the left-field line on the first pitch of the ninth.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Kevin Harvick took the lead from Joey Logano with 66 laps to go and held off Christopher Bell at Richmond Raceway on Sunday for his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victory. One week after ending a 65-race drought, Harvick won for the 60th time, the fourth time at Richmond and the first time on the 0.75-mile oval since 2013.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Iranian government official has denied that Tehran was involved in the assault on author Salman Rushdie. However, the remarks on Monday by Nasser Kanaani, the spokesman of Iran’s Foreign Ministry, justified the stabbing in remarks that represented the Islamic Republic’s first public comments on the attack.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China has announced more military drills around Taiwan as the self-governing island’s president met with members of a new U.S. congressional delegation. The announcement threatened to renew tensions between Beijing and Washington just days after a similar visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi angered China. Pelosi was the highest-level member of the U.S. government to visit Taiwan in 25 years, and her trip prompted nearly two weeks of threatening military exercises by China.