AP Top News at 4:58 a.m. EDT

Hezbollah fires over 100 rockets across a wider and deeper area of Israel as fears of war mount

NAHARIYA, Israel (AP) — Hezbollah launched more than 100 rockets early Sunday across a wider and deeper area of northern Israel, with some landing near the city of Haifa, as Israel launched hundreds of strikes on Lebanon. The sides appeared to be spiraling toward all-out war following months of escalating tensions. The rocket barrage overnight set off air raid sirens across northern Israel, sending thousands of people scrambling into shelters. The Israeli military said that rockets had been fired "toward civilian areas," pointing to a possible escalation after previous barrages had mainly been aimed at military targets. One rocket struck near a residential building in Kiryat Bialik, a community near Haifa, wounding at least three people and setting buildings and cars on fire.

Israel raids and shuts down Al Jazeera's bureau in Ramallah in the West Bank

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israeli troops raided the offices of the satellite news network Al Jazeera in the Israeli-occupied West Bank early Sunday, ordering the bureau to shut down amid a widening campaign by Israel targeting the Qatar-funded broadcaster as it covers the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Al Jazeera aired footage of Israeli troops live on its Arabic-language channel ordering the office to be shut for 45 days. It follows an order issued in May that saw Israeli police raid Al Jazeera's broadcast position in East Jerusalem, seizing equipment there, preventing its broadcasts in Israel and blocking its websites.

Death toll rises to 30 after methane leak causes explosion at eastern Iran coal mine, state TV says

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A methane leak sparked an explosion at a coal mine in eastern Iran, killing at least 30 people and injuring 17 others, Iranian state media reported Sunday. Another 24 miners are believed to be trapped inside. The report said the deaths happened at a coal mine in Tabas, some 540 kilometers (335 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran. Authorities were sending emergency personnel to the area after the blast late Saturday, it said. Around 70 people had been working there at the time of the blast. State TV later said 24 were believed to be trapped inside.

Trump appeals to women in return to North Carolina without Mark Robinson, a top in-state supporter

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — Donald Trump returned to North Carolina on Saturday, stumping in the southern battleground state with direct appeals to women, claiming he would be a better champion for them than Vice President Kamala Harris, who is vying to become the first female president. Trump campaigned in Wilmington, along the state's southern coast, without Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the GOP gubernatorial nominee and one of the former president's top surrogates in the state, following a CNN report about his alleged posts on a pornography website's message board. He did not mention Robinson during a speech that lasted just over an hour.

'Ticking time bomb': Those who raised suspicions about Trump suspect question if enough was done

The more Chelsea Walsh talked to the eccentric fellow American who seemed to pop up in every square and cobblestone street of Ukraine's capital, the more she got creeped out. Walsh was in Kyiv as a nurse and aid worker in the early days of the war in Ukraine. Ryan Routh was there to recruit foreign soldiers to fight the Russians. But Walsh never saw him make much progress and instead watched him grow increasingly angry and unhinged, kicking a panhandler, threatening to burn down a music studio that slighted him and speaking of his own children with seething hatred.

Sri Lanka's presidential election goes into 2nd round of vote counting for 1st time in history

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka's presidential election has gone into a second round of vote counting on Sunday for the first time in history as the incumbent liberal President Ranil Wickremesinghe has been eliminated. Marxist lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake leads early official results in Sri Lanka's presidential election, according to tallies released on Sunday by the Election Commission. The election, contested by 38 candidates, was largely a three-way race between Dissanayake, Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa. 's earlier story follows below. COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Marxist lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake leads early official results in Sri Lanka's presidential election, according to tallies released on Sunday by the Election Commission, but he is still short of the 50% needed for victory.

German chancellor's Social Democrats seek to hold off far right in Brandenburg state election

BERLIN (AP) — A state election is taking place in Brandenburg on Sunday, three weeks after a far-right party made gains in two other states in eastern Germany. Around 2.1 million people are registered to vote for a new state parliament in Brandenburg, the state that surrounds the German capital, Berlin. Sunday's election is being watched closely for signs about the country's political direction. The latest polls showed that the far-right Alternative for Germany is neck-and-neck with the Social Democrats, the party that has governed Brandenburg continuously since German reunification in 1990. The Social Democrats, the largest party in Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-way coalition government, are hoping to maintain control of their stronghold in the face of rising support for parties on the extreme right and left.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Four people have died and more than 20 were wounded in a shooting in a nightlife area in Birmingham, Alabama, according to police and news reports. There were multiple people shot on 20th Street near Magnolia Avenue in the Five Points South area, the Birmingham Police Department said in a social media post. Birmingham Officer Truman Fitzgerald said the shooting with up to 21 people wounded happened shortly after 11 p.m. in the 2000 block of Magnolia Avenue South, AL.COM reported. Fitzgerald said there were "dozens of gunshot victims" and at least four had "life-threatening" injuries, AL.COM reported.

New York City interim police commissioner says federal authorities searched his homes

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City's interim police commissioner revealed late Saturday that federal authorities had executed search warrants at his homes the previous day. Thomas Donlon, who became the interim commissioner just one week ago after the resignation of his predecessor, issued a statement on the search through the police department. "On Friday, September 20, federal authorities executed search warrants at my residences. They took materials that came into my possession approximately 20 years ago and are unrelated to my work with the New York City Police Department," the statement said. "This is not a department matter, and the department will not be commenting," he added.

Lack of birth certificates puts Cameroon's Indigenous people on the brink of statelessness

MAYOS, Cameroon (AP) — The morning sun filtered through the forest canopy, casting dappled light on this village in Cameroon. For the Baka Indigenous community, it was a timeless image. But a passing truck broke the silence and stirred up billows of dust, a reminder that the Baka now live an uneasy life along roadsides after being forced from their traditional homes. The Baka and fellow Indigenous Bagyieli have lived in harmony with the forests of central Africa for generations. But mining and logging activities are encroaching, along with conservation areas, and government policy aims to integrate the ethnic groups into mainstream society.