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AP News in Brief at 11:04 p.m. EDT

Trump says US forces cornered IS leader in dead-end tunnel

WASHINGTON (AP) — Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi , the shadowy leader of the Islamic State group who presided over its global jihad and became arguably the world’s most wanted man, died after U.S. special operators cornered him during a raid in Syria, President Donald Trump said Sunday.

“Last night, the United States brought the world’s No. 1 terrorist leader to justice,” Trump announced at the White House, providing graphic details of al-Baghdadi’s final moments at the helm of the militant organization. “Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead.”

In a national address, Trump described the nighttime airborne raid in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, with American special operations forces flying over heavily militarized territory controlled by multiple nations and forces. No U.S. troops were killed in the operation, Trump said.

The death of al-Baghdadi was a milestone in the fight against IS, which brutalized swaths of Syria and Iraq and sought to direct a global campaign from a self-declared “caliphate.” A yearslong campaign by American and allied forces led to the recapture of the group’s territorial holding, but its violent ideology has continued to inspire attacks.

As U.S. troops bore down on al-Baghdadi, he fled into a “dead-end” tunnel with three of his children, Trump said, and detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and the children. “He was a sick and depraved man, and now he’s gone,” Trump said. “He died like a dog, he died like a coward.”

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Situation Room: 2 photos capture vastly different presidents

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two high-risk raids. Two dramatic moments in the White House.

Photos taken in the White House Situation Room during the killings of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Saturday and of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden eight years earlier capture the vastly different styles of two American presidents.

The White House on Sunday released a photo of President Donald Trump with five of his senior national security advisers monitoring the Saturday night operation against al-Baghdadi in Syria.

The photo shows the six men, all in dark suits or military uniform, posing for the camera and staring straight forward with stern expressions as they sit around a table. The presidential seal gleams on the wall over Trump’s head.

The photo invites comparisons to the Situation Room photo released by President Barack Obama’s White House following the May 2011 operation in which Navy Seals killed bin Laden.

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The tip, the raid, the reveal: The takedown of al-Baghdadi

WASHINGTON (AP) — The helicopters flew low and fast into the night, ferrying U.S. special forces to a compound where Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was hiding in Syria. Half a world away, President Donald Trump watched the raid in real time via a video link as troops blasted into the hideout and sent the most-wanted militant running the last steps of his life.

The daring raid was the culmination of years of steady intelligence-gathering work — and 48 hours of hurry-up planning once Washington got word that al-Baghdadi would be at a compound in northwestern Syria.

The night unfolded with methodical precision and unexpected turns. This reconstruction is based on the first-blush accounts of Trump and other administration officials eager to share the details of how the U.S. snared its top target, as well observations from startled villagers who had no idea al-Baghdadi was in their midst.

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A CELEBRATION AND A SECRET TWO-DAY SCRAMBLE

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Ferocious winds fuel blazes throughout Northern California

SANTA ROSA, California (AP) — With ferocious winds driving multiple wildfires through bone-dry vegetation and nearly 200,000 people ordered to leave their homes, California’s governor declared a statewide emergency Sunday. Meanwhile, millions of residents remained without power after the state’s largest utility cut electricity as a precaution to prevent more areas from igniting.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement that officials were deploying “every resource available” to respond to the wildfires, including a large blaze in Northern California’s wine country powered by gusts that reached more than 102 mph (164 kph). California Fire officials said Sunday that the fire had grown to burn over 85 square miles, and officials reported containment had dropped to 5%. At least 94 structures have been destroyed.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, two grass fires briefly halted traffic on an Interstate bridge. The flames came dangerously close to homes in Vallejo. Another grass fire closed a stretch of interstate that cut through the state capital as smoke obstructed drivers.

In the south, a wildfire in the Santa Clarita area near Los Angeles destroyed 18 structures. As of Sunday night, the Tick Fire was 70% contained.

The biggest evacuation was in Northern California’s Sonoma County where 180,000 people were told to pack up and leave, many in the middle of the night.

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California Rep. Katie Hill resigns amid ethics probe

WASHINGTON (AP) — Freshman Rep. Katie Hill, a rising Democratic star in the House, announced her resignation Sunday amid an ethics probe, saying explicit private photos of her with a campaign staffer had been “weaponized” by her husband and political operatives.

The California Democrat, 32, had been hand-picked for a coveted leadership seat. But in recent days, compromising photos of Hill and purported text messages from her to a campaign staffer surfaced online in a right-wing publication and a British tabloid.

The House ethics committee also had launched an investigation into whether Hill had an inappropriate relationship with an aide in her congressional office, which is prohibited under House rules. Hill, one of the few openly bisexual women in Congress, has denied that and vowed to fight a “smear” campaign waged by a husband she called abusive.

But her relationship with the campaign aide became a concern for House Democrats who have made equality in the workplace a particular priority. On Sunday, after apologizing for the relationship with a subordinate, Hill announced she was stepping aside.

“It is with a broken heart that today I announce my resignation from Congress,” she wrote in a statement released Sunday.

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John Conyers, longest serving black congressman, dies at 90

DETROIT (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. John Conyers, one of the longest-serving members of Congress whose resolutely liberal stance on civil rights made him a political institution in Washington and back home in Detroit despite several scandals, has died. He was 90.

Conyers, among the high-profile politicians toppled by sex harassment allegations in 2017, died at his home on Sunday, said Detroit police spokesman Cpl. Dan Donakowski. The death “looks like natural causes,” Donakowski added.

Known as the dean of the Congressional Black Caucus, which he helped found, Conyers became one of only six black House members when he won his first election by just 108 votes in 1964. The race was the beginning of more than 50 years of election dominance: Conyers regularly won elections with more than 80% of the vote, even after his wife went to prison for taking a bribe.

That voter loyalty helped Conyers freely speak his mind. He took aim at both Republicans and fellow Democrats: He said then-President George W. Bush “has been an absolute disaster for the African-American community” in 2004, and in 1979 called then-President Jimmy Carter “a hopeless, demented, honest, well-intentioned nerd who will never get past his first administration.”

Throughout his career, Conyers used his influence to push civil rights. After a 15-year fight, he won passage of legislation declaring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a national holiday, first celebrated in 1986. He regularly introduced a bill starting in 1989 to study the harm caused by slavery and the possibility of reparations for slaves’ descendants. That bill never got past a House subcommittee.

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What’s Next: Depositions turn to the White House

WASHINGTON (AP) — For only the fourth time in U.S. history, the House of Representatives has started a presidential impeachment inquiry . House committees are trying to determine if President Donald Trump violated his oath of office by asking Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden and his family, and to investigate the country’s involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

A quick summary of the latest news:

DEPOSITIONS TURN TO WHITE HOUSE

The three House committees leading the Democratic investigation have scheduled several current and former National Security Council officials to testify this week behind closed doors — an attempt to get a better look inside the White House as Trump pushed Ukraine to conduct politically motivated investigations.

The officials include Charles Kupperman, a former deputy at the NSC under then-national security adviser John Bolton, and current NSC staffers Tim Morrison and Alexander Vindman. Morrison is particularly significant. William Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, told lawmakers in his deposition last week about phone calls he had with Morrison that described the Ukraine effort.

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Argentine incumbent concedes defeat in presidential vote

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Conservative President Mauricio Macri conceded defeat in Argentina’s election Sunday night, paving the way for the country’s Peronist centre-left to return to power under Alberto Fernández as frustrated voters rejected the incumbent’s handling of a bruising economic crisis that has sunk many into poverty.

The result would mark a dramatic return to high office of former President Cristina Fernández, Alberto Fernández’s vice-presidential running mate, former boss and what critics say might be the power behind his throne.

Macri told supports at his headquarters that he had called Alberto Fernández to congratulate him and invited him for a breakfast chat Monday at the Pink Presidential Palace.

“We need an orderly transition that will bring tranquility to all Argentines, because the most important thing is the well-being of all Argentines,” Macri said.

Authorities said Fernández has 47.83% of the votes compared to 40.66% for Macri, with 91.21% per cent of the votes counted. He needs 45% support, or 40% support with a 10 percentage point lead, over the nearest rival to avoid a runoff vote on Nov. 24.

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Tiger Woods ties Sam Snead’s record of 82 PGA Tour wins

INZAI CITY, Japan (AP) — Tiger Woods shrugged off an early bogey Monday to win the Zozo Championship and tie Sam Snead’s PGA Tour record of 82 victories.

The 43-year-old American returned Monday to play the final seven holes in the rain-hit tournament, completing a 3-under 67 to beat local favourite Hideki Matsuyama by three strokes at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club.

“It’s just crazy. It’s a lot,” Woods said. “I’ve been able to be consistent most of my career. … Today was one of those days where I was able to pull it out.”

Woods had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee two months ago — his fifth on the same problem joint. He was making his first start in his 23rd season on the PGA Tour.

“I can still manage my way around the golf course,” Woods said. “I know how to play. I was able to do that this week.”

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Scherzer scratched with neck pain, Nats’ Ross starts Game 5

WASHINGTON (AP) — Max Scherzer walked stiffly into the interview room, a bandage on the back of the Washington star pitcher’s neck telegraphing trouble.

He had hoped to beat the Astros for the second time this week, to give the Nationals a 3-2 World Series lead heading back to Houston.

Instead, he had to tell his team he couldn’t pitch , causing Washington to open with Joe Ross in Sunday night’s high-stakes Game 5 matchup against Gerrit Cole. Ross gave up two-run homers to Yordan Álvarez and Carlos Correa, lasting five innings as the Astros took a 4-0 lead.

Scherzer is not sure whether his season over.

“I woke up this morning completely locked up. I couldn’t do anything, couldn’t even dress myself,” Scherzer said, needing to turn his entire body to answer questions. “I had to have my wife help me.”

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