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Condolences poured in from around the world Thursday after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, whose rule saw Britain through decades of change.⁠ ⁠ Flags were ordered flown at half-staff from Washington to Ghana as she was mourned across the 54-nation Commonwealth, a group built around Britain and its former colonies.⁠ ⁠ President Joe Biden was informed of her death by senior advisers during a meeting in the Oval Office. Elizabeth, who the White House said had met with 14 American presidents, "was a stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy who deepened the bedrock alliance between the United Kingdom and the United States,” he and first lady Jill Biden said in a statement, saying she "she defined an era.”⁠ ⁠ AP Photos by Alberto Pezzali and Frank Augstein⁠ ⁠ Read more at the link in our bio.

BREAKING: Queen Elizabeth II has died, Buckingham Palace says. Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, and a rock of stability over more than seven decades, was 96. Elizabeth was on the throne as the U.K. rebuilt from war, and both entered and left the E.U. Following the queen’s death, her son Charles automatically becomes king, even though the coronation might not happen for months. The impact of the queen’s loss will be huge and unpredictable, both for the nation and for the monarchy, an institution she helped stabilize and modernize across decades of huge social change and family scandals. This is a developing story. Follow the link in bio for more. AP Photo made by Leslie Priest on June 6, 1968

Mounting evidence from around the U.S. shows that students who spent most of the time learning remotely during the 2020-2021 school year, many of them Black and Latino, lost about half of an academic year of learning. That’s twice as much as their peers who studied in person that year.⁠ ⁠ Third graders are at a particularly delicate moment. This is the year when they must master reading or risk school failure. Everything after third grade will require reading comprehension to learn math, social studies and science. Students who don’t read fluently by the end of third grade are more likely to struggle in the future, and even drop out, studies show.⁠ ⁠ Five of the 19 students in teacher Chelsea Grant’s third grade classroom are reading below grade level.⁠ ⁠ When it’s time to read aloud on a recent Friday, the students show vastly different levels of skill and confidence.⁠ ⁠ “Remember you read with expression, feeling and fluency,” Grant told her Atlanta students. “I want to feel it.”⁠ ⁠ Read more at the link in our bio.⁠ ⁠ #APPhoto by Ron Harris

Apple’s latest line-up of iPhones will boast better cameras, faster processors, and a longer lasting battery at the same prices as last year’s model, despite the inflationary pressure that has driven up the cost of many other everyday items.⁠ ⁠ That decision, revealed Wednesday during Apple’s first in-person product event in three years, came as a mild surprise. Many analysts predicted Apple would ask its devout fans to pay as much as 15% more to help offset rising costs for many components.⁠ ⁠ For several years, Apple’s new iPhones have mostly featured incremental upgrades to cameras and battery life, and this year’s models were no exception. Pricing for the standard iPhone 14 will start at $799; the deluxe iPhone 14 Pro Max will start at $1,099.⁠ ⁠ Tap the link in bio to read the full story.⁠ ⁠ #APPhoto by Jeff Chiu

The survivors who were able to walk out of Sandy Hook Elementary School nearly a decade ago want to share a message of hope with the children of Uvalde, Texas: You will learn how to live with your trauma, pain and grief. And it will get better.⁠ ⁠ They know what’s ahead. There’s shock, followed by numbness. There are struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder. Anxiety. Survivor’s guilt. Anger that these shootings continue to happen in America. Reliving their trauma every time there’s another mass shooting.⁠ ⁠ They know it will be hard to say they are from Uvalde. That well-meaning adults will sometimes make the wrong decisions to protect you. That grief can be unpredictable, and different for everyone.⁠ ⁠ “It’s been nine years since Sandy Hook,” said Ashley Hubner, 17, who was a second grader at the Newtown school when 20 children and six educators were killed on Dec. 14, 2012. “We had nine years for this to not happen again. And yet it did.”⁠ ⁠ Read more at the link in our bio.⁠ ⁠ #APPhotos by @julia.nikhinson

Former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle returned to the White House on Wednesday for the unveiling of official portraits with a modern vibe.⁠ ⁠ “Barack and Michelle, welcome home,” President Joe Biden said before he invited the Obamas to the stage to unveil the portraits. Some in the audience gasped, others applauded.⁠ ⁠ “It’s great to be back,” Obama said when it was his turn to speak. He praised Biden — his vice president — as someone who became a “true partner and a true friend.”⁠ ⁠ The artist whom Barack Obama selected to paint his portrait says the “stripped down” style of his works help create an “encounter” between the person in the painting and the person looking at it.⁠ ⁠ Robert McCurdy likes to present his subjects without any facial expression and standing against a white background, which is how America’s 44th and first Black president is portrayed for posterity, in a black suit and gray tie. The former first lady chose artist Sharon Sprung for her portrait.⁠ ⁠ Tap the link in bio to read the full story.⁠ ⁠ #APPhotos by Andrew Harnik

After failed efforts to overthrow the 2020 election, Michael Flynn has been focused on the future.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ An @apnews and @frontlinepbs investigation finds that the retired Army general and former Trump national security adviser has been building a political movement mixing conspiracy theory with Christian nationalist ideas.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ He has drawn together election deniers, mask and vaccine opponents, insurrectionists, Proud Boys, and elected officials and leaders in state and local Republican parties. Along the way, the AP and Frontline documented, Flynn and his companies have earned hundreds of thousands of dollars for his efforts.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Tap the link in bio to read the full investigation.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ #APPhotos by Carolyn Kaster and Manuel Balce Ceneta

Two months after the 2020 presidential election, a team of computer experts traveled to south Georgia to copy software and data from voting equipment in an apparent breach of a county election system. They were greeted outside by the head of the local Republican Party, who was involved in efforts by then-President Donald Trump to overturn his election loss.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ A security video from the elections office in the county about 200 miles southeast of Atlanta offers a glimpse of the lengths Trump’s allies went in service of his fraudulent election claims. AP explains. ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Tap the link in bio to read the full story.

The Venice International Film Festival is well underway in Italy. After much anticipation, Olivia Wilde’s “Don’t Worry Darling” had its world premiere Monday, drawing hundreds of screaming Harry Styles fans to the edges of the red carpet trying to get a glimpse of him. His rapturous reception made the Timothée Chalamet mania at last week’s “Bones and All” premiere seem modest in comparison. Yet premiere day did little to tamp down the intrigue surrounding “Don’t Worry Darling” and its stars, especially whether reports about behind-the-scenes tension with Pugh would be addressed or clarified. Wilde said before the premiere that she didn’t want to contribute to “the endless tabloid gossip” and “the noise.” Earlier in the festival, Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale” received a long standing ovation — one that seemed to mark a comeback for Brendan Fraser — and Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s new film “Bardo (or False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths)” premiered as one of the festival’s competition titles. Read more coverage from @entertainment_ap at the link in our bio. #APPhotos by @vlecaer and @joelryanphoto

@Georgiafootball moved up to No. 2 in the first Associated Press college football poll of the regular season, passing @ohiostatefb, after the defending national champions dominated their opener.⁠ ⁠ @Alabamafb remained No. 1 in the AP Top 25 presented by Regions Bank released Tuesday, receiving 44 of 63 first-place votes from the media panel and 1,552 points.⁠ ⁠ The Bulldogs narrowed the gap on the Crimson Tide after beating Oregon 49-3 on Saturday. Georgia received 17 first-place votes.⁠ ⁠ Ohio State slipped to No. 3 and received two first-place votes. @Umichfootball moved up four spots to No. 4.⁠ ⁠ @clemsonfb dropped a spot to No. 5.⁠ ⁠ Click the link in our bio to see the rest of the Top 25.

California is facing its highest chance of blackouts this year as a brutal heat wave continues to blanket the state with triple-digit temperatures. State energy officials said the electrical load Tuesday afternoon could top 51,000 megawatts, the highest demand the state has ever seen.⁠ ⁠ The danger of wildfires was extreme as scorching heat and low humidity turned brush to tinder. Four deaths were reported over the Labor Day weekend as some 4,400 firefighters battled 14 large fires around the state, with 45 new blazes on Sunday alone, said Anale Burlew, a deputy chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.⁠ ⁠ In Southern California, two people were killed and one injured by the Fairview Fire, which started Monday near the city of Hemet, the Riverside County Fire Department said. Roughly 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles, the fire had quickly spread to at least 2,400 acres (971 hectares), prompting evacuations, and was only 5% contained. Multiple residential structures burned.⁠ ⁠ Read more at the link in our bio.⁠ ⁠ #APPhotos show evacuated residents and firefighters battling the Fairview Fire near Hemet, California, by @ethanswopephoto.

Ruby Bridges was a 6-year-old first-grader when she walked past jeering crowds of white people to become one of the first Black students at racially segregated schools in New Orleans more than six decades ago. Now she’s authored a picture book about her experience for the youngest of readers. Bridges, along with three other Black students at a different school, were the first to integrate what had been all-white schools in New Orleans in 1960. “I Am Ruby Bridges,” featuring illustrations by Nikkolas Smith, goes on sale Tuesday. It’s aimed at readers as young as 4. Complete with a glossary that includes the words “Supreme Court” and “law,” the book is an uplifting story about opportunities and kids being able to make a difference, Bridges said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It’s a true reflection of what happened through my own eyes,” she said. Read more at the link in our bio. #APPhoto from @apphotoarchive