TRUMP WILL ADDRESS PATH FORWARD ON AFGHANISTAN

U.S. military expects its mission to continue, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan on Sunday hailed the launch of the Afghan army’s new special operations corps, declaring that “we are with you, and we will stay with you.”

Gen. John Nicholson’s exhortation of continued support for the Afghans suggested the Pentagon may have won its argument that America’s military must stay engaged in the conflict to ensure terrorists don’t once again threaten the U.S. from safe havens in Afghanistan.

The White House announced that President Donald Trump would address the nation’s troops and the American people Monday night to update the path forward in Afghanistan and South Asia.

Death toll nears 500.

Churches across Sierra Leone held special services Sunday in memory of those killed in mudslides and flooding last week, as hospital officials announced the toll had risen to nearly 500 bodies collected. More than 600 people remain missing and rescue officials have warned that the chances of finding survivors are decreasing each day.

33 wounded, six fatally, in weekend shootings.

Police say at least 33 people have been wounded, six fatally, in weekend shootings in the nation’s third-largest city.

The Chicago Tribune reports the shootings happened in a 13-hour period ending early Sunday.

Police say someone in an SUV fired at a crowd outside a South Side banquet hall that serves as a nightclub, killing one and injuring six early Sunday. The gunman drove off.

Chicago’s gun violence has drawn national scrutiny, including from President Donald Trump. The city had more than 760 homicides in 2016. That was more than New York and Los Angeles combined.

Grace Mugabe gets diplomatic immunity, returns to Zimbabwe.

HARARE,

Granted diplomatic immunity by South Africa, the wife of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe returned home from Johannesburg on Sunday despite calls that she be prosecuted for allegedly assaulting a young model at a luxury hotel there. Grace Mugabe greeted government and military officials at the Harare airport after returning on an Air Zimbabwe plane with her husband, who had attended a summit of southern African leaders in Pretoria. The Mugabe couple did not attend a state funeral for a senior ruling party official later in the day in the Zimbabwean capital; the president usually presides over such events.

“The Hitman’s Bodyguard” outdoes “Logan Lucky” at box office.

Critics loved “Logan Lucky” and gave a big collective shrug to “The Hitman’s Bodyguard.” But audiences went their own way.

The two action flicks faced off this past weekend, and “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” emerged the victor with a chart-topping $21.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, while “Logan Lucky” sputtered on arrival with $8.1 million.