Supreme Court declines to hear appeal in disputed Afghan adoption case

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court declined Monday to hear an appeal in a disputed adoption case involving an Afghan child orphaned in a U.S. Army raid.

The child's relatives appealed to the high court after a U.S. Marine who helped evacuate them from Afghanistan took custody of the girl despite State Department efforts to reunite her with her Afghan family.

A 2022 Associated Press report about the case raised alarms at the highest levels of government, from the Taliban to the White House.

The child's parents were killed in September 2019 when U.S. Army Rangers, along with Afghan forces, raided a rural compound.

The baby was found in the rubble and hospitalized at Bagram Air Base near Kabul, where military lawyer Joshua Mast decided with his wife to adopt her.

But the State Department during President Donald Trump’s first administration worked with the Afghan government to track down surviving relatives, identified as a cousin and his wife.

The Afghan couple raised her for 18 months, but during that time the Masts also obtained a final adoption order from a Virginia court without notifying them. The Masts have insisted they acted honorably to save a child and give her a loving home.

In 2021, Joshua Mast helped the family leave Afghanistan during the U.S. military’s chaotic withdrawal from the country.

Once they were in the U.S., Mast took the child at a refugee resettlement center over her relatives' objections.

The Afghan couple went to court, asking judges to undo the adoption they said was deeply flawed from the start. Lower courts in Virginia agreed. But the state's highest court decided in the Masts' favor, citing a six-month deadline in state law.

Their Supreme Court appeal was backed by a former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan as well as groups that support veterans and international adoptees.

The Masts dispute the family's kinship and argue that reopening the adoption now would be a significant disruption for the girl, who is now 7 and has been living with their family for years.

Galofaro reported from Louisville, Kentucky.

FILE - The Supreme Court is pictured Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

PHOENIX (AP) — Hail the size of golf balls and damaging wind gusts pounded northern and central Arizona in a rare storm blowing through, bringing with it tornado risks and possible flash floods.

The National Weather Service issued multiple warnings as severe thunderstorms moved through the state overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday, encouraging people to seek shelter and stay away from windows as damaging 2-to-3-inch hail struck the area. Hail pummeled people's roofs, shattered windows and dented cars.

Tornado watches were issued for multiple areas — the first the state has seen since Oct. 6, 2010.

Warm, moist air moving north fuels storms coming off the California coast. Changing winds can make them spin, creating the conditions for tornadoes, said Ryan Bernhart, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Flagstaff.

“This is very unusual for this area at this time of the year,” Bernhart said.

Strong winds toppled trees in Flagstaff and Mesa, with some landing on walls and carports. A few dozen ponderosa pines over 30 feet tall fell down in the Coconino National Forest, northwest of Flagstaff.

“These are not small trees that are down," Bernhart said. “These are pretty strong trees that had been knocked down.”

The greatest threat to the Phoenix metro area is heavy rainfall and flash flooding tonight and Thursday morning, said Mark O’Malley, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Phoenix.

Jessica Hill reported from Las Vegas.

Part of a covered parking area was damaged after storms hit a local apartment complex, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in Mesa, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Storms uprooted trees in widespread damage at a local church complex after storms hit the area, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in Mesa, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The skies are gray as a storm dumped heavy rain and hail across Flagstaff, Ariz., on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Cheyanne Mumphrey)

Tree debris obstructs part of a street as storms caused damage at a local apartment complex, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in Mesa, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)