National governments
German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers her speech during a parliament session about a new law to battle the coronavirus pandemic at the parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, Friday, April 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Germany's Merkel urges lawmakers to support pandemic bill

By David Rising 8 hrs ago

Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the Coordination Center of the Russian Government in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, April 13, 2021. The centre was set up as a line of communication with the whole of Russia for analysing and collecting information, promptly using big data and solving arising problems. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
US expels Russian diplomats, imposes sanctions for hacking

By Eric Tucker And Aamer Madhani 11 hrs ago

FILE - In this Jan. 15, 1998 file photo, then President Clinton presents Fred Korematsu with a Presidential Medal of Freedom during a ceremony at the White House. Arizona is honoring late civil rights icon Korematsu, whose fight against Japanese American internment went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Gov. Doug Ducey on Thursday, April 15, 2021, signed legislation establishing a “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” on Jan. 30, Korematsu’s birthday. The legislation comes as the nation continues to see a rise in anti-Asian crimes that started with the pandemic. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook, File)
Arizona legislation fetes civil rights icon Fred Korematsu

21 hrs ago

Pennsylvania extends J&J vaccine 'pause' by 4 days

22 hrs ago
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania on Thursday extended its “pause” on use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine by another four days after federal government...

FiLE — In this Sept. 17, 2019, file photo, R. Kelly turns to exit during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court building, in Chicago. A federal judge gave the green light Thursday, April 15, 2021, to move jailed R&B singer R. Kelly to New York City to go on trial this summer after several delays. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune via AP, Pool, File)
Judge: R. Kelly to be moved to NYC for sex-trafficking trial

22 hrs ago

President Joe Biden speaks about Russia in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, April 15, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
US expels Russian diplomats, imposes sanctions for hacking

By Eric Tucker And Aamer Madhani 24 hrs ago

Business fined for not following COVID-19 safety guidelines

Apr. 15, 2021 10:28 AM EDT
BOSTON (AP) — The owner of a Massachusetts tax preparation business faces more than $136,000 in federal fines for allegedly prohibiting employees and customers...

Editorial Roundup: South Carolina

By The Associated Press Apr. 14, 2021 06:54 PM EDT
Recent editorials from South Carolina newspapers: ___ April 13 The Index-Journal on extending the...

FILE - In this April 12, 2021 file photo, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer U.S. talks about the statewide COVID-19 vaccination effort during a press conference in Ypsilanti, Mich. A recent spike in coronavirus cases in some states has led one of the nation's top health experts to suggest that governors could “close things down” like they did during previous surges. But that doesn't appear likely to happen — not even in states led by Democratic governors who favored greater restrictions in the past. (Lon Horwedel/Detroit News via AP, File)
Whitmer vetoes GOP broadband bill: Too costly and too slow

By Anna Liz Nichols Apr. 14, 2021 06:31 PM EDT

A 43-year-old patient suspected of having COVID-19 is transferred from an ambulance into the HRAN public hospital in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, April 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Brazil court greenlights probe of president's virus response

By Mauricio Savarese Apr. 14, 2021 04:58 PM EDT

FILE - In this Aug. 21, 2019, file photo, a sign is displayed at Planned Parenthood of Utah in Salt Lake City. The Biden administration is beginning to undo a Trump-era ban on clinics referring women for abortions, a policy directive that led to Planned Parenthood leaving the federal family planning program. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Biden begins to undo Trump-era ban on abortion referrals

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Apr. 14, 2021 08:46 AM EDT

Editorial Roundup: Georgia

By The Associated Press Apr. 14, 2021 06:46 AM EDT
Recent editorials from Georgia newspapers: ___ April 14 The Daily Citizen-News on the federal...

Kindergarten students participate in a classroom activity on the first day of in-person learning at Maurice Sendak Elementary School in Los Angeles, Tuesday, April 13, 2021. More than a year after the pandemic forced all of California's schools to close classroom doors, some of the state's largest school districts are slowly beginning to reopen this week for in-person instruction. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Latest: California governor says all schools must reopen

By The Associated Press Apr. 14, 2021 12:44 AM EDT

FILE - In this May 20, 2009 file photo, several hundred inmates crowd the gymnasium at San Quentin prison in San Quentin, Calif. A decade after prison crowding forced California to realign its criminal justice system, the population has shrunk to the point that officials on Tuesday, April 13, 2021, announced they will close one of the state's two inmate firefighter training centers along with portions of two other prisons, the second such announcement in months. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
California to shut 2nd prison as inmate population dwindles

By Don Thompson Apr. 13, 2021 09:09 PM EDT

This undated photo provided by Melanie for New Mexico shows Melanie Stansbury. Stansbury's campaign points out that she co-sponsored a 2020 bill to roll back state taxes on Social Security benefits. The bill was sidelined without a House or Senate floor vote in the Democrat-led Legislature. (Melanie for New Mexico via AP)
Energy, voting rights loom in congressional special election

By Morgan Lee Apr. 13, 2021 08:00 PM EDT

FILE - In this Oct. 7, 2020, file photo Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Charles Rettig testifies before a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing in Washington. At a Senate hearing Rettig said Tuesday, April 13, 2021, that he expects to meet the July 1 deadline in the new pandemic rescue law for starting a groundbreaking tax program aimed at reducing child poverty. That means new advance monthly payments of as much as $300 per child could begin flowing to lower-income families this summer. (Tasos Katopodis/Pool via AP, File)
IRS chief expects new child payments to start this summer

By Marcy Gordon Apr. 13, 2021 04:11 PM EDT

This undated photo shows Roger Sweet in Detroit. Sweet convicted of killing his first wife and other crimes has won early release from federal prison because of the risk of COVID-19, Tuesday, April 13, 2021. Prosecutors fought to keep Roger Sweet locked up and were surprised by the decision last week from Judge Victoria Roberts. Sweet still had seven years remaining on a sentence for sexual exploitation of children. (David Coates/Detroit News via AP)
Michigan police shocked by convicted murderer's release

By Ed White Apr. 13, 2021 01:51 PM EDT

Pharmacist Dr. Joe Albert Fills a syringe with a Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine at Albert's Pharmacy in Pittston, Pa., Monday April 12, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUCLoPFvNKY
Pennsylvania pauses use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine

By Michael Rubinkam And Claudia Lauer Apr. 13, 2021 12:15 PM EDT

Sharis Carr, a nurse at the Aaron E. Henry Community Health Service Center in Clarksdale, Miss., holds a box containing doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday, April 7, 2021. The U.S. is recommending a “pause” in using the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of potentially dangerous blood clots. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Georgia to pause use of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine

By Kate Brumback And Jeff Martin Apr. 13, 2021 09:51 AM EDT

California lifts COVID-19 limits on indoor worship services

By Robert Jablon Apr. 12, 2021 08:30 PM EDT
LOS ANGELES (AP) — California on Monday lifted its limits on indoor worship services in the face of U.S. Supreme Court rulings that struck down the coronavirus...