Top General News
Deaths rise as Palestinians flee heavy Israeli fire in Gaza
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Thousands of Palestinians grabbed children and belongings and fled their homes Friday as Israel barraged the northern Gaza Strip with tank fire and airstrikes, killing a family of six in their house and heavily damaging other neighborhoods in what it said was an...
EXPLAINER: Why is Gaza almost always mired in conflict?
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Gaza Strip was pounded this week by hundreds of Israeli strikes from sea, land and air, while the enclave's militant Hamas rulers fired hundreds of rockets into Israel. It's the fourth round of major conflict between Israel and Hamas...
House GOP elects Trump defender Elise Stefanik to No. 3 post
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans vaulted Rep. Elise Stefanik into the ranks of House leadership Friday, electing an ardent Donald Trump defender in hopes of calming their searing civil war over the deposed Rep. Liz Cheney's unremitting combat with the former president. ...
States, business sort out what new CDC mask guidance means
Several states immediately and enthusiastically embraced new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention t hat say fully vaccinated Americans no longer need to wear masks indoors or out in most situations. But other states and cities and some major...
UK jubilant as lockdown restrictions to be lifted next week
LONDON (AP) — When London’s Science Museum reopens next week, it will have some new artifacts: empty vaccine vials, testing kits and other items collected during the pandemic, to be featured in a new COVID-19 display. Britain isn’t quite ready to consign the...
The unwitting are the target of COVID-19 falsehoods online
Dr. Michelle Rockwell lost a pregnancy in December and shared her heartache with her 30,000 Instagram followers. Weeks later, she received the COVID-19 vaccine and posted about that, too. By February, Rockwell was getting past the grief and finally starting to experience...
Irish health system targeted in 'serious' ransomware attack
LONDON (AP) — Ireland's health service shut down its IT systems on Friday after being targeted in a ransomware attack by what it called “international criminals.” Appointments and elective surgeries were canceled at several hospitals and Deputy Prime Minister Leo...
Gas crunch from cyberattack intensifies in nation's capital
Gas shortages at the pumps have spread from the South, all but emptying stations in Washington, D.C., following a ransomware cyberattack that forced a shutdown of the nation’s largest gasoline pipeline. Though the pipeline operator paid a ransom, restoring service was taking time. ...
'Foot soldiers' of Birmingham to BLM: 'Keep on keeping on'
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Charles Avery had barely started marching when police arrested him, forced him into a police vehicle and took him to jail for participating in landmark civil rights protests that helped change the nation in 1963. He spent days in custody and then lived decades...
Japan expands virus emergency ahead of Tokyo Olympics
TOKYO (AP) — Japan on Friday further expanded a coronavirus state of emergency from six areas, including Tokyo, to nine, as Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga repeated his determination to hold the Olympics in just over two months. Japan has been struggling to slow...
Latest General News
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper lifts remaining COVID-19 business capacity limits, nearly all mask-wearing mandates
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper lifts remaining COVID-19 business capacity limits, nearly all mask-wearing mandates.
NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week
A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts: ___ Video shows a...
NY governor deciding whether to change mask mandate
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo has yet to say whether he will change his state's mask mandate in light of new federal guidance that eases rules for fully vaccinated people. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday that the state's mask mandate is still in place as his...
Kentucky restrictions, mask mandate to mostly end in June
FRANKFORT, Ky (AP) — Kentucky's coronavirus-related capacity restrictions, as well as the state’s mask mandate, will largely end on June 11, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Friday. Masks will still be required on public transportation, schools, long-term care facilities...
NFL families seek to end 'race-norming' in $1B settlement
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Thousands of retired Black professional football players, their families and supporters are demanding an end to the controversial use of “race-norming” to determine which players are eligible for payouts in the NFL’s $1 billion settlement of brain injury claims, a...
Investigators: Infant died from blunt force trauma
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama infant found dead after being reported missing was killed by blunt force trauma to the head, according to court papers filed Friday charging his father with capital murder. The cause of death was included in an affidavit filed with...
California budget has $35 million for basic income programs
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to use a sliver of the state's massive budget surplus to give poor people money each month with no rules on how they spend it. Newsom's budget proposal, announced Friday, includes $35 million over five years...
Providence Mayor seeks $704M bond for pension system
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island Mayor Jorge Elorza is seeking a $704-million bond to fund Providence’s unfunded pension system. The city would have 25 years to repay the debt at an interest rate 3% to 4%, with a call provision in 10 years, the Providence Journal...
Wisconsin governor praises CDC's new mask guidelines
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Tony Evers on Friday praised new federal guidelines that relaxed mask restrictions for people who have been vaccinated for COVID-19, and he said his administration will review whether it is safe for state workers to return to their offices. The...
The unwitting are the target of COVID-19 falsehoods online
Dr. Michelle Rockwell lost a pregnancy in December and shared her heartache with her 30,000 Instagram followers. Weeks later, she received the COVID-19 vaccine and posted about that, too. By February, Rockwell was getting past the grief and finally starting to experience...
