AP National News

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN and JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Prayers and the compelling need to bury the dead have filled a Bronx mosque, as a bereaved community began saying goodbye to those lost in New York City’s most devastating fire in decades. In all, 17 people died, including eight children. Community

By PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — A federal appeals court has dealt a blow to the Boston Police Department’s controversial gang database. A panel of judges for the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston ruled Monday in favor of a Salvadoran national who maintains police wrongly implicated him as a member

By The Associated Press (AP) — Italy on Thursday marks the 10th anniversary of the Costa Concordia cruise ship wreck off the Tuscan island of Giglio. There are some key dates in the saga, including the trial of the captain and the remarkable engineering feat to right the liner from its side so it could

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press Officials across the U.S. are again weighing how and whether to impose mask mandates as COVID-19 infections soar and the American public grows weary of pandemic-related restrictions. Much of the debate centers around the nation’s schools, some of which closed due to infection-related staffing issues. Yet in a variety of

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The city of Indianapolis has effectively denied a request for over $2 million in compensation made by three members of the Sikh community affected by a mass shooting at an Indianapolis FedEx facility. The victims of the April 15 attack each requested $700,000 in damages from the city. They claimed that local

By JILL COLVIN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump says politicians who refuse to say whether they’ve received COVID-19 booster shots are “gutless.” In an interview with the conservative One America News Network on Tuesday night, Trump didn’t name names when he said some politicians have been afraid to admit they

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A painting by the American modernist Marsden Hartley that had been missing for 40 years has been found in a bank vault. Historians say it’s a big step toward recovering the works of an increasingly appreciated artist who considered himself “the painter of Maine.” “Friend Against the Wind” was completed in

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greek authorities say one man has drowned and a woman is missing after a group of migrants trekking through the hills of northern Greece to avoid police crossed a swollen torrent amid rainstorms. Police said the Iranian man’s body was found by rescuers and police responding to an emergency call Wednesday.

By JIM MUSTIAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors have charged a Texas man with providing performance-enhancing drugs to athletes competing in last summer’s Olympics in Tokyo, including the star Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare. Prosecutors said Wednesday that Eric Lira of El Paso is the first person to be charged under a new

By The Associated Press A passenger arrested in Honduras for damaging the cockpit of an American Airlines jet during boarding has been released by authorities. The flight scheduled to depart for Miami on Tuesday afternoon was delayed for hours until a replacement plane could be arranged. The flight arrived in Florida early Wednesday, about eight

By MATTHEW DALY and MIKE CATALINI Associated Press TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The Biden administration says it will hold its first offshore wind auction next month. It’s offering nearly 500,000 acres off the coast of New York and New Jersey for wind energy projects that could produce enough electricity to power nearly 2 million homes.

BUFFALO, Minn. (AP) — A jury trial has been scheduled for a Minnesota man accused of walking into a medical clinic and opening fire, killing one staff member and wounding four others last year. Gregory Ulrich will stand trial beginning May 16 on charges of murder, attempted murder and other counts in the Feb. 9

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Starting next month, workers at Universal Orlando’s theme parks will have to be vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing in order to comply with federal guidelines. Company officials said Wednesday that workers at Universal’s theme parks must be fully vaccinated by Feb. 9 or be required to take a test every

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer It’s not yet clear when people infected with omicron become contagious but early data suggests it might be sooner than with earlier variants. In general, people with the coronavirus are most infectious in the few days before and after symptoms develop. But some researchers say that window might come

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Attorneys for a woman who left her Alabama home to join the Islamic State terror group plan to continue fighting for her and her young son even though the Supreme Court declined to hear her appeal. The family of Hoda Muthana sued seeking her re-entry into the United States. While it’s

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI and JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A growing group of Tennessee Republican is proposing a statewide ban on residency requirements for all first responders. Yet some see this latest move by Republican lawmakers as another attempt to preempt local decisions, particularly in Democratic-leaning cities like Memphis where white lawmakers

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AP) — With life in Kazakhstan’s largest city starting to return to normal after anti-government protests turned violent, relatives of the thousands arrested in the unrest are seeking to learn the fate of their loved ones. About 12,000 people are in custody following the unprecedented violence in the Central Asian nation. In the

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Army, for the first time, is offering a maximum enlistment bonus of $50,000 to highly skilled recruits who sign up for six years. The service is struggling to lure soldiers into certain critical jobs amid the continuing pandemic. Maj. Gen. Kevin Vereen, head of

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and AAMER MADHANI The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats are proposing new sanctions against Russia if it invades Ukraine. Wednesday’s legislation is aimed at derailing a Republican proposal that the White House fears could undermine unity with European allies. The bill introduced by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz would impose tough

By RODRIQUE NGOWI Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Workers have started removing the last tents from a homeless encampment at a Boston intersection known as Mass and Cass. Bulldozers loaded tents, tarps, milk crates, wooden pallets, coolers and other items into trash trucks Wednesday to be hauled away. Street sweepers moved in once a section