AP National News

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The United States and NATO have rejected key Russian security demands for easing tensions over Ukraine. But the allies and Russia also left open the possibility of future talks on arms control, missile deployments and ways to prevent military incidents. The decisions came at a meeting of

By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Political divisions about coronavirus policies are evident as state lawmakers across the country are beginning their third year of sessions dealing with another spike in COVID-19 cases. In some Democratic-led states, lawmakers are meeting remotely or requiring proof of vaccination for members to appear

By JOHN PYE and ROD McGUIRK Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic has acknowledged that his Australian travel declaration form contained incorrect information, and he also confessed to an “error of judgment” in taking part in an interview and photo shoot in Serbia last month after testing positive for COVID-19. In a statement

By BRIAN SLODYSKO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to meet privately with Senate Democrats at the Capitol, a visit intended to deliver a jolt to the party’s long-stalled voting and elections legislation. Biden is expected to discuss potential changes to Senate rules that will be needed to overcome repeated Republican

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Migrant smugglers in Mexico apparently painted fake government food distribution logos on a freight truck to disguise the fact they had crammed 38 migrants. The scheme appeared to have worked until the driver crashed into a guardrail on a highway in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz. The logos of the

By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah group has hosted a conference for Saudi opposition figures in its stronghold south of Beirut in a defiant gesture certain to anger the oil-rich kingdom. Wednesday’s gathering came as the Lebanese government is trying to mend relations with Saudi Arabia that hit a new

By TRISHA THOMAS and NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press GIGLIO, Italy (AP) — Italy is marking the 10th anniversary of the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster with a daylong commemoration on Thursday. The events include a Mass and will end with a candlelit vigil near the moment of impact: 9:45 p.m. on Jan. 13, 2012. That’s

ANTWERP, Belgium (AP) — The Belgian city of Antwerp has put its faith in monkey business to put kids at ease for their first COVID-19 jab. With the expansion of the country’s vaccination campaign to include children as young as 5, Belgian authorities are getting creative as they try to prevent kids getting spooked by

By GLENN GAMBOA AP Business Writer Richard R. Buery, Jr., is starting his first full year as CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, but he is no stranger to New York City’s largest poverty-fighting organization. He first encountered the nonprofit 20 years ago, when Groundwork Inc., the group providing support to children in public housing

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — The late Sen. Harry Reid is being remembered at the U.S. Capitol. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called him a “legendary leader.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he spoke softly but carried the “force of thunder.” Colleagues and friends have gathered to pay tribute to a

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says it’s seeking new U.N. sanctions against North Korea in response to Pyongyang’s latest ballistic missile test. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, tweeted Wednesday night that each of North Korea’s six ballistic missile launches since September have violated U.N. Security Council resolutions. Earlier in the

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities say they are going to keep a close eye on Citigroup’s proposed sale of its Mexico subsidary, Citibanamex, noting the transaction poses “delicate” regulatory issues. Citibanamex is Mexico’s third-largest bank and regulators are apparently concerned that whoever acquires it could accumulate too big a share of the banking market.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Stocks closed higher on Wall Street Wednesday after the latest report of surging prices appeared to keep the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates later this year. The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% and the Nasdaq rose

By LINDSEY TANNER AP Medical Writer Distrust, misinformation and other factors have combined to produce what authorities say are alarmingly low COVID-19 vaccination rates in U.S. children ages 5 to 11. As of Tuesday, just over 17% of these youngsters were fully vaccinated, more than two months after shots for them became available. There was

By JANET McCONNAUGHEY and MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Federal records show a severely corroded pipeline ruptured and spilled more than 300,000 gallons of diesel fuel just outside New Orleans. State and local officials say most of the fuel drained into and was skimmed out of two artificial ponds called “borrow pits.”

By MIKE CATALINI Associated Press TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The federal government will lease an area larger than half the size of Rhode Island off New Jersey’s and New York’s coasts for wind power development. That’s according to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who made the announcement Wednesday. It’s the first offshore lease in the Biden

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Thousands of people in Mississippi continue to be jailed for long periods while waiting to go on trial because they are too poor to afford bail, judges may deny bail altogether or public defenders might not be available when they’re needed. That’s according to a

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — The Berlin International Film Festival is going to take place next month in person despite rising virus numbers in Germany, especially in the capital. The festival management said Wednesday that strict pandemic measures would be applied to the 72nd edition of one of the world’s most famous

RED OAK, Iowa (AP) — A 12-year-old Iowa girl who was struck and killed by a police vehicle that was headed to an apartment fire had been on her way to a grocery store to buy snacks with a gift card she got for Christmas. That’s according to Vana Marie Redd’s older sister. KMTV reports

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago students have returned to classrooms after the nation’s third-largest school district canceled five days of classes amid a standoff with the teachers union over COVID-19 safety protocols. But members of the Chicago Teachers Union have until Wednesday afternoon to decide whether to approve the safety agreement or refuse in hopes of