AP National News

By RON TODT Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Officials say a large house fire in Philadelphia has killed 13 people, including seven children, and sent two people to hospitals. Officials said at a news conference hours after the early morning fire Wednesday that there were four smoke detectors in the building but that none were

By RON TODT Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Officials say a large house fire in Philadelphia has killed 13 people, including seven children, and sent two people to hospitals. Officials said at a news conference hours after the early morning fire Wednesday that there were four smoke detectors in the building but that none were

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The woman who accused former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of fondling her in the executive mansion said a prosecutor’s decision to drop the case shows why victims fear coming forward against powerful people. Brittany Commisso was one of Cuomo’s executive assistants before he resigned. She released a statement Tuesday, hours

By RANDALL CHASE Associated Press DOVER, Del. (AP) — A preliminary voting report in the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy indicates the group’s reorganization plan has failed to win the desired support from tens of thousands of men who say they were sexually abused as children. The report filed late Tuesday night shows 73% of

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — The U.S. and the Iraqi military say Katyusha rockets have struck Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. troops at Baghdad’s international airport and in the western Anbar province. In Syria, eight rounds of indirect fire hit a base where members of the U.S.-led coalition are deployed. No damage

AMHERST, Mass. (AP) — Hampshire College has received an anonymous $5 million gift in honor of one of its most famous alumni, award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, that will help the school continue its academic transformation. The gift announced Tuesday is the second $5 million gift the college located in Amherst has received since it

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Dozens of anti-vaccination protesters in the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe attacked a hospital director and other medical staff following recent violent demonstrations against vaccines and COVID-19 restrictions. Officials said Wednesday that the attack occurred outside the University Hospital Center as police tried to escort the director and other

By BARRY HATTON Associated Press LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Authorities in Portugal are wrestling with a conundrum: how to hold a general election scheduled for Jan. 30 amid a surge in COVID-19 cases that is confining hundreds of thousands of potential voters to their homes. Around 400,000 people are currently in isolation in the country

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has announced sanctions against Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, accusing him of “corrupt activities” that threaten to destabilize the region and undermine peace accords. The Treasury Department alleged Wednesday that Dodik has used his leadership position to accumulate wealth through graft and bribery. The

CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian court has sentenced a man to death for beheading another man in a gruesome street murder that shocked the country two months ago. The man was also convicted of attempted killing of two other men and illegal possession of a knife he used in the crime on a busy street

PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech government has decided to cut isolation restrictions for those testing positive for COVID-19 from 14 to five days, and also similarly shortened quarantine time for close contacts of infected people. The measure will become effective Jan. 11, Health Minister Vlastimil Valek said. It was approved Wednesday ahead of an anticipated

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Basketball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Kyrie Irving might be just the jolt the Brooklyn Nets need to escape a midseason slump. After refusing to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, Irving has been unable to play at home, and for much of the season unwelcome on the road. The Nets didn’t

By DANICA KIRKA and MIKE CORDER Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Health authorities across the U.K. have simplified COVID-19 testing requirements in a move designed to cut isolation times for many people. It may also ease the staffing shortages that are hitting public services from hospitals to garbage collection amid an omicron-fueled surge in infections.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Authorities say a large house fire in Philadelphia has caused fatalities, but they declined to say how many people died. Officials say firefighters and police responded to the fire at a three-story rowhouse early Wednesday in the Fairmount neighborhood around 6:40 a.m. and found flames coming from the second-floor windows. The house

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — An Italian museum is lending a fragment of the Parthenon Sculptures to Greece in what both sides hope will be a permanent return that will encourage the British Museum to send its own pieces of the works back, too. Sicily’s regional archaeological museum said Wednesday it had

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden’s health authorities have recommended that the use of the country’s digital COVID-19 vaccination certificate be expanded to include restaurants, cultural activities and other venues starting next week. The move was announced Wednesday and it will take effect on Jan. 12. It is a step up from previous guidance to only

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus is further tightening its pandemic restrictions, reducing the number of people permitted at social gatherings and mandating virus testing for schoolteachers and all inbound travelers over 12 amid surging COVID-19 infections. Cypriot Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela said on Wednesday that teachers, students and staff will need to produce a negative

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A British newspaper is reporting that the Duchess of Sussex will receive the nominal sum of 1 pound after a court found that another newspaper invaded her privacy. The Guardian reported the figure on Wednesday. The 1-pound payment covers only the duchess’s invasion of privacy claims against

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer More weakness in technology companies pulled most major stock indexes lower in morning trading on Wall Street. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq pulled back 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 blue-chip companies managed a tiny gain of 0.1%, pulling just above the