AP National News

NEW YORK (AP) — Authorities say a 9-year-old boy was killed and more than a dozen people were injured in a fire caused by an electric scooter that was charging overnight. New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said Wednesday that firefighters worked “heroically” to remove 14 people from the Queens building where the fire

By KEN MILLER Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma judge says she is temporarily blocking a state law banning public school mask mandates, but that personal exemptions to mask-wearing will be required. Judge Natalie Mai’s ruling Wednesday drew praise from Gov. Kevin Stitt, who opposes mask mandates without exemptions, and Dr. Mary Clarke,

BERLIN (AP) — The World Health Organization has inaugurated a new “hub” in Berlin that aims to help prepare the globe better to prevent future pandemics. The U.N. health agency’s director-general and Germany’s chancellor cut the ribbon to launch the new WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence. WHO says Germany is making an initial

By TOM FOREMAN Jr. Associated Press WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say one student was killed in a shooting at a North Carolina high school and a suspect has been taken into custody. Winston-Salem police Chief Catrina Thompson fought back tears at a Wednesday afternoon news conference as she said the student died at the

By CURT ANDERSON AP Legal Affairs Writer A judge has ordered the examination of a proposed land swap to allow for an on-site memorial to the victims of the Florida beachfront condominium collapse. Many survivors and victim family members of the Champlain Towers South collapse oppose a memorial at a nearby Miami Beach park. The

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says he is heading to the region around Afghanistan in a push to rescue stranded British citizens and Afghan allies. Raab didn’t provide any details, citing security reasons, but he is expected to visit Pakistan for talks on establishing routes out of

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The authoritarian leader of Belarus says the country will soon receive a large batch of Russian weapons, including dozens of combat jets, helicopters and top-of-the-line air defense missile systems. President Alexander Lukashenko announced the expected acquisition as Russia and Belarus prepare to conduct joint war games

By MICHAEL PHILLIS, SUMAN NAISHADHAM and TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press Before reaching the seawalls, levees and other flood controls that shield New Orleans, Hurricane Ida’s storm surge also encountered natural barriers that can help blunt the impact of storms. Natural defenses like wetlands have their limits — especially with major events like Ida. But experts

BEIT UR AL-TAHTA, West Bank (AP) — Hundreds of people are mourning a man Palestinian health officials said was killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank. Thirty-nine-year-old Raed Jadallah was found by his son and a friend shot to death near Ramallah after he did not come home from his work in Israel.

By CHRISTINA LARSON AP Science Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Archaeologists have uncovered stone tools and hippopotamus bones near ancient lake beds on the Arabian Peninsula. This evidence suggests that during intermittent periods of rainy climate, the now-arid region was comparatively lush and green — and early human groups and animals migrated out of Africa into

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Elton John is releasing an album of collaborations with artists from several generations and genres, including Nicki Minaj, Young Thug, Miley Cyrus, Lil Nas X, Stevie Nicks and Stevie Wonder. “The Lockdown Sessions,” a collection of 16 songs featuring John with artists from Dua Lipa to the late Glen Campbell, will

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s new right-wing health minister has apologized for past remarks and avowed his “absolute respect” for Holocaust victims and his opposition to antisemitism. Athanassios Plevris issued a statement on social media hours after the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece expressed concern over his Cabinet appointment. The Jewish organization asked

By JIM SALTER Associated Press Two Missouri students are being lauded for their fast action on a school bus after the driver passed out. After the bus went through a fence and into a field outside of St. James, Missouri, seventh-grader Tandon Baker ran to the front, put his foot on the break and put

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — OPEC and its allies are adding more oil back to the market as demand recovers from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic. The oil producing cartel and its allies agreed during an online meeting Wednesday to stick to plans and add back 400,000 barrels of oil per day from Oct. 1.

MADRID (AP) — Households and businesses in Spain will be thinking twice about using appliances and switching on lights starting Thursday when the country sees a new record for the cost of electricity. The electricity market operator for the Iberian Peninsula says customers in both Spain and Portugal will pay an average of 140 euros,

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The government is collaborating on a new internet site to help more Americans apply for and receive the expanded child tax credit. The credit provides a monthly payment of as much as $300 per child and was part of the coronavirus relief package. Code for America says

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland’s highest court say an Indian Swiss tycoon could owe the Geneva region about $137 million in back taxes over allegations he tried to pass himself off as a resident of Monaco and falsified the value of his fortune. The tax allegations came to light after Geneva

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The Vatican has concluded that allegations of sexual abuse dating back a half century against the Roman Catholic Bishop of Brooklyn do not “have the semblance of truth.” As a result, the Vatican is closing its investigation into allegations made separately by two men who

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is extending for one year a Trump-era ban on the use of U.S. passports for travel to North Korea. The ban was imposed in 2017 after the death of American student Otto Warmbier, who suffered grievous injuries while in North Korean custody. The

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Morocco has launched a campaign to administer COVID-19 vaccines to children from 12 to 17. It has become one of the first African countries to inoculate that age group. The World Health Organization says that the North African country has already given around 33 million doses to adults this year. Morocco