AP National News

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s record high coronavirus death toll has persisted for a second straight day, as the number of new infections declined. The state coronavirus task force reported 1,254 COVID-19 deaths on Saturday, matching Friday’s tally. The task force also reported 37,120 new confirmed cases. Russia’s daily new infections in recent weeks appear to

MALACCA, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s Malay party has won a landslide victory in a state election, defeating its allies in the ruling coalition as well as the opposition ahead of national polls. The victory in southern Malacca state by Ismail’s United Malays National Organization is seen as a bellwether that

By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s prime minister says he will hold a series of talks in Europe about the pressure of migrants on the European Union’s border with Belarus, a crisis that he expects will continue. Mateusz Morawiecki said Saturday he was meeting counterparts from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia on

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Even as visitors again crowd below the jumbo screens in New York’s Times Square, the souvenir shops, restaurants, hotels and entrepreneurs within the iconic U.S. landmark are still reeling from a staggering pandemic. With vaccinated foreign tourists now welcomed back into the United States, New

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration and Democrats talked the climate talk at U.N. negotiations in Scotland. They’re now about to show whether a politically divided United States can walk the walk: and squeeze a $555 billion investment for clean energy through the narrowest of margins in the Senate. More

By EMILY SCHULTHEIS and KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press VIENNA (AP) — Tens of thousands of protesters, many from far-right groups, have marched through in Vienna after the Austrian government announced a nationwide lockdown to contain skyrocketing coronavirus infections. The groups protesting included the far-right Freedom Party, the anti-vaccine MFG party and the extreme-right Identitarians. The

BEIRUT (AP) — A group of U.S. congressmen have held meetings with Lebanon’s top leaders during a fact-finding mission to the Middle East nation roiled by an unprecedented economic crisis. The delegation is on a three-day trip that started Friday and will report to President Joe Biden and the Congress,  proposing ways to help the

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Holiday season could strain COVID-19 home test supplies as more Americans try to screen themselves before Thanksgiving and other family gatherings. After weeks of shortages, retail chains like CVS say they have restocked supplies of home tests, which deliver results in about 15 minutes. But experts

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Even as visitors again crowd below the jumbo screens in New York’s Times Square, the souvenir shops, restaurants, hotels and entrepreneurs within the iconic U.S. landmark are still reeling from a staggering pandemic. With vaccinated foreign tourists now welcomed back into the United States, New

By EMILY SCHULTHEIS and KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press VIENNA (AP) — Thousands of protesters have gathered in Vienna after the Austrian government announced a nationwide lockdown to contain the country’s skyrocketing coronavirus infections. Among others, the far-right opposition Freedom Party has called for Saturday’s protest and vowed to combat the new restrictions. The Austrian lockdown

By DAVID CRARY AP National Writer On both sides of America’s abortion debate, activists are convinced that the 1973 Supreme Court ruling establishing a nationwide right to abortion is imperiled as never before. Yet no matter how the current conservative-dominated court handles pending high-profile abortion cases, there will be no monolithic, nationwide change. Instead, the

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s prime minister says he will hold a series of talks in Europe about the pressure of migrants on the European Union’s border with Belarus, a crisis that he expects will continue. Mateusz Morawiecki said Saturday he was meeting counterparts from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia over the weekend and will travel

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — A Pakistani fire official says an early morning fire that erupted in a slum in the country’s south destroyed about 100 huts but no one was hurt in the blaze. The official says the fire broke out on Saturday in the dwellings along the Lyari River, under a bridge in central

By EMILY SCHULTHEIS and KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press VIENNA (AP) — Thousands of protesters have gathered in Vienna after the Austrian government announced a nationwide lockdown to contain the quickly rising coronavirus infection rate in the country. Among others, the far-right opposition Freedom Party has called for Saturday’s protest and vowed to combat the new

By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — The man who fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery took the witness stand to tell jurors he pulled the trigger fearing for his own life. Meanwhile, hundreds of Black pastors rallied outside the Glynn County courthouse in coastal Georgia in response to a defense attorney’s failed efforts to

By KEVIN McGILL Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — As mayor of New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu oversaw billions of dollars in infrastructure repairs and improvements when he took over a lagging recovery from Hurricane Katrina in 2010. Now, he’s tasked with infrastructure work on a national scale. Landrieu has been tapped by President Joe Biden

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran says it has now fully vaccinated 44 million people, which is more than half of its population of 85 million. The health ministry made the announcement on Saturday, saying that the 44 million have received two doses of the vaccine. The country has recorded at least 128,000 deaths since the

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Senegal, where he’s wrapping up a weeklong, three-nation tour of Africa. On a trip overshadowed by crises elsewhere on the continent, Blinken is pushing American-built infrastructure projects, sustainable development, women’s empowerment and other human rights initiatives to

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam has welcomed more than 200 foreign tourists to its largest island, the first to visit the Southeast Asian country after nearly two years of border closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fully vaccinated travelers from South Korea will spend their holidays in Phu Quoc hotel resorts without a mandatory

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis is hoping that a charity soccer match that includes Swiss Guards, Vatican employees, priests, a player with Down syndrome, migrants and members of the Roma community will deal a significant “kick” to discrimination. The match takes place on Sunday in Rome and will be refereed by Lazio team captain Ciro