AP National News

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden nominated Saule Omarova to be the nation’s next comptroller of the currency in September. If confirmed, she would be the first woman and person of color to run the 158-year-old agency. But Omarova’s nomination to a typically low-profile agency has drawn intense

By LAURA UNGAR AP Science Writer Scientists have been able to get a rare glimpse into a crucial, early stage of human development by analyzing an embryo in its third week after fertilization. That’s a moment in time that has been difficult to study because of practical and ethical considerations. Scientists reported Wednesday in the

By ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says about 10% of eligible kids aged 5 to 11 have received a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine since its approval for their age group two weeks ago. At least 2.6 million kids have received a shot, White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico will deploy a battalion of National Guard troops to its Mayan Riviera in the wake of a spate of shootings that have put the crown jewel of the country’s tourism industry on edge. Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval, speaking Wednesday in Cancun, said that 1,445 guard members will be sent

By JOSEPH WILSON, ALBERTO ARCE and ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A spokesman for Spain’s government says leading Cuban activist Yunior García has flown to Madrid with his wife. His departure from Cuba was unannounced. They arrived Wednesday on tourist visas. García was one of the organizers of a protest on Monday

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban foreign ministry is urging the U.S. Congress to release Afghanistan’s assets, which were blocked after the takeover. The militant group’s acting foreign minister calls the sanctions against the Doha agreement signed on February 2020. The country also is facing an economic crisis that has alarmed international organizations. The World Food

By REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The man central to a Supreme Court case that extended the possibility of freedom to hundreds of people sentenced to life without parole as juveniles has been granted parole. A Louisiana board Wednesday unanimously approved parole for 75-year-old Henry Montgomery. He was convicted in the 1963

By LINDSEY TANNER AP Medical Writer A study on calls to crisis helplines in 19 countries shows a striking similarity in the pandemic’s toll on mental health. Fears of infection, loneliness and physical health were the main concerns voiced in the pandemic’s early weeks. The study published Wednesday in Nature found relationship issues, economic problems

By HOPE YEN Associated Press Americans may soon get a better glimpse into a future of green-friendly transportation by visiting a U.S. national park. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are signing a pledge Wednesday that aims to test some of the newest and most innovative travel technologies on public lands. The

GREENFIELD, Mass. (AP) — A well-known photographer has pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old student in the 1970s when he was a teacher at a private boarding school in Massachusetts. Prosecutors say 74-year-old former Northfield Mount Hermon teacher Jock Sturges was sentenced Monday to three years of probation after pleading guilty

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Thousands of people are marching through Athens to mark the anniversary of a bloody anti-dictatorship uprising in 1973. More than 5,000 police were deployed to keep order, as violence involving anarchist demonstrators often mars the annual march to the U.S. Embassy. The event went ahead Wednesday despite restrictions related to the

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s parliament has passed legislation to permit electronic voting. The approval on Wednesday came ahead of the next elections in 2023, over protests by opposition parties who say the legislation is aimed at rigging the next round of voting. Lawmakers also Wednesday passed legislation granting voting rights to expats. The current system

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s top Brexit official has lowered the temperature in the U.K.’s trade feud with the European Union, saying he believes it is possible to reach agreement with the bloc. Chief U.K. negotiator David Frost said Wednesday there are still “gaps” between the two sides, but added that

BEAVER ISLAND, Mich. (AP) — A pilot who was among four people who died after a plane crash on a Michigan island has been identified as a history teacher. William Julian was flying the plane for Island Airways. It takes travelers between Beaver Island and Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula. The 55-year-old was airlifted Saturday to

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden is introducing a digital COVID-19 vaccination certificate for public gatherings and events with more than 100 people indoors. The move follows similar steps by other European Union countries amid a recent continental rise in COVID-19 cases. Authorities said Wednesday that the certificate will be adopted from Dec. 1. Sweden has

By MICHAEL TARM, SCOTT BAUER and AMY FORLITI Associated Press KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Jurors weighing charges against Kyle Rittenhouse returned Wednesday for a second day of deliberations in his murder trial. Jurors met for a full day Tuesday with no quick verdict after two weeks of testimony in which they were given starkly different

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer Stocks are moving lower on Wall Street as the market takes a choppy turn amid inflation concerns. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% and slid further below the record high it set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% and the Nasdaq fell 0.4%. Visa sank 5.7%

By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A U.S. appeals court has reinstated a ban on lobster harvesting in hundreds of miles of productive fishing waters off the Maine coast to try to protect rare whales. The Maine Lobstering Union had won emergency relief to stop the closure of lobstering grounds. Federal regulators

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — Four Afghan journalists threatened by the Taliban regime have arrived in North Macedonia for temporary asylum. North Macedonia’s government said Wednesday they are TV and radio journalists who had worked for local media, and correspondents for foreign media outlets. North Macedonia offered a temporarily residence for them, at the request

By MARCOS ALEMAN and CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN Associated Press SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has pitched a proposed law requiring people and organizations who receive foreign funding to register as “foreign agents,” following the lead of countries like the United States. When the U.S. passed its own Foreign Agents Registration