AP National News

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is calling on all those who work with children, starting from the Catholic church, to join together in a “preventative alliance” to better prevent sexual and other abuse of youngsters. In a message to a conference in Rome Thursday about keeping children safe, Francis said the church’s own efforts

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — The National Toy Hall of Fame has inducted American Girl dolls and the strategy board game Risk, recognizing each for their influence on the toy industry. Also inducted Thursday was sand, which it calls perhaps the most universal and oldest toy in the world. All three were honored during a ceremony

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN and CHRISTOPHER RUGABER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — As the U.S. economy rebounds from the ongoing pandemic, many women are choosing to sit out the labor force. The pandemic has laid bare the disproportionate burdens many women shoulder in caring for children or aging parents, as well as highlighted the

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The leaders of four Central European nations have met in Hungary’s capital where they urged visiting South Korean President Moon Jae-in to consider investing in a rapid train line connecting Budapest and Polish capital Warsaw. The potential rail investment is a major initiative of the Visegrad

AHMED AL-HAJ Associated Press SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Security officials say that at least 200 fighters were killed in clashes between Yemen’s government forces and Houthi rebels in and around the strategic central province of Marib over the last two days. Officials said Thursday that most of the casualties belonged to the Houthi forces, who

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has undergone a successful hysterectomy. Presidential spokeswoman Gabriela Cerruti says the operation had been planned for several weeks. Officials didn’t say why it was needed. But the clinic says she’s in good general health after Thursday’s laparoscopic procedure. The official Telam news agency

By MARIAM FAM and NOREEN NASIR Associated Press As a wary world watches to see the Taliban’s policies for women, many girls and young women in Afghanistan are afraid the future they’ve envisioned may become out of reach. They worry about missing out on big career goals as well as little freedoms and hobbies that

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — For decades, it’s been one of Hollywood’s darkest rumors: A teen-age Natalie Wood was sexually assaulted by a top movie star more than twice her age when she agreed to meet with him at a hotel in Los Angeles. In a memoir coming out next

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — The average long-term mortgage rate in the U.S. ticked back down this week following several weeks of increases. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average rate for a 30-year mortgage fell to 3.09% from 3.14% last week. Last year at this time

ROME (AP) — The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization says world food prices are the highest since July 2011, reflecting reduced wheat harvests and higher palm-oil prices. The Rome-based agency said Thursday that international prices of its sample food commodities basket rose by 3% in October, for a third straight month of increases. Reduced

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — Two Swiss skiers that do not want to be vaccinated against the coronavirus will miss the first men’s downhill race of World Cup ski season in Canada because the country requires international visitors to have two doses to enter. Swiss teammates Urs Kryenbühl and Ralph Weber

GENEVA (AP) — A diamond bracelet that once belonged to France’s Marie Antoinette and jewels that dangled from a Russian grand duchess are among the featured items going up for auction next week in Geneva. Also going under the hammer in the lakeside Swiss city will be a pair of high-top Nike sneakers from the

By SUDHIN THANAWALA Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Food banks have ramped up their output during the coronavirus pandemic to meet an explosion of need from families facing financial hardship. Now, some are preparing to permanently boost their food distribution with major expansion projects driven in part by their experiences during the pandemic. Food banks

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine has reported another record high number of new coronavirus infections, part of an infection surge amid widespread reluctance among the population to get vaccinated. The Health Ministry on Thursday reported 27,377 new infection cases over the past day, about 500 more than the previous high

The Associated Press The woman in charge of weapons on the movie set where actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins said Wednesday night that she had inspected the gun Baldwin shot but doesn’t know how a live bullet ended up inside. “Who put those in there and why is the central question,” Hannah

BERLIN (AP) — AstraZeneca says it is withdrawing its application for approval of its COVID-19 vaccine in Switzerland because the country’s medical regulator wanted to restrict its use to people over age 50. Switzerland has cleared the BioNTech-Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, but the national medical regulator hadn’t yet granted AstraZeneca marketing authorization.

LONDON (AP) — Dozens of climate change activists have blocked roads outside the Parliament in London. Some glued themselves to the ground as part of the group’s ongoing protests. About 60 supporters of the group Insulate Britain sat on the ground holding banners, blocking two roads around Parliament. Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said Thursday it

GENEVA (AP) — A diamond bracelet that once belonged to France’s Marie Antoinette and jewels that dangled from a Russian grand duchess are among the featured items going up for auction next week in Geneva. Also going under the hammer in the lakeside Swiss city will be a pair of high-top Nike sneakers from the

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — A top executive of Myanmar’s military-linked telecommunications company has been fatally shot near his home in an apparent assassination linked to the country’s violent political unrest. The military’s information office confirmed that Thein Aung, chief finance officer of Mytel Telecommunications Co., was shot Thursday morning while walking

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to a fresh pandemic low last week, another sign the job market is healing after last year’s coronavirus recession. Jobless claims dropped by 14,000 to 269,000 last week. Since topping 900,000 in early January, the weekly applications