AP National News

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia will spend $14 million to equip all of its officers with stun guns, train them in their use and require officers to wear them while on duty. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported the announcement Tuesday. It was the anniversary of the fatal police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. The shooting was filmed

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — The political organization led by prominent Democrat Stacey Abrams is branching out into paying off medical debts. Fair Fight Political Action Committee on Wednesday told The Associated Press that it’s donating $1.34 million from its political action committee to wipe out debt owed by 108,000 people in

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden, which has stood out among European nations for its comparatively hands-off response to the pandemic, has announced that it will be offering a third shot to people 65 and older as well as health care and nursing home workers.  Social Affairs Minister Lena Hallengren said Wednesday that 1.5 million Swedes

BOSTON (AP) — A nor’easter that battered the U.S. coast with hurricane-force wind gusts has left 425,000 people without power in Massachusetts and forced the closure of bridges, ferries and schools. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency reported the widespread power outages Wednesday morning. Areas along the coast experienced wind gusts of 80 mph to 90

By SYLVIA HUI Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Young women across the U.K. are boycotting nightclubs and pubs as university cities join in a national “girls night in” protest after increasing reports of drink spiking and students being drugged by needle injections. The campaign has gained momentum in university cities including Bristol, Brighton and Nottingham.

By THOMAS ADAMSON Associated Press PARIS (AP) — A hike in the cost of wheat is alarming French households who fear a possible rise in the price of the prized baguette. Many boulangeries are warning customers that the long, crunchy French staple could be going up by 3 to 5 centimes. The president of the

By ELENA BECATOROS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Greek officials on Wednesday during a visit to Athens, with talks touching on Chinese investment in Greece, regional geopolitics, sports and minorities. Greece recently emerged from a decade-long financial crisis that wiped out a quarter of its economy and

By CHALIDA EKVITTHAYAVECHNUKUL Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Thai police say a resident of a high-rise condominium near Bangkok cut the support rope for two painters, apparently angry she wasn’t told they would be doing work, and left them hanging above the 26th floor until a couple rescued them. Police say the woman is facing

By COLLEEN SLEVIN Associated Press DENVER (AP) — The United States has issued its first passport with an “X” gender designation for people who don’t identify as male or female. The State Department says it expects to offer the option more broadly early next year. The department didn’t identify the passport recipient. But Dana Zzyym

By ILAN BEN ZION and LAURIE KELLMAN Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli settlement monitor says Israel has approved about 3,000 settler homes in the occupied West Bank. The decision by a government committee comes a day after the Biden administration issued its strongest condemnation yet of the proposed construction. Hagit Ofran from the

By COLLEEN SLEVIN Associated Press DENVER (AP) — The State Department is expected to announce Wednesday that the United States has issued its first passport with an “X” gender designation. That’s a milestone in the recognition of the rights of people who don’t identify as male or female. The State Department will also offer the

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Midday bombings have injured at least nine people near a busy government office in Myanmar’s second biggest city. The attack appears to be the latest by militants opposed to the country’s military rulers. Witnesses say two explosions rocked an area near the Road Transport Administration Department in

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Treasury chief Rishi Sunak is painting a relatively rosy picture of the state of the country’s economy following the U.K.’s deepest recession in around 300 years. In his annual budget to Parliament, Sunak said growth this year was set to be 6.5%, higher than predicted just

By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican says Pope Francis has agreed to visit Canada to help reconciliation efforts with Indigenous peoples following shocking revelations of the Catholic church’s role in the abuse and deaths of thousands of native children. The Vatican said in a brief statement on Wednesday that the

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Europe’s leading human rights organization says Cyprus remains a “very centralized country” where local authorities are too dependent on state hand-outs and not adequately financed to provide municipal services. The Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities said Wednesday that the sphere of local government on the east Mediterranean

BY SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — EgyptAir says a Moscow-bound flight has returned to the Egyptian capital shortly after its takeoff after a threatening message was found onboard. The airline says EgyptAir flight MS729 has returned safely to Cairo International Airport around 22 minutes after takeoff. It says the written message was found

CAIRO (AP) — EgyptAir says a Moscow-bound flight has returned to the Egyptian capital shortly after its takeoff due to a threatening message found onboard. The airliner says EgyptAir flight MS728 has returned safely to Cairo International Airport around 22 minutes after its takeoff. It says the written message was found on a seat of

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A Polish court has upheld the Warsaw mayor’s ban on an annual march organized by nationalists on Poland’s Independence Day. But organizers vowed on Wednesday to appeal and insisted they would march as planned. The Nov. 11 march has attracted large numbers of participants in recent

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s top court has fined Poland $1.2 million a day to prevent what it called “serious and irreparable harm” to the EU’s legal order and values. The European Court of Justice imposed the penalty after a weeklong war of words in Poland’s standoff with the

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Assistant Secretary-General for Operations John Manza says the military organization’s security operation in Afghanistan became a victim of “mission creep” that bogged it down in the country. The man leading the process of learning lessons from almost 20-years of operations says that NATO allowed itself to