AP National News

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — Harvey Mason jr. knew there would be an uphill climb after taking over as the Recording Academy’s CEO. He has received heavy criticism about the academy’s past lack of diversity and ineffective award voting process. Those critical responses have fueled Mason’s mission to regain

By LAURAN NEERGAARD and MATTHEW PERRONE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health advisers are deliberating whether kid-size doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine are safe and effective in young children. Tuesday’s meeting of the Food and Drug Administration panel is the first step toward expanding vaccinations to 28 million young children ages 5 to 11.

By KATHERINE ROTH Associated Press Japanese gardens have long been popular in the U.S. But they’ve evolved. Landscapers who specialize in the style say the Japanese garden is appealing particularly now when people are looking to forge a closer connection between indoor and outdoor spaces. The style aims to integrate the home and garden by

By CARLEY PETESCH Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal and Rwanda have signed an agreement with German company BioNTech for the construction of its first start-to-finish factories to make messenger RNA vaccines in Africa. BioNTech, which developed and produces the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, said Tuesday that construction on the facilities will start in mid-2022.

LONDON (AP) — Climate activists in hard hats scaled a U.K. government building Tuesday, unfurling a banner demanding that countries attending the U.N. climate conference invest in plant-based alternatives to meat. The activists campaigning for Animal Rebellion climbed between 10 meters and 20 meters (32 feet to 65 feet) up the latticework decoration of the

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has announced a $100 million initiative meant to beef up the U.S. relationship with Southeast Asian nations. Biden made the announcement at a virtual summit with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Tuesday. It’s the first time since 2017, when President Donald Trump participated in the summit,

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Stocks held on to modest gains on Wall Street Tuesday, pushing the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average further into record heights. The S&P 500 added 0.2% and the Dow edged up less than 0.1%. The Nasdaq also rose less than 0.1%. Solid

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota man has pleaded guilty to killing a 14-year-old girl who authorities say was strangled and stabbed more than 20 times in a random attack outside a store in June. Arthur Kollie entered an Alford plea Monday in the death of Jupiter Paulsen. With the plea, the 22-year-old Fargo

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s ruling general says that the prime minister he deposed in a coup is being held for his own safety and will likely be released soon. But he warned Tuesday that other members of the dissolved government could face a trial. A day after the military seized

TUSKEGEE, Ala. (AP) — Members of the Tuskegee University marching band are threatening to quit performing at school events to protest what they say is a lack of resources and support. WSFA-TV reports that concerned members of the Marching Crimson Pipers released a statement Saturday through the Tuskegee Student Government Association complaining about conditions within

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Treasury chief is set to deliver his first budget statement since the Conservative government lifted most coronavirus restrictions across the U.K. On Wednesday Rishi Sunak is likely to use one of the most high-profile events in the country’s political calendar to paint a relatively rosy picture

By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s manatees are dying, in unprecedented numbers this year, with 959 documented deaths as of mid-October. That’s already more than any full year in state records, and now colder weather could bring even more deaths. Scientists blame food scarcity. The so-called sea cows mostly eat

BERLIN (AP) — A United Nations agency reports that fresh pledges by governments to cut greenhouse gas emissions raise hopes but aren’t strict enough to avoid catastrophic global warming. A report by the U.N. Environment Programme on Tuesday found announcements by dozens of countries to aim for “net-zero” emissions by 2050 could limit a global

By LYNN ELBER AP Television Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Television shows that reflect the nation’s increasing racial and ethnic diversity are finding favor with industry gatekeepers and viewers. That’s according to a newly released University of California, Los Angeles, study of the 2019-20 TV season. The UCLA study found audience enthusiasm for shows such

By REBECCA BOONE and KEITH RIDLER Associated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho police say they exchanged gunfire with a suspect during a shooting at a shopping mall in Boise that killed two people and injured four, including an officer. Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee told reporters the shooting was reported Monday afternoon. When officers

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices jumped in August by a near-record amount from a year earlier, as Americans eager to buy a home drove up prices on a dwindling number of properties. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index soared 19.7% in August compared with a year

By GERALD IMRAY AP Sports Writer CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Former captain Quinton de Kock has refused to play in a T20 World Cup game against West Indies in protest after Cricket South Africa ordered its players to take the knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. CSA issued a statement

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s newly elected parliament has elected a lawmaker from the center-left Social Democratic Party as speaker of the 736-member lower house, or Bundestag. The new speaker, Baerbel, Bas, has been a legislator since 2009 and was a deputy leader of her party’s group in the last parliament.

By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration is canceling two environmental rollbacks under former President Donald Trump that limited habitat protections for imperiled plants and wildlife. The proposal to drop the two Trump-era rules was announced Tuesday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service.

BY SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Pro-democracy protesters have blocked roads in Sudan’s capital with makeshift barricades and burning tires, a day after the military seized power in a swift coup widely denounced by the international community. The country’s top general said Tuesday the prime minister of the dissolved government was being held