AP National News

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Authorities in Belarus have raided the offices of the country’s top independent newspaper and taken two of its journalists for questioning. Belarusian authorities searched the offices of the Novy Chas (New Time) newspaper Wednesday in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, and confiscated its computers and other office

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve reports that the economy was facing a number of headwinds at the start of this month from supply chain disruptions and labor shortages to uncertainty about the delta variant of COVID. In its latest survey of business conditions around the nation, the Fed

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer Solid earnings from health care companies helped send stocks higher on Wall Street Wednesday and pushed the benchmark S&P 500 within range of an all-time high. The S&P 500 was up 0.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% and the Nasdaq fell less than 0.1%. Abbott

By CLAUDIA LAUER Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia prosecutors who are pursuing the case against a man accused of raping a woman on a commuter train last week don’t anticipate charging fellow passengers for not intervening. A spokesperson for a suburban Philadelphia district attorney made the announcement Wednesday. District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said prosecutors

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has hosted talks on Afghanistan involving senior representatives of the Taliban and neighboring countries. The round of diplomacy underlines Moscow’s clout in Central Asia. Opening Wednesday’s talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that “forming a really inclusive government fully reflecting the interests of not only

By AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says he did nothing improper but still fell short in his handling of the fatal police shooting of a Black teenage seven years ago in the city. The incident looms large as Emanuel hopes to win Senate confirmation as President Joe Biden’s

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Biden administration has dealt a serious blow to the proposed Twin Metals copper-nickel mine on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northeastern Minnesota. The government ordered a study Wednesday that could lead to a 20-year ban on mining upstream from the wilderness. The

By LISA MASCARO, DARLENE SUPERVILLE and ALAN FRAM Associated Press SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — President Joe Biden has arrived in his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, ready to emphasize the middle class values of his now-scaled back $2 trillion domestic spending package. His proposal is for an unprecedented federal investment to expand social services for millions

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s company is under criminal investigation by a district attorney in a New York City suburb into whether it misled officials to cut taxes for a golf course there. That’s according to the New York Times, citing “people with knowledge of the matter.” The newspaper didn’t say why

By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A family attorney says items believed to belong to Brian Laundrie have been found in a Florida wilderness park as the search continues for clues in the slaying of Gabby Petito. Attorney Steven Bertolino says Laundrie’s parents took part in the search Wednesday with the

By JAMES MacPHERSON Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D, (AP) — North Dakota will be allowed to continue to pursue reimbursement from the federal government of millions of dollars the spent policing protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline. Federal Judge Daniel Traynor on Tuesday denied the federal government’s motion to dismiss North Dakota’s attempt recover more

PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech Republic has been hit by a steep rise in coronavirus infections that have reached levels unseen since late April. In response, the government on Wednesday approved new measures to tame the surge. Face coverings will be mandatory at workplaces, starting on Monday. And as of Nov 1, restaurants, bars, nightclubs

KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Three people were killed and two others critically wounded in a shooting at a home in a southeastern Wisconsin city, and police believe the shooter is among the dead. Kenosha police say the shooting late Tuesday appears to have been domestic. Officers dispatched to the scene found three people dead inside

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A fire chief in Florida has been fired for insubordination. Battalion Chief Stephen Davis wouldn’t discipline employees who refused to follow Orange County’s mandate that all employees get vaccinated against COVID-19. Fire Rescue spokeswoman Lisa McDonald says Davis was fired Tuesday for failing to follow a direct order. A union member

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Bitcoin stormed above $66,000 for the first time on Wednesday, riding a wave of excitement about how the financial establishment is increasingly accepting the digital currency’s rise. One bitcoin was valued at $66,096, as of 4:15 p.m. Eastern time, after earlier climbing as high as

By CURT ANDERSON AP Legal Affairs Writer A judge is pushing for compromise on potential payouts to people who lost loved ones and those whose units were destroyed in the deadly collapse of a Florida beachfront condominium. An initial attempt to mediate a solution over the past two weeks encountered hardened positions between the two

SELMA, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama prosecutor says he has no plans to dismiss an indictment in an unusual ransom plot involving a stolen Confederate monument, despite a decision by prosecutors in Louisiana to drop related charges there. District Attorney Michael Jackson says he is moving ahead with the case against Jason Warnick. The man

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa has started giving COVID-19 vaccinations to adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years, with a goal of inoculating at least 6 million people from this age group. The country is trying to increase its rate of vaccinations which is running behind the target of 300,000

CAIRO (AP) — State-run media says a head-on vehicle collision left at least 19 people dead and one other injured just outside the Egyptian capital of Cairo. The al-Ahram daily reported the crash took place Wednesday when a passenger microbus collided with a truck on a highway that links Cairo’s outskirts on the banks of

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — The race for city attorney in heavily liberal Seattle is offering voters a stark choice: A self-described “abolitionist” who wants to end traditional prosecution of most misdemeanors, or a Republican? The abolitionist is former public defender Nicole Thomas-Kennedy, who spent much of 2020 tweeting about her “rabid