AP National News

By ASHRAF KHALIL and CEDAR ATTANASIO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Many Americans struggling to feed their families over the past pandemic year say they’ve had difficulty figuring out how to get help and had trouble finding healthy foods they can afford. A poll from Impact Genome and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs

BEIJING (AP) — China’s central bank has declared all transactions involving Bitcoin and other virtual currencies illegal, stepping up a campaign to block use of unofficial digital money. The central bank complained Bitcoin, Ethereum and other digital currencies disrupt the financial system and are used in money-laundering and other crime. Prices for Bitcoin and other

By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish border guards say an Iraqi migrant has died near Poland’s border with Belarus and another has been hospitalized with COVID-19. The death raises to five the number of fatalities among migrants trying to cross from Belarus into Poland through a wooded area. Poland’s government says

By THOMAS BEAUMONT Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley says he will seek an eighth term in 2022. The 88-year-old announced his reelection plans early Friday on Twitter and said there is “a lot more to do, for Iowa.” Grassley has been in the Senate for 40 years and

MIAMI (AP) — A South Florida man has been arrested in connection with a shooting that killed three people and injured 20 others outside a banquet hall earlier this year. Police arrested 22-year-old Davonta Barnes of Miami Gardens late Thursday. He’s charged with three counts of first-degree murder and 20 counts of attempted murder. He

By KHADIJA KOTHIA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The British government is seeking a legal injunction against climate protestors who blocked the entrance to Britain’s busiest ferry port to highlight the climate crisis and fuel poverty. Vehicles were stuck in lines as more than 40 protesters from the climate group Insulate Britain blocked the main

NEW DELHI (AP) — Authorities say two assailants in lawyers’ black coats opened fire in a courtroom in the Indian capital, killing a notorious crime suspect before being fatally shot by police officers. New Delhi police say officers escorting the suspect, Jitendra Gogi, acted swiftly and killed the assailants, who were believed to be from

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Pope Francis has decided to leave in office a prominent German archbishop who has faced criticism for his handling of the church’s sexual abuse scandal, but the cleric has decided to take a “spiritual timeout.” The Vatican said the pope “is counting on” Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — An Albanian court has reopened the case of a former defense minister who faced charges over a massive blast at a munitions disposal factory 13 years ago that killed 26 people. Judge Saida Dollani of the Tirana Appeals Special Court Against Corruption and Organized Crime on Friday asked a lower court

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Germany and France say they and other European Union countries have nominated Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia for a second term as director-general of the World Health Organization. The announcement was made Friday and it marks the first time that a candidate for the top job at

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press The Treasury Department says there’s been good progress in the distribution of rental assistance to help avert evictions. More than 16.5% of the tens of billions of dollars in federal assistance reached tenants in August, compared with 11% a month earlier. The latest data from the department that oversees the

TODOQUE, Canary Islands (AP) — A volcano in Spain’s Canary Islands is continuing to produce explosions and spew out lava, five days after it erupted. Two rivers of lava continue to slide slowly down the hillside of La Palma on Friday. Authorities say the lava has destroyed almost 400 buildings, including many homes, on the

By KARIN LAUB and FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Tens of thousands of environmental activists have rallied outside Germany’s parliament two days before the country holds a national election and demanded that politicians take stronger action to curb climate change. The protest outside the Reichstag in Berlin was part of a string of

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Days after outgoing South Korean President Moon Jae-in made possibly his last ambitious push to diplomatically resolve the standoff over North Korea’s nuclear program, the North has rejected his call for a declaration ending the Korean War, making it clear it has no interest in

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s coast guard says it has launched a search and rescue operation after a boat carrying around 150 people believed to be migrants ran into trouble off the country’s southwestern coast. The coast guard said on Friday that a passing cargo ship raised the alarm after coming across the wooden boat,

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Shortages of semiconductor chips and other raw materials are continuing to hit Germany’s manufacturers, as bottlenecks leave companies in Europe’s biggest economy struggling to fill orders. Trouble getting the key components helped send the closely watched Ifo index lower for September. That’s the third drop

By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press ROME (AP) — Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont has been released from a jail in Sardinia after a judge ruled that he could go free ahead of an Oct. 4 extradition hearing. Puigdemont left the jail in Sassari on Friday, a day after he had been detained by police on

By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press ROME (AP) — San Marino is one of the last countries in Europe which bans all abortion. On Sunday, the tiny republic’s voters can have their say in a referendum calling for abortion to be made legal in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. The proposal also calls for abortion

By FRANK JORDANS and GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — The contenders to succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor have sought to mobilize voters as the election campaign neared its close, touting their credentials to lead Europe’s biggest economy into a new era as it grapples with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Hundreds gathered Friday in southeast London to light candles and to mourn for slain primary school teacher Sabina Nessa and demand an end to violence against women. Nessa’s death — as she walked through a park to meet a friend a few minutes from her home —