AP National News

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Darren Soto of Florida says that he recently tested positive for COVID-19 and believes he has only mild symptoms because he was vaccinated. The Orlando-area Democrat tweeted Wednesday that he had received monoclonal antibody treatment to reduce potential symptoms. He says the treatment is helpful but not a substitute

By MARCOS ALEMÁN Associated Press SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Salvadorans trying to pay for a cup of coffee or receive money sent from relatives in the United States using the cryptocurrency bitcoin continued struggling to perform transactions, a day after El Salvador made it legal tender. Problems still plagued the digital wallet Chivo

MIAMI (AP) — A swath of the Florida Panhandle was under a tropical storm warning after Tropical Storm Mindy made landfall Wednesday night. According to the National Hurricane Center, the storm touched down over St. Vincent Island, about 10 miles west southwest of Apalachicola.  Mindy could cause as much as 6 inches of rainfall across

By ERIC TUCKER, MICHAEL BALSAMO and LISA MASCARO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Law enforcement concerned by the potential for violence at a rally in the nation’s Capitol next week are planning to reinstall protective fencing that surrounded the U.S. Capitol for months after the Jan. 6 insurrection there. That’s according to a person familiar

WASHINGTON (AP) — A prominent conservative defense attorney whose disappearance from court stalled a slew of U.S. Capitol riot cases says he has been released from the hospital and is preparing to get back to work. Prosecutors had expressed concerns last week after John Pierce, who is representing more than a dozen people charged in

By AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has removed 18 people appointed to U.S. military academy boards by Donald Trump in the final months of his presidency. The director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office, Cathy Russell, sent letters calling on them to resign by close of business on Wednesday

By TERRY SPENCER Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Prosecutors say attorneys for a former student accused of killing 17 people at a Florida high school should not be allowed to use any failures by his therapists, school officials or campus security guards as mitigating factors during the death penalty phase of his trial.

By JOHN SEEWER Associated Press BERLIN HEIGHTS, Ohio (AP) — One week has gone by since the 20-year war in Afghanistan came to an end. But the harsh reality of war is still hitting home as Americans now are beginning to honor and bury the last casualties to come back. In Ohio and Missouri, thousands

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Foes of the new Texas law that bans most abortions have been looking to the Democratic-run federal government to swoop in and knock down the most restrictive abortion law in effect in the country. But it’s nowhere near that simple. Known as SB8, the

NEW YORK (AP) — A former nurse who co-founded and once ran the cult-like NXIVM group has been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison. Nancy Salzman must also pay a $150,000 fine. She has agreed to forfeit more than $500,000 in cash, several properties and a Steinway grand piano. Speaking in Brooklyn federal court

By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Two years after a cargo ship overturned along the Georgia seacoast, the heavy lifting to remove the wreckage is nearly done. But months of cleanup remain. The South Korean freighter Golden Ray capsized on Sept. 8, 2019, soon after leaving the Port of Brunswick. Wednesday marked

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has won a vote in Parliament for a big tax hike designed to pay for short-term health requirements arising from the coronavirus pandemic, as well as for long-term care needed by Britain’s growing older population. Lawmakers voted Wednesday by 319 to 248 in favor of the 1.25

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The highly anticipated fraud trial of fallen Silicon Valley star Elizabeth Holmes began Wednesday with dueling portraits of the former entrepreneur sketched by prosecutors and defense lawyers. A federal prosecutor cast Holmes as a conniving entrepreneur who duped investors, customers and patients for years,

By HOWIE RUMBERG Associated Press On Sept. 11, 2001, Associated Press writer Howie Rumberg came off the overnight shift and took the subway to lower Manhattan. He emerged and found himself in the middle of chaos. In a recollection in a new book about the attacks and AP coverage of them, he recalls coming out

By JULIET LINDERMAN and CLAIRE GALOFARO Associated Press HOUMA, La. (AP) — As one of the most powerful hurricanes in the nation’s history barreled into Louisiana, a pair of hospitals squarely in its path braced for the worst. Medical facilities facing a Category 4 storm typically either evacuate or discharge as many patients as possible.

By JULIET LINDERMAN and CLAIRE GALOFARO Associated Press HOUMA, La. (AP) — As one of the most powerful hurricanes in the nation’s history barreled into Louisiana, a pair of hospitals squarely in its path braced for the worst. Medical facilities facing a Category 4 storm typically either evacuate or discharge as many patients as possible.

By IRENE YAGÜE and JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Protests in Spain to denounce a rise in hate crimes against LGBTQ people have gone ahead after a high-profile case that had grabbed attention across the country took an unexpected twist. Thousands gathered in Madrid and Barcelona Wednesday, three days after a young man

By ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An Arkansas appeals court has reversed a lower court judge’s order that Little Rock must reinstate a police officer who was fired for fatally shooting a Black motorist. The Arkansas Court of Appeals panel reversed Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox’s decision last year regarding

By MARIA CHENG AP Medical Writer The mu variant of the coronavirus was first identified in Colombia in January and has since caused isolated outbreaks in South America, Europe and the United States. The World Health Organization last month listed it as a “variant of interest” because of concerns it may make vaccines and treatments

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s medical examiner’s office is continuing the difficult task of identifying remains recovered from the rubble of the World Trade Center. Just days before the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, officials say they have identified the remains of two more people.