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By ROXANA HEGEMAN Associated Press A federal report finds that in the run up to the 2020 presidential election U.S. states and territories had spent less than a third of the $805 million Congress had provided to shore up security for state and local election systems. A state-by-state snapshot released last month by the U.S.

By PAT EATON-ROBB Associated Press Mystic Aquarium says that a second of the five beluga whales it imported in May from a marine park in Canada is in failing health. The female whale is suffering from several health issues including a low white blood cell count and gastrointestinal issues, the aquarium said in a Facebook

By BEN FOX and JAMIE STENGLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 82,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan since the Taliban seized the capital Kabul on Aug. 14. It’s one of the largest U.S. airlifts in history. While the pace has picked up in recent days, it’s still a chaotic scramble as people

MARGATE, N.J. (AP) — The boardwalk fixture, Lucy the Elephant, is having all of its metal skin replaced because more than 50% of the exterior has degraded beyond repair. The executive director of the Save Lucy Committee, Richard Helfant, said Tuesday that the six-story high statue in Margate will close Sept. 20. Architects determined it

By MARIA CHENG AP Medical Writer LONDON (AP) — The international scientists dispatched to China by the World Health Organization to look for the origins of the coronavirus say the search has “stalled” and warn the window for getting to the bottom of the mystery is closing fast. In a commentary published Wednesday, the experts

By MARINA VILLENEUVE Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s new governor is acknowledging that the state has had nearly 12,000 more deaths from COVID-19 than former Gov. Andrew Cuomo told the public. Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office says almost 55,400 people have died of the coronavirus in New York based on death certificate data

MADRID (AP) — Spanish authorities are expanding a ban on harmful fertilizers around a saltwater lagoon on the country’s Mediterranean coast, where over the past 10 days several tons of dead fish have washed up. The regional government of Murcia, southeast of Madrid, announced Wednesday that the use of inorganic nitrogen fertilizers at farms around

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Only 11% of the tens of billions of dollars in federal rent assistance meant to help tenants around the country avoid eviction has been distributed. The latest data from the Treasury Department, which oversees the program, shows that the pace of distribution increased in July over June

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer Delta Air Lines won’t force employees to get vaccinated, but it’s going to make unvaccinated workers pay a $200 monthly charge. Delta said Wednesday that it will also require weekly testing for unvaccinated employees starting next month, although the airline says it’ll pick up the cost of that testing.

By TALI ARBEL AP Technology Writer OnlyFans says it has suspended a plan to ban sexually explicit content following an outcry from its creators and advocates for sex workers. The company says the ban is no longer required because of assurances from its banking partners. OnlyFans had said last week that it would ban explicit

By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Just over half of Florida’s 2.8 million public school students now face mandates to wear masks in classrooms. More districts are defying Gov. Ron DeSantis amid a courtroom battle over the Republican’s efforts to leave such decisions to parents. The Orange County School Board voted

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — A new show examining how some of the Nazis’ favorite visual artists were able to successfully continue their work in postwar Germany is set to open in Berlin this week. The exhibition, which opens Friday at the German Historical Museum, traces the careers and works of many