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By JOCELYN GECKER Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Now that schools are back in session, parents are mastering this year’s new school vocabulary: Modified quarantine, antigen vs. PCR testing and other pandemic-era protocols. But aside from a common pandemic lingo there is little similarity in how California schools are applying COVID-19 rules, leading to

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Motorcycle gang members got into a shootout on a Florida interstate, leaving a woman riding with the instigator near death. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd says Ronald Donovan and other members of the Sin City Deciples motorcycle gang were driving on Interstate 4 between Tampa and Orlando shortly after midnight Friday

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African travel agencies are reporting a surge in reservations for travel to and from Britain ahead of the country being removed from the U.K.’s COVID-19 red list next week. Some companies said they were being overwhelmed by the number of people looking to travel since the

By DAVID McHUGH and DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Nearly 140 countries have agreed on a tentative deal that would make sweeping changes to how big, multinational companies are taxed in order to deter them from stashing their profits in offshore tax havens where they pay little or no tax. The agreement announced

By ANGELA CHARLTON Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron says his country will return 26 African artworks to Benin later this month. Discussions have been under way for years on returning the artworks from the 19th century Dahomey Kingdom. Called the “Abomey Treasures,” the royal thrones, ceremonial altars, revered statues and other

By SAMYA KULLAB and TAMEEM AKHGAR Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A blast went off Friday at a mosque packed with Shiite Muslim worshippers in northern Afghanistan, killing at least 25 and wounding dozens in the latest security challenge to the Taliban as they transition from insurgency to governance. The explosion tore through a

By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said he won’t comply with a mandate requiring deputies be vaccinated against the coronavirus or face termination. Villanueva claimed Tuesday that thousands could leave the department because of the mandate that applies to all county workers. He said that will

By MICHELLE L. PRICE and BOBBY CAINA CALVAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York City is phasing out its program for gifted and talented students. Critics say the program favors whites and Asian American students, while enrolling disproportionately few Black and Latino children, in the nation’s largest school system. Starting in the next