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NEW YORK (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul introduced state Sen. Brian Benjamin as her choice for lieutenant governor Thursday in the senator’s Harlem district. The two promised to work together to address the ongoing pandemic and get COVID-19 relief into New Yorkers’ pockets. Hochul took office Tuesday after the resignation of Andrew Cuomo

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose for the first time in five weeks even though the economy and job market have been recovering briskly from the coronavirus pandemic. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims edged up to 353,000 from 349,000 a

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s state-run news agency says the judge leading the investigation into last year’s massive explosion at Beirut’s port has issued a subpoena for the country’s caretaker prime minister. The development comes after the premier failed to answer summons on Thursday. Last month, the judge confirmed charges filed by his predecessor against the

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a 6.6% annual rate last quarter, slightly faster than previously estimated, the government said Thursday in a report that pointed to a sustained consumer-led rebound from the pandemic recession. But worries are growing that the delta variant of the coronavirus is

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission says it has received reports from residents that some 150 people were killed earlier this month in an alleged attack by the Oromo Liberation Army, which the government declared a terrorist group this year. A statement by the government-created rights group says the killings in East

By ROB GILLIES Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Canada has ended its evacuations from Afghanistan as the clock ticks down on dramatic Western efforts to help people flee the Taliban takeover ahead of a full American withdrawal. General Wayne Eyre says all the other countries have to leave the airport before the Americans can wrap

By ALEXANDRA OLSON and HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Half of American workers are in favor of vaccine requirements at their workplaces at a time when such mandates are gaining traction now that the government has given full approval of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. That finding comes from a new poll from The

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong authorities have ousted an opposition legislator from his seat after finding him to be insufficiently loyal amid Beijing’s tightening grip on the semi-autonomous city. The government says Cheng Chung-tai of the populist Civic Party was disqualified from the legislature on Thursday. He was one of two remaining opposition lawmakers

MIAMI (AP) — Video released by a team of federal investigators shows more evidence of extensive corrosion and overcrowded concrete reinforcement in a Miami-area condominium that collapsed in June, killing 98 people. The National Institute of Standards and Technology also announced Wednesday it will conduct a five-pronged investigation into the Champlain Towers South collapse. It

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer MADRID (AP) — The captain of Afghanistan’s wheelchair basketball team has found a new home and a new club in Spain’s Basque Country. Nilofar Bayat fled Afghanistan with the help of the Spanish government and will be living and playing in the city of Bilbao. The Bidaideak Bilbao club

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s vice defense minister has called for North Korea to resume cooperation under a 2018 military agreement on reducing tensions, which the North has threatened to abandon over U.S.-South Korean military exercises. In an interview with The Associated Press, Park Jae-min said the agreement

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A former Royal Marine who runs an animal charity in Afghanistan says he, his Afghan staff and dozens of cats and dogs were caught in the chaotic aftermath of a suicide attack outside Kabul’s airport as they try to get a flight out of the country. Paul

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A Hungarian orchestra conductor received a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot onstage during a free open-air concert in Budapest to encourage people to get vaccinated. Budapest Festival Orchestra conductor Ivan Fischer removed his jacket to reveal a white dress shirt with a hole cut out of the