AP National News

By HOPE YEN and TOM KRISHER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — As traffic fatalities spike during the pandemic, the federal agency in charge of auto safety is struggling with a growing backlog of safety rules ordered by Congress that are years overdue and estimated to save thousands of lives. An Associated Press review of the

HELSINKI (AP) — Norwegian authorities are commissioning an independent investigation into the actions of police and security agencies following a bow-and-arrow attack that killed five people and injured three. Norway’s domestic intelligence agency said Saturday that it decided to seek the review after consulting the country’s national and regional police commanders. A 37-year-old resident who

HOUSTON (AP) — Authorities say a man with an AR-15-style rifle ambushed three constable deputies outside of a Houston bar, killing one and wounded two others. The Houston Police Department says one person was detained, but he’s not believed to be the shooter. Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman says the deputies were working

By MAYUKO ONO and PAN PYLAS Associated Press LEIGH-ON-SEA, England (AP) — Leaders from across Britain’s political spectrum have come together to pay tribute to a long-serving British lawmaker who was stabbed to death in what police have described as a terrorist attack. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the leader of the opposition Labour Party and

By DAVID SHARP Associated Press A Maine law banning obscene license plates goes into effect Monday, but getting the foul language off the roads and highways won’t happen overnight. Rule-making is getting underway to ensure the law protects First Amendment rights while getting rid of profane language. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows says the process

By JILL COLVIN and SARAH RANKIN Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Donald Trump rallied Republicans this past week to vote for Glenn Youngkin in the tight race for Virginia governor. But that may be the closest Trump gets to campaigning in the most closely watched election of 2021. The two men aren’t expected to

By SAM MEDNICK Associated Press OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — Africa’s largest film festival is kicking off in Burkina Faso for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The week-long  Pan-African Film and TV Festival of Ouagadougou is also being held amid both the pandemic and a growing jihadi insurgency that’s killed thousands of

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A judiciary spokesperson says a court has sentenced the former governor of Iran’s central bank to 10 years in prison for violating the country’s currency system. The spokesperson says the former central bank chief also had a role in smuggling foreign currency. A former deputy to the bank chief was sentenced

By JIM HEINTZ Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s daily death toll from COVID-19 has exceeded 1000 for the first time as the country faces a sustained wave of rising infections. The national coronavirus task force on Saturday reported 1,002 deaths, up from 999 on Friday, along with 33,208 new confirmed cases. The government said

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s president has paid her respects at a morgue to the dozens of people killed in a deadly inferno that ripped through an aging tower block earlier in the week. Authorities say the fire in the southern city of Kaohsiung killed at least 46 people, after it broke out early Thursday

BERLIN (AP) — The leader of outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party has urged supporters to emulate the unity and discipline of their victorious opponents. Armin Laschet declared Saturday that the center-right Union bloc can only start winning again if its members learn to stand together. Laschet has indicated his readiness to step down as

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese astronauts have begun their six-month mission on China’s first permanent space station, after successfully docking aboard their spacecraft. The astronauts, two men and a woman, were seen floating around the module before speaking via a live-streamed video Saturday. They are the second crew to move into the new space station, which

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A NASA spacecraft named Lucy has rocketed into the sky with diamonds on a 12-year quest to explore a record-setting eight asteroids. Lucy blasted off before dawn Saturday from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The rocket is sending Lucy on a roundabout journey to the Trojan

By MAYUKO ONO and PAN PYLAS Associated Press LEIGH-ON-SEA, England (AP) — Leaders from across the political spectrum have come together to pay tribute to a long-serving British lawmaker who was stabbed to death in what police have described as a terrorist incident. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the leader of the main opposition Labour Party

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Police say four Russian tourists were found dead at a beach resort in western Albania. Albanian police issued a statement Saturday saying the four were found asphyxiated in a hotel sauna in the village of Qerret late Friday. Police did not give more details about the circumstances of the deaths, citing

By EILEEN NG Associated Press KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Southeast Asian foreign ministers have agreed to downgrade Myanmar’s participation in an upcoming summit in their sharpest rebuke yet of its leaders following a Feb. 1 military takeover. Myanmar objected to the decision. Brunei, chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations said Saturday that

By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — In the capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, a year of war and months of government-enforced deprivation have left the city of a half-million people with a rapidly dwindling stock of food, fuel, medicine and cash. The Associated Press drew on a dozen interviews with residents for

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Islamic State group says its members are responsible for a deadly suicide bombing on a Shiite mosque in southern Afghanistan. Relatives laid the bodies of the victims to rest Saturday and called on the Taliban to protect them. The group says in a statement posted on social media that two

By JILL COLVIN and SARAH RANKIN Associated Press RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) — When Donald Trump rallied Republicans this week to vote for Glenn Youngkin for governor in Virginia, the former president called in to a rally of diehard supporters. That may be the closest he gets to campaigning in the most closely watched election of

By ZEKE MILLER and ALEXANDRA JAFFE Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — President Joe Biden says he would prefer to slash the length of the new and expanded programs in his $3.5 trillion social safety net and climate change legislation, rather than eliminate programs entirely. Biden is trying to reassure progressives who are worried their