AP National News

By MATTHEW PERRONE, LAURAN NEERGAARD and MIKE STOBBE Associated Press The U.S. moved a step closer Wednesday to offering booster doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to senior citizens and others at high risk from the virus as the Food and Drug Administration signed off on the targeted use of extra shots. The FDA authorized booster

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that National Public Radio can air audio recordings from the trial of the gunman who killed five Capital Gazette newspaper employees in 2018. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Bennett ruled Tuesday in a case challenging Maryland’s ban on broadcasting court

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in August and prices that have been soaring eased, the latest sign the housing market is cooling as intense competition leaves many would-be buyers on the sidelines. Existing homes sales fell 2% last month from July to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer Reusable packaging __ from stainless steel ice cream containers to glass jars of soap __ is about to become more common at groceries and restaurants worldwide. Loop, a two-year-old company that collects and sanitizes reusable containers, said Wednesday it’s expanding after successful trials at groceries in France and Japan.

By SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press PARIS (AP) — The most significant rift in decades between the United States and France seemed on the mend Wednesday after French President Emmanuel Macron and President Joe Biden got on the phone Wednesday to smooth things over. In a half-hour call that the White House described as “friendly,” the

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A home health nurse who discovered the bodies of a prominent Minnesota businessman and his wife in a murder-suicide case is suing their estate and seeking damages for emotional trauma. Lisa Ann Hayes walked in on a grisly scene in April 2019 at the Lake Minnetonka mansion of Irwin and Alexandra Jacobs.

By CARA ANNA, DANICA KIRKA and SHEIKH SAALIQ Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Travelers and authorities from India and some African countries are furious — and confused — about Britain’s new COVID-19 travel rules, calling them discriminatory. The British government announced what it billed as a simplification of the rules last week, including allowing

By CALVIN WOODWARD Associated Press KAMOURASKA, Quebec (AP) — When the pandemic descended, the boundless vistas and insane sunsets of Kamouraska became a distant, unattainable dream for this bicyclist from Virginia. This is one of Quebec’s most beautiful places and, for me, a yearly touchstone I could no longer touch. It finally came within reach.

By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s state news agency says a former government minister has asked the country’s top court to remove the lead judge investigating last year’s massive port explosion in Beirut, alleging what the former official calls “legitimate suspicion.” Wednesday’s move by the former public works minister comes a week

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Police say a drive-by shooting at a school bus stop in Kentucky left a 16-year-old student dead and another hospitalized. Authorities say a third child was injured by unknown means as the youths waited Wednesday morning at the bus stop just west of downtown Louisville. Police say a car drove by

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank’s first climate stress test shows higher risks of loan defaults for banks in fire-plagued southern Europe and argues that an earlier and orderly shift to greener energy may have costs — but pay off for the economy over the long run.

By JAMEY KEATEN and DREW COSTLEY Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The harmful health effects of air pollution kick in at lower levels than previously thought, the World Health Organization said Wednesday as it set a new standard for policymakers and the public in the first update of its air quality guidelines in 15 years.

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson conceded Wednesday that a post-Brexit trade deal with the U.S. was not imminent as he voiced confidence that the decades-long U.S. ban on imports of British lamb would be lifted. A day after President Joe Biden downplayed the prospect of a trade

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s president called on Germans to face the country’s cruel colonial past as he opened a new museum in the capital’s center that will be home to two of Berlin’s state museums. The Ethnological Museum and the Museum for Asian Art both contain artifacts that were looted

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rihanna might be extremely consumed with rolling out her popular lingerie line, but finishing her forthcoming album is still a priority. The multi-Grammy winner is just taking her time to “experiment.” She suggests her new music will sound much different than her previous projects.

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lankan police are investigating an incident in which the government prisons minister allegedly threatened to kill two ethnic minority detainees inside a prison. Lohan Ratwatte, state minister of Prison Management and Prisoners’ Rehabilitation, resigned last week following a public outcry after he was accused

LONDON (AP) — Environmental activists who have repeatedly blocked Britain’s busiest highway face possible imprisonment after a judge granted an injunction against the protesters, Britain’s transport secretary said Wednesday. Members of campaign group Insulate Britain have shut down parts of London’s M25 highway, which circles the British capital, five times in just over a week

LONDON (AP) — Netflix has acquired the works of Roald Dahl, the late British author of celebrated children’s books such as “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” The video streaming giant said Wednesday that it acquired the Roald Dahl Story Co., which manages the rights to the author’s characters and stories. No financial terms were disclosed.

BRUSSELS (AP) — As winter looms, the European Trade Union Confederation says three million European workers can’t afford heating their houses amid a surge of energy prices. The organization, which represents 45 million members in 38 European countries, says that 15% of Europe’s working poor _ the equivalent of 2,713,578 people _  don’t have enough

LONDON (AP) — Police in Northern Ireland arrested two more men Wednesday over the murder of Lyra McKee, a journalist shot dead while covering a riot in Londonderry in 2019. The Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI) said the men, aged 24 and 29, were arrested in the city earlier and have been detained under the