Most Recent
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration will begin making 400 million N95 masks available for free to Americans starting next week, now that federal officials are emphasizing their better protection against the omicron variant of COVID-19 over cloth face coverings.
NEW YORK (AP) — Is it better to wear an N95 or cloth mask right now?
Health experts suggest stepping up protection against the highly contagious omicron variant with stronger masks such as N95s or KN95s.
AMSTERDAM (AP) — Amsterdam's Concertgebouw orchestra played second fiddle Wednesday to a pair of hairdressers. Vincent van Gogh's self-portraits were briefly upstaged by a nail salon and barber as civil disobedience to protest the Dutch coronavirus lockdown spread Wednesday to the cultural sector.
GENEVA (AP) — The number of new coronavirus cases globally rose by 20% last week to more than 18 million, marking a slowdown in the surge caused by the omicron variant's spread, according to the World Health Organization.
BERLIN (AP) — Police in Germany are investigating thousands of cases of suspected forgery of coronavirus vaccine certificates, the dpa news agency reported Wednesday.
It cited figures obtained from the country's 16 states showing more than 12,000 police investigations have been opened nationwide.
BUDPAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The leader of Hungary's political opposition said Wednesday that he has tested positive for COVID-19 amid a surge in cases fueled by the highly transmissible omicron variant.
MADRID (AP) — Six residents of a nursing home in eastern Spain died after a fire broke out in the night, authorities said Wednesday.
Another 17 residents were hospitalized, with three in serious condition, the regional leader of Valencia, Ximo Puig, said.
BRUSSELS (AP) — European Council President Charles Michel on Wednesday became the second top-level European Union official who has had to pull out of the bloc’s parliament session because of contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus.
PARIS (AP) — A spattering of Paris Fashion Week menswear shows began in earnest this week for the fall-winter season, as French government restrictions have seen many relegated to an online-only presence.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday will try to talk anxious Americans through the challenges of delivering on his lengthy to-do list as he holds a rare news conference to mark his first year in office and asks for patience with recent setbacks to his lofty agenda.
UnitedHealth Group's fourth-quarter profit soared as the nation's largest health insurance provider branched deeper into offering care as well as covering the bills.
The health care giant said Wednesday that operating earnings from its Optum division grew nearly 10% to $3.4 billion in the quarter.
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis issued a plea on behalf of prison inmates Wednesday, saying they should never be deprived of hope and always be given the opportunity to redeem themselves.
In remarks at his weekly public audience at the Vatican, Francis told the faithful that “we risk being imprisoned in a justice that doesn’t allow one to easily get back up again and confuses redemption with punishment.”
LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defied calls to resign in a feisty performance Wednesday in Parliament — but it may be too little to prevent his Conservative Party's lawmakers from trying to oust him over a string of lockdown-flouting government parties.
LONDON (AP) — Consumer prices in the United Kingdom have risen at the fastest pace in almost 30 years as higher costs for energy, transportation, food and furniture squeezed household incomes.
WASHINGTON (AP) — During his first year in office, President Joe Biden took action on a number of his key campaign promises, from rebuilding U.S.
More Americans worry about unexpected medical bills than any other expense, according to polls by the Kaiser Family Foundation in 2018 and 2020.
Unfortunately, those bills aren’t rare: 18% of emergency visits and 16% of in-network hospital stays had at least one out-of-network charge, a 2020 Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker study found.
SYDNEY (AP) — Three of Tonga's smaller islands suffered serious damage from tsunami waves, officials and the Red Cross said Wednesday, as a wider picture begins to emerge of the destruction caused by the eruption of an undersea volcano near the Pacific archipelago nation.
TOKYO (AP) — Tokyo and a dozen other areas in Japan will face new COVID-19 restrictions effective Friday, with local leaders shortening hours for restaurants, as omicron cases hit a record high in the capital.
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia on Wednesday limited access to what the government considers the most risky events and public gatherings as the country gets ready for the highly infectious omicron coronavirus variant.
TOKYO (AP) — Global shares mostly fell in cautious trading on Wednesday, with Tokyo's Nikkei 225 down nearly 3%, after stocks on Wall Street sank to a new low for the year.
France's CAC 40 added 0.1% to 7,138.95, while Germany's DAX shed 0.3% to 15,720.91.
BEIJING (AP) — With just over two weeks before the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics, residents of the Chinese capital say they’re disappointed at not being able to attend events because of coronavirus restrictions that have seen parts of the city placed under lockdown.
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A treason trial against Cambodia’s opposition leader resumed Wednesday, two years after it was adjourned due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Kem Sokha was head of the Cambodia National Rescue Party when he was arrested in September 2017 on the basis of an old video showing him telling a seminar about receiving advice from U.S.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Albert Bourla, chairman and chief executive of global pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc., was awarded on Wednesday the prestigious Genesis Prize for his efforts in leading the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Michael Houser made 43 saves in his season debut and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Ottawa Senators 3-1 on Tuesday night.
Houser became the sixth goalie to start a game for Buffalo this season.
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares fell in cautious trading on Wednesday after stocks on Wall Street sank to a new low for the year.
Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul and Sydney were lower while Hong Kong edged higher.
STORRS, Conn. (AP) — UConn's athletic department reported Tuesday that its budget deficit rose from from $43.5 million to $47.2 million in the 2021 fiscal year, the result of pandemic-related hits to ticket sales and other revenue.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York would boost state school aid, provide sweeping property tax relief and deliver bonuses to health care workers over the next year if lawmakers pass a $216.3 billion budget outlined by Gov.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Tuesday quietly launched its website for Americans to request free at-home COVID-19 tests, a day before the site was scheduled to officially go online.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Under criticism after weeks of shortages, President Joe Biden's administration is working to make COVID-19 rapid test kits more available and accessible to Americans by boosting supply and lowering costs.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A smartphone app that's expected to be widely used by athletes and others attending next month’s Winter Games in Beijing has glaring security problems that could expose sensitive data to interception, according to a report published Tuesday.
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico lawmakers are pushing to tap an unprecedented windfall of state income to shore up resources for public education, policing, health care and climate regulation at a 30-day legislative session that began on Tuesday.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Women seeking to participate in shaping and building peace and defending human rights face a “vastly worse” situation now than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations human rights chief said Tuesday.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — A delegation led by South Korea’s president visiting Saudi Arabia inked a preliminary deal Tuesday to explore a project to develop a potentially cleaner form of energy. The development comes even as Saudi Arabia remains South Korea’s top supplier of crude oil.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Emergency management officials on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota have a new building, but they have been operating out of an old jail that's set to be torn down.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana House Republicans pushed through a proposal Tuesday that would severely limit workplace COVID-19 vaccination requirements even as the move faces resistance from Republican Gov.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The blast from the volcano could be heard in Alaska, and the waves crossed the ocean to cause an oil spill and two drownings in Peru. The startling satellite images resembled a massive nuclear explosion.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The GOP-dominated Utah Senate passed a measure Tuesday to block local mask mandates as the omicron variant of the coronavirus fuels a punishing coronavirus surge.
The resolution was introduced on the first day that lawmakers began their work for the year.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia's new Republican governor was facing pushback from Democratic lawmakers, school districts and a group of parents who sued him Tuesday over an executive order that aims to create an opt-out for classroom mask mandates.