By Heather Hollingsworth, Tammy Webber & Todd RichmondAssociated Press Students in Wichita, Kansas, public schools can ditch the masks when classes begin. Detroit public schools will probably require them unless everyone in a room is vaccinated. In Pittsburgh, masks will likely be required regardless of vaccination status. And in some states, schools cannot mandate face […]

By MIKE STOBBEAP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) Overdose deaths soared to a record 93,000 last year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government reported Wednesday. That estimate far eclipses the high of about 72,000 drug overdose deaths reached the previous year and amounts to a 29% increase. “This is a staggering […]

By Hillel ItalieAP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress formally endorsed the Declaration of Independence. Celebrations began within days: parades and public readings, bonfires and candles and the firing of 13 musket rounds, one for each of the original states. Nearly a century passed before the country officially named […]

By Michael RubinkamAssociated Press Barbara and Christine Colucci long to remove their masks and kiss their 102-year-old mother, who has dementia and is in a nursing home in Rochester, New York. They would love to have more than two people in her room at a time so that relatives can be there too. “We don’t […]

by Kristin M. Hall, James Laporta, Justin Pritchard And Justin MyersAssociated Press In the first public accounting of its kind in decades, an Associated Press investigation has found that at least 1,900 U.S. military firearms were lost or stolen during the 2010s, with some resurfacing in violent crimes. And that's certainly an undercount. Government records covering […]

By Ellen Knickmeyer, Aya Batrawy And Laurie KellmanAssociated Press The Biden administration is laying the groundwork for a renewed push to encourage more Arab countries to sign accords with Israel and working to strengthen existing deals after last month’s devastating war in the Gaza Strip interrupted those diplomatic efforts. The embrace of the so-called Abraham […]

By Karin Laub And Fares AkramAssociated Press GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) The al-Kawlaks, a family of four generations living next door to each other in downtown Gaza City, were utterly unprepared for the inferno. Like others, they were terrified by the heavy bombing in Israel’s fourth war with Gaza’s Hamas rulers that began May […]

by Marina VilleneuveAssociated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) Lawyers helping the New York Assembly investigate whether Gov. Andrew Cuomo should be impeached have interviewed five more people over the past month, a lawmaker overseeing the probe said Wednesday. Speaking at a legislative meeting, Assembly Judiciary Committee Chair Charles Lavine said lawyers have spoken with attorneys for […]

by Marina VilleneuveAssociated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) New York eased its mask and social distancing mandates again Wednesday, but people shouldn’t be throwing their face coverings in the garbage just yet. Masks are still required for everyone in many settings. Millions of unvaccinated New Yorkers still have to wear them in most public places. Private […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a major step toward returning to pre-pandemic life, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people on Thursday, allowing them to stop wearing masks outdoors in crowds and in most indoor settings. “Today is a great day for America,” President Joe Biden said during a […]