Europe

Russian lawmakers vote to follow US out of overflight treaty

MOSCOW — The Russian parliament's lower house voted Wednesday to withdraw from an international treaty allowing surveillance flights over military facilities following the U.S. departure from the pact.

Europe

Germany welcomes US sanctions U-turn on Russia gas pipeline

BERLIN — Germany’s foreign minister on Wednesday welcomed the Biden administration’s decision to waive sanctions against entities and individuals involved in a controversial Russian pipeline, describing the move as “constructive.”

Europe

Putin, Xi initiate projects in show of warming ties

BEIJING — Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin joined Wednesday in a videoconference to initiate a series of nuclear energy projects, an event intended to display warming ties between two nations that have paired-up as the chief geopolitical rivals to the United States.

Latin America

Cuba baseball squad without visas as Olympic qualifier nears

HAVANA — Just over a week before the start of the Americas Olympic qualifying tournament in Florida, the Cuban team does not have visas to travel to the United States, athletes and officials said Tuesday.

Europe

The Latest: France seeks UN Security Council resolution

UNITED NATIONS -- China’s U.N. ambassador says France is seeking a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian militants who control Gaza.

Latin America

US eases asylum restrictions at border amid legal challenges

MCALLEN, Texas — Domingo Antonio Zeledon traveled for nearly three weeks from his hometown in Nicaragua, leaving behind his wife and three youngest children to come to the United States with his 17-year-old son.

Business

WH memo sees economic strength where critics see fragility

WASHINGTON — White House officials are seeking to quell anxiety about inflation and the pace of hiring — issuing a memo Tuesday that highlights robust economic gains as the United States gets vaccinated and recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.

Middle East

Israel, Gaza violence overshadows Biden’s domestic plans

DEARBORN, Mich. — President Joe Biden’s efforts to spotlight his big infrastructure plans are suddenly being overshadowed by the escalating violence between Israel and the Palestinians, the conflict sparking protests during his visit to a Ford electric vehicle center in Michigan as the White House faced growing pressure to intervene.

Europe

US-Russia showdown looms as top diplomats meet in Iceland

REYKJAVIK, Iceland — Top diplomats from the United States and Russia are set to square off this week in Iceland for their first face-to-face encounter that comes as ties between the nations have deteriorated sharply in recent months.

Lifestyle

Tennessee to mandate bathroom signs about transgender use

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee will become the first state in the United States to require businesses and government facilities open to the public to post a sign if they let transgender people use multiperson bathrooms, locker rooms or changing rooms associated with their gender identity.

Sports

3-time U.S. Olympic hockey medalist Kacey Bellamy retires

Kacey Bellamey, a three-time Olympian who helped the United States end a 20-year gold medal drought at the 2018 Winter Games, announced her retirement Tuesday.

Science

Study: Climate change added $8 billion to Sandy’s damages

Climate change-triggered sea level rise added $8 billion in damage during 2012’s Superstorm Sandy, one of nation's costliest weather disasters, a new study said.

Business

Bidens paid 25.9% rate and earned $607,336, tax returns show

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has said the wealthy should pay more in taxes — and 25.9% of the first couple’s income went to the federal government in 2020.

Middle East

The Latest: Biden expresses ‘support’ for Gaza cease-fire

WASHINGTON — The White House says President Joe Biden has expressed “support” for a cease-fire during a call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

General News

Israel strikes Gaza tunnels as truce efforts remain elusive

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Israeli military unleashed another heavy wave of airstrikes Monday on the Gaza Strip, saying it destroyed militant tunnels and the homes of nine Hamas commanders. International diplomacy to end the weeklong war that has killed hundreds appeared to be making little headway.

Asia Pacific

China urges US to play constructive role in Gaza diplomacy

BEIJING — China on Monday renewed calls for the U.S. to play a constructive role in ending the conflict in Gaza and stop blocking efforts at the United Nations to demand an end to the bloodshed.

General News

The Latest: Israeli jets stage heavy airstrikes in Gaza City

GAZA CITY — Israeli warplanes have unleashed a series of heavy airstrikes at several locations of Gaza City.

Middle East

Calls mount for Gaza-Israel cease-fire, greater US efforts

The U.N. Security Council and Muslim nations convened emergency meetings Sunday to demand a stop to civilian bloodshed as Israeli warplanes carried out the deadliest single attacks in nearly a week of unrelenting Hamas rocket barrages and Israeli airstrikes.

General News

Fauci says pandemic exposed ‘undeniable effects of racism’

ATLANTA — The immunologist who leads the COVID-19 response in the United States said Sunday that “the undeniable effects of racism” have led to unacceptable health disparities that especially hurt African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans during the pandemic.

Business

The Hall calls: Wright, Wallace, Griffith among 2021 class

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Jay Wright used to sell tickets to games in the long-defunct United States Football League. Ben Wallace was passed over by every NBA team, some of them twice. Yolanda Griffith got a job repossessing cars so she could take care of herself and her infant daughter while playing community college basketball.

Europe

The Latest: Fauci says pandemic highlights racism’s impact

ATLANTA — The immunologist who leads the COVID-19 response in the United States said Sunday that “the undeniable effects of racism” have led to unacceptable health disparities that especially hurt African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans during the pandemic.

Science

Groups call for reintroduction of jaguars in US Southwest

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Environmental groups and scientists with two universities want U.S. wildlife managers to consider reintroducing jaguars to the American Southwest.

Business

Refugees arriving in US unlikely to exceed cap set by Trump

SAN DIEGO — President Joe Biden, under political pressure, agreed to admit four times as many refugees this budget year as his predecessor did, but resettlement agencies concede the number actually allowed into the U.S.

Israel

The Latest: China calls for UN council action, slams US

The Latest on the continuing violence between Israel and Gaza's militant Hamas rulers amid the latest escalation in the Middle East:

Europe

US climate envoy Kerry meets with pope on climate crisis

VATICAN CITY — John Kerry, President Joe Biden’s climate envoy, met privately with Pope Francis on Saturday, afterward calling the pope a “compelling moral authority on the subject of the climate crisis” who has been “ahead of the curve.”

Sports

PGA CHAMPIONSHIP ’21: A capsule look at 10 top contenders

A capsule look at 10 top contenders for the 103rd PGA Championship, to be played May 20-23 on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island in South Carolina (listed in predicted order of finish):

Europe

Europe’s 4 Visegrad nations lift some travel restrictions

WARSAW, Poland — Europe's four Visegrad countries on Friday lifted travel restrictions between the Czech Republic and Hungary for people vaccinated against COVID-19 and discussed how to cooperate to boost tourism.

Business

Ramadan drives donations, memberships to giving circles

Sahina Islam can still recall the day when she heard an elderly Pakistani couple got kicked out of their New York City home by their son-in-law and were sitting near John F. Kennedy International Airport, stranded and with nowhere to go.

Europe

Blinken heads to Iceland meeting with Russia on his mind

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken is headed to Europe and North Atlantic islands next week to put the Biden administration’s stamp on climate change policy in the Arctic and warn Russia against interference in the United States, Ukraine and elsewhere, the State Department said Friday.

Europe

Spain’s La Liga moves to ESPN with 8-year agreement

ESPN is taking over U.S. English- and Spanish-language rights to Spain’s La Liga next season as part of an eight-year agreement, ending the run of BeIN Sport's hyperbolic color commentator Ray Hudson.

Business

US vows to stand by ally Australia against China

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration vowed Thursday to stand by Australia in its worsening trade and other disputes with China.

Business

West Virginia trial puts spotlight on sprawling opioid cases

A corner of West Virginia wrenched by opioid addiction is getting the chance to argue in a courtroom that some of the corporate giants it blames for a public health crisis that left hundreds of people dead deserve to be held accountable.

World News

When will COVID-19 vaccines be widely available globally?

WASHINGTON — When will COVID-19 vaccines be widely available globally?

Latin America

US files first trade complaint with Mexico under USMCA

MEXICO CITY — The United States filed its first labor complaint with Mexico Wednesday under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, after an old-guard union was caught allegedly destroying ballots at a General Motors plant in northern Mexico...

Technology

Revamped EPA website shows increased climate change risks

WASHINGTON — After a gap of more than four years, the Environmental Protection Agency is relaunching a website highlighting evidence of climate change in the United States, including rising temperatures, increased ocean acidity, sea level rise, river flooding, droughts, heat waves and wildfires...

Europe

The Latest: UN envoy says Mideast escalation ‘most serious’

JERUSALEM — The Latest on confrontations between Israelis and Palestinians as Israel signals a widening military campaign:...