A New Orleans high school basketball game turned into a nightmare Friday after a man shot and killed a police officer near the gymnasium, authorities said.

The suspect, who was taken into custody immediately after the shooting, had gotten into an altercation with a staff member who refused to let him into the game at George Washington Carver ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — When Ruperto Robles, 60, came down with COVID-19 early last month, he spent days with fever, muscle aches and fatigue, isolated from others at the Yuba County Jail.

Robles is being held there by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, facing deportation. An uncle and cousin in Mexico died of complications from COVID-19. With ...Read more

NEW YORK — Gov. Andrew Cuomo praised New Yorkers on Saturday for staying the course as coronavirus infection rates continued to decline to fresh, nearly three-month lows.

Even though COVID rates are declining a bit slower than elsewhere and New York City is lagging, Cuomo said, better days are ahead as more and more people get vaccinated.

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — As he readies for a reelection fight next year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is facing a barrage of criticism and even calls for a federal investigation into whether he is using the lifesaving COVID-19 vaccine as a political tool to reward his supporters and donors.

But is it true DeSantis’ vaccine distribution is ...Read more

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden called on lawmakers to quickly approve his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package, which passed the House of Representatives early Saturday and now heads to the Senate.

“It’s time to act,” Biden said in brief remarks Saturday at the White House, adding that an “overwhelming” percentage of the Americans ...Read more

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — A U.S. intelligence report blaming the Saudi crown prince for a critic’s murder is being celebrated by some commentators in the kingdom as an effective vindication.

The four-page document released by President Joe Biden’s administration on Friday concluded that Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved an operation to ...Read more

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is struggling to address a persistent racial disparity in the U.S. coronavirus vaccination campaign that has seen white Americans receive a disproportionate share of shots, even in places that have large minority populations.

A patchwork approach in states to both administering vaccines and reporting data...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Vanessa Bryant wants to publicly name four Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies who her lawyers allege shared “unauthorized” photos of the site of the helicopter crash that killed her husband, Kobe Bryant, their daughter and seven others.

County lawyers, however, want to keep the deputies’ names sealed, arguing that ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Federal officials are expressing worry that the decline in national daily coronavirus cases is starting to flatten as one of the variants, from the U.K., is increasing throughout the nation.

They warned against states relaxing COVID-19 restrictions, saying the nation remains at a precarious point that could tip into a fourth ...Read more

A Delta passenger is facing a $27,500 fine “for allegedly interfering with and assaulting a flight attendant,” the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday.

The passenger, who hasn’t been named, allegedly hit a flight attendant in the face over a face mask dispute during a Delta Air Lines flight...Read more

MIAMI — When a major hurricane, extreme heat or other climate threat devastates an ocean's lifeblood, its recovery could be aided by the presence of sharks.

Sharks as oceanic medics?

That's the idea behind a study on sharks and their role in the ocean. The study, led by researchers at Florida International University, was published this week...Read more

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Injection or electrocution? For about 26 years, South Carolina has asked its death row inmates to pick how they die.

Most choose lethal injection.

A more modern method than the electric chair, lethal injection is often perceived as more humane and perhaps less painful. And it’s the default means of execution in South ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. — Central Connecticut State University will soon begin accepting student applications for the new John Lewis Institute for Social Justice, an immersive two-year program seeking to honor the Georgia congressman’s legacy of civil rights activism by providing students with practical experience and leadership skills as they “...Read more

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — When traveling the roads of El Salvador, it’s common to see light blue ads splashed across billboards and buses, a color that identifies the New Ideas party that on Sunday will compete for the first time in elections for mayors and members of congress.

Beyond its ubiquitous color, the New Ideas (NI) electoral ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Yosemite National Park will not require day-use reservations to enter the popular park in March.

“Starting March 1, reservations will not be required to enter Yosemite,” park officials recently announced.

Day-use reservations – $2 via recreation.gov, in addition to normal park entrance fees – were again required ...Read more

More than 400 inmates remained at large after escaping from a Haiti prison Thursday in a massive jailbreak that also left 25 dead, the government said, the latest incident to highlight the squalid conditions and lack of security in the country's penitentiaries.

The mind-boggling figure was revealed Friday after police confirmed that a notorious...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected Santa Clara County’s ban on indoor worship services, ordering California’s only holdout to fall in line with the rest of the state.

The ruling from the Supreme Court comes less than three weeks after Santa Clara County instructed places of worship within the county to keep their...Read more