Ingested Articles

Joe Biden has held his first formal news conference as president and an AP Fact Check looks at his remarks. The fact check finds that Biden erred when he asserted that numbers of unaccompanied children coming to the U.S. border from Mexico are the same as when Donald Trump was president. Biden said the numbers from January to February are up 28%, a smaller increase than in the same months in 2019, before the pandemic. But federal statistics show 61% more children came to the border without a parent this January than in the month before — not just 28%.

In resuming its ballistic testing activity after a yearlong pause, North Korea has demonstrated a potentially nuclear-capable weapon that shows how it continues to expand its military capabilities amid a stalemate in diplomacy with the United States. Since a provocative run in North Korean nuclear and missile tests in 2016 and 2017, much of the U.S. focus has been on North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missiles that pose a direct threat to the American homeland. But its growing arsenal of shorter-range solid-fuel weapons can reach U.S. allies South Korea and Japan, where the U.S. stations thousands of troops. And experts say it's clear North Korea is working on arming those weapons with nuclear devices.

A giant container ship remains stuck sideways in Egypt’s Suez Canal. Authorities are racing to free the vessel and reopen traffic in the crucial East-West waterway for global shipping as international ports prepare for delays if the canal is not freed soon. Authorities say they need to remove thousands of cubic meters (feet) of sand to dislodge the vessel. The blockage of the canal has caused headaches for global trade. Around 10% of world trade flows through the canal, which is particularly crucial for the transport of oil. The closure also could affect oil and gas shipments to Europe from the Middle East. 

EISEMROTH, Germany (AP) — One year into the coronavirus pandemic, Katja Heimann, a mother of 11, is still trying to keep her spirits up — despite several lockdowns and months of homeschooling seven of her children. The secret of her…

More than 1 million COVID-19 vaccination shots have been dispensed at Major League Baseball stadiums, with the Oakland Coliseum and Marlins Park among the sites planning to continue operating after opening day. The 11 ballparks that converted to mass vaccination centers in the offseason combined to pass a million total shots this week, MLB says. The regular season starts Thursday. Dodger Stadium, Yankee Stadium, Citi Field and PNC Park will keep providing doses after opening day, while Minute Maid Park and Petco Park are not planning that. The Colorado Rockies are still working to see if Coors Field will continue to be used. Fenway Park and Globe Life Field also were employed to administer doses.

Italy's nursing homes have been on a coronavirus vaccination push that has been declared an initial success despite the country's otherwise lagging vaccine campaign. At a nursing home near Bergamo, one 82-year-old resident received his second vaccine jab and a surprise visit from his 77-year-old wife. Their last hug had been through plastic on his birthday in February. Even then he yearned for her touch.  Then another lockdown came down, ending visits. Now with vaccination shots completed, some hope has returned. That enabled Palmiro Tami to tell his bride of 58 years that “I am crazy in love with you" and ask “Can I touch your hand?” Out in the sunlight, they did.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s ambassador to Beijing has reportedly described China as a “vindictive” and “unreliable” trading partner as Australian officials revealed steep declines in most exports to the nation’s most important market. Ambassador Graham Fletcher told a China-Australia…

Junior guard Buddy Boeheim has been the offensive catalyst for Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament, but the 11th-seeded Orange likely wouldn't be in the Sweet 16 without the all-around superlative play of senior Marek Dolezaj. Orange coach Jim Boeheim calls the slender Slovakian “one of the most underrated players in the country.” In NCAA Tournament wins over San Diego State and West Virginia in the Midwest Region, Dolezaj has scored 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting, registered five assists in each game, and snared 10 rebounds. Willing to take a charge from anybody for the good of the team, Dolezaj's value goes far beyond his solid stat sheet.

Post players are having a big impact on the women's NCAA Tournament. Teams that have reached the Sweet 16 teams are getting major contributions from their “bigs."  Fans should pay attention to inside players like 6-foot-5 All-American Aliyah Boston of South Carolina and 6-7 Sedona Prince of Oregon. Boston has averaged a double-double this season and in her first two career NCAA games. The Gamecocks will face Georgia Tech on Sunday. Prince became the center of attention on sports shows with a dunk during warmups before their Oregon's second-round win against Georgia. Now she and Ducks face Louisville on Sunday. 

Ethan Thompson has led Oregon State to the Sweet 16, something few saw coming. The Beavers earned the Pac-12's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament after surprisingly claiming the conference tournament title. They then downed fifth-seeded Tennessee 70-56, their first tournament victory since 1982, before an 80-70 win over No. 4 Oklahoma State. Now 12th-seeded Oregon State will face Loyola Chicago on Saturday for another chance to advance.

China has announced sanctions on British individuals and entities following the U.K.'s joining the EU and others in sanctioning Chinese officials accused of human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region. A statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry says the move by the Western bloc is based on nothing but lies and disinformation, flagrantly breaches international law and basic norms governing international relations and grossly interferes in China’s internal affairs. Britain's ambassador to China has been summoned for a diplomatic protest. Sanctioned individuals and groups would be barred from visiting Chinese territory and banned from having financial transactions with Chinese citizens and institutions. 

A week before opening day, the Chicago White Sox found out slugger Eloy Jiménez will be closed down for most of the season. Jiménez is expected to be sidelined for five to six months after rupturing his left pectoral tendon trying to make a play in the outfield during an exhibition game. The 24-year-old Jiménez needs surgery to repair the injury, putting his season in jeopardy.  Jiménez batted .296 with 14 homers and 41 RBIs in 55 games during the pandemic-shortened season. Also, Tampa Bay reliever Nick Anderson will likely be out beyond the All-Star break with an elbow tear.

Former New York Yankees infielder and World Series star Bobby Brown has died. The Yankees say he died Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas. Brown played on five championship teams in the 1940s and '50s. Brown hit .439 in the World Series, the highest for any player with 35 plate appearances in the Fall Classic. A veteran of World War II and the Korean War, Brown later became a practicing cardiologist. Brown also served as president of the Texas Rangers and was president of the American League from 1984 to 1994. Commissioner Rob Manfred called him a “proud Yankee” and “quiet star.” Bobby Brown was 96 years old.

Los Angeles police are making arrests of protesters opposed to evicting homeless people from a popular park. Several hundred demonstrators gathered Thursday near Echo Park Lake and some arrests were made after police declared an unlawful assembly. Authorities are clearing out a homeless encampment. Tents had proliferated for months, sparking concerns about trash, drugs and violence. Fences were put up around the area Wednesday night and the few remaining people living there were given 24 hours to leave. Authorities say more than 160 people have been provided with alternative shelter and only a handful refused to leave.

North Korea has confirmed it tested a new guided missile. President Joe Biden has warned of consequences if Pyongyang escalates tensions amid stalled nuclear negotiations. The North’s official news agency referred Friday to two “new-type tactical guided projectiles.” It says they accurately hit the target off the eastern coast Thursday. Photos on the website of the North’s main newspaper showed a missile lifting off a transport erector launcher amid bright flames. Japanese officials say both weapons were ballistic missiles, which are prohibited by U.N. Security Council resolutions. North Korea also fired two other missiles Sunday. These were likely cruise missiles, which aren't banned. They were the North’s first major provocation since Biden took office.

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist party are making a serious bid for electoral victories in three states that have sizeable minority Muslim populations. But the Bharatiya Janata Party has for years been…

New York City has leaned into its $600 million tracing initiative even as coronavirus contact tracing programs across the U.S. have scaled back their ambitions. The nation’s most populous city hired more tracers as cases surged during the holiday season, and kept trying to reach at least 90% of people who tested positive. This month it met that goal for the first time since about Thanksgiving. There’s some debate among public health experts over whether local governments should cut back on contact tracing and focus more on vaccination. But New York officials say it's all the more necessary now as vaccination campaigns race to outpace the spread of worrisome viral variants.

March 19 – March 25, 2021 This photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images made or published by Associated Press photographers in Latin America and Caribbean. The gallery was curated by AP Photo Editor Leslie Mazoch, based in…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wrapping up the most tumultuous Senate start in recent memory, new Majority Leader Chuck Schumer took stock of accomplishments including the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 rescue while vowing action ahead on voting rights, hate crimes and mounting Democratic…