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A new wave of public health advocacy that is multilingual, culturally sensitive, entertaining and personal is rapidly replacing mundane public service announcements in the battle to stamp out the disinformation around COVID-19 vaccines in communities of color. Barbers are busting vaccine myths as they cut hair, while a company that made comics to combat Islamic extremism is creating Spanish-language animated stories to smash conspiracy theories hindering Latinos from getting shots. The innovative messaging has grown out of urgency. Black and Latino people have been hit disproportionately hard by the coronavirus, yet their vaccination rates are less than half that of white people. 

President Joe Biden’s proposal to get rid of every lead water pipe in the country could have huge ramifications. That's especially true in communities where a large number of Black, Latino and low-income residents have been left effectively drinking from a lead straw. The problem persists decades after scientists established that lead consumption is unsafe at any level. Biden announced the pipe proposal as part of his $2.3 trillion infrastructure package. There are few, if any, cities across the country where the issue resonates more than in Chicago. The city is estimated to have some 380,000 lead pipes bringing water into homes, schools and businesses.  

A Tennessee mayor has asked for the release of video footage of a shooting at a high school that left a student dead and a police officer wounded, but the local district attorney denied the request. Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon said on Twitter that she requested release of redacted video footage of Monday’s shooting at Austin-East Magnet High School. She said her request was denied by the district attorney, who told her the integrity of the investigation needed to be protected. Police said a 17-year-old student had a gun inside a school and was fatally shot in a confrontation with officers in a bathroom. An officer was wounded.

The former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder in George Floyd’s death won’t testify in his own defense. Derek Chauvin on Thursday invoked his right to remain silent and leave the burden of proof on the state. It's a high-stakes decision. Taking the stand could have helped humanize Chauvin to jurors who haven’t heard from him directly at trial. But it also could have opened him up to a devastating cross-examination. In court, without the jury present, defense attorney Eric Nelson and Chauvin agreed it would be an understatement to say they had gone back and forth on the decision. 

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — The French embassy in Pakistan on Thursday advised all of its nationals and companies to temporarily leave the country after anti-France violence erupted in the Islamic nation over the arrest of a radical leader. Saad Rizvi…

It’s become a race against time in the search for 12 missing people from an oil industry vessel that capsized in the Gulf of Mexico. Coast Guard divers hope a break in stormy weather will give them an opportunity to reach the overturned ship's hull. The Seacor Power flipped over Tuesday as hurricane-force winds kicked up dangerous seas off the Louisiana coast. The Coast Guard said before dawn Thursday that they're still trying to work out how to get inside the vessel. Six people were rescued alive and one body was found floating on the water in the continuing search.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Middle East's largest operator of malls expects revenue and earnings to climb back to pre-pandemic levels by the end of next year and is moving full steam ahead with plans to develop its…

LONDON (AP) — The ousted Myanmar ambassador to Britain has appealed to the British government to help him as he faced eviction from his London residence. Kyaw Zwar Minn had to spend a night in his car last week after…

LONDON (AP) — Senior royals must wear civilian clothes to Prince Philip’s funeral, defusing potential tensions over who would be allowed to don military uniforms. Queen Elizabeth II's decision means Prince Harry won’t risk being the only member of the…

Two officials in Japan’s ruling LDP party have suggested separately that the Tokyo Olympics could be in for some radical changes. One says they could be canceled. The other says they could proceed without any fans. The speculation comes only a day after Tokyo reached the 100-days-to-go mark. Liberal Democratic Party secretary general Toshihiro Nikai says cancellation is still an option with coronavirus cases rising across the country. Taro Kono is the minister in charge of the vaccine rollout in Japan. He says that even if the games go on it may be without any fans. Organizers last month banned fans from abroad.

Caster Semenya won the 5,000-meter race at the South African national championships in a personal-best time and then said she's likely to focus on long-distance events for the rest of her career. The 5,000 appears to be her best chance of running at this year's Tokyo Games after being been banned from the 800 because of World Athletics' contentious testosterone rules. Semenya's time of 15 minutes, 52.28 seconds in the 5,000 was outside the Olympic qualifying mark of 15:10.00. Semenya is a two-Olympic champion in the 800. She has until the end of June to qualify for the Tokyo Games.

PARIS (AP) — France's coronavirus death toll is expected to pass 100,000 on Thursday after a year of hospital tensions, on-and-off lockdowns and personal loss that have left families nationwide grieving the pandemic’s unending, devastating toll. The country of 67…

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — There’s something regal in the sprightly step and curious gaze of the long-horn sheep that roam the hills near Varisia, an abandoned village inside a U.N. buffer zone that cuts across ethnically divided Cyprus. The endangered…

All players, managers, coaches and umpires will wear No. 42 on Thursday to celebrate Jackie Robinson Day, marking the anniversary of the date the Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Famer made his Major League Baseball debut and broke the sport’s color barrier in 1947. A video produced by MLB Network titled “Thank You, Jackie” narrated by former star Curtis Granderson will present Robinson’s impact as a champion on and off the field and be shown at ballparks. Teams that are off Thursday will honor Robinson when they play Friday. Also, the Boston Red Sox go for their 10th straight win.

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algeria's pro-democracy movement is at a crossroads two years after it ousted the country's long-serving leader, confronting fears it's been infiltrated by a group with links to an Islamist party outlawed during a dark era of…

Juggling church and football can be a typical Sunday for NFL fans. The coronavirus pandemic had some college football fans facing the challenge. Leagues in the Football Championship Subdivision pushed football to this spring due to the virus. Schools still faced some of the same issues in the spring that colleges dealt with in the fall — canceled games, limited practices, sidelined players. But Sundays were more of a spring thing. The Ohio Valley Conference and Northeast Conference decided to play on Sunday to help schools staff all the sports in this chaotic spring. But teams got it done, and now the 16-team FCS playoff bracket will be announced Sunday with the rest of the teams turning their attention back to fall.

Three years after Andrew Weibrecht retired from the U.S. Ski team, the two-time Winter Olympic medalist is back on his skis for a unique fundraising event. He’s skiing the summits of all 46 high peaks in the Adirondack Mountains for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Northeastern New York, which has had to cancel two annual events because of the coronavirus pandemic. Weibrecht, who won Olympic bronze and silver in super-G in 2010 and 2014, says it seemed like an opportunity to combine his love of skiing and the outdoors with the needs of Make-A-Wish. So far, he's up to 21 peaks and intends to complete his quest in about a year.