USA

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration is taking steps to expand availability of the life-saving COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid, as it seeks to reassure doctors that there is ample supply for people at high risk of severe illness or death from the virus.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — A Jewish civil rights organization’s annual tally of antisemitic incidents in the U.S. reached a record high last year, with a surge that coincided with an 11-day war between Israel and the Hamas militant group, according to a report released Tuesday.

The Anti-Defamation League counted 2,717 antisemitic incidents of assault, harassment and vandalism in 2021, a 34% increase over the previous year and the highest number since the New York City-based group began tracking such incidents in 1979.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear on Monday cited “drafting errors” in vetoing legislation that had been intended to expand the use of state lottery-supported scholarship money.

The Democratic governor said he was supportive of the bill’s original intentions — including expanding scholarship funding for proprietary education under the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship program. The popular state lottery-supported program allows students to earn money, based on academic performance, to help defray college expenses.

BOSTON (AP) — For years, Vincent Gillespie waged a legal battle to try to gain control of hundreds of paintings by his father — renowned postwar American artist Gregory Gillespie.

On Jan. 6, 2021, prosecutors say, Gillespie engaged in a very different kind of battle, joining rioters as they tried to wrest control of the U.S. Capitol from the federal government in one of the most violent confrontations of the riot.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is seeking the Supreme Court’s go-ahead to end a controversial Trump-era immigration program that forces some people seeking asylum in the U.S. to wait in Mexico for their hearings.

The justices are hearing arguments Tuesday in the administration’s appeal of lower-court rulings that required immigration officials to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy that the administration “has twice determined is not in the interests of the United States,” according to court filings.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has granted the first three pardons of his term, providing clemency to a Kennedy-era Secret Service agent convicted of federal bribery charges that he tried to sell a copy of an agency file and to two people who were convicted on drug-related charges but went on to become pillars in their communities.

New York, Apr 26 (AP) Former President Donald Trump said Monday that he has no intention of rejoining Twitter even if his account is reinstated following Elon Musk's agreement to buy the social media giant for roughly 44 billion.

Trump told Fox News that he will instead focus on his own platform, Truth Social, which has been mired in problems since its launch earlier this year.

25 April 2022; MEMO: A Kuwaiti diplomat in Washington has survived a gun attack in the US capital, Al-Rai newspaper has reported. Mohammad Al-Omairi's vehicle was hit by 14 bullets.

The envoy was reportedly waiting in his car outside his children's school at the time of the attack. He escaped unharmed.

It has not yet been confirmed if the attack was an assassination attempt or whether Omairi was an innocent bystander at the scene of the shooting.

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 25 (APP): Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the past year has seen “significant breakthroughs in malaria prevention and control”, a senior official of the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday, marking World Malaria Day.

Washington, April 25 (AFP/APP): Religious freedom has deteriorated “significantly” in India under the Hindu nationalist government, a US commission said Monday as it again recommended targeted sanctions over abuses.

It was the third straight year that the US Commission on International Religious Freedom asked that India be placed on a list of “countries of particular concern” — a recommendation that has angered New Delhi and is virtually certain to be dismissed by the State Department.