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CAMP HILL, Ala. (AP) — Girls have often lived a life of abuse, abandonment or neglect by the time they land at a Christian youth home in rural Alabama, but an annual trip to the beach with the director and her family offered them a bright spot in otherwise tough times.

This year’s trip to the Gulf Coast ended in disaster when four residents of the Tallapoosa County Girl’s Ranch, two of the director’s children and two guests were among 10 people killed in a fiery crash on a rainy highway as Tropical Storm Claudette barreled through Alabama.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Democrats’ expansive elections and voting bill is all but certain to be rejected in a key test vote in the Senate, providing a dramatic example of Republicans’ use of the filibuster to block legislation and forcing hard questions for Democrats over next steps.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Deaths among Medicare patients in nursing homes soared by 32% last year, with two devastating spikes eight months apart, a government watchdog reported Tuesday in the most comprehensive look yet at the ravages of COVID-19 among its most vulnerable victims.

The report from the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services found that about 4 in 10 Medicare recipients in nursing homes had or likely had COVID-19 in 2020, and that deaths overall jumped by 169,291 from the previous year, before the coronavirus appeared.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a majority of the claims filed by activists and civil liberties groups who accused the Trump administration of violating the civil rights of protesters who were forcefully removed by police using chemical agents from a park near the White House before then-President Donald Trump walked to a nearby church to take a photo.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Biden administration officials are insisting that the election of a hard-liner as Iran’s president won’t affect prospects for reviving the faltering 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran. But there are already signs that their goal of locking in a deal just got tougher.

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 21 (APP): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has reminded the international community of its duty to help refugees rebuild their lives after a particularly difficult year for so many.

In a message marking World Refugee Day, he appealed for greater empathy for all those who’ve had to flee conflict, climate shocks, and harassment, through no fault of their own, saying that the pandemic had wiped out refugees’ livelihoods, and led to stigmatization and vilification.

United Nations, Jun 21 (PTI) India received USD 64 billion in Foreign Direct Investment in 2020, the fifth largest recipient of inflows in the world, according to a UN report which said the COVID-19 second wave in the country weighs heavily on the country's overall economic activities but its strong fundamentals provide optimism for the medium term.

WASHINGTON, June 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden will host Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and Chairman of High Council for National Reconciliation Abdullah Abdullah at the White House on June 25, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Sunday.

The visit "will highlight the enduring partnership between the United States and Afghanistan as the military drawdown continues," Psaki said in a statement.

WASHINGTON, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The United States is preparing additional sanctions against Russia over the alleged poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday.

"We are preparing another package of sanctions to apply in this case as well," Sullivan said in an interview with CNN when asked if the administration will further pressure Moscow over Navalny.

WASHINGTON, June 21 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. business groups have urged the Biden administration to remove punitive tariffs on U.S. imports imposed by the previous administration, as tariffs continue to hit American businesses and consumers while pushing up inflation pressures.

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