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U.S. experts are expected to recommend COVID-19 vaccine boosters for all Americans, regardless of age, eight months after they received their second dose of the shot, to ensure lasting protection against the coronavirus as the delta variant spreads across the country. Federal health officials have been actively looking at whether extra shots for the vaccinated would be needed as early as this fall, reviewing case numbers in the U.S. as

By ROBERT BURNS  Built and trained at a two-decade cost of $83 billion, Afghan security forces collapsed so quickly and completely — in some cases without a shot fired — that the ultimate beneficiary of the American investment turned out to be the Taliban. They grabbed not only political power but also U.S.-supplied firepower — guns, ammunition, helicopters and more. The Taliban captured an array of modern military equipment when

By MARK STEVENSON and EVENS SANON People displaced from their earthquake destroyed homes spend the night outdoors in a grassy area that is part of a hospital in Les Cayes, Haiti, late Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021. A powerful magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck southwestern Haiti on Saturday. (AP Photo/Joseph Odelyn) LES CAYES, Haiti (AP) — Under Haiti’s burning heat, Jennie Auguste lies with a lost, thousand-yard stare on a flimsy foam

Known for its coastlines, mountains and the state that was “first in flight,” North Carolina has also developed a more dubious reputation recently: as a regional destination for adults who want to marry children.  State lawmakers are nearing passage of a bill that could dampen the state’s appeal as the go-to place to bring child brides — but would still leave it short of a national push to increase the

A former teacher in South Carolina has admitted to contacting a Georgia girl who was under 18 with the intention of engaging in sexual activity, federal prosecutors said. Jonathan Eugene Grantham, of Graniteville, South Carolina, pleaded guilty Wednesday to coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, federal prosecutors said in a news release. When he was arrested in February, he was a teacher at Ridge Spring-Monetta

By ROBERT BURNS and JOSH BOAK Passengers walk to the departures terminal of Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021. As a Taliban offensive encircles the Afghan capital, there's increasingly only one way out for those fleeing the war, and only one way in for U.S. troops sent to protect American diplomats still on the ground: the airport. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) President Joe Biden authorized an

Anyone with a permit to carry a concealed weapon in South Carolina will no longer have to keep their weapon hidden under clothing starting Sunday. Gov. Henry McMaster held a ceremonial signing Friday for a new state law allowing people to carry pistols in the open. The law still requires a permit obtained in a training class to carry a pistol in public, but it eliminates the need to keep a holster

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Haiti on Saturday, with the epicenter 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) northeast of Saint-Louis du Sud, the U.S. Geological Survey said. People in the capital of Port-au-Prince felt the tremor and many rushed into the streets in fear, although there did not appear to be damage there.  Naomi Verneus, a 34-year-old resident of Port-au-Prince, said she was jolted

This image provided by the Avery County Sheriff’s Office shows Elizabeth Carserino. On Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021, Sheriff Kevin Frye announced that Carserino was taken into custody and charged with murder, identity theft, larceny of motor vehicle and financial card theft. Carserino was held at Avery County jail on secured bond of more than $1.6 million, the sheriff said. (Avery County Sheriff’s Office via AP) A woman whose body was

By BRYAN ANDERSON FILE - In this April 26, 2021, file photo, House Speaker Tim Moore, left, talks with Senator Phil Berger in Raleigh, N.C. The North Carolina House on Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021, approved a two-year budget with enough support to thwart a potential veto from Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. (Robert Willett/The News & Observer via AP, File) The North Carolina House on Thursday approved a two-year budget with