Daily marijuana use outpaces daily drinking in the US, a new study says (apnews.com)
Many believe the founders wanted a Christian America. Some want the government to declare one now (apnews.com)
The idea of a Christian America means different things to different people. Pollsters have found a wide circle of Americans who hold general God-and-country sentiments....
Politicians and dog experts vilify South Dakota governor after she writes about killing her dog (apnews.com)
Politicians and dog experts are criticizing South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem after she wrote in a new book about killing a rambunctious puppy. The story — and the vilification she received on social media — has some wondering whether she’s still a viable potential running mate for presumptive Republican presidential candidate...
Germany went from envy of the world to the worst-performing major developed economy. What happened? (apnews.com)
For most of this century, Germany racked up one economic success after another, dominating global markets for high-end products like luxury cars and industrial machinery, selling so much to the rest of the world that half the economy ran on exports....
A German county elected a far-right candidate for the first time since the Nazi era, raising concern (apnews.com)
7 in 10 Americans think Supreme Court justices put ideology over impartiality: AP-NORC poll (apnews.com)
A solid majority of Americans say Supreme Court justices are more likely to be guided by their own ideology rather than serving as neutral arbiters of government authority, a new poll finds, as the high court is poised to rule on major cases involving former President Donald Trump and other divisive issues....
Russia says 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility (apnews.com)
Assailants burst into a large concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100 and setting fire to the venue in a brazen attack just days after President Vladimir Putin cemented his grip on power in a highly orchestrated electoral landslide....
State Farm discontinuing 72,000 home policies in California in latest blow to state insurance market (apnews.com)
State Farm will discontinue coverage for 72,000 houses and apartments in California starting this summer, the insurance giant said this week, nine months after announcing it would not issue new home policies in the state...
Germany bans neo-Nazi group with links to US, conducts raids in 10 German states (apnews.com)
A sex education program causes controversy in Belgium. Schools are burning, the country is worried (apnews.com)
The Supreme Court rejects Biden's plan to wipe away $400 billion in student loan debt (apnews.com)
Pope says priests can bless same-sex unions, requests should not be subject to moral analysis (apnews.com)
Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis” to receive it.
California governor vetoes bill that would have banned caste discrimination (apnews.com)
Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill Saturday that would have made California the first U.S. state to outlaw caste-based discrimination....
Police say University of South Carolina student fatally shot while trying to enter wrong home (apnews.com)
A University of South Carolina student was shot and killed as he apparently tried to enter the wrong home on his off-campus street early on Saturday, police said....
World chess federation bars transgender women from competing in women's events (apnews.com)
The world’s top chess federation has ruled that transgender women cannot compete in its official events for females until an assessment of gender change is made by its officials.
He flipped off a trooper and got charged. Now Vermont is on the hook for $175,000 (apnews.com)
Vermont has agreed to pay $175,000 to settle a lawsuit on behalf of a man who was charged with a crime for giving a state trooper the middle finger in 2018, the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said Wednesday....
2 men are charged with cutting down famous 150-year-old tree near Hadrian's Wall in England (apnews.com)
Two men have been charged with cutting down the popular 150-year-old Sycamore Gap tree next to Hadrian’s Wall last year in northern England, prosecutors said Tuesday....
Biden administration agrees to provide $6.4 billion to Samsung for making computer chips in Texas (apnews.com)
The Biden administration has reached an agreement to provide up to $6.4 billion in direct funding for Samsung Electronics to develop a computer chip manufacturing and research cluster in Texas....
Surge in Wendy's complaints exposes limits to consumer tolerance of unstable prices (apnews.com)
Louisiana public school principal apologizes after punishing student for dancing at a party (apnews.com)
The 17-year-old student government president and scholarship candidate was videotaped dancing at an off-campus party following Walker High School’s Sept. 30 Homecoming festivities. A hired DJ took the video and posted it on social media. Three days later, Jason St. Pierre, principal of the public high school near the state...
Norway, Ireland and Spain recognize a Palestinian state in a historic move (apnews.com)
Norway, Ireland and Spain recognized a Palestinian state on Wednesday in a historic move that drew condemnation from Israel and jubilation from the Palestinians. Israel ordered back its ambassadors from Norway and Ireland....
A record number of Americans can't afford their rent. Lawmakers are scrambling to help (apnews.com)
Single mom Caitlyn Colbert watched as rent for her two-bedroom apartment doubled, then tripled and then quadrupled over a decade in Denver — from $750 to $3,374 last year....
As price of olive oil soars, chainsaw-wielding thieves target Mediterranean’s century-old trees (apnews.com)
SPATA, Greece (AP) — In an olive grove on the outskirts of Athens, grower Konstantinos Markou pushes aside the shoots of new growth to reveal the stump of a tree — a roughly 150-year-old specimen, he said, that was among 15 cut down on his neighbor’s land by thieves eager to turn it into money.
Oregon man who drugged daughter's friends with insomnia medication at sleepover gets prison term (apnews.com)
An Oregon man who drugged his daughter and her friends with fruit smoothies laced with a sleeping medication after they didn’t go to bed during a sleepover was sentenced to two years in prison....
Berlin Wall relic gets a 'second life' on US-Mexico border as Biden adds barriers (apnews.com)
As the U.S. government built its latest stretch of border wall, Mexico made a statement of its own by laying remains of the Berlin Wall a few steps away....
