SOPHIE RHYS-JONES

Summer Britcher and Emily Sweeney have been USA Luge teammates for years.

In the mostly conservative city of Colorado Springs, Club Q has long been a go-to spot for members of the LGBTQ community — a safe space where many felt they could just be themselves.

An Australian inquiry has began investigating whether a woman convicted of smothering her four children to death over a decade ago might be innocent.

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Wednesday on the most significant challenge to a law that gives preference to Native American families in foster care and adoption proceedings of Native children.

A European parliamentary committee investigating the use of spyware in the 27-country bloc has urged Greek officials to do more to shed light on a phone surveillance scandal that targeted opposition politicians and journalists.

The Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros are set to play Game 5 of the World Series on Thursday night.

Candidates in high-profile races nationwide are using celebrity appearances and endorsements as they try to reach voters.

Lucy Simon, the composer who received a Tony nomination in 1991 for her work on the long-running Broadway musical “The Secret Garden,” has died.

Since its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May, Charlotte Wells' “Aftersun” has accumulated a rare kind of buzz.

Los Angeles City Council is in gridlock as its leader tries to force two members to resign.

Former Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez has announced that she is resigning her council seat amid a scandal over racist remarks that came to light in a leaked recording.

Five tribes on California's coast are moving forward in their efforts to protect marine ecosystems as part of the Tribal Marine Stewards Network.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Friday that will limit the use of conservatorships, the process in which guardians can be granted legal power to make life decisions for those deemed unable to make them.

Clergy in 33 states are exempt from laws requiring professionals such as teachers, physicians and psychotherapists to report information about alleged child abuse to police or child welfare officials.

European Parliament members investigating the use of surveillance spyware by European Union governments have sharply criticized Israel.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a package of bills aimed at moving away from reliance on fossil fuel-based energy.

Prince William and wife Kate have made a surprise joint appearance with Prince Harry and wife Meghan warmly greeting a large crowd gathered outside Windsor Castle to remember their long-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.

Planned Parenthood leaders from across the country are meeting in California to discuss how to defend abortion rights.

California avoided rolling outages during extreme heat, as operators of the state’s electricity grid continued to warn that unprecedented demand on energy supplies could force them to periodically cut power to some customers.

A brutal Western heat wave brought California to the verge of ordering rolling blackouts but the state’s electrical grid has managed to handle record-breaking demand.

A new study finds that Greenland has more than 120 trillion tons of ice that can be thought of as zombie ice that's going to raise sea level globally by at least 10 inches.

The WNBA playoff picture is still unclear with two weeks left in the regular season.

The New York Liberty are currently two games out of a spot in the WNBA playoffs.

Denmark’s largest cinema chain is keeping all its movie theaters closed Tuesday because a 17-year-old employee was one of the three people killed in a weekend shooting attack at a shopping mall.

The summer movie season has not, traditionally speaking, been known for its nuanced attention to female sexuality.

This week’s new entertainment releases include an album of guided meditation by Alanis Morissette, a Jennifer Lopez documentary leading up to her halftime performance at the Super Bowl in 2020 and a new “Father of the Bride” remake starring Andy Garcia and Gloria Estefan.

A 1996 school shooting that killed 16 children in Dunblane, Scotland was Britain's deadliest school shooting — and also the only one.

The white gunman charged in a deadly, racist rampage inside a Buffalo supermarket didn’t need to travel abroad for tactical training, nor did he need to join an organization of like-minded militants who shared his world view.

Buckingham Palace has finally answered one of the biggest remaining questions about Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Penn Badgley, who rose to fame as an introverted teen on The CW's “Gossip Girl,” is revisiting the angst and awkwardness of adolescence by co-creating a podcast called “Podcrushed."

This week’s new entertainment releases include new music from Future and Kehlani, a 10-episode Paramount+ series that dramatizes the behind-the-scenes story of the making of “The Godfather,” and the comedy “I Love That for You” starring former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Vanessa Bayer as a woman longing to be a home shopping channel host.

The Phoenix Mercury are preparing for their WNBA season without teammate Brittney Griner.

Senior British royals including Prince William and his wife Kate have attended an Easter Sunday church service at Windsor Castle.

When former members of the U.S. snowboarding team sought help reporting sexual-abuse allegations against a longtime coach, they were met with conflicting information that left them unsure of where to turn.

China is renewing its criticism of Western sanctions against Russia and says it won't be forced to choose sides in the conflict in Ukraine.

Proponents of restrictions on how U.S. public schools address sexual orientation and gender identity say their ultimate goal is to allow parents more involvement in their children’s education and ensure classroom materials are age-appropriate.

Will Smith danced with glee at the Vanity Fair Oscar party, waving his best actor Oscar in the air and rapping along to his own songs with wife Jada Pinkett Smith at his side.

The Oscar race may be heating up, but you wouldn’t know it to peek in on the nominees luncheon Monday in Los Angeles.

There are a plethora of programs aimed at exposing Black and Hispanic children from urban communities to winter sports, such as Alpine skiing.

Thomas Bach, the head of the International Olympic Committee, says the Olympic ideals show that even in a world full of conflict, people can build bridges and live in peace.

Dispatches from the Sundance Film Festival are usually accompanied by descriptions of the looming mountains, snowy premieres and frantic bus shuttles.

From the crushing of Beijing’s 1989 pro-democracy protests to the suppression of Hong Kong’s opposition four decades later, China’s Communist Party has demonstrated a determination and ability to stay in power that is seemingly impervious to Western criticism.

Auction house Sotheby’s Dubai has unveiled a diamond that’s literally from out of this world.

This week’s new entertainment releases include a new album of rootsy rock from John Mellencamp, the return of puppet friends from “Fraggle Rock” and a virtual Sundance Film Festival where all the selections can be streamed.

Senior U.N. refugee agency and European Union officials are accusing Latvia, Lithuania and Poland of using questionable methods to keep out migrants trying to enter from Belarus.

European Parliament lawmakers have called for a committee to investigate rights abuses by European Union governments using powerful spyware produced by Israel’s NSO Group.

A week after a deadly tornado outbreak, families of the victims are still processing the terrible toll.

A grandfather who “stole the show” anytime he was around his grandchildren was among dozens of victims killed by tornadoes that ripped through five states in the Midwest and South.

A clearer picture is emerging of some of the dozens of victims killed by tornadoes that ripped through five states in the Midwest and South.

They both carved out sterling reputations as military and political leaders over years of public service.

Human Rights Watch is asking leading sponsors of the Beijing Winter Olympics to explain why they remain largely silent about alleged human rights abuses in China with the Games opening there in just under three months.

Dean Stockwell, a top Hollywood child actor who gained new success in middle age, garnering an Oscar nomination for “Married to the Mob” and Emmy nominations for “Quantum Leap,” has died.

The son of a former al-Qaida hostage has struck back at criticism of her decision to return to the West African country where she was held for four years.

Malian authorities say they are actively searching for a French woman who spent four years as an al-Qaida hostage and who now has returned to the West African country despite being denied a visa.

Amid fallout from the Facebook Papers showing its failure to address the harms its social network has created around the world, Facebook on Monday reported higher profit for the latest quarter, buoyed by strong advertising revenue.

Facebook says it plans to hire 10,000 workers in the European Union over the next five years to work on a new computing platform.

Brittney Griner dunked while scoring 29 points, Diana Taurasi had eight of her 20 points in overtime and Phoenix Mercury evened the WNBA Finals with a 91-86 win over the Chicago Sky.

Author Shannon Messenger can now see the end for her telepathic heroine Sophie and the million-selling middle-grade series “Keeper of the Lost Cities.”.

Diana Taurasi has the Phoenix Mercury back in the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2014.

Following the resignation of the National Women’s Soccer League commissioner amid a sexual harassment and misconduct scandal involving a longtime coach, a three-woman executive committee has been formed to oversee league operations.

Nearly a year and a half after being abducted by Islamic extremists in Burkina Faso, Edith Blais risked her life to escape, fearing she’d never be free.

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced measures to make the police more transparent about wrongdoings.

The U.N. AIDS agency has acknowledged in an internal email last week that the behavior of a former senior staffer toward women was “unacceptable” and was tolerated by an organizational culture which allowed misconduct.

State Fairs in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin are offering COVID-19 vaccinations as the delta variant spreads across the country.

Britain’s police watchdog says it has launched an investigation into why a 22-year-old man who fatally shot five people in southwestern England was given back his confiscated gun and gun license.

The death of a 31-year-old woman who was shot and burned alive by her former husband has focused attention on the long-taboo subject of domestic violence among French police officers.

French President Emmanuel Macron has ordered all French health care workers to get virus vaccines by Sept. 15 and urged all of his compatriots to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Human Rights Watch says China’s government and its supporters have monitored, harassed and intimidated pro-democracy Chinese students living in Australia.

Most people wouldn’t volunteer to walk through a minefield.

A new report by the rights group Global Witness says Facebook’s recommendation algorithm amplifies military propaganda and other material that breaches the company’s own policies in Myanmar following the country’s military coup.

Retail sales in Britain slipped back in May as people ventured out to spend money at restaurants and pubs instead.

A panel of independent experts who reviewed the World Health Organization’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has published its final report, listing an array of recommendations about how the world can better prepare for another.

Germany has commemorated what would have been the 100th birthday of Sophie Scholl, a young woman who became an icon for her role in the anti-fascist “White Rose” resistance group.

The Ukrainian military says two soldiers have been killed and another wounded under fire from Russia-backed separatist rebels in the country’s east, where hostilities have increased sharply in recent months.

European lawmakers want to ensure that COVID-19 certificates aimed at facilitating travel across the European Union will be enough to move freely this summer.

Gov. Jay Inslee said Saturday that inoculations with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine can begin in Washington state following a review by scientific experts in a western states work group.

The multimillion-selling Chicken Soup for the Soul franchise is reaching for a younger demographic.

Vartan Gregorian, the noted scholar and philanthropic leader who led the Carnegie Corporation of New York since 1997, has died.

Coronavirus restrictions mean only 30 mourners will attend the funeral of Prince Philip on Saturday at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

Prince Andrew says the death of Prince Philip has left a “huge void” in Queen Elizabeth II’s life, while Princess Anne paid tribute to her father as “my teacher, my supporter and my critic.”.

The topic of gender equality took center stage Wednesday in Brussels a day after Ursula von der Leyen, one the most powerful European Union’s executives, was treated like a second-rank official during a visit to the Turkish capital of Ankara.

The Democratic governor is struggling through a sexual harassment scandal thats testing the limits of his partys support as Democrats grapple with their first political crisis of the post-Trump era. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)NEW YORK – Democrats across the country celebrated New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo as the face of governing competence as President Donald Trump fumbled his administration's response to the exploding pandemic last year. Both of New York's Democratic U.S. senators have publicly embraced the state attorney general's nascent investigation into Cuomo's behavior. While Democrats across the country are not rallying behind Cuomo, few are calling for him to step down.

The Democratic governor is struggling through a sexual harassment scandal thats testing the limits of his partys support as Democrats grapple with their first political crisis of the post-Trump era. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)NEW YORK – Democrats across the country celebrated New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo as the face of governing competence as President Donald Trump fumbled his administration's response to the exploding pandemic last year. Both of New York's Democratic U.S. senators have publicly embraced the state attorney general's nascent investigation into Cuomo's behavior. While Democrats across the country are not rallying behind Cuomo, few are calling for him to step down.

“They’re hopeful.”On this Valentine’s Day, Americans are searching for ways to celebrate love amid so much heartache and isolation as the coronavirus pandemic stretches past its year anniversary. After limiting restaurants to 25% capacity and 25 people per room, restaurants now must remain at 25% but they can serve as many as 50 per room. They are also this Valentine’s Day willing to do something else over a weekend where the high temperature will reach the teens and the low will plummet well below zero. AdIn Portland, a couple married 55 years has special Valentine’s Day plans. “That’s Valentine’s Day!” her father exclaimed and smiled at his wife.

Corroon, now 20, has struggled with her mental health since fourth grade, and she’s not alone. The portion of children's emergency-room visits related to mental health was 44% higher in 2020, compared with the year before. Plotnick said mental health days can be even more effective when paired with mental health services in schools. In Oregon, students are given five excused absences every three months, and those can be either physical sick days or mental health days. Part of her routine is taking a step back to prioritize her mental health — a chance she says other kids deserve, too.

NEW YORK – Jan Morris, the celebrated journalist, historian, world traveler and fiction writer who in middle age became a pioneer of the transgender movement, has died at 94. Morris died in Wales on Friday morning, according to her literary representative, United Agents. The British author lived as James Morris until the early 1970s, when she underwent surgery at a clinic in Casablanca and renamed herself Jan Morris. Morris went on to receive praise for her immersive travel writing, with Venice and Trieste among the favored locations, and for her “Pax Britannica” histories about the British empire, a trilogy begun as James Morris and concluded as Jan Morris. Born James Humphrey Morris in Somerset, with a Welsh father and English mother, Morris remembered questioning her gender by age 4.

He was so ready,” said his mother Rontunda Moran, sitting in her apartment with her husband Kevin Moran, both wearing T-shirts bearing Jaquan's face. Nearby are life-size photos of Jaquan flashing what Kevin Moran called the “million dollar smile” that he loved so much. Unbeknownst to his family, Jaquan had an enlarged heart that made him more susceptible to the virus. As a junior at Sophie B. Wright High School, Jaquan played cornerback on the football team. Kevin Moran said he found Jaquan on the phone one day talking to a U.S. military recruiter and asked the teenager why.

Yet in public, the U.N. health agency lauded governments for their responses. Instead, the health agency relies on behind-the-scenes talks and the cooperation of member states. Critics say WHO’s traditional aversion to confronting its member countries has come at a high price. WHO also complained in private about Western countries hoarding scarce pandemic supplies. Going forward, WHO’s role in the continued unfolding of the pandemic will depend in part on the panel review.

A group holds signs rallying in support of the Save the Children movement, calling for an end to child trafficking Sept. 26, 2020, in Morris, Ill. The movement’s rise has complicated the efforts of the humanitarian organization called Save the Children and other nonprofits that work to help the world’s needy children. Some also use the platform to launch private groups where they swap tips, rumors and stories about child trafficking. While Trump has not made “Save the Children” part of his campaign, he has twice publicly praised QAnon's mission. But the connections among “Save the Children,” QAnon, and Trump still permeate social media.

India reports 36,470 new coronavirus cases, the lowest in more than three months in a continuing downward trend. NEW DELHI — India’s tally of confirmed coronavirus cases is moving closer to 8 million, with 43,893 new cases reported for the latest 24-hour period. The total reported Wednesday includes the highest single-day number of cases for the Indian capital of New Delhi — 4,853. He says confirmed coronavirus cases are overwhelmingly the result of community transmission, noting that 92% of officially confirmed infections can’t be traced to a known case. Italy’s total confirmed cases rose to 564,778 and the death toll reached 37,700.

Prime Minister Andrej Babis says those measures should prevent the collapse of the health system in early November. “The aim is to reduce general movement and evening gatherings, which favor the transmission of the virus,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a televised address. Health Minister Jens Spahn, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, was quarantined at home. Portugal posted a new record of officially reported daily infections of 3,270 cases. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced a three-tier alert system last week for England.

Maya Gebler, center, Cate and Sophie Carroll , right, write letters to fairies in Norfolk, Virginia on Monday Oct. 12, 2020. In the last few months, more than 700 letters have arrived at a fairy tree village outside the home of a journalist and children's book author. "And they want to write to you.”Beneath a crape myrtle at the edge of a lawn in Norfolk lies a fairy village. Another offers responses from the likes of the Fairy Godmother, Fairy Queen Lysandra and Tinker Bell. The fairy tree village appeared in July outside the home of journalist and children’s book author Lisa Suhay, 55, a mother of five.

The militants freed Cisse in the past week along with French hostage Sophie Petronin and Italians Nicola Chiacchio and the Rev. Late Friday, the Swiss Foreign Ministry said French authorities had informed them that Swiss hostage Beatrice Stoeckli had been killed about a month ago. On Friday, the French and Italian hostages returned to Europe, where they were greeted by dignitaries and family members. “I was always highly respected during my captivity," she told TV5 Monde. “I hung on — I prayed a lot because I had a lot of time,” Petronin told reporters at the French Embassy in Bamako.

Sophie Petronin was released with three other hostages from Mali and Italy this week. They were released earlier this week, days after the Malian government freed nearly 200 Islamic militants in an apparent prisoner exchange. They said they received the information from French authorities, who were notified by “the recently released French hostage.”“It was with great sadness that I learned of the death of our fellow citizen,” Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said in a statement. “The French and I are glad to see you back at last, dear Sophie Petronin,” Macron tweeted. “I hung on — I prayed a lot because I had a lot of time,” Petronin told reporters at the French Embassy in Bamako.

A prominent Malian politician and three European hostages freed by Islamic extremists in northern Mali this week landed in the country's capital late Thursday where they held emotional reunions with family members and were greeted by government officials. (Mali Presidency via AP)BAMAKO – A prominent Malian politician and three European hostages freed by Islamic extremists in northern Mali this week landed in the country's capital late Thursday where they held emotional reunions with family members and were greeted by government officials. Three-time Malian presidential candidate Soumaila Cisse descended next in a flowing white robe and turban, embracing first his wife and then his son. All four released hostages were then brought to a late night reception at Mali's presidential palace where they met with dignitaries. The hostages’ release came just days after Malian authorities freed nearly 200 jihadist prisoners over the weekend, which had fueled speculation that a prisoner exchange was imminent.

Islamic extremists have freed prominent Malian politician Soumaila Cisse after holding him hostage for more than six months along with a French aid worker who was kidnapped back in 2016, an official said Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020. Family members of Soumaila Cisse and Sophie Petronin still were awaiting details of a reunion in the capital, Bamako, nearly 24 hours after first hearing word of their freedom. A total of nine Western hostages seized from Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso are believed to remain in the hands of various jihadist groups. “We are here today to wait for our president (Cisse), the hope of the new Mali, Soumaila Cisse," said Ousmane Doumbia in Bamako. "All us here, we want Soumaila Cisse to come.

Islamic extremists have freed prominent Malian politician Soumaila Cisse after holding him hostage for more than six months along with a French aid worker who was kidnapped back in 2016, an official said Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020. An official with Soumaila Cisse's political party told The Associated Press that the parliament member's relatives had been informed of his release along with that of aid worker Sophie Petronin. In December 2016, militants seized Petronin from the city of Gao, where she was helping orphans as an aid worker. She appeared 18 months later in a video released on Telegram by the al-Qaida-linked group known as JNIM. She was last seen in the video released in 2018.

Belgian Minister of Cooperation Development and Finance, Alexander De Croo speaks during a media conference at the Egmont Palace in Brussels, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020. Despite his age, the 44-year-old De Croo is already a veteran in Belgian politics and was vice premier in the outgoing government. He would be the first Dutch-speaking prime minister in nine years. European Council President Charles Michel, a former Belgian prime minister himself, congratulated De Croo and said that “COVID-19 hit us badly, but I count on you and your government to guide us past this challenge." It made compromise politics, an essential element of Belgian politics, even harder.

European Commissioner for Promoting our European Way of Life Margaritas Schinas, speaks during a media conference on the New Pact for Migration and Asylum at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020. The leaders of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland affirmed their hardline stance at EU headquarters on Thursday. I am asking you to understand it,” European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas said as he was grilled by EU lawmakers. EU officials reject claims that they might pressure these countries, but the commission will draw up a report on how cooperative they are in accepting their nationals back. “It’s good that the European Commission is trying to bring EU countries together to achieve meaningful change.

Each step of the way, friends point to the influence of Gopalan Harris as a constant. Gopalan Harris defied generations of tradition by not returning to southern India after getting her doctorate, tossing aside expectations of an arranged marriage. Gopalan Harris mother took in victims of domestic abuse and educated women about contraception. Gopalan Harris relished roles in her daughters early campaigns but was gone before seeing her advance beyond a local office. There is no title or honor on earth Ill treasure more than to say I am Shyamala Gopalan Harris daughter, she wrote.