Officials change COVID testing advice, bewildering experts

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials have sparked a wave of confusion after posting guidelines that coronavirus testing is not necessary for people who have been in close contact with infected people.

The Latest: Mark Meadows hopes for virus vaccine by the fall

WASHINGTON — White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows says he’s looking forward to the U.S. having a vaccine for COVID-19 by the fall, a faster timeline than top government scientists have sketched out.

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Houston firm drops bribe suit against ex Venezuela oil czar

MIAMI (AP) — A Houston energy firm has dropped a lawsuit against Venezuela's former oil czar, who it had accused of orchestrating demands for a $10 million bribe to approve an asset sale in the South American count…

Rights group urges release of abducted Libyan protesters

CAIRO (AP) — Amnesty International on Wednesday urged for the release of at least six protesters abducted when armed men, apparently allied with Libya’s U.N.-supported government, fired live ammunition to disperse …

Hurricane Center warns storm surge from Hurricane Laura could reach "unsurvivable" 20 feet in parts of Texas, Louisiana

MIAMI (AP) — Hurricane Center warns storm surge from Hurricane Laura could reach "unsurvivable" 20 feet in parts of Texas, Louisiana.

Thai leader says tensions over protests endanger nation

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s prime minister on Wednesday described the country’s future as dire if escalating political tensions over demands by pro-democracy demonstrators for his government to resign aren't resolved.

14 dolphins die in Mauritius near Japanese ship's oil spill

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — At least 14 dead dolphins have washed up on the coast of the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, where a Japanese ship ran aground last month and spilled more than 1,000 tons of fuel, environmenta…

Israeli police say Palestinian has stabbed Israeli to death

JERUSALEM (AP) — A Palestinian who entered Israel from the occupied West Bank on a work permit stabbed an Israeli to death on Wednesday and was later arrested, Israeli police said.

Floods in north, east Afghanistan leave at least 100 dead

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Heavy flooding has killed at least 100 people and injured scores of others as heavy seasonal rains drenched northern and eastern Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday.

Mexican economy shrank 18.7% in 2nd quarter

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s economy contracted 18.7% in the second quarter compared with the same period a year earlier, reflecting the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on most activities in the country.

Kids-for-cash judge loses bid for lighter prison sentence

A federal judge upheld the 28-year prison sentence of a disgraced Pennsylvania judge who locked up thousands of juvenile offenders while he was taking kickbacks from the owner and builder of for-profit detention ce…

Small Business Struggles, ADVISORY

Small businesses around the world are in trouble. Whether they survive will affect not just economies but the fabric of communities as well. In the coming months, AP’s Small Business Struggles will examine how the …

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Rwanda seeks genocide suspect's extradition from France

KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Rwanda’s government has written to France requesting the extradition of a key suspect in the East African nation’s genocide a quarter-century ago, officials said Wednesday.