Nation

CDC changes school guidance, allowing desks to be closer

By Mike Stobbe, Associated Press

U.S. health officials are relaxing social distancing recommendations for schools, now saying students can sit as close as 3 feet to each other in classrooms.

Biden picks former senator who flew in space to lead NASA

By Marcia Dunn, Associated Press

President Joe Biden has chosen a former senator from Florida who flew on the space shuttle to lead NASA.

Judge limits evidence, refuses to move trial in George Floyd case

By Steve Karnowski, Amy Forliti, Associated Press

A judge has denied a defense request to delay or move the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death, and has limited evidence involving a 2019 arrest.

Asian American churches call for actions beyond prayer

By Luis Andres Henao, Mariam Fam, Jessie Wardarski, Associated Press

Asian American Christian leaders say their congregations are saddened and outraged after a white gunman killed eight people, most of them women of Asian descent, at three Atlanta-area massage businesses.

Why the U.S. is rethinking its approach to poverty

By Laura Santhanam

At the end of 2020, more than 50 million people were facing hunger, up 15 million from the year before, according to data from Feeding America, an anti-hunger organization. The pandemic, and the associated stimulus payments and rescue plan are…

The Longest Year: How the pandemic made inequality in America worse

By Amna Nawaz, Leah Nagy, Rachel Wellford, Vika Aronson, Emily Carpeaux, Erica R. Hendry

Generations of inadequate medical care, deeply entrenched economic disparities and a biased system of justice all came to a head, a reminder that for many Americans the hazards of structural racism are a daily reality. We hear the story of…

Incoming editor in chief parts ways with Teen Vogue over past tweets

By Leanne Italie, Associated Press

Alexi McCammond says she and Teen Vogue are parting ways over her past anti-Asian and homophobic tweets. The 27-year-old journalist apologized yet again for the tweets in a statement she posted Thursday on Twitter.

U.S., China spar in first face-to-face meeting under Biden

By Matthew Lee, Mark Thiessen, Associated Press

In unusually pointed remarks for a staid diplomatic meeting, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Communist Party foreign affairs chief Yang Jiechi took aim at each other's country's policies at the start of two days of talks in Alaska…

Armie Hammer under sexual assault investigation, LA police say

By Andrew Dalton, Associated Press

Los Angeles police said Thursday that they are investigating actor Armie Hammer for sexual assault. A police spokesman says Hammer is the main suspect in an incident reported on Feb. 3.

Author Viet Thanh Nguyen on the ‘deep well’ of anti-Asian racism in the U.S.

By Joshua Barajas, Amna Nawaz, Wyatt Mayes

"The Committed" author talked about his own experience as a refugee in America, how we’ve seen anti-Asian violence through history, and some of the ways he thinks people can help their communities.