CONCORD, N.H. The drought conditions that have gripped much of the Northeastern U.S. this summer appear to have a silver lining — fewer ticks. From Maine to Rhode Island, researchers say they expect tick numbers to be down from previous years especially for the blacklegged ticks, known as deer ticks, which transmit Lyme disease. It’s […]

PARIS France’s highest administrative authority is studying whether local bans on full-body burkini swimsuits are legal, amid growing concerns in the country and abroad about police forcing Muslim women to disrobe. Images of uniformed police appearing to require a woman to take off her tunic, and media accounts of similar incidents, have elicited shock and […]

AMATRICE, Italy Rescue crews raced against time Thursday looking for survivors from the earthquake that leveled three towns in central Italy, but the death toll rose to 247 and Italy once again anguished over trying to secure its medieval communities built on seismic lands. Dawn broke over the rolling hills of central Lazio and Le […]

BATON ROUGE, La. Mobile homes will fill front yards across southern Louisiana again, just like after Hurricane Katrina, as federal authorities bring in temporary housing for thousands of people displaced by catastrophic flooding. These houses, though, will be on blocks and strapped down — not on wheels like the travel trailers of a decade ago. […]

NEW YORK A Mississippi firefighter who received the world’s most extensive face transplant after a burning building collapsed on him said Wednesday that he feels like “a normal guy” for the first time in 15 years. Patrick Hardison, 42, said he can now eat, see, hear and breathe normally, thanks to last year’s surgery. He […]

NEW YORK ( AP) — A national organization promoting Sept. 11 as a day of public service and remembrance is asking presidential candidates to stop campaigning and running political ads on the 15th anniversary of the terror attacks. The New York-based nonprofit, 9/11 Day, has sent letters to Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. It’s also […]

KABUL, Afghanistan A brazen, hours-long militant attack on the American University of Afghanistan ended early Thursday after at least 12 people were killed and dozens were wounded in the assault on the sprawling campus on Kabul’s outskirts, a government spokesman said. The attack underscored how despite efforts by the Afghan authorities to improve security, militants […]

BROOKFIELD, Wis. (AP) — The Green Beret who was killed by an explosive in Afghanistan this week was raised in the Milwaukee area. The Defense Department says Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Thompson died Tuesday in the southern province of Helmand. Thompson’s family lives in Brookfield where he graduated from high school in 2006. His wife, […]

PYONGYANG, North Korea North Korea marked its “Military First” holiday on Thursday with mass dancing, outdoor concerts and boasts of a successful — and potentially game-changing — submarine-launched ballistic missile test it hopes will serve as a warning to Washington and Seoul to stop holding joint military exercises Pyongyang sees as a dress rehearsal for […]