California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday ordered bars and indoor dining at restaurants to close in most areas of the state for the next three weeks amid a troubling surge of new coronavirus cases throughout the state.

WASHINGTON — The Democratic-controlled House approved a $1.5 trillion plan Wednesday to rebuild the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into projects to fix roads and bridges, upgrade transit systems, expand interstate railways and dredge harbors, ports and channels.

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney on Wednesday ordered the immediate removal of all Confederate statues in the city, saying he was using his emergency powers to speed up the healing process for the former capital of the Confederacy amid weeks of protests over police brutality and racial injustice.

WASHINGTON – The House on Wednesday easily passed a temporary extension of a subsidy program for small businesses slammed by the coronavirus, speeding the measure to President Donald Trump.

Health experts on Wednesday slammed the U.S. decision to hog nearly the entire global supply of remdesivir, the only drug licensed so far to treat COVID-19, warning that type of selfish behavior sets a dangerous precedent for attempts to share scarce treatments amid the pandemic.

President Donald Trump’s July Fourth celebration on the National Mall will feature one of the largest fireworks displays ever and as many as 300,000 face masks will be given away to those who want them — but no one will be required to wear them.

The Trump administration is stepping up the defense of its response to intelligence assessments that suggested Russia had offered bounties for killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan, with the president's national security adviser saying on Wednesday he had prepared a list of retaliatory options if the intelligence had been corroborated.

Britain announced Wednesday that it was extending residency rights for up to 3 million Hong Kongers eligible for the British National Overseas passport, stressing that it would uphold its historic duty to the former British colony after Beijing imposed a sweeping new national security law in the city.

A vote on amendments to Russia’s constitution that could allow President Vladimir Putin to hold power until 2036 entered its final day Wednesday amid widespread reports of pressure on voters and other irregularities.

President Donald Trump is vowing to veto a massive defense bill to keep military bases such as Ft. Bragg named after Confederate officers, swimming against sentiment in his own party and imperiling a 3% pay raise for the troops.

The Trump administration was slow to comprehend the scale of COVID-19's impact on nursing homes and a disjointed federal response has only compounded the devastating toll, according to a report from Senate Democrats.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday that he was delaying the planned resumption of indoor dining at restaurants in the city out of fear it would cause a spike in coronavirus infections.

In its more than 1,400-year existence, the majestic domed structure of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul has served as the Byzantine Empire’s main cathedral, a mosque under the Ottoman Empire and a museum under modern Turkey, attracting millions of tourists each year.

There is little evidence that the protests that erupted after George Floyd’s death caused a significant increase in U.S. coronavirus infections, according to public health experts.

Astronauts completed their second spacewalk in under a week Wednesday to replace old batteries outside the International Space Station.

Hong Kong police made their first arrests Wednesday under a contentious new national security law imposed by China’s central government, as thousands of people defied tear gas and pepper pellets to protest against it on the anniversary of the former British colony's handover to Chinese rule.

PARIS — France announced Wednesday that it is suspending its involvement in a NATO naval operation in the Mediterranean Sea after a standoff with a Turkish warship, amid growing tensions within the military alliance over the conflict in Libya.

The first of four experimental COVID-19 vaccines being tested by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech showed encouraging results in very early testing of 45 people, the companies said Wednesday.

NASA has delayed the launch of its newest Mars rover yet again — to the end of July at the earliest — this time for a rocket issue.