National News

The U.S. is about to offer updated COVID-19 booster shots to kids as young as 5. The tweaked boosters rolled out last month for Americans 12 and older — shots designed to target the currently spreading omicron variants. On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration authorized kid-size versions for 5- to 11-year-olds. There's one more…

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Ancient Mars may have had an environment capable of harboring an underground world teeming with microscopic organisms. That's according to French scientists who published their findings Monday. They're quick to note, however, that if these simple life forms did exist, they would have altered the Martian atmosphere so profoundly that…

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The mother of an Iranian teenager is disputing official claims that her daughter fell to her death from a high building. Nasreen Shakarami says her teenage daughter was killed by repeated blows to the head as part of Iran's crackdown on anti-hijab protests roiling the country. Shakarami also said…

The unusually low water level in the lower Mississippi River is causing barges to get stuck in the mud and sand. That's resulting in delays for shippers, recreational boaters and even passengers on a cruise line. Lack of rainfall in recent weeks has left the Mississippi River approaching record low levels in some areas from…

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The OPEC+ alliance of oil-exporting countries has decided to sharply cut production to support sagging oil prices. The move Wednesday could deal the struggling global economy another blow and raise politically sensitive pump prices for U.S. drivers just ahead of key national elections. Energy ministers meeting at the Vienna headquarters of…