WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is lifting its requirement that international air travelers to the U.S. take a COVID-19 test within a day before boarding their flights, easing one of the last remaining government mandates meant to contain the spread of the coronavirus. A senior administration official says the mandate expires Sunday at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas school police chief criticized for his actions during one of the deadliest classroom shootings in U.S. history says in his first extensive published comments that he didn't consider himself the incident commander as the massacre unfolded. Uvalde school district police chief Pete Arredondo told the Texas Tribune that he assumed someone else had taken control of the law enforcement response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A new West Virginia law going into effect prevents patients from getting abortions because they believe their child will be born with a disability. The ban was signed by Republican Gov. Jim Justice in March. It provides exceptions in the case of a medical emergency or in cases where a fetus is “nonmedically viable.”

BEIJING (AP) — China has attacked the theory that the coronavirus pandemic may have originated as a leak from a Chinese laboratory as a politically motivated lie. The response came after the World Health Organization recommended in its strongest terms yet that a deeper probe is needed into whether a lab accident may be to blame.

LONDON (AP) — The British government plans to burn billions of dollars in unusable protective equipment purchased during the coronavirus pandemic. It says the move will generate power. A public spending watchdog says $5 billion worth of equipment bought by the government has to be dumped because it is defective or does not meet U.K. standards.

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — Volunteer drivers are risking everything to deliver humanitarian aid to Ukrainians behind the front lines of the war — and to help many of them escape. The routes are dangerous and long and the drivers risk detention, injury or death. Ukrainian activists say more than two dozen drivers have been detained and held for more than two months by Russian-backed separatists in the Donetsk region.

LONDON (AP) — Explorers and historians are telling the world about the discovery of the wreck of a royal warship that sank in 1682 while carrying a future king of England, Ireland and Scotland. The HMS Gloucester ran aground while navigating sandbanks off the town of Great Yarmouth on the eastern English coast. It sank within an hour, killing an estimated 130 to 250 crew and passengers. James Stuart, the son of King Charles I, survived.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The costs of gas, food and other necessities jumped in May, raising inflation to a new four-decade high and giving American households no respite from rising costs. Consumer prices surged 8.6% last month from 12 months earlier, faster than April’s year-over-year surge of 8.3%.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. futures slipped Friday after the government reported that inflation surged 8.6% last month, more than analysts were expecting. Futures for the Dow Jones industrials slid 1% and futures for the S&P 500 skidded 1.2% after the government released its consumer price index report. U.S. benchmarks are headed for their eighth week of losses in the past nine weeks.

ATLANTA (AP) — Max Fried won his sixth straight decision by pitching six sharp innings and the Atlanta Braves earned their eighth consecutive victory, 3-1 over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Adam Duvall, Dansby Swanson and Travis d’Arnaud each drove in a run for the defending World Series champion Braves, whose winning streak is their longest since they took nine in a row last August. Atlanta has outscored opponents 55-21 during the streak.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA is launching a study of UFOs as part of a new push toward high-risk, high-impact science. The space agency announced Thursday that it's setting up an independent team to see how much information is publicly available on the matter and how much more is needed.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Police waited for protective equipment as they delayed entering the Texas elementary school where a gunman inside killed 19 children and two teachers. That's according to a review of law enforcement documents and records obtained by The New York Times. The records show that police waited even as they became aware that some victims needed medical treatment. Police waited more than hour to confront the gunman on May 24 even as anguished parents outside the school urged officers to go inside.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks on Wall Street tumbled Thursday following the latest reminder that central banks now care more about fighting inflation than propping up markets. The S&P 500 dropped 2.4%, putting it on track for its ninth losing week in the last 10.

DALLAS (AP) — Gasoline is closing in on $5 a gallon nationwide for the first time ever. That's according to AAA. The auto club said the national average for a gallon of regular hit $4.97 on Thursday. High gas prices are another drain on the wallets of consumers who are paying more for many other essentials too.

GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization is recommending in its strongest terms yet that a deeper probe is required into whether a lab accident may be to blame for the COVID-19 pandemic. This marks a sharp reversal of the U.N. health agency’s initial assessment of the pandemic’s origins.

DETROIT (AP) — Teslas with partially automated driving systems are a step closer to being recalled after the U.S. elevated its investigation into a series of collisions with emergency vehicles or trucks with warning signs. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says Thursday that it's upgrading the probe to an engineering analysis, another sign of increased scrutiny of the electric vehicle maker and automated systems that perform at least some driving tasks.

CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago man who jumped onto train tracks to rescue someone who had fallen onto an electrified rail during a fight at an L station earned more than praise for his heroic act. Twenty-year-old Anthony Perry was surprised Wednesday with a 2009 Audi A8 from the founder of a local anti-violence group. Perry said the car will make his life “way easier.”

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Marine Corps says all five Marines died on board an Osprey aircraft that crashed in the Southern California desert. The MV-22 Osprey belonged to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing based at Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego.

NASHVILLE (BP) – Changes to the recommendations that Sexual Abuse Task Force members will present to messengers at next week’s SBC annual meeting will address the nature of …

NASHVILLE (BP) – For many churches, Easter Sunday is not only a special day to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, but it also represents the start of their ministry. One of these churches, Christ Community South Brevard in Palm Bay, Fla., held its inaugural service this past Easter Sunday. The church has already experienced spiritual growth in its first few weeks.

VALDOSTA, GA – Perhaps the most strategic ministry in America today is the one focused on the redemption, mentoring and discipling of college students. Many secular colleges and universities are doing more indoctrination than education, suggesting that God is irrelevant to the real business of living. In many ways there is even an insidious danger that comes with secular education.

NASHVILLE (BP) – An increase in attacks on pro-life centers has led those groups to call for prayer and protection. On Tuesday morning, Mountain Area Pregnancy Services in Asheville, N.C., shared pictures of vandalism that had occurred at its offices overnight, including threatening messages spray-painted in red and shattered and broken windows around the building.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates jumped back up ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve meeting where it’s expected to announce another increase to its main borrowing rate. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the 30-year rate jumped to 5.23% this week from 5.09% last week.

MACON, Ga. (AP) — Middle Georgia’s largest city has bulldozed a homeless camp, saying it was a health hazard. Local news outlets report that Macon-Bibb County crews on Wednesday cleared the camp near the Ocmulgee River north of downtown Macon. City-county officials say they told camp residents last week that they had to leave, citing a lack of sanitation and open fires near gas stations.

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr is hiring a Fulton County prosecutor to lead the state’s new gang prosecution unit. Carr announced Wednesday that Fulton County Deputy District Attorney Cara Convery will run the unit when it starts operating July 1.