DETROIT (AP) — Nearly 43,000 people were killed on U.S. roads last year. That's the highest number in 16 years as Americans returned to the highways after the pandemic forced many to stay at home.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (BP) – A substantial drop in the number of adoptions in the United States coincided with the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report.

PRAGUE, Czechoslovakia (BP) – Mothers and their youngsters who fled Ukraine for safety to Prague are “broken-hearted, desperate, searching for hope,” LeAnna Hall told Baptist Press. Hall’s idea for children and moms in the church to write letters of encouragement that would point the Ukrainian refugees “to the hope they could have in Jesus Christ,” is spreading across Oklahoma and the nation.

CLEARWATER, Fla. (BP) – A public baptism including more than 130 changed lives is significant on its own. But an onlooker’s response may be the biggest memory for Matt Laughter, worship pastor for the East Lake campus of Calvary Church.

ONTARIO, Canada (BP) – During its annual meeting last week, the Canadian National Baptist Convention confirmed Jeff Christopherson as the convention’s new National Ministry Leader/Executive Director. A native Canadian, Christopherson was previously serving as the convention’s multiplying church catalyst and as co-vocational pastor of The Sanctuary in Oakville, Ontario.

NEW ORLEANS (BP) – Jamie Dew, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College, urged the schools’ May 2022 graduates to consider the question that would impact their lives and ministries as they step into a new chapter in life.

HAVANA – A deadly explosion on May 6 at a Havana hotel that left 46 dead and more than 90 injured also severely damaged nearby Calvary Baptist Church, which housed the offices of the Baptist Convention of Western Cuba. Now, as the organization looks to rebuild, its leaders and members remain committed to their mission - reaching Cubans with the Gospel.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Ken Braddy has held several roles throughout his professional career, but many people at Lifeway Christian Resources simply refer to him as “Mr. Sunday School.”

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The fall of Mariupol appears at hand as Ukraine is moving to abandon a sprawling steel plant where its soldiers had held out under relentless bombardment for months, which would make it the biggest city to fall into Russian hands.

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – Concerned about the growing secularization of America, hundreds of South Korean believers will be arriving in the U.S. next month to pray for another spiritual awakening for the nation that brought them the gospel. “It’s time for us to repay the spiritual debt South Korea owes to America,” said Nam Soo Choi, president of the World School of Prayer, a missionary organization in Seoul.

ATLANTA – The Port of Savannah set a record for containerized cargo last month, while the Georgia Ports Authority reported its third busiest month ever.

ZORYA TRUDA, Ukraine (AP) — Iuliia Loseva buried her husband in the village cemetery near her home. There was a military band, and a six-gun salute. His teenage sons, pale and stunned, walked behind their father’s coffin holding framed photographs of him in his camouflage uniform. But this was not a military funeral for a career soldier.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) – At any given moment, an estimated 400,000 U.S. children and teens are in foster care. There also happens to be roughly that many churches across the United States.

SALADO, Texas (BP) – In the wake of a devastating tornado, First Cedar Valley Baptist Church looks forward to rebuilding and growing.

LONDON (AP) — Tesla CEO Elon Musk says his deal to buy Twitter can’t move forward unless the company shows public proof that less than 5% of the accounts on the platform are fake or spam. Musk made the comment in a reply to another user on Twitter early Tuesday.

NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart reported stronger sales for the first quarter, but its profit took a beating as the nation’s largest retailer grappled with surging inflation on food and fuel and higher costs from a snarled global supply chain.

Home Depot’s fiscal first-quarter sales improved even as the chain faced a slower start to spring, and it raised its full-year guidance. The home improvement company’s revenue increased about 4% to $38.91 billion.

Wall Street was heading toward a strong open on Tuesday as investors took in another batch of earnings from retailers that could reveal how persistent inflation is impacting consumer spending.

THOMASVILLE, Ala. (AP) — A handful of U.S. hospitals are facing a financial crisis that officials say was caused by the federal government's rules for pandemic relief money. A trio of hospitals in Alabama, Kansas and New Mexico say they're not getting as much assistance as other hospitals because they're so new they can't prove financial losses from before the pandemic.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has made “self-reliance” his governing lynchpin during his decade in power and shunned international help for his people. But a massive outbreak of suspected COVID-19 has left Kim at a critical crossroads. Does he swallow his pride and accept help or does he go it alone even though a huge number of fatalities could undermine his leadership?

LAGUNA WOODS, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say the man killed trying to stop a gunman at a Southern California church may have saved dozens of lives. Dr. John Cheng was shot after tackling David Chou on Sunday at a Taiwanese church in Orange County. Chou was then subdued by elderly parishioners.

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Turkey's president is objecting to Sweden and Finland's historic bid to join NATO. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he cannot allow them to become members of the alliance because of their perceived inaction against exiled Kurdish militants.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials say the regiment that doggedly defended a steel mill as Ukraine’s last stronghold in the port city of Mariupol has completed its mission. The declaration came Monday after more than 260 fighters, including some badly wounded, were evacuated and taken to areas under Russia’s control.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Freddy Peralta dominated over seven innings, Hunter Renfroe scored on a wild pitch and the Milwaukee Brewers two-hit the Atlanta Braves 1-0.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Atlanta Braves woke up to an extended power outage at their hotel in downtown Milwaukee on Monday that also left some without running water. Some players were unable to shower at the Pfister Hotel, which is already infamous among ballplayers for allegedly being haunted.