The White House says the U.S. will stage a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing to protest Chinese human rights abuses. It's a move China has vowed to greet with ``firm countermeasures.'' White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Monday that U.S. athletes will continue to compete and will ``have our full support.'' The administration, however, won't dispatch U.S. dignitaries to attend the games. Psaki says the U.S. has a ''fundamental commitment to promoting human rights" and says the U.S. ``will not be contributing to the fanfare of the games.''

Pakistan's military says one of its helicopters has crashed in bad weather in the Pakistan-administered section of disputed Kashmir, killing the two pilots on board. The military says the helicopter went down on Monday on the Siachen glacier. It's one of the world's longest mountain glaciers, located in the Karakoram Range, and often referred to as the ``highest battleground on earth'' because of the wars that Pakistan and India have fought over the Himalayan region of Kashmir. The military says rescue helicopters and troops have been dispatched to Siachen. No further details on the crash wer

One of the scientists behind the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is warning that the next pandemic may be more contagious and more lethal unless more money is devoted to research and preparations to fight emerging viral threats. Professor Sarah Gilbert says scientific advances made in fighting deadly viruses must not be lost because of the cost of fighting the current pandemic. Gilbert is calling on governments to redouble their commitment to scientific research and pandemic preparedness.

The parents of a teen accused of killing four students at a Michigan high school have been charged with involuntary manslaughter. A prosecutor described chilling moments that day when a teacher found a drawing of a gun, a person bleeding and the words ``help me'' at the boy's desk. Prosecutor Karen McDonald says Jennifer and James Crumbley committed ``egregious'' acts, from buying the gun for Ethan Crumbley and failing to intervene when they were summoned to the school and confronted with the drawing. Police say he returned to class and later emerged from a bathroom with a gun, firing at stud

By early next week, Canadians and all other foreign visitors who travel to the United States by air will need to get a COVID-19 test no later than the day before their departure. U.S. President Joe Biden is slashing the current 72-hour testing window for fully vaccinated travellers as part of a suite of public health measures aimed at slowing the spread of the highly mutated Omicron variant. A White House background briefing on the plan late Wednesday made no mention of land borders, or whether fully vaccinated Canadians who drive south would be required to show a test result.

Authorities say a 17 year old boy has become the fourth student to die from a school shooting in Michigan. The Oakland County sheriff's office identified the teen Wednesday as Justin Shilling. The shooting occurred Tuesday at Oxford High School in Oakland County. The suspect remains in custody. Seven other people were wounded, some critically, including a 14 year old girl who was placed on a ventilator after surgery. Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe said three students who were killed as a 16 year old boy and two girls, ages 14 and 17. Authorities say they received a flood of 911

Officials in Oregon say at least 99 state workers have been fired for failing to get vaccinated against COVID-19. KOIN reports the figures from the Department of Administrative Services show that out of more than 40,000 state workers, 84.7% received the vaccine and 12.2% were exempt on religious or medical grounds. The rest are either on long term leave like parental leave or waiting to get their vaccination status verified.

Authorities say a 15-year-old sophomore opened fire at his Michigan high school, killing three students, including a 16-year-old boy who died in a deputy's patrol car on the way to a hospital. Eight other people were wounded, some critically. Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard says investigators are still trying to determine a motive for Tuesday's shooting at Oxford High School.He says the shooter isn't talking. The boy's father had bought the gun used in the shooting on Friday, Bouchard said, adding that he did not know why. The three students who were killed were 16-year-old Tate Myre,

Authorities say eight people were wounded in an attack at a Michigan high school in which three students were killed. Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe said at a news conference that two of the wounded were undergoing surgery as of 5 p.m. Tuesday and the six others were in stable condition. He identified the three students who were killed as a 16 year old boy and two girls, ages 14 and 17. Authorities say they received a flood of 911 calls shortly before 2 p.m. about an attack at Oxford High School in Oxford Township, a community roughly 30 miles north of Detroit. McCabe says deputies t