Jennifer Peltz | Associated Press

Medical workers wear masks and gowns outside a hospital.

States are trashing troves of masks and pandemic gear as huge, costly stockpiles linger and expire

Some states that stockpiled millions of masks and other personal protective equipment during the coronavirus pandemic are now throwing the items away as they expire.

The sun rises over the smoky, gray lower Manhattan skyline.

Environment & Energy

Smoky haze blanketing US and Canada could last into the weekend

Jennifer Peltz | Associated Press

With weather systems expected to hardly budge, the smoky blanket billowing across the U.S. and Canada from wildfires in Quebec and Nova Scotia should persist into Thursday and possibly the weekend.

Supplies are shown on a desk at Safer Inside, a realistic model of a safe injection site in San Francisco, Aug. 29, 2018. The Justice Department is signaling it might be open to allowing so-called safe injection sites, or safe havens for people to use heroin and other narcotics with protections against fatal overdoses. The department's stance comes a year after federal prosecutors won a major court ruling that found the sites would violate federal law. The Justice Department tells The Associated Press it is talking to regulators about “appropriate guardrails” for the sites.

Health, Science & Tech

Justice Dept. signals it may allow safe injection sites

Jennifer Peltz | Associated Press

The Justice Department is signaling it might be open to allowing so-called safe injection sites, or safe havens for people to use heroin and other narcotics with protections against fatal overdoses.