In January 2021, Thalita Rocha stood by her mother-in-law, Maria da Cruz Lima, at a public health clinic in Manaus, Brazil. Lima, a 67-year-old retired nurse, had caught the highly contagious COVID-19 gamma variant (formerly called P.1) assailing the Amazon's largest city. She was waiting for a spot to open up at an intensive care unit but was feeling optimistic — a nurse had started her on oxygen, and she seemed to be improving. An oximeter clipped onto Lima's index finger measured her blood oxygen saturation and was finally showing healthy levels, around 98%.

Southern Baptists are gathered in Nashville this week for an annual meeting that could prove a turning point, as the faithful square off on an array of divisive issues that some fear could drive a wedge into the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S.

Tuesday marks the first full day for the event in which the voting members of the Southern Baptist Convention could tackle high-profile issues including racial discrimination, gender inequality, and sexual abuse.

A small new study offers a glimmer of hope that giving organ transplants recipients a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine could boost their protection against the coronavirus.

That's important, because prior research has shown that nearly half of organ transplant recipients failed to show any antibody response even after two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.

A batch of emails released by the Democrats on the House Oversight Committee appears to paint a clearer picture of how former President Donald Trump and his allies attempted to pressure the U.S. Justice Department to investigate unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election.

MOSCOW — Not so long ago, the image of Belarus was of a peaceful, if tightly controlled, former Soviet republic, squeezed between Poland and Russia. Now the country's pro-democracy leaders are warning their country could turn into a North Korea in Europe: a state run by a dangerous, unpredictable leader who survives through fear and repression.