Month: August 2021

By PAUL WISEMAN and JOSEPH PISANI AP Business Writers From Walt Disney World to Goldman Sachs, a flurry of private and public employers are requiring workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 after the federal government gave full approval to the Pfizer shot. And the number is certain to grow. For the past eight months, coronavirus

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky state lawmaker who is facing criminal charges for allegedly choking a woman during a domestic dispute in 2020 has resigned. State Republican Rep. Robert Goforth submitted a letter Tuesday to the governor’s office and the House speaker’s office announcing his departure effective immediately. He

By JILL LAWLESS and GREGORY KATZ Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts has died at the age of 80. Publicist Bernard Doherty said Tuesday that Watts “passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier today surrounded by his family.” The self-effacing and unshakeable drummer helped anchor one of rock’s greatest rhythm

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s new prime minister set out for Washington on his first state visit overseas since taking office. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett departed Tuesday for a two-day trip to Washington to meet with President Joe Biden and discuss regional rival Iran. In a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office before taking off,

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A California judge has declared a mistrial in the embezzlement trial of attorney Michael Avenatti, who is charged with stealing millions in settlement money from his clients. Judge James Selna ruled on technical grounds that federal prosecutors failed to turn over relevant financial evidence to Avenatti. Another hearing in the

By SOPHIA TAREEN Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — The Rev. Jesse Jackson says he’s “doing fairly well” and receiving good care for COVID-19 at Chicago hospital. He spoke briefly by phone Tuesday with The Associated Press. Jackson and his wife, Jacqueline, were admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital over the weekend after testing positive. Jesse Jackson

By KEN RITTER Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — The county with jurisdiction over the Las Vegas Strip has joined a legal fight to try to collect what attorneys maintain could be hundreds of millions of dollars of unpaid hotel room taxes owed by more than 20 online travel companies. A lawsuit by Clark County

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Albuquerque’s municipal zoo says a 48-year-old female gorilla has died after being stricken by a bacterial infection. ABQ BioPark Zoo officials say Huerfanita was euthanized Saturday once it became clear she wasn’t going to recover from a digestive tract infection after being treated with medications. The 48-year-old western lowland gorilla had

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer Federal officials are taking another look at the safety climate inside aircraft maker Boeing. The Federal Aviation Administration says 35% of people in a key engineering unit have raised concerns about their ability to work independently of the company and communicate with safety regulators. The FAA says it is

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A 55-year-old Indiana man is in stable condition at a Fairbanks hospital after being attacked by a grizzly bear in Alaska’s Denali National Park. The man was hiking alone in dense fog Monday evening when the bear with two cubs attacked from about 100 feet away. The man was able to

By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota Supreme Court is weighing whether to unseal a search warrant and affidavits in an investigation into billionaire banker-turned-philanthropist T. Denny Sanford for possible possession of child pornography. The court documents are sealed and refer only to “an implicated individual.” Attorneys did not name

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An Indigenous leader from New Mexico and former U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt are calling on the federal government to overhaul its oil and gas leasing program to ensure the protection of cultural resources. Acoma Pueblo Gov. Brian Vallo and Babbitt highlighted the recommendations outlined

By The Associated Press Rock ‘n’ roll royalty are among those mourning the death of Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts. The word “great” was among the superlatives used to describe Watts, deemed the Stones’ mainstay by his bandmates. Elton John called Watts “the ultimate drummer” and brilliant company. Paul McCartney called him “a lovely guy.”

By BRIAN SLODYSKO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats have passed legislation that would strengthen a landmark civil rights-era voting law weakened by the Supreme Court over the past decade. It’s a step party leaders are touting as progress in their quest to turn back voting restrictions advanced in Republican-led states. But the bill

By SAM METZ and BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) — Ash is raining down on Lake Tahoe and thick yellow wildfire smoke is blotting out its famous postcard views of mountains surrounding pristine blue waters. Firefighters were working Tuesday to keep the Caldor Fire from spreading into the treasured alpine vacation

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel is vowing that her party will fight for a good result in Germany’s election next month and won’t be distracted by polls showing its support at worryingly low levels. Merkel’s Union bloc has been sagging in polls for weeks as Armin Laschet, the

By SARAH BLAKE MORGAN Associated Press SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — A hospital in northwestern Louisiana thought the COVID-19 pandemic was letting up. Then came the ongoing surge caused by the delta variant. Nurses at Willis-Knighton Medical Center in Shreveport say they are overwhelmed and exhausted. Melinda Hunt gets up before dawn for her shift six

BY CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN and EVENS SANON Associated Press LES CAYES, Haiti (AP) — More than a week after Haiti’s devastating 7.2-magnitude earthquake, a dilemma has emerged for the region’s limited health care services: how to turn over hospital beds when discharged patients have no place to go. Jertha Ylet was brought to Les Cayes’ General

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algeria has formally broken off diplomatic relations with neighboring Morocco, with the foreign minister citing a series of alleged hostile acts. Tuesday’s move culminates a period of growing tension between the North African countries which are mired in a decades-long feud, with their borders closed to each other. The announcement comes

NEW YORK (AP) — Hours after leaving office, scandal-tainted former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo suffered another defeat: losing the special Emmy Award he received last year for his daily, televised briefings on the coronavirus pandemic. The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences said in a statement Tuesday that given Cuomo’s resignation amid a

By The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The Metropolitan Opera reached a four-year agreement with the union for its orchestra, the last major deal needed for the company to resume performances following a 1 1/2-year layoff caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The contract with local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians, ratified Tuesday,

By LAURIE KELLMAN and ILAN BEN ZION Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The number of new coronavirus cases each day in Israel is nearing the record set in January. The government reported Tuesday that 9,831 new cases had been registered a day earlier, the highest count since the record of more than 10,000