Month: August 2021

By COLLIN BINKLEY AP Education Writer The Biden administration says it will automatically erase student loan debt for more than 300,000 Americans with disabilities that leave them unable to earn significant incomes. The Education Department says the move will wipe out more than $5.8 billion in debt, and it marks the start of a broader

BERLIN (AP) — A leading member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right Union bloc has called for the United States to provide funding and shelter to those fleeing Afghanistan now. The governor of Bavaria said Thursday that the U.S. bore the main responsibility for the current situation because of what he called Washington’s “in parts

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A billionaire software company CEO has given a former hermit in New Hampshire $180,000 to rebuild his cabin in a new location. A spokesperson for Palantir Technologies told the Concord Monitor that CEO Alexander Karp wrote a personal check to David Lidstone, who had spent nearly 30 years living on someone

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina high school will remain closed the rest of this week after three students leaving school for the day were hurt in a shooting in the school parking lot. The Orangeburg County School District says the three Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School students did not suffer

By NIKO PRICE Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Twin tragedies on opposite sides of the world are piling misery on people who have seen far more than their share. In Afghanistan, a group of gunmen known for sadistic tyranny rocketed back into power after 20 years. In Haiti, yet another earthquake and yet another storm

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture says help is on the way for dairy farmers who got a lower price for their products because of pandemic-related market abnormalities. The department said Thursday that it will provide about $350 million in assistance payments to eligible farmers. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says family

By MICHAEL CASEY and ANNE D’INNOCENZIO Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Landlords are fuming over the decision by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue a new eviction moratorium lasting until Oct. 3. Smaller landlords say they have suffered financially due to various state, local and federal moratoriums in place since last

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Please disregard US–Tropical Weather-Atlantic, published on August 19, 2021, and datelined in SYRACUSE, N.Y. It duplicates information in another story with the same slug line.

By ERIC TUCKER, MICHAEL BALSAMO, COLLEEN LONG and MICHAEL BIESECKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A man who claimed to have a bomb in a pickup truck near the U.S. Capitol has surrendered to law enforcement after an hourslong standoff that prompted a massive police response and the evacuations of government buildings and businesses in

By CURT ANDERSON and KELLI KENNEDY Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the order by Gov. Ron DeSantis that parents should decide if their children wear masks at school to combat the coronavirus. The order Thursday by Leon County Circuit Judge John C. Cooper

By DENISE LAVOIE AP Legal Affairs Writer RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A surge of COVID-19 cases is prompting federal courts to impose new restrictions and requirements for mask-wearing and vaccinations. In many cases that move is setting up a dynamic where lawyers and plaintiffs who oppose mask mandates and other restrictions must mask up and

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian opposition activists say government forces have shelled a northwestern village, killing five people, most of them children. Thursday’s selling of the village of Belshoun killed one women, three of her children and another child. That’s according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor. The Syrian civil

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — An Olympic athlete from Poland auctioned her silver medal from the Tokyo Games to raise money for a life-saving operation for an infant boy and then was told by the buyer that she could keep her prize. Maria Andrejczyk is a 25-year-old javelin thrower who overcame bone cancer and a shoulder

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — The foreign ministries of Germany, France and Britain have expressed “grave concern” over the latest report by the UN’s nuclear watchdog that said Iran continues to produce uranium metal, which can be used in the production of a nuclear bomb. The International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s top diplomat has assured his Libyan counterpart that Moscow supports the withdrawal of all foreign fighters from the North African country and is prepared to help work out the details with other countries. Russia was among the foreign powers backing the warring sides in Libya’s conflict, with some officials and media

By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. officials have launched a review of climate damage from coal mining on public lands as the Biden administration expands scrutiny of government fossil fuel sales that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Interior Department officials said Thursday that their review also will look at whether companies

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s space agency plans to bring soil samples back from the Mars region ahead of the U.S. and Chinese missions now operating on Mars. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency plans to launch an explorer in 2024 to land on the moon Phobos to collect a small amount

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer American gymnast Simone Biles says she wouldn’t change anything about her second Olympic experience. Biles exited five of the six finals at the Tokyo Games to focus on her mental health. Biles says it was a small sacrifice to make if it opens the door for others to realize

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The Rolling Stones are celebrating the 40th anniversary of their album “Tattoo You” with a remastered collection that includes nine previously unreleased tracks. The newly-remastered 11-track album is out on Oct. 22, including songs “Hang Fire,” “Waiting on a Friend” and the opening track, “Start

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Toyota is scaling its production back 40%, affecting 14 auto assembly plants in Japan, as the surging coronavirus pandemic in Southeast Asia crimps parts supplies. Japan’s top automaker says production will halt completely next month at some plants and partly at others, affecting a wide range

By ZEN SOO Associated Press SINGAPORE (AP) — Singapore will launch its first quarantine-free travel program for vaccinated people arriving from Germany and Brunei, and ease restrictions for visitors from Hong Kong and Macao as it seeks to reopen its borders after fully vaccinating over 75% of its population. Previously, only Singapore residents and those

MANDAN, N.D. (AP) — A jury ended its first day of deliberations without a decision in the trial of a North Dakota chiropractor accused of killing four people. Jurors were dismissed late Thursday afternoon at after about three hours of deliberations. They were scheduled to resume discussions Friday morning. Chad Isaak is accused of fatally

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell last week for a fourth straight time to a pandemic low, the latest sign that America’s job market is rebounding from the pandemic recession as employers boost hiring to meet a surge in consumer demand. The Labor Department

By JOSH BOAK, HANNAH FINGERHUT and BEN FOX Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A significant majority of Americans doubt that the war in Afghanistan was worthwhile, even as they are more divided over President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and national security. That’s according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for