Month: August 2021

SYDNEY (AP) — Australia’s most populous state has reported a record 633 new infections as concerns grew about the delta variant’s spread beyond Sydney. The state’s chief health officer said: “I can’t express enough my level of concern at these rising numbers of cases.” Infections were reported in towns in the west, north and central

By MARK BAKER Associated Press SYDNEY (AP) — Australia-based Associated Press photographer Mark Baker is spending 14 days in mandatory hotel quarantine after returning home to Sydney after covering the Tokyo Olympics. Baker says while the food is grim, the staff has been wonderful. He spends much of his time documenting the world outside his

By BOB CHRISTIE Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is upping the pressure on the growing number of public school districts defying a state ban on mask mandates as they try to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The Republican governor announced Tuesday that schools won’t get any cash from a $163

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian officials say at least 1,150 people fled their homes in the country’s Choco province over the weekend to escape fighting between leftist insurgents and a paramilitary group that is expanding its influence in the region. The nation’s Human Rights Ombudsman said Tuesday that the clash involved armed members of the

HOUSTON (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped a murder charge against a Houston police officer for his role in a fraudulent drug raid that left two homeowners dead. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said Tuesday that the case against Officer Felipe Gallegos would be re-presented to the grand jury. That’s after concerns arose about the

By LEAH WILLINGHAM Associated Press/Report for America JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Missisippi, one of the nation’s least vaccinated states, has opened its second field hospital in days to treat a surge of coronavirus patients. The Christian charity relief group Samaritan’s Purse arrived in Mississippi has brought in more than 50 medical professionals and set up

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — A former Nevada prison inmate was sentenced Tuesday to three consecutive life sentences in the long-unsolved 1984 hammer killings of three Colorado family members, including a 7-year-old girl, inside their suburban Denver home. Sixty-one-year-old Alex Ewing was convicted Aug. 6 of first-degree murder after a two-day trial in which prosecutors contended

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Treasury Department is releasing a shipment of tiles that were intended for a northern Virginia mosque but were confiscated at Dulles International Airport after they were determined to have violated sanctions on Iran. Word of the release came through the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which released a letter from the

By JAMIE STENGLE and JULIE WATSON Associated Press DALLAS (AP) — Across the U.S., the agencies that resettle refugees and volunteers are scrambling to help Afghan citizens who are fleeing their country after helping the U.S. during the 20-year war there. Russell Smith, CEO of Refugee Services of Texas, said they would typically get a

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peru’s foreign secretary has resigned amid criticism for comments he made about terrorism in the country in the late 20th century, leaving the new government of President Pedro Castillo less than a month after it assumed power. The presidency’s press office said in a statement that Foreign Affairs Secretary Héctor Béjar

NEW YORK (AP) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo has granted clemency to 10 people in his last days in office. Cuomo has issued pardons and clemencies on several occasions in recent years, with many of the pardons going to immigrants facing deportation, where a pardon could be beneficial to their attempts to be allowed to remain

ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) — Nearly 30 years after an infant girl’s stabbed body was found floating on a South Carolina river, authorities have announced the arrest of the child’s mother in connection with the death.  News outlets report 48-year-old Stacy Michelle Costner Rabon, of Rock Hill, South Carolina, faces a charge of homicide by

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The embattled chair of the Minnesota Republican Party says she won’t resign amid the uproar over the indictment of a major GOP donor on sex-trafficking charges. Jennifer Carnahan said on KNSI and WCCO Radio that the people calling for her ouster are the same ones who opposed

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Kingdom is calling for an immediate and sustained pause in clashes and unrest that have followed the military takeover in Myanmar in order to allow vaccinations against a third wave of COVID-19 that is ravaging the country. Britain’s deputy U.N. ambassador told reporters

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — As the new school year begins for Texas students, at least four school districts have had to temporarily close campuses due to COVID-19 outbreaks. The shutdowns are taking place as more school districts and communities continue this week to defy Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask

By JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press CLEVELAND (AP) — A major Thai asphalt company has been implicated for money laundering in a criminal complaint against a Miami businessman accused of violating U.S. sanctions for doing maintenance work on Venezuela’s fleet of Russian fighter jets. Jorge Nobrega was arrested Sunday at Miami’s international airport. A criminal complaint

By CARLA K. JOHNSON AP Medical Writer U.S. health officials may soon recommend COVID-19 booster shots for fully vaccinated Americans. While many details remain unclear, it’s common for protection from vaccines to decrease over time. Researchers have been monitoring the performance of the COVID-19 vaccines to see how long protection lasts and to understand when

BY ALAN FRAM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Democrats are planning House votes next week on a budget resolution that would clear a path for future passage of the party’s ambitious plans for social and environment programs. And that suggests a showdown ahead with rebellious party moderates. Nine centrist Democrats have said they’ll vote

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina lawmakers have finalized legislation to raise the minimum age to get married in the state from 14 or 16. The Senate voted unanimously on Tuesday to accept House changes to the measure, which now goes to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper for his expected

By MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press After five frustrating years of mire and bureaucratic delays, Bahaudin Mujtaba and wife Lisa had hoped this year to finally bring the 10-year-old Afghan boy they’re adopting to their home in Florida for a chance at a different future. But with the Taliban’s rapid takeover of Afghanistan over the

By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — House Democrats are offering a new proposal to update the landmark Voting Rights Act. The bill from Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama seeks to restore a key provision of the federal law that compelled states with a history of discrimination to undergo a federal review before

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated trends in how people are watching television differently. A study from Hub Entertainment Research found that the percentage of people who paid to watch a specific movie or television show at least once a week in June was essentially double what

By PAUL J. WEBER Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has tested positive for COVID-19. His office said Tuesday that Abbot is in good health and experiencing no symptoms. Spokesman Mark Miner says Abbott is isolating in the governor’s mansion in Austin and receiving monoclonal antibody treatment. Abbott was vaccinated