Month: August 2021

By REGINA GARCIA CANO and FABIOLA SANCHEZ Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — The government of Venezuela and its opposition have met for the first time in two years to look for a change in the South American nation’s prolonged political standoff. Both sides signed a memorandum of understanding Friday in Mexico City for talks

By MARIA VERZA Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Walking for hours through the gritty streets in the center of Mexico City, you can hear the daily urban soundtrack. It’s hard to imagine that some of these streets trace the outline of what was, five centuries ago, Tenochtitlan, where a great civilization flourished. The Aztec

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand has long been associated with “The Lord of the Rings” but with the filming of a major new television series suddenly snatched away, the nation has become more like Mordor than the Shire for hundreds of workers. In a major blow to the

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Sports Writer DYERSVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Tim Anderson hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning into the cornfield to end the Field of Dreams game in cinematic fashion. The Chicago White Sox outslugged the New York Yankees 9-8 in the first Major League Baseball game in Iowa. Aaron Judge and

By LAURAN NEERGAARD and MATTHEW PERRONE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health regulators have authorized an extra dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines in people with weakened immune systems to better protect them from the virus. The announcement Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration applies to millions of Americans who take

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Samsung leader Lee Jae-yong walked out of prison a year early in a parole decision demonstrating the conglomerate’s outsized influence in South Korea as well as continuing leniency for bosses who commit corporate corruption. Lee bowed in apology over the anger ignited by his crimes,

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — A Texas death-row inmate has sued state prison officials to allow his pastor to lay hands on him as he dies from a lethal injection. John Henry Ramirez is scheduled to be put to death in the Texas death chamber on Sept. 8. His attorneys filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday

By ROB GILLIES Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — A source familiar with the plan told The Associated Press Canadian special forces will deploy to Afghanistan where Canadian staff in the Kabul embassy will be evacuated before closing. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

By STEPHEN HAWKINS AP Sports Writer The NCAA infractions committee decided against punishing Baylor for its mishandling of sexual assault allegations against athletes for a simple reason: Its rules don’t allow it. It was a jarring decision, even for members of the committee. The infractions committee says the question was whether athletes were given an

By DAVE CAMPBELL AP Sports Writer DYERSVILLE, Iowa (AP) — The New York Yankees, the Chicago White Sox and fans all over were in awe at the scene at the Field of Dreams game. The two teams were picked to play among the cornfields, next to the filming site of the 1989 movie in Dyersville,

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s Asian population grew by 25% in the past decade, making it the fastest growing ethnic group in the nation’s most populous state, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau released Thursday. California’s white population plummeted by 24% between 2010 and 2020, confirming California

By JACQUES BILLEAUD Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams has been given a one-day suspension after lawyers hired by the city issued a report that heavily criticized her agency’s role in a now-discredited gang case filed against demonstrators at a protest against police brutality. The report says the decision to charge

LONDON (AP) — Police in southwest England say six people were killed, including the suspected shooter, in the city of Plymouth in a “serious firearms incident” that wasn’t terror-related. Devon and Cornwall Police said in a statement on Twitter late Thursday that several other casualties were receiving treatment following the shooting. They declared a “critical

DESTIN, Fla. (AP) — Officials say a free diver’s body has been recovered from the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida Panhandle. The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office says dive team members found the 31-year old man’s body Thursday in about 75 feet of water near a reef about two miles southwest of Destin Pass. The

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Washington’s Supreme Court has issued a key decision that helps protect people who are living in their vehicles from having them towed. In a case that drew widespread attention amid Seattle’s housing crisis, the justices held that it was unconstitutionally excessive for the city to impound a

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is blocking part of New York’s moratorium on evictions, put into effect because of the coronavirus pandemic, less than a month before it is supposed to expire anyway. The legal issue is distinct from those surrounding a new moratorium that applies in most of the country that the Centers

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Texas’ most populous county has joined the legal battle by local officials seeking to override Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates and institute protections against COVID-19 as hospitals around the state continue to swell with patients sickened by the virus.  Harris County, where Houston is

By LYNN ELBER AP Television Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Amid the ruckus over the new host of “Jeopardy!”, contestant Matt Amodio has methodically scooped up resounding victories and a place in the quiz show’s hall of fame. The Yale University doctoral candidate in computer science had landed high on the list of all-time top

PORT-AU-PRINCE (AP) — Haitian authorities have postponed elections to choose the successor to assassinated President Jovenel Moïse until Nov. 7. Electoral council spokesman Richard Dumel confirmed Thursday that the nine-member body had agreed the day before the new date for the elections, which were originally to be held Sept. 26. He did not say why

By JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A jury has sentenced a man to death for fatally shooting a Tennessee sheriff’s deputy in 2018 before setting fire to his patrol car with his body inside. Jurors handed down the sentence Thursday. Steven Wiggins was found guilty last week of 10 charges in the

By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Prosecutors have cleared three Green Bay police officers who killed a man who opened fire at a tribal casino restaurant in May. The state Department of Justice released a decision Thursday from Brown County District Attorney David Lasee not to charge Sgt. Brian Jordan, Officer MaKayla

By KEVIN McGILL and REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — People who want to go into bars, restaurants, gyms, music halls or other indoor venues in New Orleans will soon have to show proof of vaccination against the coronavirus or a recent negative test. Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced the new requirement Thursday. It’s

By ACACIA CORONADO Report for America/Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Four of the nation’s 10 fastest-growing municipalities are suburbs of Texas’ big cities, census data released Thursday shows, meaning the second largest state in the U.S. could play a big part in the redistricting battle for control of Congress. Texas also grew less white

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD AP Political Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Caitlyn Jenner kicked off a monthlong recall campaign tour by raising new questions about her motive for launching her bid to become California’s next governor. On a visit to Los Angeles, the former Olympian and reality TV personality sidestepped questions about whether she had