Month: August 2021

LONDON (AP) — French authorities say an undocumented migrant has been airlifted to hospital from the English Channel after a boat carrying about 40 people trying to reach the U.K. started to sink. A joint French-Belgian search and rescue effort began Thursday after a cargo ship reported that the boat was in difficulty off the

By BRIAN SLODYSKO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul waited more than a year to disclose that his wife bought stock in a company that makes a COVID-19 treatment. It’s an investment that was made after Congress was briefed on the threat of the virus but before the public was largely aware

By DAVID RISING Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — The former longtime military ruler of Myanmar, Than Shwe, has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and is expected to remain hospitalized for two weeks. A hospital employee says the 88-year-old was admitted to a military hospital along with his wife about three or four days ago after they

BERLIN (AP) — Victims of communism in East Germany have criticized the decision to grant electric automaker Tesla a subsidy of almost $10 million from a trust fund managing what’s left of the regime’s fortune. German media reported that the state of Brandenburg is allocating the funds to pay for infrastructure costs related to the

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s military says an accidental explosion at the country’s key weapons-producing factory has killed at least three employees and wounded two. The military said in a statement that the explosion on Thursday took place at one of the plants of the Pakistan Ordnance Factories that is located about 40 kilometers, or 25

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The fourth hurricane of the eastern Pacific season has formed far off the coast of Mexico, but it’s not expected to directly threaten land. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Linda had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph) Thursday morning while centered about 365 miles (590 kilometers) southwest

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese mayor has apologized for biting the Olympic gold medal of a softball player who had paid a courtesy visit after Japan beat the United States in the final. Nagoya mayor Takashi Kawamura had praised pitcher Miu Goto during the Aug. 4 visit, but his eyes

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — The governor of Tunisia’s Tozeur region says that six migrants, including four children, have died of thirst in Tunisia’s part of the Sahara Desert near the border with Algeria. The migrants from sub-Saharan Africa died amid the heat wave currently baking Tunisia and the entire Mediterannean region, Aymen Béjaoui told a

By MATT SEDENSKY AP National Writer Sexual harassment allegations cost New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo his job. Now, many want to see him answer for a scandal that cut to the heart of his reputation as a pandemic hero and may have had life-and-death consequences — his administration’s handling of outbreaks in nursing homes. Families

By ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ Associated Press HAVANA (AP) — Tropical depression Fred is heading for a drenching of Cuba and the Bahamas on a forecast track that would carry it toward South Florida as a tropical storm by Saturday. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says the main threat to the U.S. appears to be heavy rains

SANDSUKY, Ohio (AP) — A NASA research facility in Ohio has been renamed after astronaut Neil Armstrong. The state’s U.S. senators led the efforts to change the name of the NASA Plum Brook Station in Sandusky to the Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility. Armstrong was born and grew up in Ohio and and returned shortly

NEW YORK (AP) — Rachel Maddow is contributing a foreword to “Pegasus,” a book by two Paris-based investigative reporters on the phone malware allegedly used by governments to monitor and sometimes attack journalists, human rights activists and lawyers among others. Authors Laurent Richard and Sandrine Rigaud run Forbidden Stories, a nonprofit journalism organization which last

By KRISTIN M. HALL AP Entertainment Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — More than a year ago, country pop duo Dan + Shay were just beginning their first headlining arena tour when COVID-19 started impacting the United States. After just three shows, the Grammy-winning pair put their tour on hold, but they thought it would be

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal Department of Health and Human Services is requiring employees who provide care for patients to get their COVID-19 shots. Thursday’s order from HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra will affect more than 25,000 clinicians, researchers, contractors, trainees and volunteers with the National Institutes of Health, the Indian

NEW ROADS, La. (AP) — A Louisiana sheriff says he’s investigating after three children riding on tubes on a waterway were struck and injured by a pontoon boat. Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff Rene Thibodeaux tells WBRZ-TV the occupants of the boat all fled after the Aug. 8 crash. Two of the children required hospital treatment.

By JANET McCONNAUGHEY and JIM MUSTIAN Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal narcotics agent known as the “white devil” has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for several corruption counts. Chad Scott was found guilty of stealing money from suspects, falsifying government records and committing perjury during a federal trial. His sentencing

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s governing parties made an unusual show of solidarity with their main challengers Thursday by denouncing an advertising campaign targeting the environmentalist Greens. The ads that appeared in dozens of cities less than two months before the country’s national election feature a wilted version of the Green party’s sunflower symbol, phrases such

NEWLAND, N.C. (AP) — Court documents say a woman whose body was found buried in concrete in the basement of her western North Carolina home had fired her caretaker in June, but neighbors said the former caretaker was still living in the woman’s home until late July. WSOC-TV reports that search warrants state Elizabeth Carserino

By TERRY TANG Associated Press A new report has found the frequency of anti-Asian incidents — from taunts to assaults — reported in the U.S. so far this year seems poised to surpass last year, despite months of political and social activism. Stop AAPI Hate, a national coalition, has become the authority on gathering data

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria’s political crisis has taken a new twist after an anti-establishment party that narrowly won last month’s elections gave back its mandate to form a government. The country now appears headed for yet another election. The move by the There is Such a People party of popular TV entertainer Slavi Trifonov

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Thousands are expected to attend the opening Thursday of the 10-day multi-national LGBT+ festival that will include a global pride event in southern Sweden and a 22-sports tournament in nearby Copenhagen. The two-in-one event — Copenhagen 2021 — combines World Pride and EuroGames where some 2,000 athletes from more than 50

MIAMI (AP) — A private bidder is willing to offering up to $120 million to purchase the Miami-area oceanfront property where the collapsed Champlain Towers South building once stood. The offer was revealed Wednesday during a hearing before Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman. He’s overseeing the dozens of lawsuits that have been filed since the condominium

By KAREN MATTHEWS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul says she plans to run for governor in her own right after serving out the rest of Andrew Cuomo’s term. Hochul told NBC’s “Today” show on Thursday that she fully expects to run for governor because she is “the most prepared person”

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation at the wholesale level jumped a higher-than-expected 1% in July, disappointing hopes for a slowdown in price increases. The Labor Department reported Thursday that the July gain in its producer price index, which measures price pressures before they reach consumers, matched the June increase with

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell for a third straight time last week, the latest sign that employers are laying off fewer people as they struggle to fill a record number of open jobs and meet a surge in consumer demand. Thursday’s report from