Month: October 2021

NEW YORK (AP) — Officials have announced that New York City’s public libraries will no longer charge late fees and will waive existing fines for overdue books and other materials. Late fees had already been suspended since March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The new policy covers the New York Public Library, the Brooklyn

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — With a laugh, Dave Grohl calls himself “the labrador of rock ’n’ roll.” Who doesn’t like labs? And in the rock world, few current artists have been so accepted into the fraternity so completely as the Foo Fighters frontman. He dines with Paul McCartney, records

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization says it’s still reviewing data about Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine as part of hopes that it can be approved for emergency use against the coronavirus, but no decision is imminent. The clarification comes after Russia’s Health Minister Mikhail Murashko in recent days said

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican prosecutor has conceded procedural errors in his fraud and corruption investigation into the Holy See’s finances and is offering to remedy them by essentially starting over. Lawyers for the 10 defendants have argued the mistakes were so grave as to render the indictment void.

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press MANCHESTER, England (AP) — The British government says it will bring in tough new laws against disruptive protesters after environmental campaigners blocked roads, highways and bridges to highlight climate change. Home Secretary Priti Patel said the government would “close down the legal loopholes” used by protesters, whom she labeled “criminals.”

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the International Monetary Fund says the agency is trimming its forecast for global growth this year. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Tuesday cited rising risks of inflation, debt and a divergence in growth prospects between nations with access to the coronavirus vaccines

By STAN CHOE NEW YORK (AP) — It’s one of the downsides of apps that make things like ordering food or buying stocks and cryptocurrencies easier: What happens when something goes wrong? It’s often a frustrating chase, tapping through menu after menu in hopes of reaching a person to fix the problem. It’s also something

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanian Prime Minister Florin Citu has been ousted after a no-confidence motion in his government passed overwhelmingly, deepening an ongoing political crisis. The motion censure was filed by the opposition Social Democrat Party and supported by City’s former coalition partner USR-Plus and a far-right party. The fall of the government caps

BERLIN (AP) — A major shipping industry group says its members will aim for “net-zero” carbon emissions by 2050. The current target set by the United Nations’ maritime agency is to reduce emissions from international shipping by 50% by 2050. The International Chamber of Shipping said Tuesday that it has submitted a proposal to the

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Oct. 18 remains the date she is likely to run out of resources to stave off an unprecedented default on the nation’s debt without congressional action to raise the debt limit. She rejected the idea of minting a $1 trillion

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer WARREN, Mich. (AP) — General Motors says it’s building a huge new electric vehicle battery lab in Michigan. There scientists will work on chemistry to cut costs 60% over current vehicles and allow people to travel 500 to 600 miles per charge. Structural steel already is in place for

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Olympic gold medalist Caster Semenya is working on a book about her triumphs as a runner and her experiences as an intersex woman with naturally high testosterone levels. That includes her battles to be eligible for competition. The memoir “Silence All the Noise” does not

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael J. Fox will receive an honorary AARP award for his work through his charity that advocates for Parkinson’s research. The organization announced Tuesday that Fox will receive the honorary AARP Purpose Prize award during a virtual ceremony on Dec 15. The Emmy-winning actor,

BERLIN (AP) — A court says that the 96-year-old former secretary for the Stutthof concentration camp’s SS commander has been released from detention. The German woman was picked up by police on Thursday, a few hours after leaving her home in Hamburg in a taxi on the morning her trial on more than 11,000 counts

LONDON (AP) — London’s fire brigade says an incident at Westminster subway station, which saw smoke billowing out from an electrical room in the basement, has been brought under control. In a statement Tuesday, the London Fire Brigade said six fire engines and around 40 firefighters were involved at the incident at the subway station

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — An ethnic Serb has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in Kosovo after being convicted of war crimes, including involvement in a massacre during the 1998-1999 war. The court in Pristina handed down the ruling against the man on Tuesday. He was arrested in 2019 and was identified only by

By DANICA KIRKA and MATTHEW PERRONE Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to authorize the emergency use of an antibody treatment to prevent COVID-19. The company said Tuesday that the treatment would be the first long-acting antibody combination to receive an emergency use authorization for

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The president of North Macedonia is making the country’s first state visit to Greece. President Stevo Pendarovski met in Athens with Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Tuesday. Pendarovski is seeking support for North Macedonia’s stalled effort to join the European Union. The former Yugoslav republic of

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The son and namesake of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos has announced he would seek the presidency in next year’s elections in what activists say is an attempt to whitewash a dark period in the country’s history marked by human rights atrocities. Former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. announced his

By SARA RATHNER of NerdWallet Tips for getting rich are everywhere. Friends brag about their latest money moves at parties, while social media influencers tout ways to gain wealth. You might have a little fear of missing out if you don’t have your own exciting financial news to share. But growing your net worth doesn’t

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has removed Anguilla, Dominica and Seychelles from its tax haven blacklist. EU finance ministers took the move Tuesday amid an uproar over the Pandora Papers revelations about the financial activities of the global elite. Anguilla, Dominica and Seychelles were placed on the list because they didn’t meet the EU’s

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRDO CASTLE, Slovenia (AP) — European Union leaders met for the first time Tuesday since the messy Western troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and France’s loss of a multi-billion dollar submarine deal with Australia. The EU argues that those events have exposed Europe’s need for more autonomy on defense. The dinner

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Black couple who escaped slavery in the U.S. state of Georgia and fled to Britain to campaign for abolition have been honored with a historic marker on their home in London. English Heritage on Tuesday marked the accomplishments of Ellen and William Craft with a blue plaque

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Johnson & Johnson has asked U.S. regulators to allow booster shots of its COVID-19 vaccine as the U.S. government moves toward shoring up protection in more vaccinated Americans. J&J said Tuesday it filed data with the Food and Drug Administration on giving a booster dose between

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The European Union’s police agency says law enforcement authorities clamping down on the exploitation of agricultural workers raided hundreds of vineyards and farms across Europe last month. Europol said Tuesday it helped coordinate the inspections. Eight suspects were arrested in France and four in Spain; a total of 54 suspected

PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech Republic has signed a deal to buy a new air defense system for its military from the Israeli government. The SPYDER system is made by the Israeli state-run company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. It’s capable of providing protection against aircraft, helicopters, bombers, cruise missiles and other weapons. The Czech

By DAVID RISING and CHALIDA EKVITTAYAVECHNUKUL Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — As floodwaters persist in areas of northern and central Thailand and have started to hit low-lying areas in the capital, officials are looking warily ahead to developing storms later this month. The Royal Irrigation Department was forced this week to start releasing water from

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates has announced plans to send a probe to land on an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter to collect data on the origins of the universe. The announcement on Tuesday marks the latest project in the oil-rich federation’s ambitious space program.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel says archaeologists have found a rare ancient toilet in Jerusalem dating back more than 2,700 years, when private bathrooms were a luxury in the holy city. The Israeli Antiquities Authority said Tuesday that the smooth, carved limestone toilet was found in a rectangular cabin that was part of a sprawling mansion

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish prosecutors have issued an international search warrant for a tenant in an apartment building in Sweden’s second-largest city after an explosion and a fire left 16 people injured last month. Authorities said the man is suspected of attempted murder, arson and general destruction. They also said Tuesday that he should be