Month: October 2021

By GARY FIELDS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland is directing the FBI and U.S. attorneys to meet with federal, state and local law enforcement to address the increasing threats targeting school board members, teachers and other employees in the nation’s public schools. Last week the National School Boards Association asked President

By MIKE HOUSEHOLDER Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Aretha Franklin was given a bit of R-E-S-P-E-C-T when a post office in her hometown of Detroit was named after the late singer. Members of Franklin’s family as well as postal and elected officials visited the former Fox Creek post office to celebrate the name change honoring

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An aspiring actor has pleaded guilty to running a massive Ponzi scheme that raised at least $650 million from investors in phony Hollywood film licensing deals. Zachary Horwitz pleaded guilty Monday in Los Angeles to federal securities fraud. Prosecutors say Horwitz secured loans for his film company by falsely claiming the

By JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Haiti’s top diplomat is imploring the United Nations Security Council for help tackling gang violence and crime. Foreign Minister Claude Joseph said Monday that the council’s existing political mission in Haiti needs to focus on strengthening security and law enforcement institutions. He spoke after a summer

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press PARIS (AP) — The U.N.’s child protection agency is urging governments to pour more money and resources into preserving the mental well-being of children and adolescents. UNICEF is releasing a report Tuesday that sounds alarms about blows to mental health from the COVID-19 pandemic that have hit poor and vulnerable

By CEDAR ATTANASIO Associated Press / Report for America SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — In a story published October 4, 2021, about New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s speech to a group of oil and gas executives, The Associated Press erroneously reported about the governor’s regulation of methane production sites in her state. The regulations

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — An independent investigator will look into whether Federal Reserve officials broke the law with financial trades last year that have come under congressional scrutiny and sharp criticism from outside the central bank. The Fed said its independent Office of the Inspector General will investigate whether the

By AMY BETH HANSON Associated Press HELENA, Mont. (AP) — An Illinois law firm has filed lawsuits against Amtrak and BNSF Railway on behalf of seven passengers who were on an Amtrak train that derailed in Montana last month, killing three people and injuring dozens of others. Clifford Law Offices sued Monday in federal court

DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines has become the latest U.S. airline to say that it will require its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The Dallas-based company said its workers must be fully vaccinated by Dec. 8 in order to continue working at the airline. Employees can seek approval to skip the shots due to

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The International Monetary Fund says its board of directors has been briefed by attorneys from the law firm whose investigation found thatcurrent IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva pressured World Bank employees to alter data affecting the business rankings of China and other nations. The IMF said

SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle’s police oversight office says the abandonment of a precinct by officers during last summer’s racial justice protests didn’t violate laws or departmental policies. The Office of Police Accountability on Monday released its findings from a monthslong investigation into the abandonment of the precinct on June 8, 2020, after 10 days of

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A regulatory commission in Mexico has fined three manufacturers of tampons and diapers just over $15 million for allegedly conspiring to fix prices for the products. Mexico’s Commission on Economic Competition said Monday the price-fixing probably cost consumers about $73 million in artificially inflated prices. The three companies did not respond

By ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government is outlining procedures for employees to request medical or religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccinations. Just weeks remain before federal workers must be vaccinated against COVID-19 to comply with President Joe Biden’s mandate. The Office of Management and Budget released the new guidance Monday afternoon

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas agency has approved a request that George Floyd be granted a posthumous pardon for a 2004 drug arrest made by a now-indicted ex-Houston police officer whose case history is under scrutiny following a deadly drug raid. Monday’s unanimous recommendation by the seven member Texas

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma judge has temporarily blocked two new anti-abortion laws from taking effect next month, including a measure that would prevent abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. But District Judge Cindy Truong on Monday ruled that she would allow three other ones to take effect

By AMY TAXIN Associated Press HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Since a pipeline spilled crude off the California coast this weekend, just a handful of oiled birds have been recovered in what environmental advocates said could be a hopeful sign for the region’s wildlife. But they say it’s too soon to know how many seabirds,

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge has ruled a Rudy Giuliani associate facing trial next week in New York City for allegedly making illegal campaign contributions to U.S. politicians is too poor to pay his own lodging and transportation. Judge J. Paul Oetken ordered taxpayers to pick up the tab for Lev Parnas’ hotel room

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Fifteen years and five films later, Daniel Craig’s tenure as 007 is coming to a close. “No Time to Die,” which opens in the U.S. on Friday after a 16-month delay due to the pandemic, is the last hurrah in Craig’s celebrated Bond era —

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Fifteen years and five films later, Daniel Craig’s tenure as 007 is coming to a close. “No Time to Die,” which opens in the U.S. on Friday after a 16-month delay due to the pandemic, is the last hurrah in Craig’s celebrated Bond era —

By JULIE WATSON Associated Press SAN DIEGO (AP) — Refugee admissions to the United States fell to a record low during the 2021 budget year despite President Joe Biden’s pledge to bring back the program that was decimated by the Trump administration. A total of 11,445 refugees were allowed into the United States during the

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer Film and television production in North America is in jeopardy of coming to a standstill after its behind-the-scenes workers overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike for the first time in its 128-year history. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees said Monday that of nearly 99% of registered members

By MARK THIESSEN Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A New York mother and son have been charged with theft in aiding the disappearance of a laptop belonging to the staff of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during the Jan. 6 insurrection. The arrest came months after the FBI initially raided a home for the computer