Month: October 2021

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — Greece has agreed to shelter a group of 35 Afghan human rights workers and their families following a short stay in neighboring North Macedonia. North Macedonia’s government said the 35 had been transported to Greece, the latest European Union country to take in Afghans from the Balkan republic. Ireland and

By TOM HAYS and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A prosecutor has told jurors at the trial of an associate of Rudy Giuliani that the defendant hatched a scheme to funnel $1 million in funds from a wealthy Russian financier into U.S. elections. An assistant U.S. attorney said in closing arguments Thursday

CLARE, Mich. (AP) — Authorities have arrested a woman whom they had been seeking in the deaths of four people in central Michigan. The Mount Pleasant Morning Sun reports that the Clare County sheriff said 54-year-old Judy Boyer was taken into custody Thursday morning. Authorities had been looking for Boyer, 54, since Wednesday evening, saying

PARIS (AP) — The world’s biggest triceratops skeleton, known as “Big John,” has been sold for 6.6 million euros ($7.7 million) to a private collector at a Paris auction house. The enormous skeleton, estimated to be over 66 million years old, was found in 2014 in South Dakota. The triceratops is known for its three

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian prosecutors have ordered a man to face trial who appeared to steal a journalist’s phone while it was livestreaming outside the capital Cairo. The country’s public prosecutor said on Wednesday that the man, who was caught on video grabbing the phone out of the journalist’s hands while riding on a motorbike

By AL-HADJI KUDRA MALIRO Associated Press BENI, Congo (AP) — At least 16 people were killed and several others kidnapped by rebels in Congo’s east, as violence continues to rise in the region.  Army spokesman Capt. Anthony Mwalushayi says the attack, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the town of Beni, was carried out by

By DREW COSTLEY AP Science Writer Tens of billions of dollars for U.S. environmental justice initiatives originally proposed by Democratic leaders in a $3.5 trillion domestic spending package now hang in the balance as they decide how to trim the bill to $2 trillion. Investments in the Build Back Better plan included expanding access to

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli leaders have recommended reopening the country to fully vaccinated tourists beginning on Nov. 1. The decision, which still needs formal government approval, comes a year and a half after Israel closed its borders to most foreign visitors due to the global coronavirus pandemic. Israel is emerging from a fourth wave of

By ALAN FRAM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are struggling to enact President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda, and they’re finding out that even when a party’s goals may be popular, that doesn’t ensure they’ll become law or win over voters. Polls show the public likes health care, education and other initiatives proposed for the

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — A driver was behind the wheel when a Tesla electric car crashed and burned last April near Houston, killing two men, neither of whom was found in the driver’s seat. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board announced the findings in an investigative report released Thursday on

PADUCAH, Ky. (AP) — A man who was charged by federal prosecutors with producing child pornography after former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin commuted his state sex crime convictions has entered a guilty plea. News outlets report 27-year-old Dayton Jones pleaded guilty Wednesday to the charge during a proceeding in federal court in Paducah. A plea

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Human rights experts working with the United Nations have asked Pakistan to quickly release a Christian man who was detained two years ago on alleged blasphemy charges. They said Stephen Masih is mentally ill and has yet to face trial. In Thursday’s statement, the U.N.-affiliated experts said

By JULIE WATSON, ELLEN KNICKMEYER and NOMAAN MERCHANT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is laying out the heightened security threats, rising tensions and increased refugee flows facing the U.S. as the climate warms. One of the federal climate assessments released Thursday calls on the U.S. to do much more to track and

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes bounced back in September to their strongest pace since January as worries about higher mortgage rates motivated buyers to get off the sidelines. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that existing homes sales rose 7% last month from August to a seasonally-adjusted

MCDONOUGH, Ga. (AP) — A Kentucky woman is accused of threatening a Georgia judge and his family after he dismissed a lawsuit that sought to review absentee ballots from the 2020 election to see if any were fraudulent. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the Henry County Sheriff’s Office says 42-year-old Erin Northup is accused of leaving

BERLIN (AP) — A German report says elaborate tax evasion schemes have cost some of the world’s major treasuries a total of at least $175 billion in lost revenue over the past two decades. The report Thursday coordinated by German outlet Correctiv followed up on a 2018 story that had put the damage at around

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish media reports say President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized the ambassadors of 10 countries over their call for the release of a jailed philanthropist, calling their demand “irresponsible.” Erdogan reportedly suggested that the envoys, including those from the U.S., Germany and France, were not welcome in Turkey, according to the Haberturk

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials say a salmonella outbreak tied to onions has sickened more than 650 people in 37 states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says at least 129 people have been hospitalized. No one has died. Nearly all of the illnesses were reported

NOHA ELHENNAWY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Sudan’s capital of Khartoum demanding a fully civilian government. The relationship between military generals and pro-democracy groups has deteriorated in recent weeks over the country’s future. Sudan has been ruled by an interim, civilian-military government since 2019. The military

ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta rapper Young Thug says that an apartment concierge let an unknown person take his Louis Vuitton bag holding jewelry, money and about 200 unreleased songs. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the performer last week sued the company that manages the apartment complex and its concierge company. The lawsuit says a concierge

DETROIT (AP) — Volvo is recalling another 195,000 vehicles in the U.S. because the front driver’s air bags could explode and send shrapnel into the cabin. It’s the company’s third U.S. recall for the issue with air bag inflators made by supplier ZF/TRW. It stems from the death of an unidentified U.S. driver. In all,

By DALATOU MAMANE Associated Press NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Six members of Niger’s national guard have been killed and several others were injured and are missing after an armed attack on a convoy in the country’s western Tillaberi region. The government says that rebels armed with rifles and rocket launchers and riding motorcycles intercepted the

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The University of Missouri-Columbia has suspended all fraternity activities after an alcohol-filled party ended with a freshman being taken to a hospital. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that an initial investigation found that several members of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity were believed to have consumed significant amounts of alcohol during

By STEPHEN McGRATH Associated Press BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania’s president has nominated a former army general to be prime minister in the latest attempt to end a political crisis amid a coronavirus surge that is stretching the country’s health care system to capacity. After holding consultations with Romania’s parliamentary parties, President Klaus Iohannis nominated

ISTANBUL (AP) — The Turkish lira has plunged to a record low against the U.S. dollar after a harsher-than-expected cut in interest rates. The decision Thursday by the Central Bank’s monetary committee to cut the rate from 18% to 16% surprised analysts. The lira dropped to 9.45 to the dollar, compounding a long run of

NEW YORK (AP) — Rosamund Pike is already starring in the Amazon Prime Video based on Robert Jordan’s “The Wheel of Time” books. She’s also taken on the epic task of narrating the first of the “Wheel of Time” novels, “The Eye of the World.” Macmillan Audio announced Thursday that the audiobook comes out Nov.

By MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The two men running to become New York City’s next mayor offered starkly different visions at their first debate about how to lead the nation’s largest city out of the pandemic, improve public safety and gird the city of 8.8 million people for more powerful

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria’s Justice Ministry says authorities have executed 24 people for igniting deadly wildfires last year. The blazes left three people dead and burned thousands of hectares (acres) of forests. The publicized executions of a large group of people is rare in war-torn Syria. The Justice Ministry called the two dozen executed

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week to a new low point since the pandemic erupted, evidence that layoffs are declining as companies hold onto workers. Unemployment claims dropped 6,000 to 290,000 last week, the third straight drop, the Labor Department said