Month: October 2021

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Parliament says it’s preparing legal action against the EU’s executive arm for failing to use its big guns following a Polish court decision that challenged the 27-nation bloc’s legal order. A Parliament statement Wednesday said its president has asked legal services to prepare a lawsuit

By HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation says it will spend $120 million to boost access to generic versions of drugmaker Merck’s antiviral COVID-19 pill for lower income countries, if the drug gets approved by regulators. The private foundation says it will use the funds to “support the range of

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State University is short of help and pleading with staff to volunteer in campus dining halls. The Lansing State Journal says MSU’s residential services department has already asked 132 full-time employees to work eight hours a week, but it’s apparently not enough. Vennie Gore, a senior vice president, says

By TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer A new Alzheimer’s drug from Biogen brought in only $300,000 in sales during its first full quarter on the market. It was a continuation of a slow debut complicated by coverage questions and doctor concerns. The infused drug has been hailed as a potential breakthrough treatment for a fatal

CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge has ordered R&B superstar R. Kelly to stand trial in Chicago on child pornography and obstruction of justice charges next year after the scheduled sentencing for his conviction in an earlier sex trafficking trial in New York. U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber appeared to have wanted the trial in

By TOM HAYS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — An associate of Rudy Giuliani has told a federal judge that he will not testify at his own trial. He’s facing charges alleging he used a Russian financier’s money to make donations to U.S. political candidates. Lev Parnas made the announcement on Wednesday in Manhattan a

ROME (AP) — Dozens of former flight attendants from defunct Italian airline Alitalia have stripped off their uniforms, wearing only undergarments in a protest in central Rome. Long financially ailing, Italy’s decades-old airline flew its last flight on Oct. 14. A new airline, ITA, bought the Alitalia brand but is taking on fewer than 3,000

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia has introduced COVID passes for indoor venues in late evening hours following weeks of surging infections and relatively low vaccination rates. Prime Minister Ana Brnabic on Wednesday said the new measure will take effect on Saturday and will be applied from 10 p.m. in bars, restaurants, nightclubs or any other

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Bitcoin stormed above $66,000 for the first time on Wednesday, riding a wave of excitement about how the financial establishment is increasingly accepting the digital currency’s rise. One bitcoin was valued at $66,096, as of 4:15 p.m. Eastern time, after earlier climbing as high as

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Companies are confronting demands by hourly workers on terms that often used to be non-negotiable: scheduling. That has meant pushing back on weekend, late night or holiday shifts. Hourly workers are taking a page from their white-collar peers who are restructuring their workdays to accommodate

COVINGTON, Ga. (AP) — Officials in Georgia say one worker was killed and two seriously injured when part of a bridge collapsed into a river during early demolition work. News outlets report that all three workers fell into the Yellow River from the Access Road bridge on Interstate 20 in Newton County, east of Atlanta.

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A military veteran best known as the helicopter pilot who was shot down and held prisoner in the 1993 “Black Hawk Down” incident is joining the U.S. Senate race in Alabama. Mike Durant is now the owner of an aerospace company in Huntsville. He announced his

By SARAH EL DEEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s state news agency reports the government has raised the price of fuel by about 25%. That effectively removes all subsidies on fuel products and prices them at market rate amid a worsening economic crisis. The new increase Wednesday brings the price of 20 liters (5

By BABACAR DIONE and CARLEY PETESCH Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal’s navy seized more than 2 tons of cocaine from a ship transporting the illegal substance off the coast of the West African nation. The navy said in a statement that five crew members were arrested from the vessel named La Rosa. The

By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The few mortal remains of a World War II British air gunner have been formally buried in a Tirana war cemetery, following their discovery last year at the site where his bomber crashed in Albania and their subsequent identification. Sergeant Peter Twiddy was laid to rest

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A think tank says Australia is the worst climate performer among comparable developed countries. The Climate Council’s report measures Australia’s progress since nations pledged in the 2015 Paris agreement to take action to limit global warming. It comes days ahead of a key U.N. conference in

By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Bruce (Xiaoyu) Liu of Canada has been named as the winner of the 40,000-euro ($45,000) first prize in the 18th Frederic Chopin international piano competition, a prestigious event that launches pianists’ world careers. The announcement from the jury came early Thursday just hours after Liu played

By JOHN MARSHALL Associated Press NEKOOSA, Wis. (AP) — A classic golf course — the Lido — is being resurrected 1,000 miles from the original with help from a video game and GPS-guided tractors. The Lido at Sand Valley Golf Resort in central Wisconsin might be the most ambitious project the golf course-developing Keiser family

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP) — A teenager held in the killing of a South Florida police officer has a lengthy criminal record. His arrest report says 18-year-old Jasen Banegas told police he was trying to kill himself to avoid returning to jail. Hollywood officer Yandy Chirino confronted Banegas after getting a call about a man breaking

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog fined Facebook 50.5 million pounds ($69.4 million) on Wednesday for violating rules during the UK investigation into the social media giant’s purchase of Giphy. The Competition and Markets Authority said Facebook failed to provide required information during the probe. It said it gave the platform multiple warnings and “considers

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been awarded the European Union’s top human rights prize, in a clear slap at President Vladimir Putin. In awarding the Sakharov Prize to Navalny, the European Parliament praised his “immense personal bravery.” The 45-year-old activist was poisoned with a nerve

By MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press More than a dozen Senate Democrats are imploring President Joe Biden and congressional leaders to keep a national paid family leave program in his sweeping social services and climate change package. In a letter Wednesday to Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 15 senators

By ZEKE MILLER and LINDSEY TANNER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Kids aged 5 to 11 will soon be able to get a COVID-19 shot at their pediatrician’s office, local pharmacy and potentially even their school. The White House is detailing plans Wednesday for the expected authorization of the Pfizer shot for younger children in

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel says it will increase the number of Palestinian workers it permits to enter its territory from the Gaza Strip. COGAT, the Israeli defense body in charge of Palestinian civilian affairs, said an additional 3,000 Gazans will be allowed into Israel, bringing the total of recently announced new permits to

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — With coronavirus cases rising in Britain, the government is urging millions of people to get booster vaccine shots. But it is resisting calls from medical experts to re-impose mandatory masks and other measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. The U.K. recorded almost 50,000 new infections on

By BRYNN ANDERSON and KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Police in Atlanta say a woman is dead and a suspected gunman has been killed inside a high-rise apartment after a shootout with officers. They say officers were met with gunfire when they responded to reports of a shooting around 3:15 a.m. on Wednesday.