Month: October 2021

By ARNO PEDRAM Associated Press CALAIS, France (AP) — Young Sudanese men who escaped war in their country now spend their days in the French port of Calais, trying to jump onto moving trucks bound for Britain. Most attempts fail, but they’ve come this far and aren’t giving up. Politicians on both sides of the

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban is turning to the financial managers of the former government for help steering the nation’s battered economy away from the brink. Do your jobs, the Taliban told the experts, because we can’t. Officials from the Finance Ministry and the banks went back to

By RICHARD E. LAPCHICK For The Associated Press Richard E. Lapchick shares some of the backlash his family felt that was directed at his father for signing the first Black player to an NBA contract. Lapchick directs the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida. His father, Joe Lapchick,

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli archaeologists say a scuba diver has salvaged an ancient sword off the country’s Mediterranean coast that experts say dates back to the Crusaders. Israel’s Antiquities Authority said Monday the man was on a weekend dive in northern Israel last Saturday when he spotted a trove of ancient artifacts that included anchors,

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli police say a man is dead after falling from a hot air balloon in mid-flight. Police say the man, in his 20s, was a crew member who had been dangling from the basket when he fell Tuesday. The man’s employer said he fell from 50 meters (164 feet) up.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s disaster management agency says a strong earthquake has struck off the Turkish Mediterranean coast. There was no immediate report of any damage or casualties. The Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate said the quake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.0 struck 189 kilometers (117 miles) off the resort town of

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets are mixed after Wall Street rose for a fifth day on strong corporate earnings. Shanghai and Seoul fell while Tokyo and Hong Kong advanced. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.7%, propelled by health care and tech stocks. Johnson & Johnson, the

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says a net zero carbon emissions target by 2050 would be a “great positive” for Australia if it can be achieved through technology and not a carbon price. Morrison plans to attend next month’s climate conference in Scotland but his government

By MATTHEW DALY and LISA MASCARO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s Washington’s enduring question: What does Joe Manchin want? But increasingly the answer is crystal clear. The conservative West Virginia Democrat wants to dismantle President Joe Biden’s climate change strategies and proposed social services expansion in ways that are simply unacceptable for most in

By JOHN PYE AP Sports Writer Political leaders in Australia says tennis players who haven’t received a COVID-19 vaccination are unlikely to get a visa to enter the country for the first major of 2022 at Melbourne Park. Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews has already introduced a vaccine mandate for professional athletes competing in domestic

By FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The congressional committee tasked with investigating the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol has been ramping up its efforts in recent weeks. Lawmakers have issued subpoenas to nearly 20 individuals. That includes four of former President Donald Trump’s advisers and associates. The committee is looking

By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia judge has deemed eight jury pool members qualified to serve on the jury that will decide the fate of three white men charged with killing Ahmaud Arbery. Dozens more will be needed before a final jury of 12 jurors and four alternates can be

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A judge in South Carolina has denied bond for a prominent South Carolina attorney who has become embroiled in two multimillion-dollar insurance fraud cases months after he found his wife and son dead in their home. Circuit Judge Clifton Newman issued the decision Tuesday after hearing

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — A child of working-class Jamaican immigrants in the Bronx, Colin Powell rose from neighborhood store clerk to warehouse floor-mopper to the highest echelons of the U.S. government. It was a trailblazing American dream journey that won Powell international acclaim and trust. It was that credibility Powell

By JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Progressive prosecutors around the country are increasingly declaring they just won’t enforce some GOP-backed state laws. They are acting in response to some of the most controversial new changes in recent years — near-total abortion bans, voting restrictions, limits on certain protest activity, laws aimed at

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection has voted unanimously to hold former White House aide Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress. The longtime ally of former President Donald Trump defied a subpoena for documents and testimony. Trump is still defending

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand counted its most new coronavirus cases of the pandemic as an outbreak in its largest city grew and officials urged vaccinations as a way out of Auckland’s two-month lockdown. The 94 new local infections found Tuesday eclipse the 89 that were reported twice

By ACACIA CORONADO and PAUL J. WEBER Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Republicans have approved redrawn U.S. House maps that favor incumbents and could decrease political representation for growing minority communities in the nation’s largest red state. The Republican-controlled Legislature approved the maps late Monday night, and they will now be sent to

By DÁNICA COTO, PETER SMITH and EVENS SANON Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A gang that kidnapped 17 members of a U.S.-based missionary group is demanding $1 million ransom per person, although authorities are not clear on whether that includes the five children being held. That’s what a top Haitian official tells The Associated

By SARA CLINE Associated Press/Report for America PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland, Oregon, has had 67 homicides so far this year and the city has surpassed its previous full-year record of 66 in 1987. Police are struggling to keep up amid an acute staffing shortage and budget cuts. The liberal Pacific Northwest city is trying

By TERESA M. WALKER AP Pro Football Writer NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Derrick Henry scored his third touchdown with 3:05 left, and the Tennessee Titans stopped Josh Allen on a fourth-down quarterback sneak in the final seconds to beat Buffalo 34-31. The Bills’ four-game winning streak was snapped. The AFC East leaders drove to the

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — An independent U.N. investigator is warning that despite the Nobel Peace Prize to courageous Filipino journalist Maria Ressa, “gender equality in freedom of expression remains a distant goal.” Irene Khan said Monday that “women’s voices are being suppressed by laws, policies of the state as

By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS Associated Press SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Washington State has fired football coach Nick Rolovich and four of his assistants for refusing a state mandate that all employees get vaccinated against COVID-19. Rolovich becomes the first major college coach to lose his job over vaccination status. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat,

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — The president of Ecuador has decreed a state of emergency to confront drug trafficking and other crimes, saying the military and police will take to the streets to provide security. In a national broadcast Monday, President Guillermo Lasso said that “there is only one enemy: drug trafficking.” He pointed out that

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico City prosecutors say they have brought criminal charges against 10 “individuals and companies” for construction defects that caused an elevated subway line to collapse in May, killing 26 people. The spokesman for the city attorney general said Monday that the charges are for negligent or involuntary homicide, damages and causing

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A longtime Connecticut activist for people living with HIV and AIDS as well as those impacted by opioid addiction and domestic abuse has died. Shawn Lang was 65. Lang’s unexpected death on Sunday was confirmed to the Hartford Courant by her 24-year-old son Corbett Lang. Her death was met Monday with

By KIM TONG-HYUNG, HYUNG-JIN KIM and MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military says North Korea has fired at least one ballistic missile into the sea that was likely designed to be launched from a submarine. The test firing is possibly the most significant demonstration of North Korea’s military might

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press GWANGYANG, South Korea (AP) — Thousands of ethnic Chinese have lived in North Korea for generations. Though many maintain Chinese nationality, they still consider themselves North Koreans because they go to the same schools and work at the same factories with North Koreans. Some even defect to South Korea, just

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kanye West is now known only as Ye. A Los Angeles judge on Monday approved the request of the rapper, producer and fashion designer to legally change his name to just Ye, spelled Y-E, with no middle or last name. The 44-year-old petitioned the court for the change on Aug. 24,

By HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer Philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs is gearing up to invest $3.5 billion into climate initiatives through her foundation in the next 10 years. But if the prior donation patterns of Waverley Street Foundation continue, the public might never know where that money is going. Between 2017 and 2019, the foundation

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Central African Republic’s leader is calling his unilateral cease-fire announcement a new effort to restore peace to his crisis-wracked country. President Faustin Archange Touadera also strongly defended his decision to ask Russian instructors and Rwandan forces to help counter rebels threatening the government, a

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Authorities in Costa Rica say six people are dead, including a U.S. man, in what may have been a robbery at the American’s ranch in the Central American country. The national detectives’ agency said Monday that the victim has been identified as Steve Sandusky, but did not offer a

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has promised to help the U.S. government push for stronger action on climate change. Speaking at an event with U.S. climate envoy John Kerry, López Obrador said Monday that “we are going to support the plan” President Joe Biden is promoting ahead of a United

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press Spirits producer Heaven Hill Distillery says its contract talks with striking union workers have reached an impasse. The company said Monday it will start hiring permanent replacement workers for bottling and warehouse operations in Kentucky. Union leaders say they’re willing to continue negotiations and accuse the company of wanting to

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Authorities in Costa Rica say six people are dead, including a U.S. man, in what may have been a robbery at the American’s ranch in the Central American country. The national detectives’ agency said Monday that the victim has been identified as Steve Sandusky, but did not offer a

By CLAUDIA LAUER PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Authorities say a man charged with raping a woman on a commuter train just outside of Philadelphia harassed her for more than 40 minutes while multiple people held up their phones to seemingly record the assault without intervening. The police chief for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority said at