Month: October 2021

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press Some college towns plan to challenge the results of the 2020 census. They claim they were shortchanged because the pandemic forced students to leave campuses. They also complain that the undercount could cost them federal money and prestige. The affected communities include Bloomington, Indiana; Tuscaloosa, Alabama; and State College, Pennsylvania.

By SOPHIA TAREEN and DON BABWIN Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Roughly 65% of Chicago Police Department employees have complied with a requirement to report their COVID-19 vaccination status. That number is far behind most other departments in the city. The data comes amid an escalating dispute between the city and police union over the

NEW YORK (AP) — “Soul Train” and New York City’s Apollo Theater are icons of Black culture, and this year they’ll be joining up. BET announced that the annual Soul Train Awards, which honors the best in soul, hip-hop and R&B music, will be taped at the Apollo for the first time. The 2021 show

By MATT OTT and MARCY GORDON AP Business Writers WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. House lawmakers are threatening to seek a criminal investigation of Amazon, saying the tech giant has one “final chance” to correct previous testimony by executives on its competition practices. They sent a letter to Amazon President and CEO Andy Jassy, marking an

By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer Gonzaga is the preseason No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball poll. The Bulldogs held the No. 1 ranking all last season and reached the national championship game. They earned 55 of 63 first-place votes. UCLA is No. 2 and received the other eight first-place

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas is poised to become the latest and most populous state to tighten restrictions on transgender athletes in public high school sports. State lawmakers on Sunday approved a measure that requires athletes to play on teams that align with the gender listed on their original birth certificate instead of their current

CAMPTON, Ky. (AP) — Officials say a 4-year-old boy who fell off a 70-foot cliff at Red River Gorge in eastern Kentucky suffered a few scratches and bruises, but walked away without any severe injuries. The Wolfe County Search and Rescue Team says the boy and his parents were hiking Friday near Princess Arch when

By KAREL JANICEK Associated Press PRAGUE (AP) — A Czech official says health problems are preventing Czech President Milos Zeman from carrying out his duties. The speaker of the Czech Senate said Monday that a letter he received from Prague’s military hospital where Zeman is being treated says the 77-year-old president is unable to work

By VICTORIA MILKO AP Science Writer JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Frans Timmerman, the European commissioner for climate action, is urging that all nations “leave no one behind” and that changes are as fair as possible as the world moves toward a greener economy to address the climate crisis. Timmermans spoke to The Associated Press ahead

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has signed an agreement to continue American support for Georgia’s military for six years. The current agreement for such support is to expire at the end of the year, but Austin and Georgian Defense Minister Junasher Burchuladze signed the replacement agreement Monday during Austin’s visit to

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia has reimposed coronavirus restrictions in the hardest-hit parts of the country amid the latest surge of infections. Five counties all located in northern Slovakia are affected by Monday’s measures that include the closures of restaurants with people only allowed to buy meals at takeout windows. Fitness and wellness centers and

By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer COVID-19 booster shots are an extra dose of the original vaccine, and some experts wonder why they weren’t updated to better match the delta variant. With the extra-contagious delta now the dominant version of the virus, experts say future mutants likely will be its descendants. Vaccine makers didn’t ask

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Belarus has ordered a halt to routine medical care at state clinics in order to devote more resources to coronavirus patients. The Health Ministry said Monday the suspended services include medical examinations and screenings, physiotherapy and dentistry. Belarus has been hit by a rising wave of coronavirus infections. Around 2,000 new

The Ford Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the United States, announced Monday that it will divest millions from fossil fuels, following similar investment decisions made by other sizable foundations in recent years. Ford Foundation President Darren Walker said in a statement 0.3% of the foundation’s endowment was directly invested in fossil fuels.

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A judge says Cuba Gooding Jr. will go on trial in February in his New York City groping case. Prosecutors are expected to portray the actor as a serial offender and the defense to contend the case is an example of Me Too run amok.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — An insurer is suing the operator of a coastal Georgia warehouse where 50,000 tons of biofuel wood pellets went up in smoke this year. Investigators believe some of the pellets decomposed and spontaneously combusted, starting a multi-day fire that devoured the warehouse and threatened nearby homes in Brunswick. The pellets were

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The British Museum says it will display what it says is the world’s oldest surviving map of the stars in a major upcoming exhibition on the Stonehenge stone circle. The 3,600-year-old “Nebra Sky Disc,” first discovered in Germany in 1999, is one of the oldest surviving representations of the cosmos

By ELOGE WILLY KANEZA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — One of the world’s last three countries to administer COVID-19 vaccines has started giving out doses as the East African nation of Burundi launched its national campaign. The vaccinations started in the commercial capital, Bujumbura, though health workers told The Associated Press that barely more

CAIRO (AP) — The trials of three Egyptian activists and a rights lawyer, who have been held in prison for over two years on a number of charges, have been postponed. Their lawyer said Monday the four appeared before judges of the Emergency State Security Court in Cairo. They face charges ranging from disseminating false

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine police say law enforcers backed by troops have killed four suspected Chinese drug dealers who opened fire at them during a sting operation. The national police chief says more than $5.2 million worth of methamphetamines were recovered. He says the slain Chinese, who allegedly belonged to a major drug trafficking

By THOMAS ADAMSON Associated Press PARIS (AP) — France says its ambassador to Belarus has been ordered out of the country. In a statement Monday, France’s Foreign Minister said that Ambassador Nicolas de Lacoste’s departure on Sunday was due to the “unilateral decision” of Belarusian authorities.  It added that de Lacoste, who has been in

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s pro-business Free Democrats on Monday became the last of three parties to back the start of formal coalition talks on forming a new government. The Free Democrats leader, Christian Lindner, said the party’s national executive unanimously agreed to take the step following weeks of informal talks with the center-left Social Democrats

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A provincial minister says a roadside bomb exploded near a police bus parked outside a university in southwest Pakistan. It killed at least one officer and wounded 15 other people, mostly civilians. The attack happened Monday outside Baluchistan University in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province. The minister says rescuers transported

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Italy’s president is criticizing the violent protests that have erupted against Italy’s new coronavirus health pass requirement to enter workplaces. President Sergio Mattarella says the protests appear aimed at jeopardizing Italy’s economic recovery just as it was getting going. His criticism came Monday as riot police again

By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press ROME (AP) — Italy’s center-left forces have won big in Rome and most other significant mayoral races, dealing a heavy blow to right-wing parties that have been hoping to capture the premiership in the next national election. Roberto Gualtieri from Italy’s Democratic Party trounced a challenger backed by a party

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq says it has detained the mastermind behind a deadly 2016 bombing in a Baghdad shopping center, which killed around 300 people and wounded 250. The car bombing in central Baghdad was the deadliest attack by a single bomber in the Iraqi capital after the 2003 U.S.-led

GRAMBLING, La. (AP) — Officials at Grambling State University have blamed “outsiders” for a recent spate of violence on campus, including a shooting that left one person dead and seven others wounded. The shooting happened around 1 a.m. Sunday on the campus quad of the historically Black university. An indoor homecoming event was taking place