Month: October 2021

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Holocaust survivor Eddie Jaku, who last year published his best-selling memoir, “The Happiest Man on Earth,” has died in Sydney. He was 101. Jewish community leader Darren Bark on Tuesday described Jaku as a “beacon of light and hope for not only our community, but the

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Government forces have killed five suspected militants in two clashes in Indian-controlled Kashmir, a day after rebels killed five army soldiers in a gunfight in the disputed region. Police say the first clash erupted following a raid by soldiers and counterinsurgency police. Troops cordoned off the area late Monday leading to

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Job vacancies in the U.K. have risen to a record high of nearly 1.2 million. That’s a further sign that the British economy is experiencing worker shortages in an array of sectors as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and Britain’s departure from the European Union. There

By KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — China is pledging $230 million to establish a fund to protect biodiversity in developing countries and asking other countries to contribute. President Xi Jinping made the pledge at a U.N. conference in southwest China that began global talks on protecting the world’s plants and animals from extinction.

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A group of climate lawyers is calling on the International Criminal Court to launch an investigation into Brazil’s president for possible crimes against humanity over his administration’s Amazon policies. The AllRise group filed a dossier Tuesday with the global court alleging that Jair Bolsonaro’s administration

By RAF CASERT and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union and Britain are back to quarreling less than a year after finalizing Brexit. Britain wants changes to the deal it reached on trade in Northern Ireland. The EU insists on keeping the essence of the deal. France wants more fishing licenses

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban are in power in Afghanistan but a new enemy is ascending in the country: the Islamic State group. There has been an uptick in IS attacks since the Taliban took over on Aug. 15, most recently a deadly bombing of a mosque used by

By REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press LAFITTE, La. (AP) — A Louisiana task force is working to gather vaults and caskets disrupted from their burial sites by Hurricane Ida and rebury them. The storm came ashore on Aug. 29. Cemetery Response Task Force chairman Ryan Seidemann says members start surveying cemeteries as soon as they can

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has kicked off a massive, two-day air defense drill in the country’s sprawling central desert in another show of force by the Islamic Republic. State TV reported that both the army and the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard are taking part in the annual maneuvers dubbed “Velyat.” It said elite air force

SOLVANG, Calif. (AP) — Evacuation orders have been expanded for a growing wildfire driven by intense winds that has shut down a key Southern California highway for more than a day. At least 200 firefighters battled the Alisal Fire. By Tuesday the blaze had scorched 21 square miles along coastal Santa Barbara County and was

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge has sentenced former Georgia Insurance Commissioner Jim Beck to more than seven years in prison for fraud. The judge on Tuesday also ordered Beck to pay $2.6 million in restitution to make up for money he stole from an insurer. Jurors in July swiftly

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer Shares are mixed in Asia after an up-and-down day on Wall Street ended with most benchmarks lower as traders waited for updates on inflation and corporate earnings. Stocks fell in Tokyo, Sydney and Shanghai but rose in Seoul. Hong Kong was closed for a holiday. The S&P 500 fell

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER and ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writers WASHINGTON (AP) — The International Monetary Fund has expressed “full confidence” in its managing director. The statement came in response to allegations that while Kristalina Georgieva was a World Bank official, she and others pressured staffers to change business rankings in an effort to placate China.

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Members of the House have approved a short-term hike to the nation’s debt limit. The vote Tuesday evening ensures the federal government can continue fully paying its bills into December. The legislation next goes to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law. A default would

By JULIE WATSON Associated Press SANTEE, Calif. (AP) — Before a twin-engine plane nose-dived into a San Diego suburb, an increasingly concerned air traffic controller warned the pilot to climb in altitude more than a half dozen times. The recording will be reviewed by a National Transportation Safety Board investigator who arrived Tuesday a day

By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA Associated Press KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Widely available marijuana once drew thousands of hippies to Nepal, where its use was not only accepted but embedded in both the culture and religion. But the country followed other nations in outlawing marijuana in the late 1970s and chased away the hippies who came on

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A group studying the economics of offshore wind energy in the U.S. says building and operating the nascent industry will be worth $109 billion to businesses in its supply chain over the next 10 years. The report by the Special Initiative on Offshore Wind comes

By TED ANTHONY AP National Writer The performer who breathed life into Captain James T. Kirk is, at age 90, heading toward the stars under dramatically different circumstances than his fictional counterpart. In doing so, William Shatner is causing worlds to collide. There’s the utopian spacefaring vision of “Star Trek,” and the evolving, increasingly commercial

By TED ANTHONY AP National Writer The performer who breathed life into Captain James T. Kirk is, at age 90, heading toward the stars under dramatically different circumstances than his fictional counterpart. In doing so, William Shatner is causing worlds to collide. There’s the utopian spacefaring vision of “Star Trek,” and the evolving, increasingly commercial

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Finding the cause of a major oil spill off Southern California, who is to blame and if they will be held accountable could take a long time. The Coast Guard said Friday that investigators are trying to find a boat that is believed to have snagged

By PAUL J. WEBER Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Biden administration is again urging courts to step in and suspend a new Texas law that has banned most abortions in the state since early September. The latest request came Monday night as clinics in Oklahoma, Louisiana and other states remain busy with Texas

A state district judge says a Jewish death row inmate who was part of the so-called “Texas 7” gang should get a new capital murder trial because the judge who presided over his case held anti-Semitic views. Dallas Criminal District Court Judge Lela Mays found that her predecessor, former Judge Vickers Cunningham, violated Randy Halprin’s

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reviewed missiles developed to launch nuclear strikes on the U.S. and vowed to build an “invincible” military to cope with what he called persistent U.S. hostility. Kim also used his speech at a rare exhibition of weapons to

MIAMI (AP) — Miami officials have decided to fire the city’s new police chief six months into his stormy tenure, after he was lambasted by the city commissioners he accused of meddling in the police department and internal affairs investigations. Miami City Manager Art Noriega said Monday that he suspended Chief Art Acevedo with the

By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer Jon Gruden is out as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders after emails he sent before being hired in 2018 contained racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments. Gruden released a statement Monday night that he is stepping down after The New York Times reported that Gruden frequently used misogynistic

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Authorities in northern Mexico say suspected drug cartel gunmen opened fire on a car, killing a 3-year-old boy and wounding the child’s parents. Prosecutors for the border state of Sonora say that after Monday’s attack in Ciudad Obregon, the father managed to drive the car to a hospital, where the toddler

By LYNN ELBER AP Television Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — A top Netflix executive says Dave Chappelle’s special “The Closer” doesn’t cross “the line on hate” and will remain on the streaming service. In an internal memo, reported by Variety, co-CEO Ted Sarandos told Netflix managers that while some celebrities may join third parties in

By FELICIA FONSECA Associated Press FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Indigenous people marked Monday with celebrations of their heritage, education campaigns and a push for the Biden administration to make good on its word. The federal holiday created to recognize Christopher Columbus’ sighting of what came to be known as the Americas increasingly has been rebranded

PHOENIX (AP) — A metro Phoenix sheriff’s deputy who authorities say was attacked by a man he had arrested has died. Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone said Monday that Deputy Juan “Johnny” Ruiz succumbed to injuries he suffered Saturday. The sheriff had announced earlier that the family planned to take Ruiz off life support. Ruiz

By JIM VERTUNO Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order Monday to prohibit any entity, including private business, from enforcing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate on workers and called on state lawmakers to pass a similar ban into law. The Republican previously sought to ban state and local governments

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — All good things must come to an end and Matt Amodio’s historic run on “Jeopardy!” did just that Monday, leaving the Yale doctoral student with 38 wins and more than $1.5 million in prize money. Amodio failed to answer the Final Jeopardy! clue correctly and