Month: November 2021

By CHRISTOPHER WEBER and STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Starting Monday, anyone going to a shopping mall, theater, gym or nail salon in Los Angeles must verify they are vaccinated. The mandate, among the strictest in the country, requires proof of shots for everyone entering a wide variety of businesses. Mayor Eric

By MATT O’BRIEN and BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology Writers Mark Zuckerberg promises that the virtual-reality “metaverse” he’s planning to build will “let you do almost anything.” That might not be such a great idea. On the plus side, as Zuckerberg said in a late October presentation, the metaverse could let you attend virtual concerts with

By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Prosecutors trying to convict Kyle Rittenhouse of murder are trying to paint the Illinois man as an inexperienced teen who misrepresented his age and medical training to other armed civilians in his group on the night he shot three men during a protest against police brutality

SYDNEY (AP) — Police in western Australia have called off a search for a swimmer who was attacked by a shark. The wife of 57-year-old Paul Millachip said she was with him at the Port Beach in the suburb of Perth on Saturday morning when two teenagers on a boat witnessed the shark attack. She

By PAT EATON-ROBB Associated Press Many elementary schools around the U.S. are preparing to offer COVID-19 shots that educators see as key to keeping students learning in person and making the classroom experience closer to what it once was. The approval of the COVID-19 vaccine for younger children has some district leaders saying it is

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s Health Ministry has issued instructions to doctors confirming that it is legal to end a pregnancy when the woman’s health or life is in danger. The document comes in reaction to the hospital death of a young mother whose pregnancy had medical problems. Her family said doctors held off performing

By DAVID PORTER Associated Press NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — An ambitious program to replace thousands of residential lead water lines in New Jersey’s largest city is about to be completed years ahead of schedule. Newark was once castigated for its slow response and was sued in 2018. The city is now on the verge of

VIENNA (AP) — Police in Germany say a 27-year-old man who stabbed four people on a German high-speed train apparently attacked his victims “at random” and showed signs of mental illness. Police and investigators told reporters Sunday that the attacker’s intentions are still unclear, but there is no indication of a terrorist motive. Shortly before

By THOMAS BEAUMONT and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are increasingly optimistic about flipping governor’s offices in key battleground states next year. The GOP is buoyed by President Joe Biden’s sagging approval ratings, Democratic infighting in Congress and better-than-expected results in elections in Virginia and New Jersey. Democrats were already battling historical

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — High wind off the Florida coast has prompted SpaceX to delay the return of four space station astronauts. They were supposed to leave the International Space Station on Sunday, with their capsule splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday morning. But with

By COLLEEN LONG and MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — About 4 million federal workers, from FBI agents to Bureau of Prisons guards to U.S. Food and Drug Administration workers, are to be vaccinated by Nov. 22 under the president’s executive order aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus. Some employees, like

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has decried the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia and is pressing for dialogue to prevail over conflict. The pontiff in his traditional Sunday appearance to the public in St. Peter’s Square said he was following the news with “worry” from the Horn of Africa particularly from Ethiopia. He asked

By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press ROME (AP) — A German humanitarian ship with more than 800 rescued migrants aboard has steamed into a Sicilian port after receiving permission by Italian authorities following days of waiting at sea. The charity group Sea-Eye says its ship Sea-Eye 4 landed in Trapani, western Sicily, on Sunday. Most adults

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Troops and patrols have deployed around Baghdad following the failed assassination attempt with armed drones that targeted Iraq’s prime minister in his residence. The attack significantly raises tensions sparked by the refusal of Iran-backed militias to accept last month’s parliamentary election results. Two Iraqi officials said Mustafa

By RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban-run Afghan public health ministry has announced the start of a four-day nationwide polio vaccination campaign aimed at inoculating children under age 5. For the past three years before taking control of Afghanistan, the Taliban had barred U.N.-organized vaccination teams from doing door-to-door campaigns in parts

By TALI ARBEL Associated Press More than a year and a half after the U.S. to closed its borders to international travelers, restrictions are shifting to focus on COVID-19 vaccine status. Beginning Monday, bans on travel from countries including Brazil, China, India, South Africa, the United Kingdom and much of Europe are over. The U.S.

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Libya’s government has rejected a decision by the country’s presidential council to suspend the foreign minister over allegations of monopolizing foreign policy. The standoff between the two bodies is likely to increase political tensions in the North African county less than seven weeks before planned elections. The

By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Palestinians have slammed Israel for rejecting the promised reopening of the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said Sunday that Israel, as an occupying power, could not veto the U.S. decision. Israel says there is no room for another U.S. mission in

By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer Glasgow, Scotland (AP) — The overarching phrase that dominates Glasgow climate talks is simply a number: 1.5. That’s the chief but elusive goal of negotiations. It’s keeping warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times. It’s not easy. Scientists say it’s technically possible but politically unlikely. It’s also a

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The United States is about to reopen to fully vaccinated foreign travelers. And citizens of other countries who received shots widely used in other parts of the world are scrambling to get reinoculated with U.S.-approved jabs. The U.S. will implement a new air travel policy Monday

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — John Kerry is everywhere and on the move at a fateful U.N. climate summit. Kerry is President Joe Biden’s climate envoy and he steams from talks with Chinese officials to news conferences to photos with Indigenous women from the threatened Amazon. Kerry served as secretary of

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — State TV says Iran’s military has begun its annual war games in a coastal area of the Gulf of Oman, less than a month before upcoming nuclear talks with the West. The report said Sunday that navy and air force units as well as ground forces are participating in a more

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Travis Scott’s high-energy performances are known for being chaotic and fun-filled shows with concertgoers encouraged to take part in a raucous nature involving mosh pits, crowd surfing and stage diving. On Friday night, something went wrong. At least eight people between the ages of

By JUAN LOZANO, RYAN PEARSON and SALLY HO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Screaming. Suffocating. Panicked. Unconscious. The concertgoers at a highly anticipated Houston music festival say they were shocked to witness how the event brewed into pandemonium that left at least eight people dead. Rapper Travis Scott was the headliner Friday night for the

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is seeking a fourth consecutive term as voting begins in elections against a field of little-known candidates while those who could have given him a real challenge sit in jail. The opposition has called on Nicaraguans to stay home in protest of an electoral process that has

By JUAN A. LOZANO and JAMIE STENGLE Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Mourners began building a memorial to those lost at a Texas concert as authorities said they would watch video, interview witnesses and review concert protocols to determine how eight people died when fans suddenly surged toward the stage to watch rapper Travis Scott.

BEIJING (AP) — China’s exports remained strong in October, a positive sign for an economy trying to weather power shortages and COVID-19 outbreaks. The country’s customs agency said Sunday that exports totaled $300.2 billion, up 27.1% from a year ago. That was down from a 28.1% increase in September but still healthy. Imports came in

BEIJING (AP) — An early-season snowstorm has blanketed much of northern China including the capital Beijing, prompting highway closures and flight and train cancellations and delays. Temperatures plunged to freezing and below as a cold front moved from west to east. A steady, blowing snow fell on Sunday in Beijing, the nearby city of Tianjin