Month: November 2021

By MICHEL SPINGLER and SYLVIA HUI Associated Press CALAIS, France (AP) — At least 31 migrants bound for Britain died when their boat sank in the English Channel, in what France’s interior minister called the biggest tragedy involving migrants on the dangerous crossing to date. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said 34 people were believed to

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Growing up in Chicago, Broadway star Brittney Mack faithfully watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV after fulfilling her own parade duties. Now she’s getting ready to bundle up, hit the streets of Manhattan and be part of the big one for the first

By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota Supreme Court has upheld a lower court’s ruling that nullified a voter-passed amendment to the state constitution that would have legalized recreational marijuana use. Gov. Kristi Noem instigated the legal fight to strike down the amendment passed by voters in November. The

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Ukrainian and Western officials are worried about a Russian military buildup near Ukraine, fearing it could signal plans by Moscow to invade its ex-Soviet neighbor. Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 after the country’s Moscow-friendly president was driven from power by mass protests. It also cast

The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. mortgage rates were mixed this week. The average rate on the benchmark 30-year, fixed rate home loan was unchanged from last week at 3.1%; a year ago, it stood at 2.72%. Fifteen-year, fixed rate mortgage rates blipped up to 2.42% from 2.39% last week; it was 2.28% a

DANBURY, Conn. (AP) — Subway sandwich chain co-founder Peter Buck has died. He was 90. Subway says Buck died on Nov. 18 at a hospital in Danbury, Connecticut. The cause of his death was not disclosed. Buck gave family friend Fred DeLuca $1,000 in 1965 to open a sandwich shop in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The shop

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo’s prosecutors have brought terror charges against a local man who had allegedly joined the Islamic State group in Syria and was recently repatriated. A statement from the prosecutor’s office Wednesday said the suspect only identified as S. Q. allegedly joined IS fighters in the Syrian city of Raqqa, after entering

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s energy regulator is looking to appoint an administrator to oversee the latest business casualty in the country’s domestic energy market following the demand-led spike in gas prices. Ofgem said Wednesday that the 1.7 million customers of Bulb, the biggest company to fall victim to the big

By JOSEF FEDERMAN Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a Palestinian man who was seeking an apology and compensation from Israel over a 2009 tank strike that killed three of his daughters and a niece in the Gaza Strip. The ruling dashed the hopes of Izzeldin Abuelaish, who

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — A European Union body says it has finally appointed two prosecutors from Slovenia. That has ended a standoff with the country’s right-wing government. But doubts remain over how long the pair will stay in the job. The  European Public Prosecutor’s Office began work in June. Its aim

By KRISHAN FRANCIS Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s government has lifted a ban on imports of agrochemicals that it said was aimed at encouraging organic cultivation. The agriculture minister announced the revocation of the ban, which took effect in April. But he said government subsidies, price guarantees for produce and technical

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union says the massive spike in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks is threatening the bloc’s recovery from the deep economic slump caused by last year’s onset of the pandemic. And medical experts said the situation could get much worse. EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Authorities in Cyprus say they will deny access to indoor areas such as shopping malls, restaurants and supermarkets to anyone who hasn’t received a third booster shot seven months after being vaccinated against COVID-19. The health minister said Wednesday the measure will take effect on Dec. 18 as the east Mediterranean

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. sales of new homes edged up 0.4% last month, coming in below expectations as housing prices continued to climb. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that sales of new single-family homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 745,000 last month from 742,000 in September.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Milton Andrew Munson’s obituary recalled his life as an Air Force veteran, a pharmacist, husband and father, and as a Nebraska football fan. That was evident in one line in the obit, which reads: “In lieu of flowers, please place an irresponsibly large wager on Nebraska beating Iowa.” The Lincoln Journal

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are doing the main thing that drives the U.S. economy — spending — but accelerating inflation is casting a pall. A raft of economic data issued Wednesday showed the economy on solid footing, with Americans’ incomes rising and jobless claims falling to a level not

By MIKE SILVERMAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — This Met Opera season alone has been an impressive run of roles for Ryan Speedo Green, whose bass-baritone voice and charismatic stage presence unfailingly impress critics and audiences. He opened the season in Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” and the next night was

By ALEXANDRA JAFFE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has invited Taiwan to its upcoming Summit for Democracy, prompting sharp criticism from China, which considers the self-ruled island as its territory. The invitation list features 110 countries, including Taiwan, but does not include China or Russia. The inclusion of Taiwan comes as tensions

LONDON (AP) — Ireland’s government says Ethiopia has ordered four of six Irish diplomats working in Addis Ababa to leave the country because of Ireland’s outspoken stance over the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia. The Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday that Ethiopia’s government informed the Irish Embassy in the Ethiopian capital that the four diplomats

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — The leaders of Japan and Vietnam have expressed serious concern about any unilateral actions aimed at altering the status quo in the South China Sea, and agreed to work together to sustain free and open sea lanes as tensions escalate in the region amid China’s rise. Vietnamese

By ZEKE MILLER and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for millions of federal workers seems to be working, with no apparent disruption to law enforcement, intelligence-gathering or holiday travel. The White House says 92% of the 3.5 million federal workers covered by Biden’s mandate reported to the government

By GEOFF MULVIHILL and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press CLEVELAND (AP) — Pharmacies have lost in a groundbreaking trial in Ohio over the toll of opioids, but there’s no assurance the results will hold up on appeal. Tuesday’s verdict was the first in a wave of opioid lawsuits involving pharmacies and the first to be decided

By DARIA LITVINOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says he has taken an experimental nasal vaccine against the coronavirus, three days after he received his booster shot, as Russia faces its worst surge of infections and deaths since the pandemic began. Putin was vaccinated with Sputnik V, Russia’s domestically developed vaccine,

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits plummeted last week to the lowest level in more than half a century, another sign that the U.S. job market is rebounding rapidly from last year’s coronavirus recession. Jobless claims dropped by 71,000 to 199,000, the lowest since mid-November

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy slowed to a modest annual rate of 2.1% in the October-December quarter, slightly better than first reported. But economists are predicting a solid rebound in the current quarter as long as rising inflation and a recent uptick in COVID cases do not derail

By PHILIPP JENNE and GEIR MOULSON Associated Press VIENNA (AP) — The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog has warned that his inspectors are close to being unable to “guarantee” they know what’s going on at all of Iran’s nuclear sites. The comments Wednesday by Rafael Mariano Grossi represented a stark alarm after his trip

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE and ALEXANDRA JAFFE Associated Press NANTUCKET, Mass. (AP) — President Joe Biden is nominating Shalanda Young to lead the White House Office of Management and Budget. He’s also nominating Nani Coloretti to be Young’s deputy. Biden announced the news Wednesday in a video. If the Senate confirms the nominations, it will be