Month: November 2021

By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration is considering new measures to protect a ground-dwelling bird species once found across much of the U.S. West. The bird called the greater sage grouse suffered drastic declines in recent decades due to oil and gas drilling, grazing and other human pressures. Friday’s

By KAREN MATTHEWS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A rare first printing of the U.S. Constitution has sold at Sotheby’s in New York for $43.2 million, a record price for a document or book sold at auction. The anonymous winning bidder at Thursday night’s sale outbid a group of 17,000 cryptocurrency enthusiasts from around

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Photographer Mick Rock, whose iconic portraits of rock stars saw him dubbed “the man who shot the 70s,” has died. He was 72. A statement posted Friday on Rock’s official social media accounts said: “It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share our beloved psychedelic

By TASSANEE VEJPONGSA Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Thais flocked to rivers and lakes to release small floats adorned with flowers and candles in an annual festival honoring the goddess of water, with thousands of the tiny boats ending up clogging and polluting the country’s waterways. Within hours of the Loy Krathong festival on Friday

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Officials say an earthquake with magnitude 5.1 has jolted Erzurum province in eastern Turkey, demolishing a number of houses in some villages. There were no immediate reports of deaths or severe injury. Turkey’s disaster management agency said the quake was centered in the town of Koprukoy and struck at 3:40 p.m.

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, MATTHEW PERRONE and MIKE STOBBE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is opening COVID-19 vaccine boosters to all adults, and urging them for anyone 50 and older. The decision Friday seeks to simplify what has been a confusing list of who’s eligible. Now for anyone 18 or older, the only requirement

By ALBERTO ARCE Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Spanish authorities are trying to locate a group of Dutch tourists who left a hotel where they were quarantined after testing positive for coronavirus. Seven of nine of the infected tourists vanished, according to local authorities. Police are searching for them and airports are on full alert

By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish authorities say there are no more migrants camping along the Belarus side of the European Union’s eastern border, but attempts at illegally crossing into the bloc’s territory are continuing and becoming more aggressive. Hundreds of Iraqis flew back home Thursday from Belarus after abandoning their

LONDON (AP) — The British government says it intends to ban the Palestinian militant group Hamas as a terrorist organization. The military wing of Hamas has been outlawed in the U.K. since 2001 but the organization as a whole is not proscribed. Home Secretary Priti Patel said Friday on Twitter that she had “acted to

By MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writer Job candidates rarely know when hidden artificial intelligence tools are rejecting their resumes or analyzing their video interviews — but New York City residents could soon have more say over the computers making behind-the-scenes decisions about their careers. A bill passed by the city council in early November would

By ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports Writer The tennis player who disappeared after accusing a former top Chinese official of sexually assaulting her is known for her grit and determination. Peng Shuai showed how tough she is when she dealt with heat exhaustion during the U.S. Open semifinals in 2014. She was eventually taken away from

JERUSALEM (AP) — A British heavy machinery company has denied allegations by an international rights group that it is complicit in alleged Israeli abuses in the occupied West Bank. Amnesty International says J.C. Bamford Excavators Limited’s diggers and excavators have been used to demolish Palestinian homes and in the construction of Jewish settlements. Both activities

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norwegian officials say the country is introducing stricter controls at border crossings, requiring everyone to register before entering the country, in a bid to tackle the rise in COVID cases. Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl said the move that enters into force Nov. 26, is “to get a better grip on

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A judge has convicted a white Kansas City police officer of involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the fatal shooting of a Black man in a case in which prosecutors said police planted evidence. Jackson County Judge Dale Youngs issued the verdict Friday against

By ZEKE MILLER Associated Press BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — President Joe Biden remains “healthy” and “vigorous” and fit for duty, but is showing some signs of aging. That’s according to his doctor, who delivered the report Friday after the oldest president in American history underwent his first routine physical in office. In a history-making moment,

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is awaiting a firm counterproposal from the United Kingdom to ease a standoff over how to deal with Britain’s departure from the bloc. Both sides are fighting over differences in how to regulate trade in Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK but

By SHEIKH SAALIQ and KRUTIKA PATHI Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a surprise announcement that he will withdraw agriculture laws that triggered a year of farmer protests, in what is seen as a major climbdown by his government. Experts say elections could be a major reason behind

LONDON (AP) — British police say the homemade bomb that killed a man in a taxi in Liverpool contained ball bearings and would have caused “significant injury or death” if it had exploded in different circumstances. The suspected bomb-maker, Emad Al Swealmeen, died when a blast ripped through the cab in which he was a

BEIJING (AP) — The disappearance of tennis star Peng Shuai in China following her accusations of sexual assault against a former top Communist Party official has shined a spotlight on similar cases involving political dissidents, entertainers, business leaders and others who ran afoul of the authorities. Chinese officials have not directly addressed the accusation made

By MAHMOUD ILLEAN and JACK JEFFERY Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Vandals have slashed tires on nearly a dozen Palestinian-owned vehicles overnight in a tense Jerusalem neighborhood. Jewish settlers have been waging a decades-long legal battle to evict Palestinians from there. CCTV footage shows three hooded men entering a fenced-off area before slashing tires on

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The head of the European Central Bank is doubling down on the message that it’s no time to raise interest rates. Christine Lagarde says the bank won’t add to the squeeze on consumers who are facing rising prices driven by high energy costs. Higher inflation

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian state TV says that thousands of farmers in central Iran have joined a protest demanding authorities open a dam to relieve drought-stricken areas. Several prominent actors and athletes joined the peaceful movement in the city of Isfahan on Friday, urging the government to intervene to aid famers increasingly suffering from

LONDON (AP) — Two women and two children have died in a house fire in London. The fire brigade says around 40 firefighters and six fire engines were called to the scene on Thursday evening and took four people, including what police believe were an infant boy and girl, from the upper story of the

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — The head of Germany’s disease control agency said Friday that the country has entered into a “nationwide state of emergency” because of surging coronavirus infections. The head of the Robert Koch Institute said regular medical care cannot be guaranteed anymore in some parts of the country because

BEIJING (AP) — China is threatening to retaliate against Lithuania after the Baltic nation allowed Taiwan to open a representative office in its capital. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian says Lithuania will “reap what it sows,” but gave no details.  He described the move as an “egregious act” that “grossly interferes” in China’s internal

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities have reported a record number of coronavirus deaths for a third day in a row. Russia’s state coronavirus task force reported 1,254 virus deaths Friday, up from the previous record of 1,251 registered the day before. The task force also reported 37,156 new confirmed cases. The daily new infections in

By ELOGE WILLY KANEZA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The United States has ended a sanctions program for Burundi, saying circumstances have changed in the East African nation several years after a bloody political crackdown. The U.S. says sanctions and visa restrictions on 11 people designated under the program have been lifted, reflecting President

BY MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is calling on African nations to heed warnings posed by crises in Ethiopia and Sudan, take seriously popular demands for better governance and enact reforms. Blinken said growing extremism, increasing authoritarianism and exploding corruption in Africa are imperiling democracy,

By ARITZ PARRA and RENATA BRITO Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Spanish authorities say a group of 39 Palestinians is seeking asylum in Spain after refusing to board back a plane during a Barcelona stopover of their South America-bound flight. Police are investigating the charter flight that flew the group into Spain’s second-largest city on

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea says it scrambled fighter jets to respond to a group of Russian and Chinese warplanes that entered its air buffer zone unannounced. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected seven Russian and two Chinese military aircraft in the country’s air defense identification zone off its eastern

By EMILY SCHULTHEIS and KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press VIENNA (AP) — Austria has announced a national lockdown and a plan to mandate vaccinations as coronavirus infections hit a record high. The rising cases are forcing the government to walk back promises that strict shutdowns were a thing of the past. While the scope of the