Month: November 2021

By ALAN FRAM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats have brushed aside months-long divisions and are approaching House passage of their expansive social and environment bill. Final approval has been delayed indefinitely by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who has spoken for over three hours criticizing the legislation, President Joe Biden and Democrats. But passage

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Moments of documentary make cameos in “C’mon C’mon,” but the entire film pulses with something tenderly close to real life. The performances, by Joaquin Phoenix and Woody Norman, are loose and often improvised. The story of an uncle thrust into parenting his sister’s 9-year-old son,

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A detective in Florida investigating the disappearance of Carole Baskin’s second husband says that the “Tiger King” star has three times refused requests for interviews. He says the probe is ongoing. Cpl. Moises Garcia of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Tampa on Thursday provided an update on the investigation into

By COREY WILLIAMS Associated Press WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (AP) — A charge of improperly disposing of a body has been dismissed against the owner of a crematory in southeastern Michigan. Washtenaw County District Judge J. Cedric Simpson ruled Monday that state prosecutors didn’t have the evidence to support the felony charge against O’Neil Swanson. Swanson

By BRYAN ANDERSON Associated Press/Report for America RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina congressman G.K. Butterfield, a Democrat, has announced he’ll retire from Congress next year after Republican-drawn map put him in a toss-up district. Butterfield is the second Democratic North Carolina congressman to decide against a reelection bid. Rep. David Price announced last month

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s flamboyant ambassador to Washington during the rule of the shah has died. Ardeshir Zahedi was 93. That’s according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency and other Iranian outlets. The reports say he died on Thursday, with several outlets saying he had suffered from

By HOLLY RAMER Associated Press CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu has denounced a conservative group’s offer to pay $500 to the first person who “catches” a public school teacher violating New Hampshire’s new limits on the discussion of systemic racism and other topics. The budget the Republican governor signed in June

By VANGELIS PAPANTONIS and DEREK GATOPOULOS Associated Press LESBOS, Greece (AP) — A group of 24 volunteers who took part in migrant rescue operations appeared in court Thursday on the Greek island of Lesbos on smuggling-related charges in a case that has been strongly criticized by international human rights groups. The misdemeanor court on Lesbos

BUFFALO, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say remains found at a southwest Missouri home were those of a missing woman who was photographed partially nude inside a cage. Two men were charged Wednesday with first-degree murder in the death of 33-year-old Cassidy Rainwater. James Phelps and Timothy Norton were arrested in September after authorities say photos

By The Associated Press The Academy of Country Music awards show is getting a NFL-sized upgrade next year, moving to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The country music awards show will be held on March 7 and exclusively live-streamed on Amazon Prime Video. The ACM Awards show was held for several years in the MGM

By TALI ARBEL AP Technology Writer U.S. communications regulators are requiring that phone companies allow people to text as well as call a new “988” number for the suicide-prevention hotline. The Federal Communications Commission last summer voted to require phone companies support the 988 number for people to call to reach an existing suicide-prevention hotline.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Disney Cruise Line will require all guests ages 5 and up to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before setting sail starting early next year. The company posted a statement on its website Wednesday announcing the new rules will begin Jan. 13, 2022. The vaccine was recently approved for children ages 5

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s choice to become one of the top banking regulators endured a contentious nomination hearing Thursday, with Republican senators warning she would nationalize the U.S. banking system and Democrats saying she’s eminently qualified and would be tough overseer of Wall Street. Saule Omarova, 55,

By TRAVIS LOLLER and ACACIA CORONADO Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — New measures that restrict how race is addressed in classrooms have spread confusion and anxiety among many educators. In some cases educators have begun pulling books and canceling lessons for fear of stirring controversy. Education officials still waiting to see how the laws

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA says the International Space Station remains at increased risk from orbiting debris following this week’s Russian weapons test. On Monday, Russia used a missile to destroy a satellite in an orbit just above the space station. NASA says the highest risk to the

By THOMAS ADAMSON Associated Press PARIS (AP) — It’s a neutral pronoun that’s proving anything but: A nonbinary pronoun added to an esteemed French dictionary has ignited a fierce linguistic squabble in the country. Le Petit Robert introduced the word “iel” — an amalgamation of “il” (he) and “elle” (she) — to its online edition

By EDGAR H. CLEMENTE Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — As Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador opens talks on immigration and other issues with his North American counterparts in Washington, a new migrant caravan has walked out of the southern Mexican city of Tapachula. The new group of migrants heading north Thursday served as

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, in a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart, stressed the importance of peace and stability between China and Taiwan and expressed “serious concern” about the situation in Hong Kong and China’s Xinjiang region. Japan’s Foreign Ministry says Hayashi also told Chinese Foreign

By BABAR DOGAR Associated Press LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan has released a radical Islamist leader under a deal struck with his party that was behind last month’s deadly anti-France protest over the publications of caricatures of Islam’s prophet. The deal to free Saad Rizvi also included lifting a ban on his party. He had

MOSCOW (AP) — A lawyer for imprisoned former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who has been on a hunger strike for seven weeks, says he fell and lost consciousness at the end of the lawyer’s visit. Beka Basilaia said Thursday that Saakashvili was taken from the visiting room on a stretcher and that his condition is

By ADRIAN SAINZ and RYAN PEARSON Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Police are scouring the city of Memphis, Tennessee, as they search for suspects in the killing of influential rapper Young Dolph at a popular local cookie shop. Wednesday’s shooting drew shocked and mournful reactions from the music world and throughout the rapper’s hometown.

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Several independent websites are joining forces to create a network for news about rural America, hoping to fill a void in areas hit hard by the shrinking media industry of the past two decades. The Rural News Network is being put together by the Institute

VUKOVAR, Croatia (AP) — Tens of thousands of people have marked the 30th anniversary of the fall of the eastern Croatian town of Vukovar that was destroyed by the Serb-led Yugoslav army, becoming a symbol of resistance and national unity in the 1991-95 war. Top officials on Thursday headed a huge column of people during

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanian media say an explosion at a weapons factory in a small southern town has killed four people and injured another four. The blast occurred Thursday afternoon in the town of Babeni in Valcea County and was caused by an anti-personnel mine, Romania’s National Press Agency said. It said the victims

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — The European Court of Human Rights has ruled against Croatia in a 2017 migrant pushback case after which a 6-year-old girl was killed by a train on the border with Serbia. The Nov. 2017 death of Madina Hussiny at the time focused international attention on the plight of migrants in the

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court has rejected a request by Steven Avery to review his conviction for killing a young photographer in 2005, a case that became the focus of a popular Netflix series “Making a Murderer.” Avery has been fighting unsuccessfully for years to have his conviction overturned. His latest appeal