Month: November 2021

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s top Brexit official has lowered the temperature in the U.K.’s trade feud with the European Union, saying he believes it is possible to reach agreement with the bloc. Chief U.K. negotiator David Frost said Wednesday there are still “gaps” between the two sides, but added that

BEAVER ISLAND, Mich. (AP) — A pilot who was among four people who died after a plane crash on a Michigan island has been identified as a history teacher. William Julian was flying the plane for Island Airways. It takes travelers between Beaver Island and Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula. The 55-year-old was airlifted Saturday to

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden is introducing a digital COVID-19 vaccination certificate for public gatherings and events with more than 100 people indoors. The move follows similar steps by other European Union countries amid a recent continental rise in COVID-19 cases. Authorities said Wednesday that the certificate will be adopted from Dec. 1. Sweden has

By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A U.S. appeals court has reinstated a ban on lobster harvesting in hundreds of miles of productive fishing waters off the Maine coast to try to protect rare whales. The Maine Lobstering Union had won emergency relief to stop the closure of lobstering grounds. Federal regulators

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials say an estimated 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in one year. That’s a total the nation has never seen. Experts say it’s tied to the COVID-19 pandemic and a more dangerous drug supply. Overdose deaths have been rising for more than

DETROIT (AP) — Volkswagen Group is recalling more than 240,000 Audi vehicles in the U.S. and Canada because an electric cable problem can cause a computer to disable the passenger air bag. The recall covers certain 2017 through 2020 Audi A4, RS5, A5, S4 and S5 models. VW says in documents filed with the U.S.

LONDON (AP) — The European Union’s drug regulator says it received an application from Novavax to authorize the American biotechnology company’s coronavirus vaccine. In a statement on Wednesday, the European Medicines Agency said it had begun evaluating data submitted by Novavax for its two-dose vaccine. The agency says an expedited review process could produce a

By CURT ANDERSON AP Legal Affairs Writer A new lawsuit contends that construction of a luxury building next door triggered the collapse of an already fragile Florida condominium that killed 98 people in June. The lawsuit was filed late Tuesday on behalf of Champlain Towers South victims and family members. It contends that work on

CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian court has sentenced a prominent human rights lawyer to five years in prison for his conviction on charges that rights advocates have decried as baseless and politically motivated. The court found former lawmaker Zyad el-Elaimy guilty of conspiring to commit crimes with an outlawed group. That’s a reference to the

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban foreign ministry is urging the U.S. Congress to release Afghanistan’s assets. The militant group’s acting foreign minister said in a statement Wednesday that the sanctions are playing “havoc” with trade, business and humanitarian assistance. The country is facing an economic crisis that has alarmed international organizations. The World Food Program

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — Defense lawyers in the Vatican’s fraud and extortion trial have accused prosecutors of again withholding pieces of evidence, including an alleged interrogation of Pope Francis. It was the latest time the pontiff’s own role in a flawed London property investment came before the court. The Vatican

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — The operator of the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant says a data simulation of its planned release of treated radioactive water into the sea suggests it would have an extremely small impact on the environment, marine life and humans. The Japanese government and the plant’s operator, Tokyo

LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization says coronavirus deaths in Europe rose 5% in the last week, making it the only region in the world where COVID-19 deaths increased. In its weekly report on the pandemic, WHO said COVID-19 deaths in all regions other than Europe remained stable or declined, and totaled 50,000 worldwide

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Construction of new homes in the U.S. fell 0.7% in October, a sign that builders are still facing difficulties keeping up with demand as supply chain problems persist. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that October’s decline put home construction at a seasonally adjusted annual

By AMY FORLITI, GENE JOHNSON and TODD RICHMOND Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — As Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial has played out, moments of apparent deference to the defendant by the judge have struck observers as curiously different from other murder proceedings. At one point, the 18-year-old defendant stood behind the seated judge, Bruce Schroeder, and

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s disaster management agency says a moderately-strong earthquake has shaken the northwestern Turkish province of Duzce. There was no immediate report of any damage or casualties but media reports said Wednesday’s quake sent people rushing out of buildings in panic. The Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate said the magnitude 5.0

NEW YORK (AP) — An emerging young filmmaker is also very much in demand in the book world. Nick Brooks has reached a seven-figure deal for his young adult thriller “Promise Boys.” In it, three boys at a Washington, D.C., charter school investigate the murder of their principal and learn hard truths about their education

By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — The man who fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery has testified at his murder trial that the 25-year-old Black man forced him to make a split-second “life or death” decision by attacking him and grabbing his shotgun. Wednesday’s testimony was the first time Travis McMichael has spoken publicly

By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — The reigning Miss Universe says the long-running beauty pageant being held in Israel next month shouldn’t be politicized. Contestants have faced pressure to drop out over Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. Andrea Meza, who holds the crown, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the contest was

By KATHERINE ROTH Associated Press With concern about climate change growing, this holiday season is a chance to try celebrating in more planet-friendly ways. Simple changes to the way we gift wrap, send cards, decorate and entertain can cut out a lot of waste. And often save money in the process. For instance, when gift

By ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is making billions of dollars available to drugmakers to scale up domestic production of COVID-19 vaccines. It hopes that will build capacity to produce an additional 1 billion shots per year to share globally as well as prepare for the next pandemic. Under the

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of airline passengers traveling for Thanksgiving this year is expected to rebound to pre-coronavirus pandemic levels, but the Transportation Security Administration says it is ready to handle the surge. Administrator David Pekoske said Wednesday he expects agency staffing to be sufficient for what’s traditionally TSA’s busiest travel period. He said

DETROIT (AP) — Stellantis is recalling more than 240,000 diesel heavy-duty trucks mainly in North America to fix fuel pumps that can fail and cause engine stalling. The recall covers certain 2019 and 2020 heavy-duty pickups and chassis cab trucks equipped with 6.7-liter Cummins diesel engines. The recall comes about a month after the National

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s central bank governor says he asked an auditing firm to look into transactions and investments and that contrary to media reports, the results showed no public money has been misused. Riad Salameh, once praised as the guardian of Lebanon’s financial stability, is under scrutiny during the small country’s economic meltdown. He