Month: December 2021

MIAMI (AP) — A wake and funeral services in Florida are being prepared for former Congresswoman Carrie Meek, who died last week at 95 following a long illness. Meek was the grandchild of a slave and a sharecropper’s daughter who became one of the first Black Floridians elected to Congress since Reconstruction. Her family plans

In a story published December 6, 2021, about stocking-stuffer gift ideas, The Associated Press misspelled the name of a Vermont syrup company. It is Runamok, not Runomok.

By MICHELLE L. PRICE, BOBBY CAINA CALVAN and KAREN MATTHEWS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York Mayor Bill de Blasio says all private employers big and small in the city will have to require their workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by Dec. 27. It is the most sweeping vaccine mandate of any

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — A Nigerian official has criticized a travel ban imposed on the West African nation by the British government amid fears about the new omicron variant as “punitive, indefensible and discriminatory.” U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid on Saturday added Nigeria to the U.K.’s travel “red list,” which

By DON BABWIN and SARA BURNETT Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett has testified that claims he staged an anti-gay, racist attack on himself are “100% false.” Smollett took the stand Monday at his trial on charges that he lied to Chicago police about the January 2019 attack in downtown Chicago.

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis says he accepted the resignation of the archbishop of Paris because the monsignor could no longer govern effectively thanks to the “gossip” about his relationship with a woman a decade ago. Francis was asked en route home from Greece about the surprise

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Police in Slovenia say body of a man from Bangladesh has been found near the border with Croatia. The remains were discovered in an area where migrants cross the border illegally while trying to reach Western Europe.  Police in the coastal town of Koper said Monday the 31-year-old man’s body was

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis says there are plans for a possible second meeting with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. That would come after their historic 2016 encounter in Cuba became a landmark in mending relations severed by the 1,000-year-old schism that divided Christianity. Speaking

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. health agency says the global response to the longtime threat of malaria has taken a hit as the coronavirus pandemic disrupted health services in many countries and led to 47,000 more deaths worldwide last year. And questions remain on the possible fallout this year. The

BERLIN (AP) — Karl Nehammer has been sworn in as Austria’s third chancellor in two months. Monday’s ceremony capped a round of upheaval triggered by the decision last week of Sebastian Kurz to bow out of politics. The 49-year-old Nehammer has been Austria’s interior minister since early 2020. He also is taking over as leader

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says attacks on Muslim houses of worship on Cyprus would “not go unanswered” following reports of an attempted arson attack on a mosque on the southern, internationally-recognized Greek Cypriot part of the divided island. Turkey’s pro-government Daily Sabah newspaper said at least one suspect was detained

By COLLIN BINKLEY and HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press A new poll finds that the stresses of the coronavirus pandemic have been especially hard for younger Americans, in particular when it comes to their education and social lives. The poll from MTV Entertainment Group and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that Americans

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Thousands of Sudanese have taken to the streets in the capital of Khartoum and other cities. They are the latest protests against the October military coup and subsequent deal that reinstated Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. Footage circulated on social media purportedly showed demonstrators marching Monday in different

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press LE PECQ, France (AP) — French prosecutors have opened an investigation into violence that erupted at the first official campaign rally of a far-right candidate who has shaken up France’s presidential race. Police detained around 60 people after fists and chairs flew and anti-racism activists were left bloodied Sunday at

Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan has confirmed a third case of the new omicron COVID-19 variant. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters Monday that the third infection was a traveler from Italy who had tested positive for the new strain upon his arrival at Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Dec. 1. The official added

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The family of the British woman charged with helping the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein exploit underage girls has asked the U.S. attorney general to improve the treatment she is receiving during her trial “in the interest of justice and common humanity.” Ghislaine Maxwell’s family have written

TROMSO, Norway (AP) — A Norwegian soccer club has collaborated with Amnesty International and a former migrant worker in Qatar to launch a jersey that highlights the human rights violations taking place in the host country of next year’s World Cup. Tromso is a team from northern Norway. It describes itself as the first professional

By AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is looking to expand reporting requirements on all-cash real estate deals to help crack down on bad actors’ use of the U.S. market to launder money made through illicit activity. The Treasury Department is seeking public comment for a potential regulation that would address

By LIZ WESTON of NerdWallet A personalized financial blueprint from a qualified planner should offer smart ways to manage your money both now and in the future. Plus, the plan should be tailored to your priorities and resources. But you don’t need a formal program or a professional to get started. Some general guidelines can

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s military says one of its helicopters has crashed in bad weather in the Pakistan-administered section of disputed Kashmir, killing the two pilots on board. The military says the helicopter went down on Monday on the Siachen glacier. It’s one of the world’s longest mountain glaciers, located in the Karakoram Range, and

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian health authorities on Monday said they have confirmed the first two cases of the omicron variant of coronavirus in travelers who returned from South Africa. The country’s public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said a total of 10 people who returned from South Africa recently tested positive for COVID-19, but the new variant

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norwegian archaeologists have found a cluster of longhouses including one of the largest in Scandinavia in the southeastern part of the country using ground-penetrating radar. Researchers said Monday they believe the area was a central place in the late Nordic Iron Age. Longhouses are narrow and single-room buildings. The discoveries were

By JILL LAWLESS and SETH BORENSTEIN Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Winners of the 2021 Nobel Prizes are receiving their awards in scaled-down local ceremonies adapted for pandemic times. The coronavirus has scuttled the traditional formal banquet in Stockholm for a second year. It is usually attended by winners of the prizes in chemistry, physics,

By ABDULLAH AL-SHIHRI and AYA BATRAWY Associated Press RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s crown prince has traveled to Oman, the first stop of a tour of Gulf Arab states that will see him meet neighboring rulers and allies. The tour comes ahead of the upcoming annual Gulf Cooperation Council meeting of rulers, and

By AAMER MADHANI and ALEXANDRA JAFFE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says the U.S. will stage a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing to protest Chinese human rights abuses. It’s a move China has vowed to greet with “firm countermeasures.” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Monday

By GEIR MOULSON and FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — A three-party deal to form a new German government under center-left leader Olaf Scholz has cleared its final hurdle. That sets the scene for Scholz to succeed longtime Chancellor Angela Merkel later this week. Germany’s environmentalist Greens said Monday that their members approved the

By DALATOU MAMAN Associated Press NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Niger’s interior ministry says that extremist gunmen have attacked a military camp near the West African country’s border with Burkina Faso, killing at least 12 soldiers. In a statement released Sunday night, the government said that rebels riding 100 motorcycles attacked the military camp of Fonion,

By NASSER KARIMI and JON GAMBRELL Associated Press TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The national security adviser of the United Arab Emirates has met with Iran’s hard-line president in Tehran. Monday’s visit is a major step for the UAE, which views the Islamic Republic as its main regional threat. Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s visit