Month: December 2021

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Two dams have broken in northeastern Brazil, threatening worse flooding in a rain-drenched region that has already seen thousands forced to flee their homes. The city governments of Jussiape and Itambe posted warnings on social media urging people to seek safety. The Bahia state government’s press office said heavy rains have

By ANDREW MELDRUM Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Desmond Tutu, South Africa’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist for racial justice, has died at 90. Tutu was an uncompromising foe of apartheid, South Africa’s brutal regime of oppression against its Black majority. The buoyant, blunt-spoken clergyman used his pulpit as the first Black bishop of Johannesburg and

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Defense attorneys have sought to dismiss the indictment against five men accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer because of what they describe as “egregious overreaching” by federal agents and informants. The Detroit News reports that defense attorneys filed a 20-page motion on Saturday night. They’re asking U.S. District

COLFAX, Calif. (AP) — A major Christmas weekend storm caused whiteout conditions and closed key highways amid blowing snow in mountains of Northern California and Nevada, with forecasters warning that travel in the Sierra Nevada could be difficult for several days. Authorities near Reno reported a 20-car pileup on a snow-blow highway where drivers described

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer Even with some mighty competition from new Matrix and Sing movies and rising concerns over the omicron variant, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” stayed in the No. 1 spot, with $81.5 million according to studio estimates Sunday. It also became 2021’s top-grossing film and crossed the $1 billion mark globally

By BRYAN GALLION and PAUL WISEMAN Associated Press NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The latest COVID-19 variant is upending holiday plans for tens of thousands of travelers — but it didn’t do much damage to holiday shopping. Airlines canceled hundreds more flights Sunday, citing staffing problems tied to COVID-19, as the nation’s travel woes extended beyond

By DEMETRIS NELLAS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Two tremors with a magnitude of 5.2 and 5.4, respectively, have jolted Greece’s southern islands, but no damage or casualties have been reported so far. The first tremor, a 5.2-magnitude, struck at 5:15 p.m. (1515 GMT) east of the island of Crete and at a depth

By ARSENE KABORE and SAM MEDNICK Associated Press OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — Burkina Faso’s government says 41 people were killed last week after an ambush in the country’s north blamed on Islamic extremists. Among those killed was Soumaila Ganame, who led a group of volunteer fighters helping the army battle jihadis. In announcing the

By AL-HADJI KUDRA MALIRO Associated Press BENI, Congo (AP) — Authorities in eastern Congo have announced an evening curfew and new security checkpoints. They are also urging churches, restaurants and hotels to step up in security in the wake of the region’s first deadly suicide bombing. The attacker killed five others Saturday night as patrons

By PAUL WISEMAN and ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Business Writers Holiday sales rose at the fastest pace in 17 years, even as shoppers grappled with higher prices, product shortages and a raging new COVID-19 variant in the last few weeks of the season, according to one spending measure. Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks all kinds of payments

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Germany’s health minister says the government has reached its goal of 30 million additional immunizations against COVID-19 by year’s end. The renewed push aimed to re-energize Germany’s vaccination campaign and counter a resurgence in COVID-19 infections. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said the 30-million mark was passed on Sunday, the dpa news

IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — The bodies of 16 Kurdish migrants who drowned as they tried to cross the English Channel last month have been repatriated to northern Iraq. The Nov. 24 disaster, in which 27 migrants died, has been described as the worst on record involving migrants trying to cross the English Channel. The boat

BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) — A central Pennsylvania church with a 221-year history held its final service and is scheduled to close at the end of the year due to declining membership and attendance. The First Presbyterian Church of Bellefonte was founded in 1800 and held the final scheduled service on Christmas Eve. The church was

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian artists and event organizers have joined together to protest the government’s decision to close down most concerts, cinemas and theaters to stem the spread of the surging omicron variant. The culture industry feels unfairly targeted by the new measures, which were announced Wednesday and took effect on Sunday. Events like Christmas

By TASSANEE VEJPONGSA Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Photos of the aftermath of the Christmas Eve killings in Mo So village in Kayah state spread on social media and fueled outrage against the military that took power in February after ousting the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The international aid group Save the

By STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Families who have lost loved ones to COVID-19 can apply for reimbursement from the federal government for up to $9,000 to cover the cost of funeral expenses. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has spent nearly $1.5 billion on funeral reimbursements since Jan. 20, 2020, the date of

NEW YORK (AP) — The celebratory last runs of vintage New York City subway cars could be in jeopardy because of vandalism. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced recently it would run one train of the 1960s-era cars on four Sundays beginning Dec. 19 before they are put on display at the New York Transit Museum.

By JANET McCONNAUGHEY Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana researchers have identified 14 new species of shrews on an Indonesian island where seven in that genus were previously known. Louisiana State University associate professor of biology Jake Esselstyn led 10 years of trips to the island of Sulawesi to collect the insect-eating mammals. The

ROMEO, Mich. (AP) — An animal shelter in Michigan has been inundated with hundreds of parakeets. The Detroit Animal Welfare Group in Romeo said in a Facebook post that the small, colorful birds were dropped off Thursday night. Director Kelley LeBonty told the Detroit Free Press that the son of an animal hoarder called to

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algeria has started requiring a “vaccine passport” to enter a broad range of public venues. It’s an effort to boost the country’s low inoculation rate and overcome vaccine hesitancy that has left millions of vaccines unused. The pass is now required for anyone entering or leaving Algeria, as well as for

By SAM MEDNICK Associated Press OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — Twins are seen as both a blessing and a curse in some West African countries. In Burkina Faso, they are revered for having special powers — healing the sick, warding off danger, and predicting the future. One mother of two sets of twins says she

By TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer Newly infected COVID-19 patients have two new treatment options that can be taken at home. But that convenience comes with a catch: The pills have to be taken as soon as possible once symptoms appear. The challenge is getting tested, getting a prescription and starting the pills within five

ROCKLAND, Maine (AP) — The Maine home that was the birthplace of poet Edna St. Vincent Millay is being restored. The first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for poetry was born in an upstairs bedroom of the house in Rockland and remained there for the first six months of her life. The restoration of

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says he will ponder a slew of options if the West fails to meet his demand for security guarantees precluding NATO’s expansion to Ukraine. Earlier this month, Moscow submitted draft security documents demanding that NATO deny membership to Ukraine and other former Soviet

MEVO HAMA, Golan Heights (AP) — Israel says it plans to double the amount of settlers living in the Golan Heights and invest hundreds of millions of dollars developing the area. The plan would further consolidate Israel’s hold on the territory it captured from Syria more than five decades ago. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett made

By ANGELA CHARLTON Associated Press PARIS (AP) — France recorded more than 100,000 virus infections in a single day for the first time since the pandemic struck and COVID-19 hospitalizations have doubled over the past month. More than 1,000 people in France with the virus died over the past week, bringing the overall death toll

By DEMETRIS NELLAS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Karolos Papoulias, a former president of Greece, has died at the age of 92, Greece’s state news agency ANA reports. Papoulias, a lawyer by training, was close to socialist leader Andreas Papandreou and served in all his governments from 1981-1996, all in foreign affairs positions, ending

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban have dissolved Afghanistan’s two election commissions as well as state ministries for peace and parliamentarian affairs. A deputy spokesman for Afghanistan’s Taliban-run government says Sunday the country’s Independent Election Commission and Electoral Complaint Commission have been dissolved. He called them “unnecessary institutes for the current situation in Afghanistan.” He said

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Pope Francis is seeking to encourage married couples. He has penned a special letter on a Catholic feast day acknowledging that the pandemic has aggravated some family problems but urging couples to seek help. He says they should always remember three key words in a marriage: “Please,

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Libya’s Red Crescent says at least 27 bodies of Europe-bound migrants, including a baby and two women, have washed ashore in the country’s west. It says the bodies were found late Saturday in two separate locations in the coastal town of Khoms. Three other migrants were rescued

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Nobel Peace Prize laureate and retired Archbishop of Cape Town Desmond Tutu is being lauded around the world after his death Sunday at 90. When South Africa was gripped by anti-apartheid violence in the 1980s and a state of emergency gave police sweeping powers, Tutu was one of the most prominent Black

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Police say the body of a Pakistani-American woman they believe was killed by her former husband over a property dispute has been brought to the city of Rawalpindi for further investigation. The woman, a U.S. citizen of Pakistani origin, had been missing since she arrived in Pakistan in mid-October to settle issues

PATNA, India (AP) — Police say a factory boiler has exploded in eastern India, killing at least six workers and injuring six others. Rescuers are looking for any workers who may be trapped in the rubble of the factory that produced food snacks in an industrial area 60 miles north of Patna, the Bihar state

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Israeli military says forces have clashed with Palestinians in the West Bank in an area that has seen a recent uptick in friction. The clashes late Saturday were part of days of tension in the area surrounding a West Bank settlement outpost and a spike in violence elsewhere in

By ANDREW MELDRUM Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Desmond Tutu, South Africa’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist for racial justice, has died at 90. Tutu was an uncompromising foe of apartheid, South Africa’s brutal regime of oppression against its Black majority. The buoyant, blunt-spoken clergyman used his pulpit as the first Black bishop of Johannesburg and