Month: December 2021

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s justice minister has asked his nation’s constitutional court to rule on whether a new European Union rule linking funding to respect for rule of law is in line with the Polish constitution. Zbigniew Ziobro said Thursday at a news conference that he was convinced the new rules are “are totally

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Marine Corps discharged 66 Marines in the past week for refusing to get the coronavirus vaccine as mandated by the military. The Corps continues to outpace the other services at discipline related to the shots, with the total number of Marines booted out for vaccine

By MARK SHERMAN and NOMAAN MERCHANT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump has turned to the Supreme Court in a last-ditch effort to keep documents away from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. A federal appeals court ruled against Trump two weeks ago, but the court prohibited

MUSKOGEE, Okla. (AP) — A Muskogee, Oklahoma, sixth-grader has been honored by law enforcement and school officials for his heroic actions not just once, but twice in the same day. The Muskogee Phoenix newspaper reports Davyon Johnson used the Heimlich maneuver on a classmate who was choking on a bottle cap. Later that same day,

LONDON (AP) — Lawyers for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange have requested permission to appeal a ruling that opened the door for his extradition from Britain to the United States on spying charges. The attorneys on Thursday asked for permission to appeal the High Court’s ruling, arguing that the U.S. government’s pledge Assange wouldn’t be subjected

By VANESSA GERA and FRANK BAJAK Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Security researchers say they’ve confirmed that a third Polish opposition figure had his phone hacked with sophisticated spyware from Israeli company NSO Group. The senator was hacked nearly three dozen times using NSO’s Pegasus spyware when he was running the opposition’s campaign against

By JIM MUSTIAN and JAKE BLEIBERG Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Mona Hardin is haunted by the body-camera images of her son Ronald Greene being punched, stunned and dragged by the Louisiana State Police. She’s enraged that troopers initially tried to explain away the Black man’s death as the result of a car crash.

OSSEO, Wis. (AP) — Authorities in western Wisconsin are trying to sort out multiple crashes along Interstate 94. The State Patrol said in a statement that freezing rain early Thursday left the interstate between Menomonie and Black River Falls icy. About 5:45 a.m. a semi-trailer apparently slid in the median near Hixton and caught fire

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Jason Bateman has been named the 2022 Man of the Year by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals. The theater troupe announced Thursday that Bateman, an actor, producer and director on the Netflix series “Ozark,” who also played a starring role in “Arrested Development,” will be given his pudding pot at a

Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopia’s government has announced that its forces will not advance deeper into the Tigray region. The Government Communication Service head, Legesse Tulu, said Thursday that Ethiopian forces have been ordered to maintain the areas they have won back from the Tigray People’s Liberation Force, but not to go further

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A crew cutting down a dying oak at the University of Nebraska has made a surprising find — flying squirrels. A video shot by a member of the crew made its way to Larkin Powell, a conservation biology professor. The Lincoln Journal Star reports he was surprised by what he saw

By LUIS ANDRES HENAO and MARIAM FAM Associated Press During the holidays, some faith groups and congregations across the United States work to bring some Christmas cheer—and connection—to prisoners and their children. The Angel Tree program of the nonprofit Prison Fellowship partners with churches and volunteers to host toy drives and deliver gifts to prisoners’

By JIM MUSTIAN and JAKE BLEIBERG Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Mona Hardin is haunted by the body-camera images of her son Ronald Greene being punched, stunned and dragged by Louisiana State Police. She’s enraged that troopers initially tried to explain away the Black man’s death as the result of a car crash. She

By HARUNA UMAR Associated Press MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Witnesses say explosions have killed several people in northeast Nigeria ahead of a visit by President Muhammadu Buhari. The attacks took place in Maiduguri, the city where Islamic militants first launched an insurgency against the government more than a decade ago. Nigerian authorities did not release

CAIRO (AP) — A prominent Egyptian human rights activist has been released after serving her sentence on charges of spreading false news and insulting a police officer. Sanaa Seif was released in Cairo on Thursday. Her sister, also a well-known human rights advocate, posted photos on social media showing Seif smiling and walking with friends.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The actor who played Kevin’s older brother in the classic Christmas movie “Home Alone” has been arrested in Oklahoma after he was accused of assaulting his girlfriend. Authorities say Devin Ratray surrendered to authorities Wednesday. Ratray played Buzz McAllister in the 1990 movie. Authorities say Ratray was visiting Oklahoma earlier in

By THOMAS BEAUMONT Associated Press DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s 2nd congressional district has the dubious distinction of having the second-most structurally deficient bridges in the country. So, it struck some Iowans as strange when the district’s Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks voted against a bill that would pour more than $100 million in federal money to

By MICHAEL WARREN Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — The official seal of the City of Atlanta shows a phoenix rising from the ashes of the Civil War. What it doesn’t show is that Atlanta was rebuilt with slavery’s successor: unpaid convict labor, working in horrific conditions to break granite at the Bellwood Quarry and burn

By JOHN HANNA AP Political Writer TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has signaled her efforts to appeal to moderate Republican and GOP-leaning independent voters whose support is necessary for her to win a tough reelection race in Kansas next year. A recent example was her signing Republican legislation aimed at helping Kansas

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Wrkiter WASHINGTON (AP) — Sales of new single-family homes rose 12.4% in November, the fastest pace in seven months, with low mortgage rates continuing to fuel heightened demand. The November increase pushed the seasonally adjusted annual sales pace to 744,000 last month, the best showing since reaching 796,000 in April.

By BEN FOX Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A Biden administration effort to reunite children and parents who were separated under President Donald Trump’s zero-tolerance border policy has made increasing progress as it nears the end of its first year. The Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday that 100 children, mostly from Central America, are

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators have authorized a second pill against COVID-19, an antiviral drug from Merck that may help blunt the wave of infections driven by the omicron variant. The Food and Drug Administration granted the drug emergency use Thursday for adults with early COVID-19 who face the

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON Associated Press ORLANDO (AP) — Universal Orlando is reinstating its mask requirements beginning Christmas Eve as COVID-19 cases are surging as a result of the omicron variant. Daily cases of coronavirus have quadrupled in the past week in Florida. Hospitalizations have increased by 12%. Walt Disney World hasn’t announced any decision

BY ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer LONDON (AP) — Coronavirus outbreaks at Leeds and Watford have led to two Premier League matches scheduled for Sunday being postponed. Leeds was due to travel to Liverpool and Watford was set to play at Wolverhampton as part of the Boxing Day program of fixtures. The Premier League

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s new foreign minister has pledged to speed up efforts to get thousands of former local employees and other endangered people out of Afghanistan, four months after the country’s military airlift ended. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Thursday that more than 15,000 people whom Germany had promised to take in remain in

By AL-HADJI KUDRA MALIRO Associated Press BENI, Congo (AP) — Authorities say five people have died after a small passenger plane crashed in eastern Congo. Three passengers and two crew members had been aboard the aircraft bound for Shabunda in South Kivu province. Dieudonne Kashombanya, administrator of Shabunda, said that the cause of Thursday’s crash

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Wrkter WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer prices rose 5.7% over the past year, the fastest pace in 39 years as a surge in inflation battered Americans as the holiday shopping season was getting under way. The November increase, reported Thursday by the Commerce Department, followed a 5.1% rise for the

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania’s prime minister has apologized for a large leak of personal records from a government database of state and private employees, which he said seems more like an inside job than a cyber attack. A file containing the personal identity card numbers, employment and salary data of some 637,000 people became

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s state-run agency says a joint Turkish and Qatari delegation is traveling to Afghanistan to discuss plans for their two countries’ companies to run Kabul’s international airport in a partnership. Anadolu Agency said officials from Turkey and Qatar met in Doha this week to coordinate details of the plan and were

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits was unchanged last week, remaining at a historically low level that reflects the job market’s strong recovery from the coronavirus recession last year. Jobless claims were unchanged from the week before at 205,000. The four-week average, which smooths out week-to-week ups

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Christmas concerts and other events have been canceled in Greece under new restrictions that include a general mask mandate for outdoors and all public areas. Incoming travelers will also be required to have follow-up tests for COVID-19 on the second and fourth days after their arrival. The restrictions will take effect

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has removed the head of the Vatican office that handles the high-priority issues of migration, environment and COVID-19. Francis thanked Cardinal Peter Turkson for his five years of service. But according to a Vatican statement, he decided on new leadership following the results of an

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A Turkish court has again ruled to keep businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala behind bars, despite a decision from Europe’s democracy and human rights-promoting body to initiate a rare disciplinary process against Turkey for failing to release him. In a routine monthly review of his case on Thursday, a panel of