Month: December 2021

VIENNA (AP) — The World Health Organization’s top official in Europe urged governments to prepare for a “significant surge” in coronavirus cases across the continent with the rise of the omicron variant.  WHO Europe regional director Dr. Hans Kluge told reporters in Vienna that “we can see another storm coming.” Omicron has been detected in

By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. officials have approved two solar projects in California and are opening public lands in other Western states to potential solar development. The moves are part of the Biden administration’s effort to counter climate change by shifting from fossil fuels. The company proposing the projects east

BELVIDERE, Ill. (AP) — Police in northern Illinois are investigating the apparent shooting deaths of a man and his two young sons as a triple homicide. Police say officers found the bodies of 31-year-old Andrew Hintt, and his sons, ages 5 and 7, at their home in Belvidere on Sunday night. Autopsies were pending. Police

By PAUL WISEMAN and ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Business Writers Just as Americans and Europeans were eagerly awaiting their most normal holiday season in a couple of years, the omicron variant has unleashed a fresh round of fear and uncertainty — for travelers, shoppers, party-goers and their economies as a whole. The Rockettes have canceled their

By ERICA HUNZINGER AP Sports Writer DENVER (AP) — Scientists predict climate change will lead to unpredictable precipitation and possible water shortages in Arizona and throughout the West in the coming years — on top of the current drought. Four pro teams in the Colorado River Basin states of Arizona and California spoke with The

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Hungry squirrels are forcing a downtown St. Paul park to scale back its Christmas lights display. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports the Friends of Mears Park had to reduce and reconfigure its display this year because a troop of squirrels chewed through the wires last year and the vendor

By ALICIA RANCILIO Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Thanks to the vaccine, more people are coming together this holiday season. But not everyone feels comfortable mixing in big groups just yet. There are still ways to celebrate and create a memorable event for just one or for your pod. Event planner Colette Goodman suggests

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST (AP) — Hungary’s prime minister says his country won’t change its immigration policies despite a recent ruling from the European Union’s top court that found them in contradiction with the bloc’s laws. At a news conference in Budapest, Prime Minister Viktor Orban insisted Tuesday that despite the EU court’s

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press U.S. population growth dipped to its lowest rate since the nation’s founding during the first year of the pandemic. That’s because the coronavirus curtailed immigration, delayed pregnancies and killed hundreds of thousands of U.S. residents. Figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau show that the U.S. grew by only

By TOM HAYS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A jury has finished its first full day of deliberations without reaching a verdict in the sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell. The jury asked Tuesday to review the testimony of three of four women who said Maxwell aided Jeffrey Epstein in their abuse between 1994

By KRISTIN M. HALL and JUSTIN PRITCHARD Associated Press The Department of Defense is overhauling how it keeps track of its millions of guns and mountains of explosives, and Congress is requiring more accountability from the Pentagon. Those are two responses to an Associated Press investigation that showed lost or stolen military weapons were reaching

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Electric and hydrogen-powered truck startup Nikola has agreed to a $125 million settlement over charges that it defrauded investors after misleading them about its products, technical advances, and financial prospects. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday that the company violated the antifraud and disclosure control provisions of the

LONDON (AP) — A 25-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to murdering a British lawmaker who was stabbed to death while meeting constituents. Conservative member of Parliament David Amess was attacked Oct. 15 during a routine meeting with voters in Leigh-on-Sea in eastern England. Prosecutors have charged Ali Harbi Ali, a London man with Somali

LOS ÁNGELES (AP) — Chris Noth ya no será parte de la serie “The Equalizer” de CBS, a raíz de las acusaciones de abuso sexual en su contra. Universal Television y CBS anunciaron conjuntamente el lunes que el actor deja de ser parte de la filmación “con efecto inmediato”. Noth ha interpretado a un exdirector

By JOSEPH WILSON and ARITZ PARRA Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) —  Despite vaccination rates that make other governments envious, Spain and Portugal are facing the hard truth that these winter holidays won’t be a time of unrestrained joy. The reason is the new omicron variant that has been running rampant across Europe. Portugal on

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s prime minister says he will keep in place recently reimposed strict border controls, which ban most foreign entrants, until more information is known about the omicron variant of the coronavirus. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also says he will require 14-day quarantines at government-designated facilities for those

By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The leaders of Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia have met in Tirana to discuss and agree on furthering their Open Balkan initiative to promote political and economic ties. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on Tuesday hosted the meeting with Serbia President Aleksandar Vucic and North Macedonia

By REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Tradition dictates that Venezuelans wear brand new clothes on Christmas and New Year’s. Many often paint their homes. But the dollar bills circulating all across the country might as well show the Grinch instead of Washington this year. The government’s loosening of controls on dollars

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX has launched a load of Christmas gifts and supplies to the International Space Station. The Falcon rocket blasted off before dawn Tuesday from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. Several minutes later, SpaceX made its 100th successful rocket landing. The first-stage booster landed upright on