Month: December 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a conservative think tank over Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ decision to exclude the group’s writers from press briefings. The justices acted without comment Monday. They left in place lower court rulings that said the decision is legal. The John K. MacIver Institute for Public

By The Associated Press This week’s new entertainment releases include a new album from rapper Roddy Ricch, a prequel to the TV series “Yellowstone” on Paramount+ and Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God.” What’s better than a Mahershala Ali performance? How about two? In Benjamin Cleary’s “Swan Song,” Ali plays a terminally ill

By HARRIET MORRIS and VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — A Japanese space tourist has rebuffed criticism from those who questioned his decision to pay a fortune for a trip to the International Space Station, saying the “amazing” experience was worth it. Speaking to The Associated Press in a live interview Monday from the

By KATHLEEN FOODY Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — As the omicron variant sparks worldwide fears of renewed virus outbreaks, Americans’ worries about infection are again on the rise. But fewer say that they are regularly wearing masks or isolating compared with the beginning of the year. A new poll conducted by The Associated Press and

MADRID (AP) — More than 50 people have been evacuated from areas in northern Spain hit by record flooding following heavy rain and snowfall. Spanish authorities blamed the flooding for the deaths of at least two people since Friday. The regions of Navarra and Aragón remained under severe weather warnings. In Novillas, a village of

By ADRIAN SAINZ Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The World Health Organization and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital are working to provide cancer medicines at no cost to children in under-resourced countries. Their $200 million investment announced Monday addresses an imbalance of survival rates compared with richer nations. They’ve created a Global Platform for

MILAN (AP) — Milan menswear previews for fall/winter 2021-22 are returning to a mostly in-person format in January, with Zegna, Giorgio Armani, Fendi and Prada among the 22 brands staging live runway shows. The president of the Italian National Fashion Chamber said Monday that the success of the womenswear calendar in September, when there were

BY JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — An architect-designer in southern Finland has returned to a frozen lake with a snow shovel to draw a large animal on the ice for the sixth year in a row. On Dec. 4, Pasi Widgren drew a fox that measures about 90 meters (295 feet)

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Security forces fired tear gas to disperse protesters in Sudan’s capital in the latest street demonstrations against the October military coup and subsequent deal that reinstated deposed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. Thousands of protesters took to the streets Monday in Khartoum and other cities as part of

By ELOGE WILLY KANEZA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Burundi’s government has signaled that it won’t allow a recently appointed United Nations special rapporteur on human rights into the East African nation. Foreign Minister Albert Shingiro last week told reporters, and separately told a meeting with diplomats, that Burundi would “never” allow the special

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities have backed away from introducing some of the restrictions for the unvaccinated that were announced a month ago and elicited public outrage all across the vast country where vaccine uptake remains low. The speaker of the State Duma, Russia’s lower parliament house, on Monday announced

BERLIN (AP) — A German court has convicted eight people over their role in a data processing center installed at a former military bunker that hosted sites dealing in drugs and other illegal activities. The data center at the former NATO bunker in Traben-Trarbach, a picturesque town on the Mosel River in western Germany, was

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Geneva prosecutors have fined a Swiss bank for failing to alert money laundering authorities about millions in funds from Saudi Arabia that went to former Spanish King Juan Carlos and his ex-lover, but have dropped any charges against his associates in the case. The Geneva prosecutor’s office

By PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts church that supports immigrants fleeing their countries for their sexual orientation has opened a new home for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender asylum seekers. The LGBT Asylum Task Force, a ministry of Hadwen Park Congregational Church in Worcester, purchased and renovated a multi-family home.

By JUSTIN SPIKE and SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has held talks in Hungary’s capital with the leaders of the European Union’s eastern nations. The centrist French leader found common cause on the issue of strengthening the EU’s external borders with the heads of the Visegrad 4 group

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — A leading Catholic LGBTQ advocacy group is praising a Vatican official for apologizing for the pain caused when he yanked a reference to the group on the Vatican website. The Vatican’s General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops, which is organizing a two-year consultation of rank-and-file Catholics ahead

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Several European Union nations have made it clear they have little appetite to join the U.S. initiative for a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Games because of concerns over China’s human rights record. EU foreign ministers are seeking a united front on how to handle the

By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA Associated Press KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Two brothers who are among Nepal’s most famous Sherpa guides have set out to scale the highest peaks on each of the world’s seven continents, in a sweeping global trek that will take them across both the North and South Poles. Mingma Sherpa and Chhang Dawa

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has released a federal strategy to build 500,000 charging stations for electric vehicles across the country and ultimately transform the U.S. auto industry. Vice President Kamala Harris announced the strategy Monday at an event in suburban Maryland. The $1 trillion infrastructure law President Joe

By LIZ WESTON of NerdWallet For people 50 and older, taking care of year-end financial tasks can help you make the most of your money. As 2021 draws to a close, begin your end-of-the-year financial to-do list with evaluating your retirement savings rate and considering making catch-up contributions to tax-advantaged accounts such as a 401(k)

By BISWAJEET BANERJEE Associated Press VARANASI, India (AP) — India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a dip in the sacred Ganges River before a crowd of thousands, as he opened part of a large-scale development project in the holy city of Varanasi. The highlight of the opening ceremony on Monday was a $45 million

By KONSTANTIN TESTORIDES Associated Press SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — North Macedonia’s ruling Social Democrats have elected Dimitar Kovachevski as the new party leader and he is set to take over as prime minister if a coalition agreement remains intact. Kovachevski replaces Zoran Zaev, who stepped down in the wake of a heavy defeat in

BERLIN (AP) — The German government has approved 60 billion euros in funding to be used for combating climate change and modernizing the country. The new finance minister on Monday described the move as a “booster” for Europe’s biggest economy. The supplementary budget approved by the Cabinet entails putting the money into a government fund

LONDON (AP) — British antitrust regulators are opening an investigation into Microsoft’s $16 billion acquisition of speech recognition company Nuance. It’s the latest sign they’re tightening up scrutiny of big technology deals. The Competition and Markets Authority said Monday that it’s looking into the purchase because of concerns that it could result in a “substantial

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The Turkish currency has dipped to an all-time low amid another anticipated interest rate cut later this week and after the S&P credit rating agency downgraded its outlook for Turkey. The Turkish lira plummeted to 14.75 against the U.S. dollar Monday, prompting Turkey’s Central Bank to intervene by selling off foreign

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A gem company in Sri Lanka has unveiled a rare and massive gemstone weighing 683 pounds (310 kilograms) that has been certified as one of the biggest corundums ever found in the country. Sri Lanka’s National Gem and Jewelry Authority says it has done a series of gemological tests on

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris is announcing $1.2 billion in commitments from international businesses to support the economies and social infrastructure of Central American nations. Harris was tapped in March by President Joe Biden to work to counter the social, economic and political forces that drive migrants and asylum seekers to the U.S.

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is announcing 60 finalists for $1 billion in economic development grants tied to the Biden administration’s coronavirus relief package. The grants are aimed at improving job training and regional industry partnerships. There were 529 applicants for the grants. The government ultimately will choose 20 to 30

By JILL LAWLESS and DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Long lines have formed for booster shots across England as the U.K. government urged all adults to protect themselves against the omicron variant. The British government also reported the country’s first death involving the omicron variant. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said everyone 18 and