Month: December 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — First Lady Jill Biden read excerpts from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” on Friday as part of a charity event that provides toys to needy children for the holidays. Biden was at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia, and sat with about 30 children of servicemembers during her remarks at the

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says there are “active discussions” within the department about making COVID-19 vaccine booster shots mandatory for service members, even as thousands refuse or seek exemptions from the initial shot mandate. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby says there have been no final decisions on the matter.

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah national park famed for its otherworldly sandstone arches will require visitors to get timed entry tickets during its high season next year, the second Utah park to implement a such a system as visitation swells. Park officials say the new timed-entry system isn’t

By SUDHIN THANAWALA and KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press LAGRANGE, Ga. (AP) — Investigators have long concluded that a Georgia man who disappeared while driving back to Auburn University in 1976 was the victim of a slaying. But the discovery of his 1974 Pinto in an Alabama creek this week is a big break in the

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s president says more opportunities for talks with Russia may arise thanks to the U.S. diplomatic effort to help de-escalate tensions after Moscow massed troops near Ukraine’s border, stoking fears of a possible invasion. U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with both Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin this

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration says it will no longer give out commercial astronaut wings starting next year because too many people are launching into space. The FAA announced the news Friday, one day before Blue Origin’s planned liftoff from West Texas with former football

MIRAMAR, Fla. (AP) — Ten geese drowned in a South Florida lake after a homeowners association’s attempt to trap, sedate and euthanize them went horribly awry. The SilverLakes homeowners association in Miramar hired a company, Pest Wildlife Pro, to remove 25 geese because some residents found them to be loud pooping machines, although others saw

KENSINGTON, N.H. (AP) — Police in a New Hampshire town say an accidental shooting led them to a house that was overrun with more than 70 cats and was declared uninhabitable because it was covered with feline feces and urine. Police in Kensington got a call from a hospital on Wednesday that a man was

By JULIE WATSON Associated Press SAN DIEGO (AP) — A former San Diego-area police officer who pushed a Black man during an arrest last year has been acquitted of lying on his report. Jurors returned the not guilty verdict Friday. Former La Mesa police Officer Matthew Dages testified he was truthful when he wrote in

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency says that weapons stored for the Palestinian Hamas group exploded in a refugee camp in southern Lebanon, killing and wounding a number of people. A Lebanese security official says authorities haven’t yet determined the number of casualties, but that as many as 12 may have died in

WAYCROSS, Ga. (AP) — Federal authorities say they’ve broken up a criminal enterprise that illegally brought migrant workers into the U.S., took their money and forced them to perform farm labor in conditions likened to modern-day slavery. Federal prosecutors for the Southern District of Georgia indicted 24 people in U.S. District Court, and said the

By JOSHUA GOODMAN and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — The Associated Press has learned that a senior U.S. diplomat quietly traveled to Venezuela this week and met with imprisoned Americans in an ongoing effort to secure their release. The Biden administration believes the men are being held as bargaining chips by a top

By ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Pop superstar Alicia Keys has debuted her new album live in front of a packed crowd at the world’s fair in Dubai — a lively performance full of soaring vocals and piano solos. The 40-year-old Keys sauntered onstage on Friday in a glittery gold

By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection is subpoenaing six more people who the panel says were involved in the organization and planning of rallies that aimed to overturn Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential election. The committee chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, says

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A far-right extremist has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his violent actions during August 2020 protests against racial injustice in Oregon’s largest city. Oregon Public Broadcasting reports Alan Swinney was convicted of unlawful use of a weapon, attempted assault, pointing a firearm at another, second degree unlawful use

By BERENICE BAUTISTA Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican actress Carmen Salinas, known for movies like “Danzón”, “Man on Fire” and “Bellas de Noche” and telenovelas and series including “María la del Barrio” and “Mujeres Asesinas”, has died. She was 82. Relatives of the actress announced her death Thursday night on Salinas’ Twitter account.

By ED WHITE Associated Press More U.S. states desperate to defend against COVID-19 are calling on the National Guard and other military personnel to assist. Staff at hospitals and other care centers are being worn down by a rise in virus cases that began before Thanksgiving, especially in some Northeast and Upper Midwest states. Meanwhile,

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has announced the appointment of an assistant to U.S. President Joe Biden as the next head of the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF. Catherine Russell also heads the White House Office of Presidential Personnel and served as the State Department’s ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues from 2013-2017. She

DAVISON, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan man who was convicted of killing his wife by spiking her cereal with heroin was sentenced Friday to life in prison. Genesee Circuit Court Judge David J. Newblatt handed down the sentence for Jason Harris of Davison in the 2014 death of Christina Davis, MLive.com reported. A jury convicted

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A court appearance is set for next week for a man accused of driving a limousine onto aircraft ramps at Las Vegas’ international airport, donning a clown mask and declaring he had a bomb before surrendering to authorities. No injuries were reported after Matthew Ray Hancock was arrested Wednesday near private

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER and MARK THIESSEN HONOLULU (AP) — Navy officials say they believe that contaminated tap water that went to Hawaii military households came from a one-time spill of jet fuel last month. The officials told Hawaii lawmakers on Friday they do not believe the cause was a leak from aging underground fuel

By MARGARET STAFFORD Associated Press A former inmate at a Kansas jail alleges in a federal lawsuit that deputies fired a flash grenade and nonlethal bullets at her while she was having a panic attack inside an isolation cell in 2019. The lawsuit was filed last month by an attorney for 25-year-old Realiti Courson. It

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Attorney General Herbert Slatery says he wouldn’t appeal the resentencing of a Tennessee death row inmate to life in prison after initially resisting the move just two years prior. Last month, a trial court judge resentenced Abu-Ali Abdur’Rahman to three consecutive life sentences. Now that Slatery

DENVER (AP) — A federal panel has approved naming a Colorado peak after a Cheyenne woman who facilitated relations between white settlers and Native American tribes in the early 1800s. Mestaa’ėhehe Mountain, which is pronounced “mess-taw-HAY,” honors the influential translator. The renaming of what was known as Squaw Mountain west of Denver comes after U.S.

By SARA BURNETT Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — The jury’s guilty verdict that Jussie Smollett faked a racist and homophobic attack isn’t the end of legal proceedings for the former “Empire” actor or others. Several lawsuits have been on hold pending the outcome of the criminal charges. A jury on Thursday convicted Smollett on five

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. budget deficit totaled $356.4 billion in the first two months of the budget year. That was down 17% from the same period a year ago due to a sharp jump in government revenues that offset a smaller increase in spending. In its monthly budget

LONDON (AP) — The UK Health Security Agency says the omicron variant of COVID-19 is spreading rapidly throughout Britain and is likely to become the dominant form of the disease across the country by the middle of this month. The agency says in a technical briefing that omicron is more easily transmissible than other variants.