Month: January 2022

By SARAH RANKIN Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — With more bad weather looming, Virginia officials are seeking to reassure the public they are prepared as they reacted to harsh criticism of their response to a storm earlier this week that left hundreds of motorists stranded on Interstate 95. In contrast to his response to

By ALAN FRAM and KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Dozens of lawmakers have gathered on the anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. And a year after supporters of then-President Donald Trump tried to prevent Congress from certifying his reelection defeat, legislators who were there that violent day still had

By TALI ARBEL and JOE REEDY Associated Press The New York Times Co. is buying sports news site The Athletic for $550 million. It’s the Times’ latest move in its strategy to expand its audience of paying subscribers as the newspaper print ads business fades. The Times gained millions of subscribers during the Trump presidency

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Vice President Dick Cheney has made a surprise appearance in the House in a show of support for his daughter, Rep. Liz Cheney. They were the lone Republicans attending a pro forma session of the House on the anniversary of last year’s violence at the Capitol.

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior Army three-star general with extensive experience in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars has been nominated to become the top U.S. commander for the Middle East. Multiple U.S. officials say President Joe Biden has nominated Army Lt. Gen. Erik Kurilla to head U.S. Central Command

By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer One of the first studies to track whether COVID-19 vaccination might affect women’s periods is offering reassuring findings. Researchers tracked nearly 4,000 U.S. women through six menstrual cycles and found a small and temporary change: The next period after a shot started about a day later than usual. But

WOBURN, Mass. (AP) — A letter sent from a U.S. soldier stationed in Germany to his mother in Massachusetts has been delivered 76 years after it was sent. WFXT-TV reports that 22-year-old Army Sgt. John Gonsalves wrote to his mother in Woburn in December 1945 after the official end of WWII. The letter would sit

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican government has requested a dispute resolution panel under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement, because it claims the United States is improperly interpreting stricter regional content rules under the pact. The agreement, known as the USMCA, raised requirements for regional content to 75% of a vehicle’s value or components. Under

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Keechant Sewell spent her entire policing career in suburban Long Island before recently becoming New York City’s first police commissioner from outside the department in over two decades. The new mayor says he picked her in part because of her poise in handling a mock

By JIM HEINTZ Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Orthodox Christians in Russia, Serbia and other countries are observing Christmas amid restrictions aimed at dampening the spread of the coronavirus. The majority of Orthodox believers celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7,  with midnight services especially popular. The churches in Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Greece mark the Nativity

By JEFF MARTIN Associated Press KENNESAW, Ga. (AP) — Olympic hopeful Dani Loeb says she’s optimistic that police are able to recover her custom skis, helmet and other gear stolen in Atlanta now that two suspects are in custody. The men were arrested this week, but police haven’t said whether they’ve been able to recover

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Politicians and family members are remembering Georgia Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson’s ability to build consensus and win friends. Mourners including as many as 20 current and former U.S. senators gathered at Isakson’s memorial service on Thursday in Atlanta. Isakson died Dec. 19 at his home in Atlanta

By CALVIN WOODWARD Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Jan. 6 insurrection anniversary has meant a day of solemn remembrance, but mainly for Democrats. Republicans are in large measure quiet about the assault on the U.S. Capitol a year ago. They say it’s time to move on. In remarks at the Capitol, President Joe Biden

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has slapped a travel ban on eight Cuban officials it says have been complicit in the repression of opposition protesters and other dissidents. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced visa restrictions on Thursday in a statement that condemned an ongoing crackdown on participants in demonstrations that began last July.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A filing with state officials says the company that runs QVC is shutting down a North Carolina distribution center heavily damaged by a fire, putting nearly 2,000 people out of work. News outlets report that on Dec. 29, Qurate Retail Group filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining and Notification notice with

BENNINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A federal judge has given preliminary approval to a $34 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit against a chemical company over contamination of groundwater and soil in a southern Vermont community. The Bennington Banner reported this week that attorneys for the plaintiffs say notices are going out to hundreds of potential

By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Twenty of Yellowstone National Park’s renowned gray wolves roamed from the park and were shot by hunters in neighboring states in recent months. Park officials say it’s the most Yellowstone wolves killed in a season since the predators were reintroduced more than 25 years ago. Details

By MATTHEW LEE and ROBERT BURNS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Top U.S. and Japanese officials are highlighting new defense agreements, including a five-year deal on sharing the cost of the American military presence in Japan. That deal ends a Trump-era row that had been an irritant in relations between Tokyo and Washington. U.S. Secretary

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Assailants have left 10 beaten, murdered bodies in front of the governor’s office in the north-central Mexican state of Zacatecas. The bodies of eight men and two women were crammed into a pickup truck left before dawn Thursday near a Christmas tree in the main plaza of the state capital, also

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A New York man has been arrested on charges that he worked as a secret agent of the Egyptian government, including by gathering information about the political opponents of President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. The Justice Department says 39-year-old Pierre Girgis, a dual national of Egypt and the

BY DREW COSTLEY AP Science Writer The White House’s top official on environmental justice is stepping down a year after President Joe Biden took office with an ambitious plan to help disadvantaged communities and overhaul policies that have historically hurt them. The departure of Cecilia Martinez, senior director for environmental justice at the Council for

By The Associated Press Tributes to Peter Bogdanovich poured in following the death of the filmmaker, writer, critic and film historian. Bogdanovich, whose films included “The Last Picture Show” and “Paper Moon,” died Thursday at the age of 82. Among those who paid their respects were Francis Ford Coppola, Tatum O’Neal and Guillermo del Toro.

JERUSALEM (AP) — A truck and a van collided on a narrow two-lane highway in the occupied West Bank, killing seven Palestinians and injuring three. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared a day of mourning for the victims, who he described as “martyrs of trying to make a living.” Thousands of Palestinian laborers work in Jewish

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Richmond has awarded a contract for removing the city’s last major Confederate statue, along with nine other pedestals whose monuments have already been taken down. The winning bidder is the same company that recently took down the city’s Robert E. Lee memorial. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that the contract will be