Month: January 2022

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — The upcoming Grammy Awards have been postponed due to what organizers called “too many risks” from the omicron variant. The ceremony had been scheduled for Jan. 31st in Los Angeles with a live audience and performances. The Recording Academy said Wednesday it made the decision

GENEVA (AP) — The Swiss army has told its ranks to stop using foreign instant-messaging services like WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram for official communications, opting for a Swiss alternative in part over concerns about legislation in Washington that governs how U.S. authorities can access information held by tech companies. Army leaders, in a letter to

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and Germany are backing Lithuania in its spat with China, saying the pressure exerted by Beijing against the tiny Baltic nation is unwarranted, Lithuania broke with diplomatic custom last year by letting the Taiwanese office in Vilnius bear the name Taiwan, instead of Chinese Taipei. Lithuania’s move infuriated Beijing,

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers say she’ll request a new trial after revelations by a juror in her case that he was a victim of sexual abuse. Her lawyers said in a letter to U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan on Wednesday that the court should order a

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press A new report from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that parents shared more meals and spent more quality time together with their children at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic than they had in previous years. The survey released this week asked one parent per household for details of their

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve policymakers at a meeting last month said the U.S. job market was nearly at levels healthy enough that the central bank’s low-interest rate policies were no longer needed. That’s according to minutes of the meeting released Wednesday. The minutes also said that Fed officials

OXFORD, Mich. (AP) — Students at a Michigan high school will return to classes next week at a different location, weeks after four were killed during a shooting. Oxford High School still isn’t ready to reopen. But the superintendent announced a tentative plan to share the middle school for two weeks, starting next Monday. Tim

PARIS (AP) — France has announced a staggering number of daily virus cases, at more than 332,000 far surpassing a string of recent records. Hospitals are preparing drastic measures to brace for patient surges and the government is straining to avoid a new lockdown. The number announced Wednesday was Europe’s highest-ever single-day confirmed infection count.

By LAURAN NEERGAARD and MIKE STOBBE Associated Press The U.S. is strengthening its COVID-19 booster campaign, endorsing an extra shot for everyone age 12 and older. Boosters already were permitted at age 16 and urged for most adults as the nation battles the omicron surge. Earlier this week, regulators authorized an extra Pfizer shot for

JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli committee has approved plans for building more than 3,500 settler housing units in east Jerusalem, nearly half in a particularly controversial area. That’s according to Peace Now, an anti-settlement monitoring group. Peace Now says the construction would largely cut off the city from the southern West Bank. That would further

WASHINGTON (AP) — Robert Santos has been sworn in as the head of the nation’s largest statistical agency. He became the first Hispanic director of the U.S. Census Bureau on Wednesday, as well as the bureau’s 26th director. The Senate had previously approved the third-generation Mexican American statistician from San Antonio, Texas. Santos will oversee

By RODRIQUE NGOWI, MICHAEL CASEY and DON THOMPSON Associated Press Hospitals across the U.S. are feeling the wrath of the omicron variant and getting thrown into disarray that is different from earlier COVID-19 surges. This time, they are dealing with serious staff shortages because so many workers are getting sick. People are showing up at

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Yemeni officials say forces of the internationally recognized government have reclaimed large swaths of territory in the southern province of Shabwa from the Iran-backed Houthi rebels. A Yemeni military spokesman says the troops’ advance aims to cut supply lines for the Houthis attacking the key city of

By CURT ANDERSON AP Legal Affairs Writer A major lawsuit in the collapse of a Florida beachfront condominium that killed 98 people will go to trial in March 2023. That new deadline is about six months later than Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman had originally planned. But lawyers in the complex and unusual case said

By LEAH WILLINGHAM and REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The oldest World War II veteran in the United States has died at the age of 112. Lawrence N. Brooks died Wednesday in New Orleans. He was also believed to be the oldest living man in the country. Brooks was known for his

By ZEKE MILLER and MIKE STOBBE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health officials say they are not changing the definition of being “fully vaccinated” against COVID-19. But they are urging Americans to stay “up to date” on their virus protection by getting booster shots when eligible. The move to keep the existing definition of

By ROB GILLIES Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calls videos of a party on a recent Sunwing Airlines flight from Montreal to Cancun, Mexico a “slap in the face” to those who have tried to stay safe during the pandemic and says the country’s airline regulator is investigating. Videos of

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — ExxonMobil says it has made two additional oil discoveries off the coast of Guyana as the South American country prepares to become the world’s newest major oil producer. The discovery announced Wednesday occurred in an area where officials believe they can extract at least 10 billion oil-equivalent barrels. The