Month: January 2022

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Supreme Court justices say a media report they were at odds over the wearing of masks during the surge in coronavirus cases is false. NPR’s longtime Supreme Court correspondent Nina Totenberg reported on an alleged conflict between Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch. Sotomayor has diabetes and has been attending arguments

By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri House has overcome objections by Democrats and some Republicans to pass legislation redrawing the state’s eight congressional districts. The 86-67 vote Wednesday sends the redistricting plan to the Senate, where more debate is expected. The plan is projected to keep the state’s

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — HBO and HBO Max have beaten Netflix to be the top contender at the GLAAD Media Awards with 19 nominations, landing the bulk of its nods for TV shows like “Hacks,” “The Other Two” and “The Sex Lives of College Girls.”The annual awards honors media

By AYA BATRAWY and MALAK HARB Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A United Arab Emirates ambassador says Yemen’s Houthi rebels used cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones in an attack on Abu Dhabi this week that killed three people and set off fires at a fuel depot and an international airport. The

NEW YORK (AP) — The man accused of pushing a woman to her death in a New York City subway station has been arraigned on a murder charge and ordered held without bail. Martial Simon was charged Wednesday in the death of Michelle Alyssa Go. She was pushed in front of a train Saturday in

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A hospital in New Orleans says it has identified two patients infected with a rare drug-resistant fungus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Candida auris has already been found in at least 20 other states including Georgia, Florida and Texas. The Times-Picayune / The New Orleans Advocate reports that

WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by family members of Boston crime boss James “Whitey” Bulger Jr., who was beaten to death in a federal prison in West Virginia. U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey granted the government’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit. The judge ruled federal law precludes

By MIKE STOBBE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A new study that compares coronavirus protection from prior infection and vaccination concludes getting the shots is still the safest way to prevent COVID-19. The study examined infections in New York and California last summer and fall. They found people who were both vaccinated and had

By KEN MILLER Associated Press Authorities say a wildfire in a central Texas state park is no longer growing and no injuries were reported after the blaze burned 1.2 square miles in the city of Bastrop. Texas A&M Forest Service spokesperson Kari Hines said Wednesday that no homes have been reported destroyed, some families have

By AMY FORLITI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The federal trial for three former Minneapolis police officers who were with Derek Chauvin when he pinned George Floyd to the street is expected to be complex as prosecutors try to prove each officer willingly violated the Black man’s constitutional rights. Jury selection begins Thursday in the

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An Indigenous New Mexico woman has been named to lead the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian. Cynthia Chavez Lamar will be the first Native American woman to serve as the museum’s director when she takes over Feb. 14. She’s currently the acting associate director for collections and operations. Chavez

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Some TV characters have lofty goals. They want to find a soul mate, a fulfilling career or their place in the world. Then there’s Harrison. When we first meet him, he just hopes to walk to the coffee shop alone. Harrison is one of the

By DIANE JEANTET and DIARLEI RODRIGUES Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Some 1,200 police officers have been deployed to Rio de Janeiro’s working-class Jacarezinho neighborhood, marking the start of a state effort seeking to reclaim territory. It remains unclear how the program will differ from a prior initiative along similar lines. The operation,

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — New German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for a “paradigm shift” in the way the world approaches climate policy, saying his country would leverage its presidency of the Group of Seven industrial nations to push for standards to fight global warming. Discussions on energy use and ways

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — A hearing on a motion seeking to dismiss former Chicago-area police sergeant Drew Peterson’s 2012 conviction for killing his third wife has been delayed. The Will County Circuit Court Clerk’s office says the hearing originally scheduled for this Friday will be held Feb. 7. Peterson says attorney Joel Brodsky provided ineffective

TORONTO (AP) — Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard has been denied bail and will be detained in Toronto as he awaits trial. Nygard is charged with six counts of sexual assault and three counts of forcible confinement, which Toronto police have said relate to alleged incidents in the late 1980s and mid-2000s. He has denied

By FELICIA FONSECA Associated Press FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — An Air Force airman convicted of kidnapping and killing a Mennonite woman was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison. Mark Gooch was convicted of kidnapping Sasha Krause from northwestern New Mexico, fatally shooting her and leaving her body in a forest clearing outside Flagstaff, Arizona. The

WASHINGTON (AP) — Maryland’s U.S. senators have introduced legislation to remove the name of a segregationist former lawmaker from a prominent Washington-area traffic circle. Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin said Tuesday that they are seeking to take Francis G. Newlands’ name off of a fountain and plaque at Chevy Chase Circle. The

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press The sweeping elections bill that has collapsed in the Senate dealt with much more than voting changes. The Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act would have created national automatic voter registration, allowed all voters to cast ballots by mail and weakened voter ID laws. It also would have banned

By ASHRAF KHALIL Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Comedian, talk show host and political influencer Jon Stewart has been named the 23rd recipient of the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Award for lifetime achievement in comedy. The 59-year-old Stewart, whose real name is Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, rose to prominence as a standup comic and host of

By COLLEEN SLEVIN Associated Press DENVER (AP) — Authorities say investigators are working to determine whether some small bone fragments found during the search for a 91-year-old woman who tried to save her dogs from a wildfire in suburban Denver could belong to her. The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday that scientific testing is

By MATTHEW PERRONE and KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — For the first time, people across the U.S. can log on to a government website and order free, at-home COVID-19 tests. But the White House push may do little to ease the omicron surge, and experts say Washington will have to do a lot

By KATHY GANNON Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have held their first economic conference, five months since taking over the country that is now teetering on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe and economic collapse. The U.N. head of mission for Afghanistan said at the gathering on Wednesday that there have

NEW YORK (AP) — Cardi B has offered to pay the burial costs for all 17 people killed in a fire in a New York City high-rise. New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced Wednesday that the rapper had offered the financial relief for victims of the Bronx fire. The Grammy-winning artist grew up in

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer Starbucks is no longer requiring its U.S. workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, reversing a plan it announced earlier this month. The Seattle coffee giant says it’s responding to last week’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 6-3 vote, the court rejected the Biden administration’s plan to

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece has raised 3 billion euros in a 10-year bond auction that helps boost its budget following its yearslong economic bailout program. The finance minister said the cost of Wednesday’s bone issue was “satisfactory,” given global trends like the coronavirus pandemic. Greece is planning to raise more than 10 billion euros

LOWVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — An upstate New York sheriff is being criticized for using his official letterhead to vouch for the “good character” of a man who pleaded guilty to a charge related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. Republican Lewis County Sheriff Michael Carpinelli wrote to a federal judge last month “on behalf of

By ED WHITE Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — A former Detroit City Council member who quit after pleading guilty to a bribery scheme has been sentenced to two years in prison. Andre Spivey acknowledged “very poor choices” in accepting $36,000 but still had hoped to get probation. His prison sentence is far below the 40

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida is on pace to produce the smallest crop of oranges in more than 75 years. A forecast released last week says the Sunshine State is on pace to produce 44.5 million 90-pound boxes of oranges during the current season. That’s a 1.5 million box reduction from the previous forecast in