Month: January 2022

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press AMSTERDAM (AP) — Dutch talent show “The Voice of Holland” has been taken off air in the Netherlands amid a sexual misconduct scandal. The furor is one of the most serious #MeToo reckonings to hit the Dutch entertainment world and focuses on a show created in the Netherlands but broadcast

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s Transport Ministry has criticized a stunt that saw a Czech millionaire drive his high-powered sportscar along a public highway at speeds of up to 257 mph. A video posted online this month shows Radim Passer pushing his Bugatti Chiron to extreme speeds on a stretch of Germany’s Autobahn last year. Passer

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A court in Ukraine has rejected a motion by the prosecutors to remand former President Petro Poroshenko in custody pending investigation and trial on the charges of treason, allowing the politician to walk out with a few restrictions. The ruling barred Poroshenko from leaving the capital,

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer The 44th annual Sundance Film Festival is back, and entirely online once more. The festival starts Thursday with nine packed days of high profile documentaries about everyone from Kanye West and Princess Diana to Lucille Ball and Bill Cosby, buzzy first films from knowns and unknowns, virtual gatherings and

By HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writer Five philanthropies have announced plans to spend more than $20 million to bolster news coverage in Houston, Texas, and create what they say will be one of the largest local nonprofit news organizations in the country. The donors said Wednesday in a news release that the newsroom is anticipated

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has hosted his Iranian counterpart, hailing their the two countries’ cooperation on international issues, including the Syrian crisis. Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi held talks Wednesday in the Kremlin. Putin noted that shared efforts by Moscow and Tehran have played a key role in “helping the Syrian

OSLO, Norway (AP) — A psychiatrist who has observed a Norwegian far-right extremist who killed 77 people in 2011 says Anders Behring Breivik “has the same diagnosis that he has had all along” and can’t be trusted. Breivik is serving Norway’s maximum 21-year sentence for setting off a bomb in Oslo’s government district and carrying

By AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is announcing his nominating prominent Democratic fundraiser Jane Hartley to serve as ambassador to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. He’s also nominating major donor Alan Leventhal to serve as envoy to Denmark. Other announcements from the White House on Wednesday include longtime diplomat

By MATT O’BRIEN and TALI ARBEL AP Technology Writers Microsoft stunned the gaming industry when it announced this week it would buy game publisher Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, a deal that would immediately make it a larger video-game company than Nintendo. Microsoft, maker of the Xbox gaming system, said the deal would be good

By SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press STRASBOURG, France (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to make the European Union more powerful as his country holds the bloc’s presidency for six months. Yet he has been accused by adversaries and critics of using the position as a springboard toward a reelection bid. Macron spoke at

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has told a gathering of America’s mayors the Biden administration’s coronavirus relief bill is “like a vaccine” preventing catastrophic economic damage. Yellen said Wednesday at the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ 90th winter meeting in Washington that President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue

By PATTY NIEBERG Associated Press/Report for America CRAIG, Colorado (AP) — Craig, a small town in northwest Colorado is losing its coal plant, and residents fear it is the beginning of the end for their community. The same scenario is playing out in other small towns across the U.S. After decades of relying on coal

By MARÍA VERZA Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Decades ago, Mexican activists drove women into the United States to terminate their pregnancies at clinics. Now it’s women in the U.S. who are facing more challenges to accessing abortion services and once again Mexican activists are stepping up to offer support. The changing dynamic has

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says face masks will no longer be mandatory in public places and schools in England and COVID-19 passports will be dropped for large events, as infections level off in large parts of the country. Johnson told lawmakers that the restrictions were being eased because government scientists believed

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has opened a new vaccine manufacturing facility that he says will boost the country’s capacity to make its own inoculations for diseases including COVID-19. Ramaphosa said the plant in Cape Town — a partnership between a U.S.-based biotechnology firm, the government and

CAIRO (AP) — Two senior U.S. diplomats are in Sudan to try and help find a way out of the ongoing crisis in the African country triggered by an October military coup. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Molly Phee and the newly appointed U.S. special envoy for the Horn of Africa, David Satterfield, met with

By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s doctors and medical workers fear the country’s health care system may not be able to cope with the latest surge of COVID-19 infections. More than 30,000 new cases in 24 hours were reported Wednesday and health authorities are expecting the figure to almost double in

DETROIT (AP) — Ford is recalling about 200,000 cars in the U.S. to fix a problem that can stop the brake lights from turning off. The recall covers certain 2014 and 2015 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ midsize cars as well as some 2015 Mustangs. All were sold or registered in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama,

By MIKE HOUSEHOLDER and LARRY LAGE Associated Press The University of Michigan has agreed to a $490 million settlement with more than 1,000 people who say they were sexually assaulted by a sports doctor during his nearly four-decade career at the school. The university confirmed the settlement Wednesday. Dr. Robert Anderson died in 2008. The

By The Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lily Tomlin is this year’s recipient of AARP The Magazine’s Movies for Grownups Awards career achievement honor. The 82-year-old actor, comedian and star of “Grace and Frankie” and “9 to 5” will receive the honor at the AARP’s annual Best Movies and TV for Grownups ceremony, the

By FADI TAWIL Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — A U.N. agency is appealing to the international community to donate tens of millions of dollars to help improve living conditions for Palestinians in crisis-hit Lebanon. The appeal by the agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, was issued on Wednesday. It’s asking for an additional $87.5 million

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Construction of new homes in the U.S. rose for the third consecutive month in December and data released Wednesday suggests that the frantic pace of building will continue this year. The December increase left home construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.70

By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has issued a plea on behalf of prison inmates, saying they should never be deprived of hope and always have the opportunity to redeem themselves. In remarks at his weekly public audience at the Vatican, Francis told the faithful that “we risk being imprisoned

By NICOLAS VAUX-MONTAGNY Associated Press LYON, France (AP) — French actor Gaspard Ulliel has died at 37 after a skiing accident in the Alps. Ulliel was known for appearing in Chanel perfume ads as well as film and television roles. He portrayed the young Hannibal Lecter in 2007′s “Hannibal Rising” and fashion mogul Yves Saint

By PETER SMITH Associated Press For many Jewish leaders, the hostage standoff in a Texas synagogue was all too familiar. They’ve seen a rise in antisemitism and high-profile synagogue attacks. An initial FBI statement said the attack was “not specifically related to the Jewish community,” but the agency later clarified that the community was targeted.

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has maintained a tough posture amid the tensions over its troop buildup near Ukraine. A top diplomat warn Wednesday that Moscow will accept nothing less but “watertight” U.S. guarantees precluding NATO’s expansion to Ukraine, even though those demand were rejected last week by the U.S. and

LONDON (AP) — Police in Ireland have arrested a second man as part of the investigation into the killing of a 23-year-old schoolteacher. Police said the suspect is in his 30s and was being questioned Wednesday about the potential withholding of information. Another suspect was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of murder and remains in custody.

By PAOLO SANTALUCIA Associated Press FOSSALTA DI PIAVE, Italy (AP) — Authorities say police in Italy and Albania have arrested more than 20 people accused of smuggling hundreds of refugees and migrants into the European Union from Turkey on rented yachts and other leisure vessels. Two brothers who are Iraqi citizens are accused of masterminding

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press The Biden administration has announced the release of $14 billion to the Army Corps of Engineers to fund 500 projects aimed at easing the supply chain problem. The spending stems largely from President Joe Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure deal. The projects include upgrades to improve shipping on the Ohio River,