Month: January 2022

By AMY FORLITI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Data show it’s rare for police officers to be convicted of on-duty killings. But three recent convictions of police officers in Minnesota have some people wondering whether that’s changing. Legal experts say maybe. But it’s complicated. It depends largely on the strength of evidence. But experts also

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Former Attorney General William P. Barr has a memoir coming out in March. It’s titled “One Damn Thing After Another” and is billed by his publisher as a vivid and forthright account of his time serving two very different presidents Donald Trump and George H.W.

LONDON (AP) — Hundreds of mourners in Ireland have turned out for the funeral Mass of a 23-year-old elementary school teacher whose killing has reignited debate about how to tackle violence against women. The body of Ashling Murphy, a musician and teacher, was found on the banks of a canal near the town of Tullamore

By KIM COOK Associated Press Houseplants have been keeping a lot of us company during the pandemic. The good news is there’s a plant for any home, big or small, well-lit or not. And there’s a virtual jungle of stylish containers in which to show them off. AP homes writer Kim Cook took a look

By KONSTANTIN TESTORIDES Associated Press SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — The new prime ministers of North Macedonia and Bulgaria have agreed to redouble efforts to improve relations between the two Balkan neighbors, which soured after Bulgaria blocked North Macedonia’s bid to join the European Union. Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov’s visit to Skopje Tuesday came

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel says it has successfully tested a system designed to intercept ballistic missiles outside the earth’s atmosphere. The Arrow Weapon System is part of an array of missile defenses that Israel has developed in recent years to protect itself in any future conflict with archenemy Iran or regional militant groups, such as

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian officials say Moscow is sending an unspecified number of troops from the country’s far east to Belarus for major joint military drills. The deployment will dramatically bolster an estimated 100,000 Russian troops already amassed near Ukraine in what the West fears could be a prelude to

By MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writer Microsoft is paying the enormous sum of nearly $70 billion for Activision Blizzard, the maker of Candy Crush and Call of Duty, a deal that would immediately make it a larger video-game company than Nintendo while raising questions about the deal’s possible anti-competitive effects. The all-cash $68.7 billion deal

By ILAN BEN ZION Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli lawmakers are calling for a parliamentary inquiry into the police’s alleged use of sophisticated spyware on protesters and other citizens. A local newspaper reported on Tuesday that Israeli police used the NSO spyware Pegasus to surveil leaders of protests against then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It

The Associated Press The airline industry is raising the stakes in a showdown with AT&T and Verizon over plans to launch new 5G wireless service this week, warning that thousands of flights could be grounded or delayed if the rollout takes place near major airports. CEOs of the nation’s largest airlines say that interference from

By LYNN ELBER AP Television Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — “This Is Us,” “black-ish” and “Better Call Saul” are among the shows to be saluted at the Paley Center for Media’s annual TV festival. PaleyFest LA is returning to live events after two years of pandemic-caused virtual editions. The 39th annual PaleyFest will run from

By JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ex-Ohio House Democratic Leader Emilia Sykes says she’s running for Congress. The 35-year-old Akron Democrat’s announcement Tuesday sets up a likely faceoff in Ohio’s potentially newly competitive 13th Congressional District against former President Donald Trump-backed Republican Max Miller. The district includes liberal Akron, where she’s

By MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio will not run for governor. On Tuesday, he ended months of speculation by announcing he would not enter the Democratic primary in which Gov. Kathy Hochul already has a commanding start, having locked up endorsements and fundraising.

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has denied misleading Parliament about lockdown-breaching parties. The denial came as Johnson confirmed he given an account of events to an inquiry probing alleged violations of coronavirus rules. Former Johnson aide Dominic Cummings claims the prime minister was warned in advance that

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Kazakhstan’s influential former leader has released a short video in which he talked about the violent unrest that engulfed the ex-Soviet nation earlier this month. In it he also rejected reports alleging that he fled the country amid tensions with the current president. The video published Tuesday

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer AT&T and Verizon say they will delay some new 5G wireless service after the airline industry raised alarms about potential interference with important systems on planes. The airlines had warned of widespread flight cancellations and disruptions. The Biden administration got involved to settle the showdown between the telecom companies

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s Border Guard authorities say that almost 600 attempts by migrants at illegally crossing from Belarus have been foiled so far this year. The attempts have continued since the peak in the fall, but the number of registered tries has dropped significantly, to dozens a day from nearly a thousand a

NEW YORK (AP) — Sen. Tim Scott has a memoir out this summer that he says will explain the two words that have shaped his life: hope and redemption. Thomas Nelson, an imprint of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, announced that Scott’s “America, A Redemption Story” is scheduled for release in August. Scott joined the Senate in

By The Associated Press This week’s new entertainment releases include a new album of rootsy rock from John Mellencamp, the return of puppet friends from “Fraggle Rock” and a virtual Sundance Film Festival where all the selections can be streamed. On the small screen, there’s the series “As We See It” about 20-something roommates with

MADRID (AP) — Spanish police say they have broken up a human trafficking ring that forced Chinese women into prostitution in Spain. Police said Tuesday the gang approached the women in China and promised them well-paying jobs in Europe. Each woman paid the gang between 8,000 and 10,000 euros ($9,100-$11,400). But after being flown to

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia is shortening the required isolation period for people infected with COVID-19 from 14 to seven days. The decision was announced Tuesday as Russia faces a surge of COVID-19 cases driven by the highly contagious omicron variant. Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, who runs the country’s coronavirus

By PAUL J. WEBER Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Money is pouring fast into the Texas governor’s race headlined by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Democrat Beto O’Rourke. Both reported massive early fundraising hauls Monday that puts the campaign on an accelerated track to become one of the nation’s most expensive in 2022. O’Rourke

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s arms exports reached record levels in 2021, largely due to significant sales of maritime and air defense weapons to Egypt. Preliminary figures show Germany exported arms worth $10.65 billion last year. That was an increase of 61% compared to 2020. The ministry said that most of the exports, worth over 9

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican press office says that Cardinal Pietro Parolin and  Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra have both tested positive for the coronavirus. Officials said Tuesday that Parolin has “very light” symptoms while Peña Parra is asymptomatic. Parolin is the Vatican secretary of state and the pope’s No. 2.  Peña Parra is Parolin’s

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The United Nations has raised the death toll from twin earthquakes in western Afghanistan the day before to 26. It says at least four people have been injured. The victims included women and children. The statement on Tuesday from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that hundreds

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — A Rome villa containing the only known ceiling painted by Caravaggio is going back on a court-ordered auction block after no apparent winning bids were entered. The Casa dell’Aurora was being sold at auction on Tuesday thanks to an inheritance dispute pitting the heirs of one of

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with his Russian counterpart in Switzerland this week as tensions between the U.S. and Russia escalate over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. The State Department said Blinken will travel to Kyiv on Wednesday to meet with President Volodymyr

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s health officials say that the country has entered a new, fifth wave, in the coronavirus pandemic, predicting that it it will peak in mid-February at about 60,000 new infections per day or even more. The deputy health minister, said Tuesday that the highly transmissible omicron variant now accounts for 19%

By MELISSA LAMBARENA of NerdWallet With multiple debts, it’s easy to lose track of buy now, pay later plans and potentially take on more than you can handle. As you find finances shifting toward the red, several tactics can help you free up money to pay off buy now, pay later plans. You can review

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s environment minister says the country will gradually phase out coal plants over the next two decades while developing new technologies to reduce, capture and recycle carbon. Environment Minister Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi said in an interview with The Associated Press that Japan hopes to lead a zero-emissions push