Month: January 2022

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A Polish Senate commission has opened an investigation into the use of powerful spyware against government critics. The panel on Monday heard testimony from cybersecurity experts, who compared the right-wing government’s targeting of opposition figures to methods used by the Kremlin against critics in Russia. Two

By DÉBORA ÁLVARES and ALMUDENA CALATRAVA Associated Press BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — The coronavirus’ omicron variant is barreling across South America and pressuring hospitals whose employees are getting infected and taking sick leave, leaving facilities understaffed to cope with COVID-19′s third wave. It wasn’t supposed to be this way: South America wasn’t the first region

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — California authorities say three teenage boys were killed when the car they were in hit a curb, collided with a fence and rolled over on an embankment. The single-vehicle crash happened at about 8:30 p.m. Sunday at an intersection in Pasadena. The California Highway Patrol says preliminary reports that the 2005

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Joint Chiefs of Staff says Chairman Gen. Mark Milley has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing very minor symptoms. As well, the Marine Corps says its commandant, Gen. David Berger, also has COVID-19. Joint Chiefs spokesperson Col. Dave Butler says Milley tested positive Sunday. He says Milley had received the

By BOUBACAR DIALLO and KRISTA LARSON Associated Press CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — Witnesses in the Guinean capital say former President Alpha Conde has been flight out of the country for medical treatment abroad. The military junta that overthrew Conde back in September had said earlier this month that the 83-year-old former president was in need

NEW YORK (AP) — A prize-winning photographer whose indelible images ranged from civil rights marches to the set of “The Godfather” and other films, Steve Schapiro has died at age 87. Schapiro started out as a freelance photographer in the early 1960s and was on hand for many of the decade’s historic moments, whether the

MIAMI (AP) — Authorities say a 15-year-old is in critical condition Monday after being shot in the neck by a police officer following a car chase near Miami. The 29-year Miami-Dade police veteran who shot the teen was part of a violent crime unit that’s been on the lookout for suspects after Friday night’s killing

By ARITZ PARRA Associated Press MADRID (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez have met in Madrid to plan how to boost progressive policies in the 27-nation European Union. After taking over last month as leader of the EU’s most populous nation and its largest economy, Scholz joined Sánchez in

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is fighting for his career and he has one constant refrain: Wait for Sue Gray. Gray is a senior civil servant who may hold Johnson’s political future in her hands. She is investigating allegations that the prime minister and his staff attended

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Auction house Sotheby’s Dubai has unveiled a diamond that’s literally from out of this world. Sotheby’s calls the 555.55-carat black diamond believed to have come from outer space “The Enigma.” It was shown off on Monday to journalists as part of a tour in Dubai and Los Angeles before

By KRISTEN GRIFFITH of The Chronicle of Philanthropy Chronicle of Philanthropy Dakota and Navajo actor Dallas Goldtooth joins other influencers — people who have earned the community’s trust — in a two-phase public outreach effort by nonprofit organizations IllumiNative, the Urban Indian Health Institute, and 13 Native groups in states including Alaska, Minnesota, and California.

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press AMSTERDAM (AP) — A cold case team that combed through evidence for five years in a bid to unravel one of World War II’s enduring mysteries has reached what it calls the “most likely scenario” of who betrayed Jewish teenage diarist Anne Frank and her family. The team says it

BRUSSELS (AP) — Eurogroup finance chiefs are engaged in a high-wire political balancing act prompted by conflicting economic forces: a weaker growth outlook and stronger inflation. Finance ministers from the 19 nations that use the shared euro currency are pledging continued budgetary stimulus for the economy amid headwinds caused by the omicron variant. At the

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Sudanese activists say security forces have killed at least seven people and wounded around 100 others during anti-coup protests in the capital, Khartoum. Thousands took to the streets in Khartoum and elsewhere on Monday to denounce the October military coup. The military takeover has scuttled hopes of

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has canceled her in-person appointments at the European Parliament this week after her driver tested positive for COVID-19. Von der Leyen was already in Strasbourg for the plenary when she was told of the news and immediately headed back to European Union headquarters Monday. She

Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian police and anti-terrorism forces are searching for a suspected people smuggler who allegedly fired at Austrian soldiers after evading a border check. A van broke through a border crossing in the Austrian region of Burgenland near the Hungarian border on Monday morning, but was then stopped by Austrian

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Funeral services were held Monday for nine children and three adults who died in a Philadelphia fire five days into the new year, the deadliest blaze in the city in more than a century. A funeral procession on the rain-soaked streets of the city Monday morning was followed by services at Temple

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s justice minister has launched a drive to remove from the country’s criminal code a ban on doctors “advertising” abortion services, a provision that he says is untenable. The move is the first of several liberal social policies planned by new Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s governing coalition. Former

BEIJING (AP) — Organizers of the Beijing Olympics say they will only offer event tickets to “selected” spectators because of the coronavirus pandemic. Beijing had already announced that no fans from outside the country would be permitted at the events and had not offered tickets to the general public. The announcement posted on the organizing

By The Associated Press President Joe Biden took office at a particularly polarized time in American history, so it’s not surprising that citizens are divided on his performance at the one-year mark. A Georgia teacher who voted for Biden would give him a “C” grade, faulting the president for not pushing earlier to end the

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press SHAMONG, N.J. (AP) — Advocates for New Jersey’s ecologically sensitive Pinelands region say the state is not doing nearly enough to protect the fragile woodlands from damage caused by motorcycles and off-road vehicles. Large tracts of numerous state forests are marred by tire tracks, huge potholes flooded with water and

By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — China is showing no signs of slowing its demand for American lobster this year despite disruption to the supply chain and international trade caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Chinese demand for the crustaceans grew dramatically during the 2010s in part because of the expansion of the

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV and YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s top diplomat has angrily rejected the U.S. allegations that it was preparing a pretext to invade Ukraine as Russian troops have remained concentrated near the border. The comments Monday came as Russian troops near the Ukraine border launched more drills. The White House

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The U.S. Senate’s only Black Republican is putting forth what he characterizes as a positive response to partisan rhetoric on race that he’s best-positioned to rebut. Tim Scott of South Carolina tells The Associated Press that he hopes a video series on issues he sees as