Top General News
Biden summit draws climate vows from sparring global leaders
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden convened leaders of the world's most powerful countries on Thursday to try to spur global efforts against climate change, drawing commitments from Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin to cooperate on cutting emissions...
J&J vaccine 'pause' latest messaging challenge for officials
NEW YORK (AP) — Confronted with rare cases of blood clots potentially linked to Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine, U.S. health officials faced a delicate task: how to suspend distribution of the shots without setting off alarm about their safety. It was the...
US troops in Afghanistan begin packing gear in pullout prep
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The U.S. military has begun shipping equipment and winding down contracts with local service providers ahead of the May 1 start of the final phase of its military pullout from Afghanistan, a U.S. Defense Department official said Thursday. The...
'He was guilty.' Extra juror in favor of Chauvin conviction
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An alternate juror at the trial of Derek Chauvin said she agreed with the jury's decision to convict him in George Floyd's death, saying she saw Chauvin as the leader of officers at the scene and that he brushed off warnings by bystanders that Floyd was in danger. ...
Sanctions-battered Iran, weary of pandemic, faces worst wave
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — As Iran faces what looks like its worst wave of the coronavirus pandemic yet, Tehran commuters still pour into its subway system and buses each working day, even as images of the gasping ill are repeatedly shown on state television every night. ...
DC statehood faces a crossroads with congressional vote
WASHINGTON (AP) — Proponents of statehood for Washington, D.C., face a milestone moment in their decades-long movement to reshape the American political map. The House will vote Thursday on legislation that would create a 51st state with one representative and two...
Searching for footing in a life nearly extinguished by COVID
WESTFIELD, Ind. (AP) — On line in the hospital atrium, Kari Wegg folds her hands in her lap while husband Rodney pilots the wheelchair, moving forward together a few feet at a time, their progress halting but methodical. After all the years the two have worked in...
Scientists get creative to carry on research during pandemic
SAN LORENZO, Panama (AP) — Biologist Claudio Monteza pushed through thick vegetation to install a camera near a Panamanian highway in a dense tropical rainforest. Securing the device to a tree just off the forest floor, he checked its field of vision. The camera and...
Indonesia looking for submarine that may be too deep to help
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian navy ships searched Thursday for a submarine that likely sank too deep to retrieve, making survival chances for the 53 people on board slim. Authorities said oxygen in the submarine would run out by early Saturday. The...
How long does protection from COVID-19 vaccines last?
NEW YORK (AP) — How long does protection from COVID-19 vaccines last? Experts don't know yet because they're still studying vaccinated people to see when protection might wear off. How well the vaccines work against emerging variants will also determine if, when and how...
Latest General News
FBI warns New Englanders about fake government agent scams
BOSTON (AP) — The FBI's Boston office is warning New Englanders about scammers claiming to be a government official and using intimidation or threats to get money from victims. The office said it's seeing a rise in the number of reports of the scam from its coverage...
Michigan board deadlocks on measure to repeal emergency law
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan's elections board deadlocked Thursday on certifying a veto-proof initiative that would enable the Republican-led Legislature to wipe from the books a law Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used to issue sweeping pandemic orders last year. The 2-2 vote...
Fight over Reno-area COVID-19 reopen plan goes to task force
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Health district and city officials in Reno are rejecting a coronavirus reopening plan that's going before a state COVID-19 Task Force on Thursday, calling for social distancing requirements to stay in place at least until June 1. Last-minute protest...
COVID-19 hospitalizations tumble among US senior citizens
WASHINGTON (AP) — COVID-19 hospitalizations among older Americans have plunged 80% since the start of the year, dramatic proof the vaccination campaign is working. Now the trick is to get more of the nation's younger people to roll up their sleeves. The drop-off in...
Over 2M in Arizona fully vaccinated against coronavirus
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The number of people in Arizona who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus has topped 2 million, the state reported Thursday as it opened another mass vaccination site in metro Phoenix. The 2,024,440 people in Arizona who are fully vaccinated,...
Firefighter land owner has theory about large wildfire cause
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — A former wildland firefighter who owns the land where a burn pile ignited a large wildfire near Rapid City says he believe the blaze was intentionally set. In a 60-page report, the landowner told investigators he was “100% sure the burn pile...
Pope warns Earth heading for self-destruction without action
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis warned Thursday that the world is “on a path of self-destruction” if political leaders fail to courageously use the COVID-19 pandemic as a chance to make the planet a fairer and greener place. In a video message released on World Earth Day,...
High court moves away from leniency for minors who murder
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court made it easier Thursday to sentence minors convicted of murder to life in prison without the possibility of parole, a ruling that reflects a change in course driven by a more conservative group of justices. In a dissent, a liberal...
Hit French medical drama director dons scrubs to fight virus
PARIS (AP) — Sometimes in the best cases, life affects art and art affects life. In March 2020, Thomas Lilti was directing a critically-acclaimed French TV medical drama depicting the dire state of French hospitals, featuring storylines such as strapped resources, fatal...
S. Carolinians scattering 3 mil seeds to staunch flooding
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Schoolchildren and other volunteers are scattering more than three million loblolly pine seeds across South Carolina on Thursday in an effort to help mitigate the effects of disastrous flooding statewide, government officials said. The Earth Day...
