Top General News
‘Holy moly!’: Inside Texas' fight against a ransomware hack
DALLAS (AP) — It was the start of a steamy Friday two Augusts ago when Jason Whisler settled in for a working breakfast at the Coffee Ranch restaurant in the Texas Panhandle city of Borger. The most pressing agenda item for city officials that morning: planning for a country music concert...
Pandemic leaves Indians mired in massive medical debts
NEW DELHI (AP) — As coronavirus cases ravaged India this spring, Anil Sharma visited his 24-year-old son Saurav at a private hospital in northwest New Delhi every day for more than two months. In May, as India's new COVID-19 cases broke global records to reach 400,000 a day, Saurav was put...
Pandemic Olympics endured heat, and now a typhoon's en route
TOKYO (AP) — First, the sun. Now: the wind and the rain. The Tokyo Olympics, delayed by the pandemic and opened under oppressive heat, are due for another hit of nature’s power: a typhoon arriving Tuesday morning that is forecast to disrupt at least some parts of the...
First openly transgender Olympians are competing in Tokyo
TOKYO (AP) — For Quinn, a midfielder for the Canadian women's soccer team, the opening match of the Tokyo Games carried more emotional weight than their previous Olympic appearances. Quinn became the first openly transgender athlete to participate in the Olympics when...
AP Interview: US calls on China to be responsible power
BEIJING (AP) — A senior U.S. diplomat called on China to rise above their differences and work with the United States on difficult global issues such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic as a responsible global power. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman,...
Senators race to seal infrastructure deal as pressure mounts
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators are racing to seal a bipartisan infrastructure deal as soon as Monday, as pressure is mounting on all sides to show progress on President Joe Biden's top priority. Heading into a make-or-break week, key senators and staff spent the weekend...
8 US attorney picks by Biden would include historic firsts
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is nominating eight new leaders for U.S. attorney positions across the country, including in the office overseeing the prosecutions of hundreds of defendants charged in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. The nominees announced...
As Jan. 6 probe begins, Dem vows: 'We have to get it right'
WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Bennie Thompson, didn’t realize the severity of the Jan. 6 insurrection until his wife called him. He was inside the Capitol, sitting in the upper gallery of the House, hoping for what he called...
UN chief: World hunger worsened by climate change, conflict
ROME (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday warned that climate change and conflict are both a consequence and a driver of poverty, income inequality and food prices. Guterres also told a meeting in Rome that the world’s food system generates a third...
AP PHOTOS: Taboo in Tokyo, tattoos on display at Olympics
TOKYO (AP) — Taboo in much of Tokyo, tattoos are everywhere at the Olympics. There’s the lion on British swimmer Adam Peaty’s shoulder. An inspirational message on the arm of Chinese 3-on-3 basketball player Yan Peng. A likeness of Christ the Redeemer on the calf of...
Latest General News
Masks required in St. Louis as COVID-19 cases rise
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Mask mandates took effect again in the St. Louis area Monday amid a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases spurred by the delta variant. Masks now are mandatory in indoor public places and on public transportation in St. Louis city and St. Louis County for...
Transportation officials add dozens more self-serve kiosks
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The North Dakota Department of Transportation has added dozens of self-serve kiosks around the state to help residents avoid what can sometimes be a long wait at the motor vehicle stations. The DOT has completed adding 44 kiosks, an effort it...
Belgian party calls for investigation into deadly floods
BRUSSELS (AP) — A political party in Belgium on Monday requested the appointment of a parliamentary commission to investigate the deadly floods that ravaged several towns in the country earlier this month. The Humanist Democratic Centre (CDH) said it does not want to...
Bill would provide grants for minor league baseball teams
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A bill in the U.S. Senate would provide funds to independent professional baseball and minor league baseball teams like the New Hampshire Fisher Cats that have struggled economically during the coronavirus pandemic. The bill would provide $550...
North Macedonia: 4 jailed over 2017 parliament attack
SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — A court in North Macedonia on Monday sentenced the country’s former parliamentary speaker and three other senior officials over a violent attack against parliament in 2017. A panel of judges sentenced former Speaker Trajko Veljanoski to...
Rachael Rollins nominated to be Massachusetts U.S. attorney
BOSTON (AP) — Rachael Rollins, who has pushed for progressive criminal justice reforms as the first woman of color to serve as a district attorney in Massachusetts, is being nominated by President Joe Biden to become the state's top federal prosecutor. If confirmed by...
All a blur as Canada's MacNeil claims 2 medals at Olympics
TOKYO (AP) — Races often end in a blur for Canada's Maggie MacNeil, who wears glasses outside the pool but doesn't use contacts or prescription goggles when swimming. That means it takes a second or two for the picture to become clear after she's touched the wall as...
Maine: Job verification deadline near; rural clinics get aid
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Some unemployment claimants in Maine and elsewhere will soon have to submit proof that they were employed when they lost a job due to the coronavirus pandemic. The federal government is requiring the proof of employment by Aug. 4 for people who...
Strong undersea quake shakes Indonesia; no tsunami warning
PALU, Indonesia (AP) — A strong, shallow underwater earthquake shook central Indonesia on Monday but no serious damage was immediately reported and no tsunami warning was issued. The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude-6.2 quake was centered at a depth of 10...
UN chief: World hunger worsened by climate change, conflict
ROME (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday warned that climate change and conflict are both a consequence and a driver of poverty, income inequality and food prices. Guterres also told a meeting in Rome that the world’s food system generates a third...
