Freedom of speech

German Klaus Schwab, left, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, WEF, listens to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, displayed on a video screen, during a conference at the Davos Agenda in Cologny near Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. The Davos Agenda from Jan. 25 to Jan. 29, 2021 is an online edition due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)

EU urges US to draft joint rule book to rein in tech giants

Jan. 26, 2021 3:17 PM EST

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union called Tuesday on U.S. President Joe Biden to help draw up a common rule book to rein in the power of big tech companies like Facebook and Twitter and combat the spread of fake news that is eating away at Western democracies. In a speech to the Davos World Economic Forum,...

FILE - In this April 21, 2020, file photo, Tony Spell, pastor of the Life Tabernacle Church, leaves East Baton Rouge Parish jail after posting bond in Baton Rouge, La. Louisiana authorities arrested the pastor on an assault charge after he admitted that he drove his church bus toward a man who has been protesting his decision to hold mass gatherings in defiance of public health orders during the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Judge refuses to toss case against defiant Louisiana pastor

Jan. 26, 2021 2:45 PM EST

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A judge has refused to toss out six criminal complaints filed against a Louisiana pastor charged with violating coronavirus gathering capacity rules put in place during the early days of the pandemic. Nineteenth Judicial District Judge Eboni Johnson-Rose on Monday dismissed pastor...

A demonstrator clashes with a police officer during a protest against the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Pushkin square in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021. Russian police arrested more than 3,400 people Saturday in nationwide protests demanding the release of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the Kremlin's most prominent foe, according to a group that counts political detentions. In Moscow, an estimated 15,000 demonstrators gathered in and around Pushkin Square in the city center, where clashes with police broke out and demonstrators were roughly dragged off by helmeted riot officers to police buses and detention trucks. Some were beaten with batons. (AP Photo/Victor Berezkin)

EU urges Navalny's release but no talk of Russia sanctions

Jan. 25, 2021 11:50 AM EST

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union's foreign ministers on Monday condemned the arrest of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the detention of thousands during protests backing the most well-known critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin but stopped short of weighing new sanctions against Russia....

Wuhan resident Zhu Tao talks about his stockpile of supplies at home in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020. Zhu, a government critic, took precautions against the virus early and felt vindicated when the outbreak exploded and the city went into lockdown. But now that the situation is back to something close to normal in Wuhan, Zhu finds himself at odds with his neighbors and the government. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Year after lockdown, Wuhan dissident more isolated than ever

Jan. 24, 2021 7:55 PM EST

WUHAN, China (AP) — One year after lockdown, Wuhan has long since sprung back to life — but Zhu Tao remains bunkered in his 14th-floor apartment, spending his days doomscrolling through news, playing virtual soccer on his PlayStation and feeling China is teetering on the brink of collapse. He has...

In this Jan. 21, 2021, photo former Houston Police Officer Tam Pham walks out of the Federal Courthouse downtown in Houston after he appeared in court following his arrest Wednesday on federal charges tied to Capitol violence. Police departments across the country are reviewing the behavior of dozens of officers who were in Washington on the day of a riot at the U.S. Capitol. (Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle via AP)

US police weigh officer discipline after rally, Capitol riot

Jan. 24, 2021 3:14 PM EST

For two Virginia police officers who posed for a photo during the deadly U.S. Capitol insurrection, the reckoning has been swift and public: They were identified, charged with crimes and arrested. But for five Seattle officers the outcome is less clear. Their identities still secret, two are on leave and three...

People stand in front of police officers during a protest against the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021. Russian police on Saturday arrested hundreds of protesters who took to the streets in temperatures as low as minus-50 C (minus-58 F) to demand the release of Alexei Navalny, the country's top opposition figure. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

Kremlin: US comments on protests support law-breaking

Jan. 24, 2021 9:08 AM EST

MOSCOW (AP) — The spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin says the U.S. Embassy’s statements about the nationwide protests, in which more than 3,500 people reportedly were arrested, interfere in the country’s domestic affairs and encourage Russians to break the law. Dmitry Peskov made...

District of Columbia National Guard stand outside the Capitol, Wednesday night, Jan. 6, 2021, after a day of rioting protesters. It's been a stunning day as a number of lawmakers and then the mob of protesters tried to overturn America's presidential election, undercut the nation's democracy and keep Democrat Joe Biden from replacing Trump in the White House. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Biden orders review of domestic violent extremism threat

Jan. 22, 2021 10:28 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has directed law enforcement and intelligence officials in his administration to study the threat of domestic violent extremism in the United States, an undertaking being launched weeks after a mob of insurgents loyal to Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol. The...

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, at a rally in support of President Donald Trump called the

Lawyers want Giuliani investigated, license suspended

Jan. 22, 2021 3:11 AM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — A lawyers' group filed an ethics complaint against Rudy Giuliani with New York's courts, calling for him to be investigated and his law license suspended over his work promoting former President Donald Trump's false allegations over the 2020 election. Lawyers Defending American Democracy,...

Judge says Amazon won't have to restore Parler web service

Jan. 21, 2021 9:01 PM EST

Amazon won't be forced to immediately restore web service to Parler after a federal judge ruled Thursday against a plea to reinstate the fast-growing social media app, which is favored by followers of former President Donald Trump. U.S. District Judge Barbara Rothstein in Seattle said she wasn't dismissing...

Pakistan seeks to block US-based website of minority Ahmadis

Jan. 21, 2021 8:48 AM EST

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan has ordered a U.S.-based website propagating the faith of Pakistan's minority Ahmadis shut down over allegedly blasphemous content, one of the site's managers said Thursday. Harris Zafar said Pakistan’s Telecommunication Authority earlier this month issued a legal notice...

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