By Forrest Brown, CNN For awhile there, it appeared we might be able to ring in New Year’s Eve in major cities across the planet with something resembling the huge celebrations of yore. Another Covid-19 surge and the rapid spread of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus have dashed those hopes — at least
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Oscar Holland, CNN In the 40-year history of the official White House Christmas ornament, produced annually by the White House Historical Association (WHHA), this year’s design is among the most conventionally festive. Depicting a Christmas tree displayed in the residence’s Blue Room in 1967, the new ornament features a reproduction of a painting originally commissioned
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BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s justice minister says he will present legislation next month to remove from the country’s criminal code a ban on doctors “advertising” abortions, one of several more liberal social policies that the new government plans. The three parties that form Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government have long opposed the current rules, but they
Continue Reading By Tina Burnside, CNN Authorities are searching for a 3-year-old girl who went missing from a San Antonio playground on Monday. Lina Sardar Khil was at a playground located at her family’s apartment complex when she disappeared after her mother left her unattended for a period of time, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said
Continue Reading By ASTRID GALVAN Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Safe haven laws drew attention this month when U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett questioned the role they play in the debate around abortion rights. Slightly over 4,000 babies have been surrendered since the first law took effect in 1999, according to the National Safe Haven
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By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Hundreds of small business owners have rallied in South Korea’s capital, calling for the withdrawal of a curfew and tough coronavirus restrictions on restaurants, cafes, gyms and other facilities. The protesters pumped their fists in the air and chanted, “Guarantee the right to live!” and
Continue Reading By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Hundreds of small business owners have rallied in South Korea’s capital, calling for the withdrawal of a curfew and tough coronavirus restrictions on restaurants, cafes, gyms and other facilities. The protesters pumped their fists in the air and chanted, “Guarantee the right to live!” and
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By Madeline Holcombe, CNN For many people, Covid-19 changed how they see the holiday season. Some ditched traditions to celebrate outside; some didn’t feel safe enough to travel to be with loved ones; and others may have even felt relief to have an excuse not to engage in stressful annual gatherings. This year, holiday travel
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By Madeline Holcombe, CNN For many people, Covid-19 changed how they see the holiday season. Some ditched traditions to celebrate outside; some didn’t feel safe enough to travel to be with loved ones; and others may have even felt relief to have an excuse not to engage in stressful annual gatherings. This year, holiday travel
Continue Reading By Katie Hunt, CNN The human story — where we come from and how we evolved — got a new chapter in 2021. Thanks to new fossil finds and analysis of ancient DNA preserved in teeth, bones and cave dirt, scientists have unearthed startling revelations about our Homo sapien forebears, and other humans that existed
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By Anna Cooban, CNN Business Lissette Monzon still feels a little guilty about a “crazy” purchase she made three years ago. Monzon, 54, a high school English teacher in Florida, bought a $700 pair of Valentino boots in October 2018. Actress Blake Lively had been photographed wearing the mauve-colored footwear in Paris. Monzon saw the
Continue Reading By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan has confirmed its first known local transmissions of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus in Osaka, a sign it is already making its way in the country. Officials say the family of three in Osaka had no record of traveling overseas and their infections could
Continue Reading By Laura He, CNN Business The World Bank has cut its forecasts for China’s economic growth this year and next, as the world’s second largest economy faces mounting headwinds from the new Omicron variant to a severe property sector downturn. The bank now expects China’s GDP to expand 8% in 2021 compared with a year
Continue Reading CNN By Laura He, CNN Business The World Bank has cut its forecasts for China’s economic growth this year and next, as the world’s second largest economy faces mounting headwinds from the new Omicron variant to a severe property sector downturn. The bank now expects China’s GDP to expand 8% in 2021 compared with a
Continue Reading By ARITZ PARRA Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Spaniards looking for a respite from the pandemic’s gloom have found some cheer with a rite that for more than two centuries has marked the beginning of the festive period: the country’s bumper Christmas lottery, known as “El Gordo,” or “The Fat One.” The draw, held annually
Continue Reading COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Danish parliament has voted to oust a former immigration minister who earlier this month was convicted by a rarely used impeachment court in Denmark, saying Inger Stoejberg is not worthy of serving as a member of Denmark’s 179-seat legislative assembly. In Tuesday’ 98-18 vote with one abstention and 62 absent,
Continue Reading By SAM MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — A Libyan parliamentary committee says it’s become “impossible” to hold the country’s long-waited presidential election in two days as scheduled. The announcement on Wednesday was the first official statement that the balloting would not happen on Friday after all, following stepped-up calls for a delay of the
Continue Reading By Rachel Ramirez, Brandon Miller and Bill Weir, CNN The climate crisis took a catastrophic toll across the globe in 2021. From the Arctic to Louisiana and to China’s Henan province, signs that climate change is already altering our weather were everywhere. In the United States, historic flooding trapped and killed residents in submerged basements.
Continue Reading BANGKOK (AP) — Rescue officials say a landslide at a remote jade mine in northern Myanmar’s Kachin state has left at least one person dead and 70 missing and a search and rescue operation is underway. Reports were scant from the area in Hpakant, which is the center of the world’s biggest and most lucrative
Continue Reading olivertapia (CNN) — El covid-19 se cobró cientos de miles de vidas en Estados Unidos en 2020, lo que generó un aumento récord en la tasa de mortalidad y una caída en la esperanza de vida de casi dos años. Esto según los datos finales de mortalidad de 2020 del Centro Nacional de Estadísticas Sanitarias
Continue Reading By ANDREW MELDRUM Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s drop in new COVID-19 cases in recent days may signal the country’s dramatic omicron-driven surge has passed its peak, medical experts say. Although the early findings are not conclusive, especially because daily figures are prone to fluctuations, the signs that South Africa’s intense wave is
Continue Reading By Aya Elamroussi, CNN With coronavirus cases surging once again, frustrated Americans are struggling to get tested days before Christmas as long lines and increased demand overwhelm some facilities across the country. The catalyst has been the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, which has become the dominant strain in the US in a matter
Continue Reading By MAE ANDERSON NEW YORK (AP) — After a wearying nearly two years of the pandemic, independent retailers are cautiously hoping their holiday seasons will be bright, despite the challenges this year ranging from supply chain snags to shortages of hot holiday items. Many ordered decorations, toys, stocking stuffers and other items well in advance
Continue Reading By MAE ANDERSON NEW YORK (AP) — After a wearying nearly two years of the pandemic, independent retailers are cautiously hoping their holiday seasons will be bright, despite the challenges this year ranging from supply chain snags to shortages of hot holiday items. Many ordered decorations, toys, stocking stuffers and other items well in advance
Continue Reading By DAVID McHUGH and VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Russia’s natural gas pipeline to Europe is built and filling with gas. But the Nord Stream 2 pipeline still faces a rocky road ahead before the gas can flow to customers in Germany and Europe. First, the U.S. secretary of state has said
Continue Reading By DAVID McHUGH and VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Russia’s natural gas pipeline to Europe is built and filling with gas. But the Nord Stream 2 pipeline still faces a rocky road ahead before the gas can flow to customers in Germany and Europe. First, the U.S. secretary of state has said
Continue Reading olivertapia (CNN) — El jeque Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, gobernante de Dubai, deberá pagar a su exesposa, la princesa Haya bint al-Hussein, más de US$ 728 millones (500 millones de libras), en uno de los acuerdos de divorcio más grandes jamás dictados por un tribunal del Reino Unido. La cifra se utilizará para cubrir los
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By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer While no team has clinched a postseason spot in the jam-packed AFC, there never have been more teams alive in the playoff hunt this late in a season. There are a record-tying 27 teams still with at least a sliver of a chance for a playoff spot with
Continue Reading By PETE IACOBELLI AP Sports Writer COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — No. 1 South Carolina has stuffed its win column with impressive victories against quality opponents during its unblemished start to the season. The Gamecocks have beaten six ranked women’s basketball teams, including five in the top 10. South Carolina on Tuesday night added second-ranked Stanford
Continue Reading By Deidre McPhillips, CNN Covid-19 claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in the United States in 2020, driving a record increase in the death rate and a drop in life expectancy of nearly two years, according to final 2020 death data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.
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