Year: 2021

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts congresswoman Ayanna Pressley is upset that her beloved Mariah Carey Christmas album has gone missing. But she was promised a replacement copy courtesy of the five-time Grammy winner herself. The Democrat in a tweet Friday asked that whoever took the album could leave it at her office door, no questions asked.

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The chief of the National Guard has tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from an overseas trip to visit guard troops in Europe for Thanksgiving. Guard spokesman Wayne Hall says Gen. Dan Hokanson has been working remotely and isolating himself from contact with others all week.

By LYNN ELBER AP Television Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — A new coffee table book celebrates Betty White’s life and career as she nears 100. The book by a veteran entertainment journalist details White’s journey in Hollywood, including hosting an early variety-talk show. White became a TV sitcom star in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”

By ANDREW MELDRUM Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The Botswana scientist who may well have discovered the omicron variant of the coronavirus says he has been through a “rollercoaster of emotions” — the pride of accomplishment followed by dismay over the travel bans immediately slapped on southern African countries. Dr. Sikhulile Moyo was doing genomic

By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot Casey Goodson Jr. in the back five times asked Friday to move the criminal case into federal court. Attorneys for Meade argue that as a member of a U.S. Marshals Service taskforce, Meade was operating as a federal agent

By ALAN SUDERMAN, ERIC TUCKER and FRANK BAJAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The phones of 11 U.S. State Department employees were hacked using technology from Israel’s NSO Group, the world’s most infamous hacker-for-hire company. That’s according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The person said the employees

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Police say a mall shooting in North Carolina that left three people wounded was the result of an attempted robbery, and one of the wounded was the suspected robber. The Durham Police Department said in a news release Friday that the Nov. 26 shooting wasn’t random or gang-related. According to police,

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has vetoed five Republican-authored anti-abortion bills, a move that came two days after the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could curtail if not end a woman’s right to abortion. Evers is making his support for abortion rights

By MARC LEVY Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s high-stakes race for an open U.S. Senate seat is seeing candidates bringing big bank accounts and big-time connections from blue states. Introducing Carla Sands, Mehmet Oz — best known as the host of TV’s “Dr. Oz Show” — and David McCormick, all three of whom

CAIRO (AP) — Libya’s foreign minister has sharply criticized a system of deterring migrants from reaching European shores that she argues has so far only served the interest of EU states. Her statement was made by video call on Friday at a conference hosted by Italy. She asked other countries to “not push the problem

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal’s interior minister has resigned after a series of gaffes and missteps that could have made him a political liability for his center-left Socialist Party ahead of elections for a new government on Jan. 30. Eduardo Cabrita, whose department oversees internal security, including police, the immigration service and firefighters, said Friday

BRUSSELS (AP) — A Belgian zoo says that a pair of hippopotamuses in its care have been placed in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19. Antwerp Zoo’s two hippos – Imani and Hermien – were confirmed Friday to have contracted the disease.  It’s possibly the first time ever such animals have caught it, and it’s