Year: 2021

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials say an estimated 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in one year. That’s a total the nation has never seen. Experts say it’s tied to the COVID-19 pandemic and a more dangerous drug supply. Overdose deaths have been rising for more than

By SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A court in Cambodia has denied the bail requests of 14 detained members of a dissolved opposition party. They are charged with treason for taking part in nonviolent political activities over the past several years. A human rights worker says the court rejected the request

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — Defense lawyers in the Vatican’s fraud and extortion trial have accused prosecutors of again withholding pieces of evidence, including an alleged interrogation of Pope Francis. The allegation brought the pontiff’s own role in a flawed London property investment back before a Vatican city-state tribunal. The court’s

MONACO (AP) — Russia’s doping suspension from track and field has been extended into a seventh year. The vote came at a congress of World Athletics officials. It follows an influential taskforce that cautiously praised Russian reformers and warned that not everyone is on board with the changes. Rune Andersen is the World Athletics official

DETROIT (AP) — Volkswagen Group is recalling more than 240,000 Audi vehicles in the U.S. and Canada because an electric cable problem can cause a computer to disable the passenger air bag. The recall covers certain 2017 through 2020 Audi A4, RS5, A5, S4 and S5 models. VW says in documents filed with the U.S.

LONDON (AP) — The European Union’s drug regulator says it received an application from Novavax to authorize the American biotechnology company’s coronavirus vaccine. In a statement on Wednesday, the European Medicines Agency said it had begun evaluating data submitted by Novavax for its two-dose vaccine. The agency says an expedited review process could produce a

CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian court has sentenced a prominent human rights lawyer to five years in prison for his conviction on charges that rights advocates have decried as baseless and politically motivated. The court found former lawmaker Zyad el-Elaimy guilty of conspiring to commit crimes with an outlawed group. That’s a reference to the

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is pitching a new plan for the bloc’s citizens to battle global deforestation from home. It wants to provide assurances that when people sip a coffee or bite into a chocolate bar, it will not have come at the cost of trees. The 27-nation

By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — The reigning Miss Universe says the long-running beauty pageant being held in Israel next month shouldn’t be politicized. Contestants have faced pressure to drop out over Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. Andrea Meza, who holds the crown, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the contest was

HUNTINGTON WOODS, Mich. (AP) — American journalist Danny Fenster, freed after nearly six months in jail in military-ruled Myanmar, says he feels “incredibly fortunate” to be back home in suburban Detroit. The 37-year-old Fenster was greeted by family and friends Tuesday night as he returned to Huntington Woods. He was sentenced last week to 11