Another COVID Christmas brings anxiety, but also optimism
By NICOLE WINFIELD, MICHAEL TARM and PETER SMITH Associated Press A worldwide surge in COVID-19 infections thanks to the omicron variant is tempering…
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Pope celebrates Christmas Eve Mass as virus surges in Italy
By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has celebrated Christmas Eve Mass before an estimated 2,000 people in St. Peter’s…
Continue Reading Daily COVID cases in Australia’s New South Wales top 6,000
SYDNEY (AP) — Australia’s most populous state has recorded more than 6,000 new daily COVID-19 cases for the first time, adding a somber note to…
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Marines on snowmobiles help Santa in Alaska’s remote Arctic
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Marines on snowmobiles helped Santa this month while delivering toys to boys and girls in Alaska’s Arctic. Marines flew to…
Continue Reading Satu, orangutan at the San Diego Zoo, dies at 26
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Satu, a male orangutan at the San Diego Zoo, has died. He was 26. The zoo announced Satu’s death on social media on Thursday,…
Continue Reading Harris tests negative for coronavirus after close contact
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris’ office says she has tested negative for the…
Continue Reading Paris’ Notre Dame rector offers hope to virus-hit worshipers
By JEFFREY SCHAEFFER Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Masked worshipers on Friday lined up to enter the church across from the Louvre Museum and…
Continue Reading US Navy warship sidelined with COVID-19 outbreak
By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Navy says one of its warships has paused its deployment to South America because of…
Continue Reading EXPLAINER: How will Biden’s COVID-19 test giveaway work?
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says the federal government will buy half a billion COVID-19 rapid…
Continue Reading Avenatti likely to testify at trial over Stormy Daniels deal
By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers for Michael Avenatti say there is a strong likelihood that the once high-flying…
Continue Reading Yemeni rebel attack on southern Saudi Arabia kills 2 people
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia says a Yemeni rebel attack on the southern border town of Jizan has killed two people and wounded…
Continue Reading COVID-19 makes Biden’s 1st White House Christmas less merry
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The holiday scene at the White House has been a little less merry under under…
Continue Reading Spanish king’s annual speech warns against virus complacency
MADRID (AP) — Spain’s King Felipe VI has warned citizens to remain cautious as the coronavirus can still inflict widespread damage. His annual…
Continue Reading Authorities: Washington’s Everett was driver in fatal crash
DULLES, Va. (AP) — Authorities say a passenger in a car driven by Washington Football Team safety Deshazor Everett was killed when the vehicle…
Continue Reading Feds seek jail for Capitol riot suspect found with rifle
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press Prosecutors say a North Carolina man awaiting trial on charges he assaulted two police officers during the…
Continue Reading Uber driver charged with raping passenger during Vegas ride
LAS VEGAS (AP) — An Uber driver is charged with raping a female passenger who police say fell asleep before waking up as she was attacked during a…
Continue Reading 100 California homes evacuated after fuel tanker overturns
FREMONT, Calif. (AP) — About 100 homes have been evacuated in the San Francisco Bay Area after a fuel tanker overturned and leaked gasoline. Photos…
Continue Reading Vatican defends finance trial, says rights being respected
By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Lawyers for defendants in a big Vatican financial trial are asking the Holy See newspaper to…
Continue Reading South African minister objects to sale of Mandela’s cell key
By ANDREW MELDRUM Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A South African Cabinet minister is urging the cancellation of an upcoming U.S. auction of a…
Continue Reading Russia doubled purchases of gas from Turkmenistan in 2021
By ALEXANDER VERSHININ Associated Press ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AP) — Russia has doubled the purchases of natural gas from Turkmenistan this year…
Continue Reading Extinct shark named after LSU museum official as she retires
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A Louisiana State University museum official has received a unique retirement gift — researchers in Alabama and South…
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New this week: ‘Lost Daughter,’ NYE in Nashville, Boba Fett
By The Associated Press Christmas may be over, but a feast of movies and television shows arrive next week. Maggie Gyllenhaal’s critically…
Continue Reading Many US churches canceling in-person Christmas services
By DAVID CRARY AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Amid the surge of coronavirus cases across the U.S., numerous churches have canceled in-person…
Continue Reading San Francisco board OKs mayor’s emergency order over opioids
By JANIE HAR Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved an emergency order the mayor wants to tackle an…
Continue Reading Rudolfo Anaya weaved bilingual holiday tale for children
By MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — An author known as the father of Chicano literature has left behind a bilingual children’s…
Continue Reading Middle man: Petersen poised to play key role in Va. Senate
By MATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — Republican victories last month in Virginia gave the GOP control of the governor’s…
Continue Reading 3rd Florida-based ship has outbreak, state cases hit record
Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — A COVID-19 outbreak has taken place on a South Florida-based cruise ship for the third time this week. At the same…
Continue Reading Biden, first lady visit hospitalized kids on Christmas Eve
By ALEXANDRA JAFFE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden are bringing Christmas Eve cheer to…
Continue Reading EXPLAINER: What next as high court wades into COVID mandate?
By ALEXANDRA JAFFE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Jan. 7 on whether the Biden administration can…
Continue Reading Police: 2 killed in restaurant shooting in Kentucky
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Police say they have arrested one person after two men were shot and killed at a busy restaurant in Kentucky. The Louisville…
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