Germany: 1 dead, 1 missing after flood brings down bridge
BERLIN — German rescue teams have recovered the body of a woman who was swept off a bridge by floods in Bavaria, the German news agency dpa reported Tuesday. They are still searching for a second person person who was also swept off the bridge by sudden floods in southern...
Sudoku maker Maki Kaji, who saw life’s joy in puzzles, dies
TOKYO — Maki Kaji, the creator of the popular numbers puzzle Sudoku whose life’s work was spreading the joy of puzzles, has died, his Japanese company said Tuesday. He was 69 and had bile duct cancer. Known as the “Godfather of Sudoku,” Kaji created the puzzle to be easy for...
Sources: U.S. to recommend covid vaccine boosters at 8 months
WASHINGTON — U.S. health experts are expected to recommend covid-19 vaccine boosters for all Americans, regardless of age, eight months after they received their second dose of the shot, to ensure lasting protection against the coronavirus as the delta variant spreads across the country. Federal health officials have been actively...
3 shot dead outside San Antonio sports bar; suspect arrested
SAN ANTONIO — A man was arrested Monday on a capital murder warrant in the shooting of five people, three fatally, outside a San Antonio sports bar following an argument, police said. The shooting happened about 3:30 a.m. Sunday in the Boom Boom Sports Bar parking lot, Police Chief William...
Fred drenches U.S. Southeast; Grace again a tropical stormVideo
Fred weakened from a tropical storm to a depression early Tuesday as it trekked inland, spreading heavy rains over the U.S. Southeast. The National Weather Service said it spawned several tornadoes in Georgia, and flash flooding and mudslides were possible in mountainous areas as it moves toward the mid-Atlantic states....
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promotes covid treatment, downplays vaccine effectivenessVideo
ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held another event to promote Regeneron treatments for covid-19 on Monday, unveiling a new clinic at Camping World Stadium in Orlando amid the surge in cases and hospitalizations in the state. Asked why he hasn’t been promoting vaccinations with the same enthusiasm he...
Haiti quake death toll rises to 1,419, injured now at 6,000Video
LES CAYES, Haiti — Rescuers and scrap metal scavengers dug into the floors of a collapsed hotel Monday in this quake-ravaged coastal town, where 15 bodies had already been extracted. Jean Moise Fortunè, whose brother, the hotel owner, was killed in the quake, believed there were more people trapped in...
Pennsylvania to offer weekly covid-19 testing for schools
ENOLA — Pennsylvania will offer voluntary covid-19 testing in all K-12 schools, state health and education officials announced Monday. School districts will have to opt in, and parents must give consent. For participating school districts, the weekly tests will be conducted in classrooms. Students’ nasal swabs will be pooled and...
Democrats push for new Voting Rights Act before maps are drawn
WASHINGTON — Facing pressure from civil rights groups, House Democrats kicked an effort to pass a new Voting Rights Act into high gear this week, despite intense Republican opposition. Over the weekend and during a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing Monday, House Democrats stated their intention to vote on the measure...
Tennessee tops 1-month covid hospitalization high in 2 weeks
NASHVILLE — Tennessee’s top health official said Monday that just halfway through August, the state has already shattered its single-month record for new covid-19 hospitalizations. Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey told reporters the surge in covid-19 patients “really tips the scales” in hospitals even if there aren’t as many people currently...
Cardinal who expressed vaccine skepticism hospitalized with covid, breathing with ventilator
MADISON, Wis. — Cardinal Raymond Burke, one of the Catholic Church’s most outspoken conservatives and a vaccine skeptic, said he has covid-19 and his staff said he is breathing through a ventilator. Burke tweeted Aug. 10 that he had caught the virus, was resting comfortably and was receiving excellent medical...
7 killed in Kabul airport chaos as Taliban patrols capital
KABUL, Afghanistan — Thousands of Afghans rushed into Kabul’s main airport Monday, some so desperate to escape the Taliban that they held onto a military jet as it took off and plunged to their deaths. At least seven people died in the chaos, U.S. officials said, as America’s longest war...
Many Bible Belt preachers silent on shots as covid-19 surges
Dr. Danny Avula, the head of Virginia’s covid-19 vaccination effort, suspected he might have a problem getting pastors to publicly advocate for the shots when some members of his own church referred to them as “the mark of the beast,” a biblical reference to allegiance to the devil, and the...
Biden says he stands ‘squarely behind’ Afghanistan decisionVideo
WASHINGTON — Striking a defiant tone, President Joe Biden said Monday that he stands “squarely behind” his decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan and that the Afghan government’s collapse was quicker than anticipated. Biden said he was faced with a choice between sticking to a previously negotiated agreement to...
Greece wildfires: New blazes burning outside of Athens
More wildfires broke out Monday in hard-hit Greece, with two blazes fanned by strong winds triggering evacuation alerts for villages southeast and northwest of the Greek capital. The first blaze, which broke out in the morning in the Keratea region southeast of Athens, quickly burned through shrubland and was heading...
Taliban take over Afghanistan: What we know and what’s next
The Taliban have seized power in Afghanistan two weeks before the U.S. was set to complete its troop withdrawal after a costly two-decade war. The insurgents stormed across the country, capturing all major cities in a matter of days, as Afghan security forces trained and equipped by the U.S. and...
The world may never reach herd immunity against covid-19, experts say
As covid-19 surged last year, governments worldwide touted the hope of “herd immunity,” a promised land where the virus stopped spreading exponentially because enough people were protected against it. That’s now looking like a fantasy. The thinking was that the pandemic would ebb and then mostly fade once a chunk...
Texas Supreme Court blocks lower-court rulings that allowed mask mandates
AUSTIN — The Texas Supreme Court stepped in Sunday evening to block lower-court orders that had allowed Dallas and San Antonio to impose mask mandates contrary to an executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott. The temporary restraining orders, issued by separate District Court judges and upheld Friday by intermediate appellate...
The Taliban won. Here’s what that could meanVideo
Now that the Taliban has regained power after nearly two decades in the Afghan hinterlands, the average Afghan will face a radically different government, and lifestyle, than the one they have known since the U.S.-led invasion in late 2001. How will the Taliban rule? Have they changed? When the Islamist...
USDA to permanently boost food stamp benefits by 25%
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has approved a significant and permanent increase in the levels of food stamp assistance available to needy families—the largest single increase in the program’s history. Starting in October, average benefits for food stamps (officially known as the SNAP program) will rise more than 25 percent...
Man stabbed at Los Angeles anti-vaccination protest leaves hospitalVideo
LOS ANGELES — A man who was stabbed when a Los Angeles protest against vaccine mandates turned violent has been released from the hospital, police said Sunday. The man was stabbed and a news reporter was kicked after a fight broke out Saturday between anti-vaccination demonstrators and counterprotesters in front...
St. Thomas GOP chairwoman arrested in trafficking caseVideo
MINNEAPOLIS — The chairwoman of the University of St. Thomas College Republicans has been arrested in Florida on suspicion of recruiting minors for a sex trafficking ring. Gisela Castro Medina, 19, was arrested Thursday in Fort Walton Beach, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Saturday. The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office’s website...
Trudeau triggers Canadian election, voting day Sept. 20
TORONTO — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau triggered an election Sunday as he seeks to capitalize on Canada being one of the most fully vaccinated countries in the world. Trudeau announced the election would be held on Sept. 20 after visiting the governor general, who holds a mostly ceremonial position representing...
Death toll of powerful earthquake in Haiti soars to 1,297Video
LES CAYES, Haiti — The death toll from a 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Haiti climbed to 1,297 on Sunday, a day after the powerful temblor turned thousands of structures into rubble and set off frantic rescue efforts ahead of a potential deluge from an approaching tropical storm. Saturday’s earthquake also left...
Rural population losses add to farm and ranch labor shortage
OMAHA, Neb. — Rural America lost more population in the latest census, highlighting an already severe worker shortage in the nation’s farming and ranching regions and drawing calls from those industries for immigration reform to help ease the problem. The census data released last week showed that population gains in...
