South Africa starts vaccination drive for those 60 and older
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa has started its mass vaccination drive with the goal of inoculating nearly 5 million citizens aged 60 and above by the end of June. Shots of the Pfizer vaccine were given to South Africans in a few nursing homes and to some people aged 60 and...
Oprah and CNN: AT&T is merging media business with DiscoveryVideo
NEW YORK — The merger of Discovery and AT&T’s WarnerMedia operations, marrying the likes of HBO and CNN with HGTV and Oprah Winfrey, is another illustration of the head-spinning speed in which streaming has transformed the media world. The companies are essentially placing a $43 billion bet that they’ll still...
Israeli strikes hit Gaza tunnels as diplomats work for truce
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Israeli military unleashed a wave of heavy airstrikes on the Gaza Strip early Monday, saying it destroyed 9 miles of militant tunnels and the homes of nine Hamas commanders, as international diplomats worked to end the week of fighting that has killed hundreds of...
Police: 2 arson suspects detained in Los Angeles wildfire
LOS ANGELES — A smoky wildfire churning through a Los Angeles canyon community gained strength Sunday as about a thousand residents remained under evacuation orders while others were warned they should get ready to leave, authorities said. The cause of the fire near Topanga State Park has been deemed “suspicious”...
Second Amendment sanctuaries facing 1st court test in Oregon
SALEM, Ore. — The first court test of whether local governments can ban police from enforcing certain gun laws is playing out in a rural Oregon county, one of a wave of U.S. counties declaring itself a Second Amendment sanctuary. The measure that voters in the logging area of Columbia...
Albuquerque police ID 2 victims in a triple homicide case
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Authorities have released the names of two men who died in a triple homicide case. Albuquerque police say 44-year-old Brandon Torres and 41-year-old James Fisher were identified as two of the victims found Wednesday in a bullet-riddled car outside a city hospital. The name of the third...
Arrest made after boy, 4, found slain on Dallas streetVideo
DALLAS — An 18-year-old man has been arrested after the body of a 4-year-old boy was found lying on a neighborhood street in Dallas, police said Sunday. Police said that Darriynn Brown has been charged with kidnapping and theft. Police say they also anticipate additional charges pending the results of...
AP’s top editor calls for independent investigation into Israeli airstrikeVideo
WASHINGTON — The Associated Press’ top editor on Sunday called for an independent investigation into the Israeli airstrike that targeted and destroyed a Gaza City building housing the AP, broadcaster Al-Jazeera and other media, saying the public deserves to know the facts. Separately, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders asked the...
Islamic nations slam Israel — and each other’s ties to it
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A league of Muslim nations on Sunday demanded that Israel halt attacks killing Palestinian civilians amid heavy fighting between it and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, even as fissures between countries over their recognition of Israel emerged. A statement by the 57-nation Organization of Islamic...
Virus testing strategies, opinions vary widely in U.S. schools
MISSION, Kan. — Children are having their noses swabbed or saliva sampled at school to test for the coronavirus in cities such as Baltimore, New York and Chicago. In other parts of the U.S., school districts are reluctant to check even students showing signs of illness for covid-19. Education and...
Police probing deaths of man, woman in Central Pennsylvania home
HARRISBURG — Authorities are investigating the deaths of a man and woman whose bodies were found in a Pennsylvania home. Swatara Township police said officers were called to the home just before midnight Friday on “a report of a domestic incident.” Officers who forced their way into the home found...
As GOP restricts voting, Democrats move to expand access
Last year, for the first time in more than a quarter-century, Democrats in Virginia took control of the statehouse and the governor’s mansion. Since then, one priority has become clear: expanding voting rights. Once home to the capital of the Confederacy, Virginia has made Election Day a state holiday, repealed...
CDC’s big mask change went from science to secret to surprise
WASHINGTON — For a nation mired in a pandemic for more than a year, the biggest step toward a return to normal came suddenly, even to President Joe Biden. After warning the country on Monday to stay vigilant amid the threat of coronavirus variants, the president found himself three days...
Republican Arizona election official says Trump ‘unhinged’
PHOENIX — The Republican who now leads the Arizona county elections department targeted by a GOP audit of the 2020 election results is slamming former President Donald Trump and others in his party for their continued falsehoods about how the election was run. Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer on Saturday...
Afghan cease-fire ends amid calls for fresh peace talks
KABUL, Afghanistan — A three-day cease-fire marked by violent attacks — most claimed by the Islamic State group — ended Sunday in Afghanistan amid calls for renewed peace talks between the government and Taliban. Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen said the negotiating teams of the government and the Islamic Emirate,...
Israel stages new round of heavy airstrikes on Gaza CityVideo
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israeli warplanes unleashed a series of heavy airstrikes at several locations of Gaza City early Monday, hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled the fourth war with Gaza’s Hamas rulers would rage on. Explosions rocked the city from north to south for 10 minutes...
Colonial Pipeline operator says ‘normal operations’ have resumed
ATLANTA — The operator of the nation’s largest gasoline pipeline — hit earlier this week by a ransomware attack — announced Saturday that it has resumed “normal operations,” delivering fuel to its markets, including a large swath of the East Coast. Georgia-based Colonial Pipeline had begun the process of restarting...
Florida’s amusement parks loosen pandemic mask requirements
ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida’s major theme parks are adjusting their face mask policies after the federal government loosened its recommendations as more people get vaccinated for the coronavirus. Visitors to Walt Disney World and Universal Studios-Orlando were allowed Saturday to remove their masks when they are outdoors except when they...
Italy’s Berlusconi leaves hospital amid post-virus struggles
MILAN — Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi was released from Milan’s San Raffaele Hospital on Saturday, where he was treated for complications related to his earlier bout with coronavirus. Berlusconi, 84, recovered from covid-19 last September but has been in and out of the hospital in recent weeks. He was...
Police fire tear gas on banned Palestinian march in Paris
PARIS — French riot police fired tear gas and used water cannons Saturday in Paris as protesters supporting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip defied a ban on marching in the French capital. Thousands of people marched peacefully in other cities in France and elsewhere in Europe — including in London,...
U.S. climate envoy Kerry meets with pope on climate crisis
VATICAN CITY — John Kerry, President Joe Biden’s climate envoy, met privately with Pope Francis on Saturday, afterward calling the pope a “compelling moral authority on the subject of the climate crisis” who has been “ahead of the curve.” The former U.S. Secretary of State told Vatican News that the...
Navajos say new Arizona restrictions will complicate voting
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Arizona Republicans say the voter restrictions they’re pushing after President Joe Biden’s win in the state last year are designed to strengthen the integrity of future elections. To some, the changes will make voting more difficult than it already is. The bills, some signed into law this...
Ex-Border agent admits illegally bringing woman into U.S.
LAREDO, Texas — A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent in Texas has pleaded guilty to illegally bringing a Mexican woman into the U.S. to work as her nanny, according to federal court documents. Rhonda Lee Walker, 40, of Laredo, admitted in a signed plea agreement Friday in U.S....
Israeli strike destroys Gaza building with AP, other media
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — An Israeli airstrike on Saturday targeted and destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed offices of the Associated Press and other media outlets. AP’s president said the agency was “shocked and horrified” at the strike. AP staffers and other tenants safely evacuated the...
Ethiopia again delays national election amid deadly tensions
NAIROBI, Kenya — Ethiopia has again delayed its national election after some opposition parties said they wouldn’t take part and as conflict in the country’s Tigray region means no vote is being held there. The head of the national elections board, Birtukan Mideksa, in a meeting with political parties’ representatives...
