LANSING, Mich. (AP) – Michigan has issued updated guidance to help schools and local health departments navigate whether asymptomatic students exposed to a coronavirus-infected student should quarantine at home or stay in school. Unvaccinated but masked students who were less than 3 feet from a COVID-positive student now can remain in school but only if they are tested daily for…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell sharply last week to 310,000, a pandemic low and a sign that the surge in COVID-19 cases caused by the delta variant has yet to lead to widespread layoffs. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that jobless claims dropped from a revised total of 345,000 the week before….
DULUTH, Minn. – The City of Duluth will host a closed indoor Remembrance Ceremony this Saturday to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Members of the Duluth Police and Fire Departments will join Mayor Emily Larson, Fire Chief Shawn Krizaj, and Police Chief Mike Tusken for the ceremony at the Duluth Entertainment & Convention Center’s Ice Cube…
(AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, file) NEW YORK (AP) – The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will return to New York City’s streets this year with COVID-19 protocols including a vaccination requirement for parade volunteers. Macy’s says the Nov. 25 parade will be broadcast on NBC and will feature the traditional giant balloons, celebrity performers, clowns, and marching bands. Macy’s presented a…
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – More than 400,000 homes and businesses in Louisiana still don’t have power nine days after Hurricane Ida. The state Public Service Commission said Tuesday that 98% of utility customers in the four hardest-hit parishes remain without electricity. In contrast, nearly all power has been restored in the capital city of Baton Rouge, and 73% of homes…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Divers at the site of an ongoing oil spill that appeared in the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Ida have identified the apparent source as one-foot diameter pipeline displaced from a trench on the ocean floor and broken open. Talos Energy, the Houston-based company currently paying for the cleanup, said in a statement issued Sunday evening that…
WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers added just 235,000 jobs in August, a modest gain after two months of robust hiring at a time when the delta variant’s spread has discouraged some people from flying, shopping, and eating out. The unemployment rate dropped to 5.2% from 5.4% in July. The August job gains the government reported Friday fell far short of…
WASHINGTON (AP) — A deeply divided Supreme Court is allowing a Texas law that bans most abortions to remain in force. The court’s action, for now, strips most women of the right to an abortion in the nation’s second-largest state. In an unsigned order just before midnight, the court voted 5-4 to deny an emergency appeal from abortion providers and…
(AP) – The nation’s most far-reaching curb on abortions has taken effect in Texas, with the Supreme Court silent so far on an emergency appeal to put the law on hold. If allowed to remain in force, the law would be the most dramatic restriction on abortion rights in the United States since the high court’s landmark Roe v. Wade…
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Residents of Louisiana communities hit hard by Hurricane Ida are seeing small signs of progress amid the need for a monumental recovery. About 11,000 people in New Orleans saw their lights come back on early Wednesday. But officials say full restoration could still take weeks, and more than 1 million homes and businesses in Louisiana and…
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mike Richards is out as executive producer of “Jeopardy!”, days after he exited as the quiz show’s newly appointed host because of past misogynistic and other comments. Richards is also no longer executive producer of “Wheel of Fortune,” according to a memo to staff that was confirmed by Sony, which produces both of the shows. “We…
(FOX 9) – Hate crimes hit a 12-year high in the U.S. last year, according to a new report from the FBI. The report shows a total of 7,759 incidents last year, even with fewer law enforcement agencies reporting data than in 2019. Last year’s rise was driven by assaults targeting Black victims and victims of Asian descent. Hate crimes against Black…
(AP Photo/Wali Sabawoon) KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A Taliban guard at the Kabul airport says the last U.S. planes have flown out after 20 years of war in Afghanistan. Hemad Sherzad tells The Associated Press the last five planes departed just after midnight on Tuesday. Celebratory gunfire erupted across the city. U.S. officials have not yet confirmed the withdrawal of…
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Ida is now a tropical storm after spending 16 hours as a hurricane over Louisiana and Mississippi. Residents are now waiting for daybreak for rescues from flooded areas to begin and damage to be assessed. Power remains out for the entire city of New Orleans, taking down the backup system for the city’s pumps. Ida’s storm…
Photo: AP/Matt Sayles, File LOS ANGELES (AP) – Actor Ed Asner, the blustery but lovable Lou Grant in two successful television series and voice of Carl in Disney’s “Up,” has died. He was 91. Asner’s representative confirmed the death in an email Sunday to The Associated Press. Asner was a journeyman actor in films and TV when he was hired…
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Hurricane Ida has blasted ashore along the Louisiana coast as one of the most powerful storms ever to hit the U.S., rushing toward New Orleans and one of the nation’s most important industrial corridors. The Category 4 storm hit Sunday with winds of 150 mph (230 kph). It was the same date Hurricane Katrina ravaged Louisiana…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The United States military struck back at the Islamic State in Afghanistan on Saturday, acting on President Joe Biden’s vow to hit the extremists in retaliation for a suicide bombing claimed by IS that killed as many as 169 Afghans and 13 American service members at Kabul airport Thursday. A U.S. Central Command statement said a drone…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court is allowing evictions to resume across the United States, blocking the Biden administration from enforcing a temporary ban that was put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic. Roughly 3.5 million people in the United States said they faced eviction in the next two months, according to Census Bureau data from early August. The…
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Governor Tim Walz has ordered all United States and Minnesota flags be flown at half-staff at all state and federal buildings in Minnesota to remember, mourn, and honor theUnited States service members and other victims that were killed or wounded in a terrorist attack carried out in Kabul, Afghanistan Thursday. The governor’s office says the order…
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – Two suicide bombers and gunmen have targeted crowds of Afghans flocking to Kabul’s airport, in the waning days of a massive airlift that has drawn thousands of people seeking to flee the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. An Afghan official says at least 60 Afghans were killed and 143 wounded. U.S. officials said 12 U.S. service members…
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. Capitol Police officers who were attacked and beaten during the Capitol riot are suing former President Donald Trump, his allies, and members of far-right extremist groups. The suit accuses them of intentionally sending a violent mob on Jan. 6 to disrupt the congressional certification of the election. The suit in federal court in Washington alleges Trump…
ISLE ROYAL, Mich. (AP) – An official says a wildfire on Michigan’s remote Isle Royale has been about 15% percent contained and crews have saved some historic cabins from encroaching flames. The fire began Aug. 10, apparently sparked by a lightning strike on the drought-stricken wilderness island. Liz Valencia, a spokeswoman for Isle Royale National Park, says the wildfire has…
(AP Photo/David Goldman) (AP) -Delta Air Lines will charge employees on the company health plan $200 a month if they fail to get vaccinated against COVID-19, a policy the airline’s top executive says is necessary because the average hospital stay for the virus costs the airline $40,000. CEO Ed Bastian said that all employees who have been hospitalized for the…
LONDON (AP) – Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts has died at the age of 80. Publicist Bernard Doherty said Tuesday that Watts “passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier today surrounded by his family.” The self-effacing and unshakeable drummer helped anchor one of rock’s greatest rhythm sections for more than half a century and used his “day job” to…
WASHINGTON (FOX 5 DC) – The U.S. Capitol police officer who shot and killed Ashli Babbitt during the Jan. 6 riots has been formally exonerated. The exoneration of the officer, whose identity has not been released, was the last step in wrapping up the investigation into the incident. “USCP’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) determined the officer’s conduct was lawful…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Pentagon says it will require service members to receive the COVID-19 vaccine now that the Pfizer vaccine has received full approval. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby says that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is making good on his vow earlier this month to require the shots once the Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine. Kirby said the…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. has given full approval to the COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer. The Food and Drug Administration’s decision on Monday may help lift public confidence in vaccinations as the nation battles the most contagious coronavirus mutant yet. The FDA has never before had so much evidence to judge a shot’s safety. More than 200 million doses…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A conservative talk radio host from Tennessee who had been a vaccine skeptic until he was hospitalized from COVID-19 has died. He was 61. Nashville radio station SuperTalk 99.7 WTN confirmed Phil Valentine’s death in a tweet Saturday. Valentine had been a skeptic of coronavirus vaccines. But after he tested positive for COVID-19, and prior to his hospitalization,…
WASHINGTON – The U.S. government is extending a ban on nonessential travel along the borders with Canada and Mexico to slow the spread of COVID-19. That’s despite increasing pressure to lift the restriction. U.S. border communities dependent on shoppers from Mexico and Canada and their political representatives have urged the Biden administration to lift the ban. Canada recently began letting…
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden plans to speak Friday about the chaotic evacuations in Afghanistan. He’s facing a torrent of criticism, including from some U.S. diplomats over the effort to evacuate U.S. citizens and Afghans who helped the U.S. during the 20-year war. The pace of evacuations picked up some overnight, but flights from the Kabul airport had stopped…
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Producer Mike Richards stepped down as host of “Jeopardy!” after a report about past misogynistic comments surfaced this week. Richards was chosen last week as the successor to Alex Trebek, but his selection was seen as divisive from the beginning after the show embarked on a broad search that included actors, sports figures, journalists, and celebrities….
(AP) – Federal officials are extending into January a requirement that people on airline flights and public transportation wear face masks, a rule intended to limit the spread of COVID-19. The Transportation Security Administration’s current order was scheduled to expire on Sept. 13. An agency spokesman said Tuesday that the mandate will be extended until Jan. 18. The TSA briefed…
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. 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. The goal is to ensure lasting protection against the coronavirus as the delta variant spreads across the country. That’s according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to The…
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden is returning to the White House Monday to address the nation on the U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan. This, as the planned withdrawal of American forces, turned deadly at Kabul’s airport Monday as thousands tried to flee Afghanistan a day after the Taliban’s takeover of the country. The White House says Biden will travel back…
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban swept into Afghanistan’s capital Sunday after the government collapsed and the embattled president joined an exodus of his fellow citizens and foreigners, signaling the end of a costly two-decade U.S. campaign to remake the country. Heavily armed Taliban fighters fanned out across the capital, and several entered Kabul’s abandoned presidential palace. Suhail Shaheen, a…
(Courtesy: Fox News) WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden has authorized an additional 1,000 U.S. troops for deployment to Afghanistan, as the Taliban inches closer to the capital city of Kabul. That raises to roughly 5,000 the number of U.S. troops deployed to ensure what Biden is calling an “orderly and safe drawdown” of American and allied personnel. U.S. troops…
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. health regulators have authorized an extra dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines in people with weakened immune systems to better protect them from the virus. The announcement Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration applies to millions of Americans who take immune-suppressing medicines because of organ transplants, cancer, or other disorders. The decision does…
BELIZE CITY (AP) — Twenty-seven people aboard a Carnival cruise tested positive for COVID-19 just before the ship made a stop in Belize City this week, according to the Belize Tourism Board. The positive cases were among 26 crew members and one passenger on the Carnival Vista, which is carrying over 1,400 crew and nearly 3,000 passengers, the board said…
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Several reports say Britney Spears’ father has agreed to step down from the conservatorship that has controlled her life and money for 13 years. Outlets including celebrity website TMZ and CNN reported that James Spears filed legal documents saying that while there are no grounds for his removal, he will step down. The decision comes after…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The federal Department of Health and Human Services is requiring employees who provide care for patients to get their COVID-19 shots. Thursday’s order from HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra will affect more than 25,000 clinicians, researchers, contractors, trainees, and volunteers with the National Institutes of Health, the Indian Health Service, and the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps….
WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell for a third straight time last week, the latest sign that employers are laying off fewer people as they struggle to fill a record number of open jobs and meet a surge in consumer demand. Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that jobless claims fell for a third…
TOKYO (AP) — It began with a virus and a yearlong pause. It ended with a typhoon blowing through and, still, a virus. In between: just about everything. The Tokyo Olympics, christened with “2020” but held in mid-2021 after being interrupted for a year by the coronavirus, glided to their conclusion in a COVID-emptied stadium Sunday night as an often surreal mixed bag for…
(AP) – The Biden administration has announced that federal student loan payments will remain suspended through January 2022, extending a pause that was scheduled to expire next month. The Education Department says this will be the final extension. Borrowers will not have to make payments on federal student loans during the moratorium, interest rates will be set at 0% and…
(AP) – United Airlines will require U.S.-based employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by late October, and maybe sooner. United announced the decision Friday. The airline joins a growing number of big corporations that will require vaccinations. This is happening as a mutant variation of COVID-19 drives a surge in new infections. United CEO Scott Kirby says he knows some…
(AP) – Apple is planning to scan U.S. iPhones for images of child abuse, drawing applause from child protection groups but raising concern among some security researchers that the system could be misused by governments looking to surveil their citizens. The tool Apple calls “neuralMatch” will detect known images of child sexual abuse without decrypting people’s messages. If it finds…
NEW YORK (CNN Business) – CVS will raise its minimum wage for hourly workers from $11 to $15 by next summer, becoming the latest large US chain to pledge a $15 starting rate as companies compete for workers in a tight labor market. The pharmacy giant, which has nearly 300,000 employees, said Wednesday that it will begin increasing wages for…
CRANE, Texas (AP) — Rusted pipes litter the sandy fields of Ashley Williams Watt’s cattle ranch in windswept West Texas. The corroded skeletons are all that remain of hundreds of abandoned oil wells that were drilled long before her family owned the land. The wells, unable to produce any useful amounts of oil or gas, were plugged with cement decades…
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Biden administration will announce a new 60-day eviction moratorium that would protect areas where 90% of the U.S. population lives. That’s according to three people familiar with the plans who insisted on anonymity to discuss the forthcoming announcement. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified a legal authority for a new and different moratorium…
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) UPDATE: WASHINGTON (AP) — An officer died after being stabbed Tuesday during a burst of violence at a transit station outside the Pentagon, law enforcement officials said. A shooting resulted in the Pentagon being locked down for more than an hour. A Pentagon officer who was stabbed later died, according to officials who were not authorized to…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Gunshots were fired Tuesday morning near the entrance of the Pentagon, resulting in multiple injuries. The facility, the headquarters of the U.S. military, was placed on lockdown. The Arlington County Fire Department reported “multiple patients,” but it wasn’t immediately clear if they had been shot or the extent of the injuries. The incident occurred on a Metro…
