Month: November 2021

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is urging Russia to be more transparent about its military activities near Ukraine. But he stopped short of suggesting that Moscow might be preparing to invade its former Soviet neighbor. Ukraine claims that Russia kept tens of thousands of troops and equipment near

By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Federal safety regulators reach an agreement with Smithfield Foods to settle a contested citation of the company’s coronavirus safety measures during a massive outbreak last year at the South Dakota pork processing plant. The company will develop a plan to prevent infectious diseases at meatpacking

By DENISE LAVOIE Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Republicans are on track to win a majority in the House of Delegates, according to results certified by the state on Monday. But two races where Republicans are leading by razor-thin margins are eligible for recounts, leaving open a remote possibility of a 50-50 split

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Several thousand people have rallied in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, demanding that authorities in the ex-Soviet nation transfer the jailed ex-president to a civilian hospital amid reports that his health is deteriorating after weeks of being on a hunger strike. Mikheil Saakashvili, 53, announced a hunger strike shortly after his

By TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer Health care costs rise every year, but the nation’s biggest employers still see insurance coverage as an important benefit to provide. They just struggle getting the health care system to deliver what their workers need, according to Elizabeth Mitchell, CEO of the Purchaser Business Group on Health. Mitchell’s nonprofit

LONDON (AP) — Members of a gang of international jewel thieves who stole millions in gems and other valuables from wealthy victims including Formula One heiress Tamara Ecclestone have been sentenced to prison terms by a British judge. Italian citizens Jugoslav Jovanovic, Alessandro Maltese and Alessandro Donati struck three London mansions during a two-week burglary

By BROOKE LEFFERTS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — When Bob Mackie was 11, his uncle asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, and his response was a costume designer on Broadway. Mackie lived in California and had never been to New York, but he was fixated on the “color, excitement

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is proposing a $25 million investment to repair Miami’s Freedom Tower. The aging building is also known as the “Ellis Island of the South” because it housed the Cuban Assistance Center where refugees received government help after leaving the communist island following

By ANNIE MA and MIKE MELIA Associated Press The rollout of COVID-19 shots for elementary-age children has exposed another blind spot in the nation’s efforts to address pandemic inequalities. Health systems have released little data on the racial breakdown of youth vaccinations, and community leaders fear that Black and Latino kids are falling behind. Only