Associated Press stories, Page 1564
Anti-government protesters block bridges, roads in Serbia
BELGRADE, Serbia — Skirmishes on Saturday erupted in Serbia between police and anti-government demonstrators who blocked roads and bridges in the Balkan country in protest against new laws they say favor interests of foreign investors devastating the environment. Hundreds of people on Saturday appeared simultaneously in the capital Belgrade, the...
Britain tightens covid rules as world on alert over omicron
LONDON — The U.K. tightened up rules Saturday on mask-wearing and on testing of international arrivals after finding two cases of the new potentially more contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus as governments around the world sought to shore up their defenses. Amid fears that the recently identified new variant...
Taz Sherman scores 28, West Virginia beats Eastern Kentucky
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Taz Sherman scored a career-high 28 points to lead West Virginia to an 80-77 comeback victory over Eastern Kentucky on Friday night. Malik Curry scored 10 of his 16 points over the final seven minutes for the Mountaineers (5-1). Jannson Williams led Eastern Kentucky (5-2) with 22...
Tari Eason, LSU beat Penn State in OT at Emerald Coast Classic
DESTIN, Fla. — Tari Eason went 7 of 8 from the free-throw line after regulation and finished with 20 points, Xavier Pinson scored all of his 15 points after halftime and LSU beat Penn State, 68-63, in overtime on Friday night to advance to the championship game of the Emerald...
Chris Christie aims to shape future for GOP and for himself
NEW YORK — Chris Christie is everywhere. The former New Jersey governor and onetime Republican presidential candidate denounced “conspiracy theorists” during a September appearance at the Ronald Reagan Library in California. He followed up with a speech this month to influential Republicans in Las Vegas, warning that the party will...
Shippers prepare for another pandemic crush of holiday gifts
PORTLAND, Maine — The last holiday season was far from the most wonderful time of the year for the U.S. Postal Service: Sick and quarantined workers, a flood of packages from shoppers loath to set foot in stores and a last-minute dump of packages from overwhelmed private shippers. Postal workers...
Ukraine leader alleges Russia-backed coup planned next week
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday claimed that his country’s intelligence service has uncovered plans for a Russia-backed coup d’etat in the country set for next week that allegedly involves one of Ukraine’s richest oligarchs. Both the oligarch and the Russian government rejected the allegations. In Nantucket,...
Towering musical theater master Stephen Sondheim dies at 91
NEW YORK — Stephen Sondheim, the songwriter who reshaped the American musical theater in the second half of the 20th century with his intelligent, intricately rhymed lyrics, his use of evocative melodies and his willingness to tackle unusual subjects, has died. He was 91. Sondheim’s death was announced by Rick...
Activists block Amazon warehouses in Europe on Black Friday
Climate activists blockaded Amazon warehouses in three European countries on Friday, part of a global effort to pressure the ecommerce giant on one of its busiest days of the year to improve working conditions and end business practices that hurt the environment. Members of Extinction Rebellion targeted 13 Amazon fulfilment...
Ghislaine Maxwell’s brother says U.S. prosecutors seeking to ‘break’ her
The brother of a British socialite charged with helping Jeffrey Epstein exploit underage girls says her prosecution is “the most over-hyped trial of the century,” designed to break a woman targeted by authorities desperate to blame someone for the late financier’s crimes. Ghislaine Maxwell continues to have the backing of...
New variant hits sports just as they were nearing normality
Golf, cricket and rugby became the first major sports to be affected by the new covid-19 variant on Friday, prompting fears of renewed travel restrictions and disrupted events just as they were returning to normal nearly two years into the pandemic. European golfers withdrew midway through the season-opening DP World...
Boy fatally wounded in target shooting incident in Berks County
A 10-year-old boy was shot and killed on Thanksgiving Day while he was with someone who was target shooting in southeastern Pennsylvania, authorities said. The shooting occurred around 1:30 p.m. near the child’s home in Hereford, Berks County District Attorney John Adams said Friday. The boy was taken to a...
NATO chief warns Russia of ‘costs’ if it moves on Ukraine
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned Russia Friday that any attempt to invade Ukraine would have costs, as concern mounts about a Russian military buildup near its former Soviet neighbor’s borders. Ukraine says Moscow kept about 90,000 troops near their common border following massive war games in western Russia earlier this...
GOP field in Pennsylvania’s Senate race heads for reshuffle
HARRISBURG — The Republican field of candidates aiming to capture Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat in next year’s election is churning anew, with the candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump out and intriguing new candidates possibly in. Out is Sean Parnell — a favorite of Donald Trump Jr. —...
Ravens, Browns meet for 1st time since wild December clash
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Of all the times Lamar Jackson has rescued the Baltimore Ravens in his young career, last season’s game at Cleveland stands out. The star quarterback left the game with cramps, then returned for a fourth-down play and threw a long touchdown pass to Marquise Brown, part...
New Russian module docks with International Space Station
A Russian cargo craft carrying a new docking module successfully hooked up with the International Space Station Friday after a two-day space journey. The new spherical module, named Prichal (Pier), docked with the orbiting outpost at 6:19 p.m. Moscow time (1519 GMT). It has six docking ports and will allow...
Biden sets out oil, gas leasing reform, stops short of ban
The Biden administration on Friday recommended an overhaul of the nation’s oil and gas leasing program to focus on areas that are most suitable for energy development and raise costs for energy companies to drill on public lands and water. The long-awaited report by the Interior Department stops short of...
Hundreds of FedEx packages are found in Alabama woods
An Alabama sheriff is trying to figure out how hundreds of FedEx packages ended up dumped in the woods. An estimated 300 to 400 packages of various sizes were found in a ravine near the small town of Hayden on Wednesday, the Blount County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement....
U.S. lawmakers visit Taiwan; China conducts military patrols
Five U.S. lawmakers met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday in a surprise one-day visit intended to reaffirm America’s “rock-solid” support for the self-governing island that is claimed by China. The visit came as tensions between Taiwan and China have risen to their highest level in decades. Taiwan has...
World races to contain omicron variant — the new covid threat
Nearly two years into the covid-19 pandemic, the world raced Friday to contain a new coronavirus variant potentially more dangerous than the one that has fueled relentless waves of infection on nearly every continent. A World Health Organization panel named the variant “omicron” and classified it as a highly transmissible...
Stores kick off Black Friday but pandemic woes linger
Retailers are expected to usher in the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season Friday with bigger crowds than last year in a closer step toward normalcy. But the fallout from the pandemic continues to weigh on businesses and shoppers’ minds. Buoyed by solid hiring, healthy pay gains and substantial...
Egypt unveils renovated ‘Avenue of the Sphinxes’ in Luxor
Egyptian authorities were unveiling Thursday a renovated ancient promenade in the city of Luxor dating back 3,000 years, the latest government project undertaken to highlight the country’s archaeological treasures. Egypt has struggled to revive its tourism industry, battered by years of political turmoil following the 2011 popular uprising that toppled...
Stocks sink on new covid variant; Dow loses 905 points
Stocks sank Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly falling more than 1,000 points, as a new coronavirus variant first detected in South Africa appeared to be spreading across the globe. Investors were uncertain whether the variant could potentially reverse months of progress at getting the covid-19 pandemic under...
No. 12 Michigan State looks for bounce back vs. Penn State
Michigan State quarterback Payton Thorne relived his team’s outing at Ohio State three times on film. The nightmarish performance will be hard to forget. “It was tough to watch and see the things that happened,” he said of the 56-7 road loss to the Buckeyes. “It was really frustrating to...
FDA: Merck covid pill effective, experts will review safety
Federal health regulators say an experimental covid-19 pill from Merck is effective against the virus, but they will seek input from outside experts on risks of birth defects and other potential problems during pregnancy. The Food and Drug Administration posted its analysis of the pill ahead of a public meeting...
