Associated Press stories, Page 2155

BERLIN — A strong winter storm that has battered Europe with hurricane-force winds and heavy rains has killed several people and caused severe travel disruption on Monday. There were reports of deaths directly linked to the storm with three drivers, one in the southwest of the Czech Republic, one in...

LONDON — Sony and Amazon are the latest companies to pull out of a major European technology show due to fears over the outbreak of the new coronavirus. Sony said Monday it’s scrapping its appearance at Mobile World Congress, the world’s biggest mobile industry trade fair, in Barcelona, Spain, this...

SEOUL, South Korea — South Koreans reacted with rare collective joy Monday after director Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” won the Oscar for best picture and three other awards, good news that came as their country struggles to guard against a new virus and counter North Korea’s nuclear threat. The movie’s...

BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s designated successor unexpectedly threw in the towel Monday, plunging her conservative party into deeper crisis as it struggles to agree on its future political direction after losing votes to the far right. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told leading members of the Christian Democratic Union that she...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Officials announced a settlement late Sunday with bondholders that would reduce Puerto Rico’s public debt by 70%, but the U.S. territory’s governor swiftly rejected it, saying it puts too heavy a burden on the island’s retirees. The settlement is the biggest one to date since...

LONDON — Storm Ciara battered the U.K. and northern Europe with hurricane-force winds and heavy rains Sunday, halting flights and trains and producing heaving seas that closed down ports. Soccer games, farmers’ markets and cultural events were canceled as authorities urged millions of people to stay indoors, away from falling...

NEW YORK — Scarlett Johansson showed up Sunday for her two-nomination night at the Oscars every bit the bombshell in a Champagne-colored Oscar de la Renta strapless gown embellished to the rafters, while fellow nominee Laura Dern brought her mom as she walked the red carpet in pale pink and...

PHILADELPHIA — A man accused of beating his girlfriend to death and calling an Uber to take her to a hospital was charged with murder, according to police records. Police said Nicholas Forman buckled 22-year-old Sabrina Harooni’s injured body into an Uber on Monday and had the driver take them...

SALT LAKE CITY — Ann Lovell had never owned a passport before last year. Now, the 62-year-old teacher is a frequent flier, traveling every few months to Tijuana, Mexico, to buy medication for rheumatoid arthritis — with tickets paid for by the state of Utah’s public insurer. Lovell is one...

LLANGANATES, Ecuador — The tiny rider sat — well, was tied — atop the towering steed that would carry him to victory in the annual llama races at Ecuador’s Llanganates National Park. Wellington Barrera, clad in a wool poncho, sheep-leather pants and a cowboy hat, was the only finisher in...

LEOLA — An accidental discharge of a gun at a Pennsylvania church on Sunday morning injured two people, church officials said. Officials said the firearm “was accidentally discharged” inside the security office at Worship Center in Upper Leacock Township at about 10 a.m. Sunday. LNP newspaper reported. One of the...

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is offering a $4.8 trillion election-year budget plan that recycles previously rejected cuts to domestic programs to promise a balanced budget in 15 years — all while boosting the military and leaving Social Security and Medicare benefits untouched. Trump’s fiscal 2021 plan, to be released...

TEHRAN, Iran — An Iranian rocket failed to put a satellite into orbit on Sunday, state television reported, the latest setback for a program the U.S. claims helps Tehran advance its ballistic missile program. The launch happened at 7:15 p.m. local time at Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Iran’s Semnan province,...

CHICAGO — Adam Pezen, Carlo Licata and Nimesh Patel are among millions of people who have been tagged in Facebook photos at some point in the past decade, sometimes at the suggestion of an automated tagging feature powered by facial recognition technology. It was their Illinois addresses, though, that put...