U.S., Pakistani officials in strained talks on Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD — U.S. and Pakistani officials are meeting Friday amid a worsening relationship between the two countries as each nation searches for a way forward in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Pakistan has been pressing for greater engagement with the all-male, all-Taliban Cabinet in Kabul even as it shies away from...
Taliban official: At least 100 dead, wounded in Afghan blast
KABUL, Afghanistan — An explosion at a mosque in northern Afghanistan on Friday that targeted Shiite Muslim worshippers left at least 100 people killed or wounded, a Taliban police official said. The official, Dost Mohammad Obaida, the deputy police chief for Kunduz province, said that the “majority of them have...
Colorado woman who won’t get vaccinated denied kidney transplant
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — When a Colorado woman found out her hospital wouldn’t approve her kidney transplant surgery until she got the covid-19 vaccine, she was left with a difficult decision pitting her health needs against her religious beliefs. Leilani Lutali, a born-again Christian, went with her faith. Even though...
More than 120,000 U.S. kids had caregivers die during pandemic
NEW YORK — The number of U.S. children orphaned during the covid-19 pandemic may be larger than previously estimated, and the toll has been far greater among Black and Hispanic Americans, a new study suggests. More than half the children who lost a primary caregiver during the pandemic belonged to...
New Hampshire legislator leaves panel leadership over false covid claims
CONCORD, N.H. — Republican state Rep. Ken Weyler on Wednesday stepped down as chairperson of the House Finance and Joint Legislative Fiscal committees after Gov. Chris Sununu said he should be removed because he continued to spread covid-19 misinformation. “Representative Weyler and I spoke about my deep concerns of the...
Report details Trump’s all-out bid to undo election resultsVideo
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s extraordinary effort to overturn his 2020 election defeat brought the Justice Department to the brink of chaos, and prompted top officials there and at the White House to threaten to resign, a Senate Judiciary Committee report found. The report released Thursday by the Democratic-run committee offers...
Trump to invoke executive privilege in Jan. 6 House investigation
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump intends to assert executive privilege in a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, a move that could prevent the testimony of onetime aides, according to a letter sent by lawyers for the former president. The letter went to at least some witnesses...
Student arrested in Texas school shooting released from jail
ARLINGTON, Texas — An 18-year-old student accused in a shooting at a Texas high school was released from jail Thursday after posting bond. Police accuse Timothy George Simpkins of opening fire in a classroom Wednesday at Timberview High School in Arlington. Two people were shot and two others suffered unspecified...
Ghost towns: Nursing home staffing falls amid pandemic
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — When Natalie Walters arrived at her father’s nursing home, the parking lot was nearly empty and, inside, the elevator made no stops. On the 13th floor, the lights were off and the TVs silent. The last time she was allowed inside, nine months earlier, aides passed in...
Mainstream Republicans seek to ‘rescue’ Idaho — from the GOP
BOISE, Idaho — Idaho’s Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin wants to be the state’s governor after next year’s November elections. But when the man currently holding the job left town this week on official business, she decided not to wait. McGeachin, a far-right Republican known for her opposition to covid-19 restrictions...
Alabama swamped, 4 killed in floods from slow-moving front
PELHAM, Ala. — Terrified drivers climbed out of swamped cars and muddy floodwater flowed through neighborhoods after a stalled weather front drenched Alabama for hours, leaving entire communities under water Thursday and killing at least four people with still more drenching storms to come. Dozens of people had to be...
U.S. health experts urge flu shots to avoid ‘twindemic’
The U.S. is gearing up in case of a bad flu season on top of the continuing covid-19 crisis, with a plea Thursday for Americans to get vaccinated against both. “I get it: We are all tired of talking about vaccines,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for...
Africa welcomes new malaria vaccine as a ‘game-changer’
LAGOS, Nigeria — African health officials are optimistic that the world’s first malaria vaccine endorsed by the World Health Organization will “dramatically change” the way the continent of 1.3 billion people fights the disease. The new malaria vaccine is “a game-changer” in combating the disease which accounts for hundreds of...
Microsoft: Russia behind 58% of detected state-backed hacks
Russia accounted for most state-sponsored hacking detected by Microsoft over the past year, with a 58% share, mostly targeting government agencies and think tanks in the United States, followed by Ukraine, Britain and European NATO members, the company said. The devastating effectiveness of the long-undetected SolarWinds hack — it mainly...
Oklahoma schools leader switches parties to run for governor
OKLAHOMA CITY — State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister, who has clashed repeatedly with Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt and his appointees over the state’s response to covid-19 in schools, said Thursday she will switch parties and run as a Democrat against him next year. A longtime Republican first elected in 2014, Hofmeister...
Senate dodges debt disaster, votes to extend borrowing
WASHINGTON — The Senate dodged a U.S. debt disaster Thursday night, voting to extend the government’s borrowing authority into December and temporarily avert an unprecedented federal default that experts warned would devastate the economy and harm millions of Americans. The vote of 50-48 in support of the bill to raise...
State TV says Iranian speedboats intercepted U.S. Navy vessel
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s state TV reported Thursday that speedboats belonging to the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard have intercepted a U.S. vessel in the Persian Gulf. A U.S. Navy spokesman said he was not aware of any such encounter at sea over the past days. The region remains on edge...
Pfizer’s request to OK shots for kids a relief for parentsVideo
Parents tired of worrying about classroom outbreaks and sick of telling their elementary school-age children no to sleepovers and family gatherings felt a wave of relief Thursday when Pfizer asked the U.S. government to authorize its covid-19 vaccine for youngsters ages 5 to 11. If regulators give the go-ahead, reduced-dose...
Strong earthquake in southwest Pakistan kills at least 23
QUETTA, Pakistan — A powerful earthquake collapsed at least one coal mine and dozens of mud houses in southwest Pakistan early Thursday, killing at least 23 people as the death toll continued to creep higher. At least another 200 people were injured, an official said. The death tally was expected...
Thai riverside restaurant finds silver lining in floods
NONTHABURI, Thailand (AP) — A flood-hit riverside restaurant in Thailand has become an unlikely dining hotspot after fun-loving foodies began flocking to its water-logged deck to eat amid the lapping tide. Now, instead of empty chairs and vacant tables, the Chaopraya Antique Café is as full as ever, offering an...
Maryland man accused in death of his pharmacist brother for ‘killing people’ with covid vaccine, court records show
BALTIMORE — A Cumberland man allegedly killed his brother and sister-in-law in their Ellicott City home last week because his brother, a pharmacist, administered covid-19 vaccines, according to charging documents filed Wednesday in a Howard County court. Jeffrey Burnham told his mother he had to confront his older brother, Brian...
Judge orders Texas to suspend new law banning most abortions
AUSTIN — A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Texas to suspend the most restrictive abortion law in the United States, which since September has banned most abortions in the nation’s second-most populous state. The order by U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman is the first legal blow to the Texas law...
Biden plans $1 billion push to boost rapid covid-19 testingVideo
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will announce a $1 billion purchase of rapid at-home covid-19 tests on Wednesday, an additional investment geared at expanding the availability of such products in the coming months, a White House official said. Along with the authorization of another at-home test product on Monday, the...
Woman burned rescuing her dog from Yellowstone hot spring
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — A woman from Washington state suffered burns from her shoulders to her feet when she tried to rescue her dog from a Yellowstone National Park hot spring. Park rangers and firefighters cared for the 20-year-old woman before she was taken to the burn unit at...
Vape products contain potentially harmful chemicals, researchers say
Vaping exposes users to around 2,000 chemicals, including potentially harmful industrial compounds, according to a study of four popular brands by researchers at Johns Hopkins University. Most of the chemicals found were unidentified, but of those that were, six were cause for concern, according to the study published in Chemical...
