WASHINGTON (AP) — The attacks that killed at least 12 U.S. service members outside the Kabul airport have left President Joe Biden with increasingly difficult choices. He can continue the evacuation and risk more deaths or he can end it earlier than planned and risk leaving behind Americans still seeking to leave the country. The…
CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois will require all educators from kindergarten through college and health care workers to get COVID-19 vaccines or submit to weekly testing. Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday also announced a fresh statewide mandate on wearing masks indoors in response to a spike in cases, particularly in southern Illinois. Pritzker says hospital systems…
Sen. Robert Menendez, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, has called the situation unfolding in Kabul “a full-fledged humanitarian crisis.” He said that his prayers are with the victims of the twin suicide bombing outside Kabul’s airport on Thursday that killed at least 13 people and wounded 15. Menendez describes the bombings…
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A veteran Missouri political consultant has pleaded guilty to a federal tax charge, saying he takes “full responsibility” for his actions. David Barklage was indicted in May on a felony count accusing him of failing to pay $151,843 for income earned from 2012 through 2014. Barklage said in a statement after…
Delta Air Lines won’t force employees to get vaccinated, but it’s going to make unvaccinated workers pay a $200 monthly charge. Delta said Wednesday that it will also require weekly testing for unvaccinated employees starting next month, although the airline says it’ll pick up the cost of that testing. Delta isn’t going as far as…
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has filed a lawsuit that seeks to stop school districts from enforcing mask mandates, requirements aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19. The lawsuit filed Tuesday names Columbia Public Schools along with the district’s Board of Education and board members, but is a class action lawsuit that would apply to…
LONDON (AP) — Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watt 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…
HANOI (AP) — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ trip from Singapore to Vietnam was delayed for several hours Tuesday by a “recent possible anomalous health incident.” That’s according to the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, which released the statement, but provided no details. The U.S. government uses “anomalous health incident” to describe “Havana syndrome.” That’s 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.…
WAVERLY, Tenn. (AP) — Search crews are working through shattered homes and tangled debris in Tennessee, looking for about a dozen people still missing after record-breaking rain unleashed floods that killed at least 22 people. Saturday’s flooding took out roads, cellphone towers and telephone lines in a rural area northwest of Nashville, leaving people uncertain…