ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Top U.S. and Chinese officials have sparred in a particularly contentious manner in the first face-to-face meeting since President Joe Biden took office. In unusually pointed remarks for a staid diplomatic meeting, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Communist Party foreign affairs chief Yang Jiechi took aim at each other’s…
LONDON (AP) — The European Union’s drug regulatory agency says experts have concluded that the AstraZeneca vaccine is not linked to an overall increase in the risk of blood clots and that the benefits of use outweigh the risks. The finding from the European Medicines Agency could open the way for European countries that had…
WASHINGTON (AP) — Legislation creating a bipartisan panel to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol is stalled, at least for now. Democrats and Republicans are split over the scope and structure of a review that could force Congress and the American people to reckon again with the violent attack. House Speaker Nancy…
Health experts say the surge in coronavirus cases in Europe should serve as a warning to the U.S. not to drop its safeguards too early. Optimism is spreading in the U.S. as virus deaths are plummeting and states are easing restrictions. But across Europe tighter restrictions are returning amid a surge of cases that are…
WASHINGTON (AP) — A declassified intelligence assessment says Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized influence operations to help Donald Trump in last November’s presidential election. The assessment found broad efforts by the Kremlin and Iran to shape the outcome of the race but no evidence that any foreign actor changed votes or otherwise disrupted the voting…
WASHINGTON (AP) — An official says U.S. authorities encountered nearly double the number children traveling alone across the Mexican border in one day this week than on an average day last month. And Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas conceded to Congress on Tuesday that the surge is a challenge. The Border Patrol came across 561…
NEW YORK (AP) — Yaphet Kotto, the commanding actor who brought tough magnetism and stately gravitas to films including the James Bond movie “Live and Let Die” and “Alien,” has died. He was 81. Kotto’s wife, Tessie Sinahon, announced his death in a Facebook post. She said he died Monday in the Philippines. Kotto was…
BERLIN (AP) — Germany, France and Italy on Monday became the latest countries to suspend use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine over reports of dangerous blood clots in some recipients. The company and European regulators have said there is no evidence the shot is to blame. Germany’s health minister said the decision was taken on the…
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their spouses have opened a cross-country tour this week to highlight the benefits of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan. The road show starts Monday with Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, heading to Las Vegas while first lady Jill Biden visits Burlington, New…
CHICAGO (AP) — A Black Catholic church on Chicago’s South Side is waging an unusually fierce fight with the archdiocese over its investigation of decades-old sexual abuse allegations against a popular activist priest. St. Sabina Church is a close-knit community that’s been a social activism hub for 40 years under the Rev. Michael Pfleger. But…