National News

US and China Spar in 1st Face-to-Face Meeting under Biden

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…
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EU drug agency discounts any link between vaccine and clots

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…
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Jan. 6 Commission Stalls, for now, amid Partisan Dissension

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…
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Experts: Virus surge in Europe a cautionary tale for US

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…
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US: Putin Approved Operations to Help Trump against Biden

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…
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