Month: November 2021

By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Federal safety regulators reach an agreement with Smithfield Foods to settle a contested citation of the company’s coronavirus safety measures during a massive outbreak last year at the South Dakota pork processing plant. The company will develop a plan to prevent infectious diseases at meatpacking

By DENISE LAVOIE Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia officials have certified the results of the Nov. 2 election, with Republicans ahead by two seats in the House of Delegates. But two races where Republicans are leading by razor-thin margins are eligible for recounts. Monday’s certified results show Republicans with 52 seats to 48

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Several thousand people have rallied in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, demanding that authorities in the ex-Soviet nation transfer the jailed ex-president to a civilian hospital amid reports that his health is deteriorating after weeks of being on a hunger strike. Mikheil Saakashvili, 53, announced a hunger strike shortly after his

By TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer Health care costs rise every year, but the nation’s biggest employers still see insurance coverage as an important benefit to provide. They just struggle getting the health care system to deliver what their workers need, according to Elizabeth Mitchell, CEO of the Purchaser Business Group on Health. Mitchell’s nonprofit

LONDON (AP) — Members of a gang of international jewel thieves who stole millions in gems and other valuables from wealthy victims including Formula One heiress Tamara Ecclestone have been sentenced to prison terms by a British judge. Italian citizens Jugoslav Jovanovic, Alessandro Maltese and Alessandro Donati struck three London mansions during a two-week burglary

By BROOKE LEFFERTS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — When Bob Mackie was 11, his uncle asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, and his response was a costume designer on Broadway. Mackie lived in California and had never been to New York, but he was fixated on the “color, excitement

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is proposing a $25 million investment to repair Miami’s Freedom Tower. The aging building is also known as the “Ellis Island of the South” because it housed the Cuban Assistance Center where refugees received government help after leaving the communist island following

By ANNIE MA and MIKE MELIA Associated Press The rollout of COVID-19 shots for elementary-age children has exposed another blind spot in the nation’s efforts to address pandemic inequalities. Health systems have released little data on the racial breakdown of youth vaccinations, and community leaders fear that Black and Latino kids are falling behind. Only

By JILL LAWLESS and DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The U.K. government has increased the terror level to severe, meaning an attack is highly likely. The move comes after police said a blast in a taxi outside a Liverpool hospital was caused by a homemade bomb. The explosion at the Liverpool Women’s Hospital