News

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A judge has ruled that a statue of Christopher Columbus can remain in south Philadelphia, reversing a decision by city officials to have it removed. The explorer became a focus of protesters after the May 2020 police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. Common Pleas Court Judge Paula Patrick said last year’s

By DARIA LITVINOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities have added a prominent independent election monitoring group to its registry of “foreign agents,” the latest in a relentless government crackdown on activists ahead of the September parliamentary election. The group was first labeled as “foreign agent” in 2013 and liquidated as a non-governmental organization

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A major Southern California water agency has declared a water supply alert for the first time in seven years and is asking residents to voluntarily conserve. The Los Angeles Times reports that the board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California took the step Tuesday hoping to lessen the need

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — An attorney for 22 women who have filed lawsuits accusing Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual assault and harassment says he and some of his clients have spoken to the FBI about the case. Tony Buzbee told The Associated Press that the FBI “reached out

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and JIM SALTER Associated Press MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Many overwhelmed hospitals, with no beds to offer, are putting critically ill COVID-19 patients on planes, helicopters and ambulances and sending them hundreds of miles to far-flung states for treatment.The delta variant of the virus, combined with low vaccination rates in many states,

By LAURIE KELLMAN Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The White House says Israel’s new prime minister is coming to Washington next week, with Iran and Israel’s relationship with the Palestinians on the agenda. Presidential spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement Wednesday that Biden would welcome Naftali Bennett on August 26. In Jerusalem,

By ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration will require that nursing home staff are vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition for those facilities to continue receiving federal Medicare and Medicaid funding. President Joe Biden announced the move Wednesday afternoon in a White House address as the administration continues to look for

By The Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has received a new soccer-themed toy: his very own foosball table. Francis played a round on the table that was presented to him Wednesday at the end of his general audience by representatives of a Tuscany-based table football association. The mayor of Altopascio, Sara D’Ambrosio, wrote on Facebook that

By PATTY NIEBERG Associated Press/Report for America DENVER (AP) — The FBI has joined a criminal investigation into an alleged security breach of a rural Colorado county’s voting equipment. The federal probe comes after Colorado’s Secretary of State Jena Griswold alerted federal cyber security officials of the suspected breach. Griswold accused Mesa County Clerk and

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials last month discussed the timing for beginning to dial back their extraordinary support for the U.S. economy, which has been steadily recovering from the pandemic recession. They made no firm decision on a timetable but appear to be moving toward starting a pullback