AP National News

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that at least 2.8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines donated to the continent’s countries have expired, citing short shelf lives as the major reason. Africa CDC director John Nkengasong told an online briefing Thursday

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Sales of previously occupied homes fell in December for the first time in four months as many would-be buyers were frustrated by a lack of available houses, which fell to the lowest level in more than two decades. Existing home sales dropped 4.6% last month from

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The United Nations says food distribution in Ethiopia’s blockaded Tigray region has reached its “all-time lowest” while more than 50,000 children are thought to be severely malnourished, the latest sign of growing crisis amid efforts to end the country’s 14-month war. Thursday’s update by the U.N. humanitarian agency says food aid

By DAN GELSTON AP Sports Writer Rey Mysterio was revealed Thursday as the cover star of the WWE 2K22 video game. The video game is set for a March 11 release. Mysterio was selected in part to honor his 20-year career with WWE. Mysterio is a playable character with his son, Dominik. The younger Mysterio

PARIS (AP) — France’s government spokesman says more than 1 million adults have got their first vaccine shot over the past month. The move comes after the government announced a plan to exclude unvaccinated people from all restaurants, sports arenas and other venues. The French parliament approved the new law over the weekend. The measure

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The top U.S. public health agency has long been criticized as too slow to collect and act on new information. Now, increasingly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also being criticized for moving too fast. One year into Dr. Rochelle Walensky’s tenure as

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — The foreign and defense ministers of Japan and France have held virtual talks as the two countries seek to deepen their security ties in the Indo-Pacific region, where tensions have been rising amid China’s military buildup and North Korea’s nuclear and missile development. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has dropped its case against a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor charged with hiding work he did for the Chinese government. The department said in a filing Thursday in federal court in Boston that it could no longer meet its burden of proof at

By KATHY GANNON Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban have stormed an apartment in Kabul, arresting a woman rights activist and her three sisters. A Taliban statement appeared to blame the incident on a recent women’s protest. The arrested activist was among about 25 women who took part in an anti-Taliban protest on

ROME (AP) — The Vatican has included a group that advocates for women’s ordination on a website promoting a two-year consultation of rank-and-file Catholics. The inclusion of the Women’s Ordination Conference on the website promoting the Vatican’s 2023 “synod,” or bishops’ meeting, is significant since the Vatican has long held the group at arm’s length.

By NOMAAN MERCHANT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials say the CIA believes it’s unlikely that Russia or another foreign adversary is using microwaves or other forms of directed energy to attack hundreds of American diplomats and intelligence officers who attribute their brain injuries and other symptoms to what’s come to be known as

By MATTHEW LEE and FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is warning of a unified, “swift, severe” response from the United States and its allies if Russia sends any military forces into Ukraine. Blinken’s comments in Berlin appeared to be another effort to clear up confusion about the

By DANICA KIRKA, SYLVIA HUI and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A British man who held four people hostage in a Texas synagogue ranted against Jews and American wars in countries like Afghanistan as his brother pleaded with him to give up and free the captives. That’s according to a recorded conversation posted

By NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s leader says the country holding the presidency of the Group of 20 biggest economies wants to strengthen global partnership to aid the economic recovery from COVID-19. In an online address Thursday to the World Economic Forum, Indonesian President Joko Widodo committed to making the G-20

By LEANNE ITALIE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Team USA’s opening ceremony uniforms for the Beijing Olympics include some sneaky new warming technology. There’s also a handy front pouch and a cinch waist on anoraks in navy and white. The jackets were unveiled Thursday by official outfitter Ralph Lauren. They include a smart, honeycomb-like

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The party of Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley appears to have won every legislative seat in the first elections that the island has held since casting off the British monarchy. Preliminary results released Thursday indicate Mottley’s Barbados Labor Party has secured all 30 seats in the House of Assembly,

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose to the highest level in three months as the fast-spreading omicron variant disrupted the job market. Jobless claims rose for the third straight week — by 55,000 to 286,000, highest since mid-October, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A lawmaker from Britain’s governing Conservatives has accused the government of blackmailing opponents of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Tory member of Parliament William Wragg said Thursday that legislators calling for a challenge to Johnson’s leadership have faced “intimidation.” That allegedly included threats of a loss of funding

PRAGUE (AP) — A heavy snowstorm that has hit the Czech Republic caused a multiple-car crash and completely shut down one of the major highways near the capital, Prague. Police say about 40 cars and trucks were involved in the pileup that took place 33 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of the capital on the D5

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The European Union is ordering Poland to pay a fine of nearly 70 million euros ($80 million) for its failure to shut down a disciplinary chamber with the power to suspend or otherwise discipline judges. The European Court of Justice ruled last year that the Disciplinary Chamber isn’t compatible with EU