AP National News

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus will start vaccinating kids between the ages of 5 to 11 in fresh bid to head off another COVID-19 surge following the first confirmed cases of the omicron variant on the eastern Mediterranean island nation. Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela also said individuals can receive booster shots two weeks sooner than

MOSCOW (AP) — A defense lawyer says a Communist Party lawmaker in Russia has been charged with illegal hunting for killing an elk. Kremlin critic Valery Rashkin after police said they found an elk carcass in the trunk of Rashkin’s vehicle when he didn’t have a hunting license. Rashkin at first denied shooting the elk

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a conservative think tank over Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ decision to exclude the group’s writers from press briefings. The justices acted without comment Monday. They left in place lower court rulings that said the decision is legal. The John K. MacIver Institute for Public

By DEEPTI HAJELA Associated Press In Hinduism, there aren’t a lot of women among pandits, the priests who perform Hindu religious rituals. But those who study the religion and its traditions say that women in Hinduism globally have and continue to take on leadership roles in other ways. They’re creating community and passing on knowledge.

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Snoop Dogg has read the nominations for the 79th Golden Globes. After nine months of widespread criticism forced the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to reform, the group tried its best Monday to keep its perch in awards season, spreading nominations around to the likes of

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has turned away a request by Johnson & Johnson to halt a Mississippi lawsuit over its talcum powder products. The case the justices turned away Monday dates to 2014, when Mississippi sued the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company. Mississippi argues Johnson & Johnson violated state law by failing to

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The four parties negotiating to form the next ruling Dutch coalition plan to send a policy blueprint for the next term of government to lawmakers this week. The move will mark another step toward the end of marathon talks that followed a March election. The two officials overseeing the talks

By The Associated Press This week’s new entertainment releases include a new album from rapper Roddy Ricch, a prequel to the TV series “Yellowstone” on Paramount+ and Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God.” What’s better than a Mahershala Ali performance? How about two? In Benjamin Cleary’s “Swan Song,” Ali plays a terminally ill

By JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A rarely used impeachment court in Denmark has convicted a former immigration minister over a 2016 order to separate asylum-seeking couples when one of the partners was a minor. The Danish parliament voted to try Inger Stoejberg after a commission it appointed concluded that separating

By HARRIET MORRIS and VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — A Japanese space tourist has rebuffed criticism from those who questioned his decision to pay a fortune for a trip to the International Space Station, saying the “amazing” experience was worth it. Speaking to The Associated Press in a live interview Monday from the

By KATHLEEN FOODY Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — As the omicron variant sparks worldwide fears of renewed virus outbreaks, Americans’ worries about infection are again on the rise. But fewer say that they are regularly wearing masks or isolating compared with the beginning of the year. A new poll conducted by The Associated Press and

By ADRIAN SAINZ Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The World Health Organization and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital are working to provide cancer medicines at no cost to children in under-resourced countries. Their $200 million investment announced Monday addresses an imbalance of survival rates compared with richer nations. They’ve created a Global Platform for

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — Sudanese activists say security forces fired tear gas to disperse protesters in the capital of Khartoum. Thousands of people took to the streets on Thursday against a coup that has plunged the country into grinding deadlock. The demonstrations in Khartoum and other cities across Sudan

MILAN (AP) — Milan menswear previews for fall/winter 2021-22 are returning to a mostly in-person format in January, with Zegna, Giorgio Armani, Fendi and Prada among the 22 brands staging live runway shows. The president of the Italian National Fashion Chamber said Monday that the success of the womenswear calendar in September, when there were

By FRANCIS KOKUTSE Associated Press ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — The West African nation of Ghana says it will fine airlines $3,500 for each passenger who arrives without being fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Aviation officials also say the same penalty will apply to airlines for each passenger permitted to board a flight without completing a health

By CLAIRE GALOFARO AP National Writer MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) — Survivors of one of the devastating tornadoes that cut a long path of destruction through the Midwest and South are grappling with ruins all around them in Mayfield, Kentucky. Mayfield has 10,000 residents, and it was one of the worst-hit towns in the unusual mid-December

By JULIE WATSON Associated Press SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Navy is set to hold a hearing to review whether there is enough evidence to order a court martial for a San Diego-based sailor charged with setting the fire that destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard in the summer of 2020. Monday’s hearing is for Seaman

BY JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — An architect-designer in southern Finland has returned to a frozen lake with a snow shovel to draw a large animal on the ice for the sixth year in a row. On Dec. 4, Pasi Widgren drew a fox that measures about 90 meters (295.3 feet)