AP National News

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden’s parliament speaker says lawmakers will vote Monday on whether Magdalena Andersson, who briefly became the country’s first female prime minister before resigning after a budget defeat, can form a minority government. Andersson served as prime minister for seven hours before stepping down Wednesday after the Greens left her two-party coalition.

By SARAH EL DEEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Families of the victims of last year’s explosion in Beirut’s port have rallied outside Lebanon’s top court to denounce what they say are intentional obstructions in the probe of the devastating blast. The demonstrators on Thursday said their message was: “We are sick of waiting.” Lebanon’s

By DARIA LITVINOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Supreme Court has started hearing a petition to shut down one of the country’s oldest and most prominent human rights groups, a move that sparked public outrage and is part of a months-long crackdown on dissent. The Prosecutor General’s Office this month petitioned the Supreme Court

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is warning members that they risk undermining the 27-nation bloc’s COVID-19 travel and access certificate system with new uncoordinated restrictions some are introducing to try to thwart a surge in cases. As coronavirus cases jump, many countries have begun tightening rules on people who

By SARAH RANKIN Associated Press ABINGDON, Va. (AP) — A Virginia man is fighting to hang on to $9,000 in unemployment benefits that the state gave him when his compressor plant closed in 2018. The Virginia Employment Commission is trying to get those benefits back. Ernest Ray’s attorney says the case illustrates a radically dysfunctional

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama attorney general’s office says Montgomery owes a $25,000 for changing the name of a street that bore the name of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The Alabama attorney general’s office sent a letter to Montgomery officials saying the city must pay $25,000 for violating a

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark has joined other European nations and is now offering a third shot to everyone over the age of 18 amid a rise in coronavirus cases. The Danish Health Authority said Thursday the “decline in immunity is also happening for people in the younger age groups.” Denmark, like many other countries,

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatia has signed a deal to buy 12 Rafale fighter jets from France worth nearly 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion). Officials say the jets will considerably strengthen Croatia’s air force amid lingering tensions in the Balkans. The contract for the used combat aircraft was signed during the visit of French President

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A year after new owners took over Bally’s casino in Atlantic City, a $100 million facelift is underway involving hotel rooms, the casino floor and more. Rhode Island-based Bally’s Corporation bought the Boardwalk property last November, and company chairman Soo Kim says “the jury is

By SUSAN HAIGH Associated Press HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — While many workers deemed essential in their respective states have already received pandemic hazard pay or hero pay, there are thousands more still waiting for the same financial pat-on-the-back. Many work in places like Connecticut, Minnesota and cities around the country that are still trying to

PARIS (AP) — France has launched a plan to give booster shots to all adults, opting against a further lockdown or curfew, to help combat a worrying uptick in infections in the country. French Health Minister Olivier Veran laid out the plans during a press conference Thursday, in which he reduced the time gap between

By NOHA ELHENNAWY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Thousands of Sudanese have taken to the streets in the capital of Khartoum to renew their demand for a civilian government. Thursday’s rallies came just days after the military signed a power-sharing deal with the prime minister, after releasing him from house arrest and reinstating him as

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s prime minister says that starting in December the government will cut tax on fuels and on energy and will offer bonuses next year to counter inflation that has reached it highest level since 2001. Premier Mateusz Morawiecki said Thursday that the so-called “anti-inflation shield” will cost the government some 10

By OLEG CETINIC and JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press CALAIS, France (AP) — France’s president is urging European neighbors to do more to stop illegal migration into France after 27 people died in a sinking in the English Channel. President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that when migrants arrive on French shores with hopes of heading to

By TED SHAFFREY and JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Giant balloons once again wafted through miles of Manhattan, high school and college marching bands from around the country were back, and so were the crowds at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. After being crimped by the coronavirus last year, the event returned

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Pope Francis says he’s praying that God will help Lebanon “get up” and get back on its feet following an unprecedented economic crisis that has thrown three quarters of the country’s 6 million people including a million Syrian refugees into poverty. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati met

By STEPHEN McGRATH Associated Press BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanian lawmakers on Thursday voted in favor of a new coalition government led by a Liberal former army general, which could usher in an end to a months-long political crisis in the Eastern European nation. The vote in parliament, which passed overwhelmingly, caps a protracted political

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers buoyed by solid hiring, healthy pay gains and substantial savings are returning to stores and splurging on all types of items. But the big question is how much will supply shortages, higher prices and staffing issues dampen shoppers’ mood this holiday season. Shoppers, already

By MIKE CORDER and MARIA CHENG Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The European Union drug regulator has authorized Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine for use on children from 5 to 11 years old. Thursday’s move clears the way for shots to be administered to millions of elementary school pupils amid a new wave of infections

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines’ defense chief has rejected China’s renewed demand that it remove its outpost on a disputed South China Sea. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Thursday that Chinese coast guard ships should leave the area and stop blocking Manila’s supply boats toward the Second Thomas Shoal.