AP National News

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — German lawmakers have approved new measures to rein in record coronavirus infections after the head of Germany’s disease control agency warned the country could face a “really terrible Christmas.” The measures passed in the Bundestag on Thursday includes requirements for employees to prove they are vaccinated, recovered

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanian media say an explosion at a weapons factory in a small southern town has killed four people and injured another four. The blast occurred Thursday afternoon in the town of Babeni in Valcea County and was caused by an anti-personnel mine, Romania’s National Press Agency said. It said the victims

Vice President Kamala Harris is pushing back against media reports of White House tensions between her office and the president’s. Harris told ABC in an interview aired Thursday she’s “very excited about the work” the Biden administration has accomplished. President Joe Biden has tasked Harris with addressing migration at the U.S.-Mexico border, voting rights, COVID-19

ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) — A jail guard was shot and killed at a Pennsylvania courthouse by what appears to be friendly fire during a struggle with an inmate who had grabbed her weapon, and authorities said Thursday they were investigating how it happened. The inmate had been taken from the Blair County jail to Central

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose this week, with the main 30-year rate inching back up over 3%. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average rate on the 30-year benchmark home loan jumped to a still-low 3.1% from 2.98% last week.

VUKOVAR, Croatia (AP) — Tens of thousands of people have marked the 30th anniversary of the fall of the eastern Croatian town of Vukovar that was destroyed by the Serb-led Yugoslav army, becoming a symbol of resistance and national unity in the 1991-95 war. Top officials on Thursday headed a huge column of people during

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Major stock indexes are opening mixed on Wall Street Thursday amid a raft of corporate earnings and news that jobless claims have fallen to a new pandemic low. The S&P 500 is up 0.2% in early trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.1% and

By KAREL JANICEK Associated Press PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech and Slovak governments have approved new coronavirus restrictions that specifically target unvaccinated people amid a record surge of infections. They come into effect Monday. The Czech health minister says most unvaccinated people will no longer be allowed to show coronavirus test results in order to

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Commission says it could approve aid to fund production of semiconductors in the 27-nation bloc amid a global chip shortage. Most chipmakers are based in Asia, and the bloc wants to reduce its dependence on chips manufactured abroad by developing production on its soil. The

By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A Chinese professional tennis player not seen in public since she accused a former top government official of sexual assault purportedly sent an email claiming she was safe and that the allegation was false. But the message has only amplified concerns about Peng Shuai’s safety and

By DANIEL NIEMANN and KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press COLOGNE, Germany (AP) — Germany’s Roman Catholic archdiocese of Cologne has held a service of penance for cases of sexual abuse by clergy. The auxiliary bishop serving as the archdiocese’s interim administrator said the ritual was not intended as an absolution for the perpetrators but a “confession

By VICTORIA MILKO AP Science Writer The United States opened its borders to people fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but some who got the shots are finding they’re still not eligible to visit. That’s because some vaccines have not been recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or World Health Organization. Among the most widely

By ADAM BEAM and MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — After being victimized by massive unemployment fraud, housing officials in California and other states are reporting few fraudulent applications in their rental assistance programs. The federal government has poured trillions of dollars into states during the pandemic. For unemployment benefits, states saw massive

AMSTERDAM (AP) — The European Union’s medicines authority says it has begun evaluating a new drug for treating COVID-19 patients who do not require extra oxygen but are at increased risk of developing severe symptoms of the disease. The drug developed by U.S. company Vir Biotechnology and Britain-based GlaxoSmithKline uses lab-made versions of virus-blocking antibodies

PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech government has approved new coronavirus restrictions that specifically target unvaccinated people amid a record surge of infections. Health Minister Adam Vojtech says that most unvaccinated people will no longer be allowed to show coronavirus test results in order to attend public events, go to bars or restaurants, visit hairdressers, museums

By DARIA LITVINOVA and YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Hundreds of Iraqis are flying home from Belarus, abandoning their hopes of reaching the European Union following more than a week of tensions at the bloc’s eastern border. Thousands of migrants became stuck there. Belarusian state-run media reported that many others moved into a

By DANIEL NIEMANN and KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press COLOGNE, Germany (AP) — The Roman Catholic archdiocese of Cologne, Germany has held a service of penance for cases of sexual abuse by clergy. The auxiliary bishop serving as the archdiocese’s interim administrator said the ritual was not intended as an absolution for the perpetrators but a

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell for the seventh straight week to a pandemic low 268,000. U.S. jobless claims dipped by 1,000 last week from the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The applications for unemployment aid are a proxy for layoffs,

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s Central Bank has cut interest rates by 1 percentage point a day after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke out against high borrowing rates. The lira dropped to a new record low of 11.07 against the dollar following Thursday’s announcement, continuing a long run of losses. The rate cut comes despite