AP National News

By TOM HAYS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A prosecutor in closing arguments at the sex-trafficking trial of R. Kelly has asked jurors to make the R&B superstar “pay” for his alleged sex crimes. A lawyer for Kelly countered by asking them not to fall for the “lies” of his accusers. Jurors have heard

By RYAN J. FOLEY Associated Press IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A man who was paralyzed when an Iowa police officer shot him in April is suing the officer. Marcelino Alvarez-Victoriano contends the shooting was not justified. Authorities say a Waterloo police officer shot Alvarez-Victoriano after he pointed a pellet gun that looked like a

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Have you heard the one about climate change? It was hard to miss late Wednesday and early Thursday, as eight of television’s late-night comics focused much of their shows on the issue. In one case, they even joined forces, as CBS’ James Corden and NBC’s

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nick Cannon almost quit his lucrative TV host and producer career after facing heavy scrutiny for his anti-Semitic comments last year. He apologized for his remarks, but he fell into a deep depression after being ridiculed on social media and dropped by ViacomCBS. Cannon

By DAVID KOENIG AP Business Writer DALLAS (AP) — Federal officials have made more than two dozen recommendations aimed at further safeguarding power plants and natural gas supplies to prevent a repeat of the February blackouts that caused more than 200 deaths in Texas. Staff at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the North American

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The British government is trying to ease concerns of a fuel crisis after oil giants BP and ExxonMobil-owned Esso warned they had to ration supplies and close some gas stations as a result of a truck driver shortage. BP said it was reducing gasoline and diesel deliveries

By RONALD BLUM Associated Press Conductor Riccardo Muti has extended his contract as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra by one year through the 2022-23 season. The 80-year-old Italian became music director of the CSO in 2010, succeeding Daniel Barenboim. Muti will lead 10 weeks of concerts in Chicago in 2022-23 and four weeks

MORICHES, N.Y. (AP) — A bull that escaped from a farm on Long Island and eluded searchers for two months has been captured. Suffolk County SPCA Chief Roy Gross said Thursday that the 1,500-pound bull, nicknamed Barney, was corralled late Wednesday by staff from Skylands Animal Sanctuary and Rescue. Gross said Suffolk County police used

By SALLY HO Associated Press At the United Nations this week, the pandemic-era rules of engagement for General Assembly week are strict for kings, presidents and other “excellencies.” Yet the U.N. has made room to fully embrace the diplomatic soft power of seven young K-pop stars, and along with them the largest generation of young

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British director Roger Michell has died at age 65. His movies include the hit romcom “Notting Hill.” He worked in stage and TV productions. Michell’s family announced his death in a statement on Thursday. They didn’t disclose the place or cause of death. His biggest commercial hit

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. safety investigators are asking anyone who witnessed a fiery Tesla crash near Miami that killed two people to send them video or photos taken at the scene. The National Transportation Safety Board sent three investigators to the Sept. 13 crash in Coral Gables, Florida. The agency says it’s specifically looking for

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The Biden administration is imploring Iran to quickly return to talks on its nuclear program after a three-month hiatus caused by its government transition. A senior administration official says U.S. patience is wearing thin and that further delays while Iran continues to expand its atomic

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s Catholic Church authorities say that retired Bishop Edward Janiak has died at age 69. He had been punished by the Vatican for the alleged cover-up of sex abuse of minors by other priests. The Kalisz diocese where Janiak had served as bishop said he died Thursday. No cause or place

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s defense minister says the country has raised the combat readiness of its troops on the border with Kosovo amid increasing tensions with its former province. Ethnic Serbs in Kosovo blocked the border between the two states for a fourth straight day Thursday to protest a decision by Kosovo authorities to

BANGKOK (AP) — A resident says a Baptist pastor and three other men were killed and a town of 2,000 homes all but abandoned this past weekend in fighting in Myanmar’s western Chin State that escalated after a call for a nationwide uprising against the country’s military government. The fighting Saturday between government troops and

By LAURAN NEERGAARD and MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writers The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has endorsed COVID-19 booster shots for millions of older or otherwise vulnerable Americans. The move opens a major new phase in the U.S vaccination drive against the coronavirus. A panel of advisers made the recommendation Thursday and CDC Director

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Broadway is in need of a boost these days so it has smartly called on one of its most beloved, award-winning stage veterans for help — Audra McDonald. McDonald has been tapped to host the Tony Awards on Sunday. Theater producers hope the telecast can

By DARIA LITVINOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — A group of politicians and activists who lost to their Kremlin-backed opponents in Russia’s parliamentary election have formed a coalition to contest the results from online voting in the Russian capital. The candidates believe the online voting results were rigged in a way that caused them to

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston City Council has unanimously approved an ordinance that addresses climate change by requiring all buildings larger than 20,000 square feet to eliminate carbon emissions by 2050. Acting Mayor Kim Janey intends to sign the proposal approved Wednesday. Councilor Matt O’Malley was the driving force behind the measure. O’Malley says the

MIAMI (AP) — Prosecutors say three Miami Beach police officers are now facing felony charges related to the rough arrests of two men at a South Beach hotel. The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office had originally charged five officers in August with misdemeanor battery charges. On Thursday, State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle announced the upgraded charges