News

By YVES-LAURENT GOMA Associated Press LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AP) — Gabon’s government says the United Nations is withdrawing 450 Gabonese peacekeepers from its mission in Central African Republic following allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse. Gabon’s defense ministry said Wednesday it has opened an investigation into the allegations. It said if any allegations are proven, perpetrators

By COLLEEN LONG and ANDREW DEMILLO Associated Press Religious objections were once used only sparingly around the country to get exempted from various required vaccines. But they are becoming a much more widely used loophole against the COVID-19 shot. About 2,600 Los Angeles Police Department employees are citing religious objections to try to get out

DUNWOODY, Ga. (AP) — Gas has been temporarily turned off at an apartment complex in Georgia where a building exploded last weekend and partially collapsed, sending four people to a hospital. Atlanta Gas Light said inspectors have identified appliance and fuel line issues within the buildings. Officials said they have been directed by the Dunwoody

By LAURAN NEERGAARD and MATTHEW PERRONE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. government advisers will debate Friday if there’s enough proof that a booster dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective. It’s the first public step toward deciding which Americans may get an extra dose and when. The Food and Drug Administration on

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Attorneys are asking a judge to dismiss a new manslaughter charge against the former suburban Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright. Former Brooklyn Center Officer Kim Potter says she mistakenly drew her gun instead of her stun gun as Wright was trying to drive away from officers. Prosecutors charged

MARION, Ind. (AP) — A northern Indiana woman convicted last month in the 2019 strangulation death of her 10-year-old stepdaughter has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Amanda Carmack, of Gas City, was sentenced on Wednesday. She was arrested days after the body of Skylea Carmack was found stashed in

By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press SALEM, Ore. (AP) — After humble beginnings as a pushcart operation by an Oregon town’s railroad tracks, Dutch Bros Coffee has launched an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. Dutch Bros Coffee Executive Chairman Travis Boersma was on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange for

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council is divided over the mandate of the U.N. political mission in Libya less than four months before the country is scheduled to hold critical presidential and parliamentary elections. The vote is aimed at reuniting the divided oil-rich North African nation after

SEATTLE (AP) — Federal officials have approved a plan that calls for cutting nontribal salmon fishing along the West Coast when the fish are needed to help the Northwest’s endangered killer whales. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries adopted the plan Tuesday as recommended by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. It calls for restricting commercial

By GLENN GAMBOA and HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writers Candid, a leading philanthropy research organization, told The Associated Press that it broadened its definition of racial equity to better reflect the intent of contributors and to help foster additional donations. It now defines racial equity donations as “grantmaking explicitly awarded to benefit people of color

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The widow of a U.S. Marine killed in a bombing in Afghanistan in August has given birth to a baby girl. A Facebook post by the baby’s grandmother says Levi Rylee Rose McCollum was born early Monday at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California. Jiennah Crayton is the widow of

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — A group of 44 evacuees from Afghanistan have arrived in North Macedonia to receive temporary shelter, as part of an international effort to assist people considered to be at risk under Taliban rule. Most of the evacuees worked for the “Turquoise Mountain” charity co-founded by Britain’s Prince Charles to teach