News

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — French energy giant Total has signed mega contracts with Iraq worth $27 billion to develop oil fields, natural gas and a crucial water project. Officials say Monday they will be key for oil-rich Iraq to maintain crude output. The deals were inked Sunday with Prime Minister Mustafa

BANGKOK (AP) — A court in Myanmar extended for two weeks the pre-trial detention of Danny Fenster, an American journalist in the military-led Southeast Asian nation who was arrested in May. Fenster was detained at Yangon International Airport on May 24, as he was about to board a flight to go to the United States

By LISA RATHKE Associated Press MORRISTOWN, Vt. (AP) — Rural communities across the country are wrestling with the economic perks and environmental drawbacks of opening up their roads to ATVs. Interest in ATVs has only intensified as more people got outdoors during the pandemic. But their popularity has sometimes pitted riders against residents. People in

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Authorities are investigating after a 6-year-old girl died at an amusement park in the western Colorado town of Glenwood Springs. A spokeswoman for the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park says “an incident” occurred Sunday evening on the Haunted Mine Drop ride that caused the death. The Post Independent reports the park

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The October illegal campaign contribution trial of an associate of Rudy Giuliani and a guilty plea set to occur this week by a second associate puts a spotlight on him as a government probe of the former mayor continues. A judge last week refused to delay

By CHRISTINA PACIOLLA Associated Press The morning after one of the most intense tornadoes recorded in New Jersey history all but demolished the largest dairy farm in the state, owners Marianne and Wally Eachus looked at each other and just cried. An EF3 tornado ripped through Mullica Hill, a suburb of Philadelphia, and nearly demolished

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A lawyer from a prominent South Carolina legal family who found his wife and son shot to death at their home three months ago and was injured when a bullet grazed his head as he changed a tire over the weekend says he is going to

By KEVIN MCGILL and JEFF MARTIN NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Officials in New Orleans say they will thoroughly inspect senior living apartments in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida after finding people living in buildings without working generators that trapped residents in wheelchairs in dark, sweltering upper floors. The city said five people died in the

By DAVID McFADDEN Associated Press BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore’s police force is struggling to meet staffing targets to fully comply with a reform intervention and get out from under federal oversight. The agency has some 400 vacancies among its sworn staff and its recruitment efforts just can’t keep pace with those leaving their jobs. Deploying

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — A nationalist Buddhist monk in Myanmar notorious for his anti-Muslim remarks has been freed from prison after charges that he tried to stir up disaffection against the country’s previous civilian government were dropped. The monk, Wirathu, became prominent in 2012 after deadly riots broke out between Buddhists

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Court testimony shows that the Minnesota State Patrol purged emails and text messages immediately after protests over the death of George Floyd during which the agency is accused of targeting journalists. Attorneys for the Minnesota chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union say the purge of messages has made it nearly impossible

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities have blocked access to a website affiliated with imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny that advises voters on how to undermine the dominant pro-Kremlin party in this month’s parliamentary election. The move by the state communications overseer on Monday continues months of efforts to neutralize Navalny and his supporters. A Russian