News

By The Associated Press This week’s new entertainment releases include a double album from Alicia Keys and a posthumous one from Juice Wrld, Sandra Bullock playing an ex-con in the Netflix film “The Unforgivable” and Will Smith testing himself in a wildlife documentary series. If a comedy sequel for grown-ups is more your taste, consider

By GARY GERARD HAMILTON Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Kenny Gorelick, known to millions as Kenny G, has been one of the most beloved — and hated — figures in music throughout the last three decades. But the music superstar has ignored his critics and remained largely unbothered. Kenny G’s unconventional journey to the

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka has confirmed its first case of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in an unvaccinated person who returned from Nigeria. The health ministry says the 25-year-old Sri Lankan woman returned on Nov. 24, four days before the government banned travelers from six African

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Growth in the services sector, where most Americans work, hit an all-time high in November, surpassing the previous record set in October. The Institute for Supply Management reported Friday that its monthly survey of service industries increased by 2.4 percentage points in November from October record

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — South African scientists are warning that the new omicron variant may be causing more reinfections among COVID-19 survivors than earlier virus mutants. A research group has been tracking reinfections in South Africa. They spotted a jump with the arrival of omicron, saying the timing suggests

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press The Census Bureau is working to increase the public’s confidence in the numbers it gathered during the 2020 census. It plans to fix problems caused by the unprecedented challenges of conducting a U.S. head count during a pandemic, natural disasters and Trump administration efforts to politicize the process. The Census

By JACK JEFFERY and MAHMOUD ILLEAN Associated Press UMM AL-FAHM, Israel (AP) — Police have shot and killed a man in an Arab town in northern Israel who had allegedly been involved in a car-ramming attack that wounded two officers. Police say two officers were wounded in the attack early on Friday. The chaos in

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium’s prime minister says the country must tighten its coronavirus restrictions again as a surge in cases weighs heavily on health services. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said Friday that 40% of Belgium’s intensive care beds are currently filled by COVID-19 patients and “ there are too many people who are not

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV and YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin says President Vladimir Putin will seek binding guarantees precluding NATO’s expansion to Ukraine during a planned call with U.S. President Joe Biden. Earlier Friday, the Ukrainian defense minister warned that Russia could invade his country next month. Russia-West tensions have escalated with