Month: September 2021

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis says he doesn’t understand why people refuse to take COVID-19 vaccines. He notes that “humanity has a history of friendship with vaccines” and that serene discussion was necessary to help those who won’t get the jabs.Francis was asked about vaccine skeptics and

By JAN M. OLSEN The Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Half a century ago, four Danish teenagers interviewed John Lennon for their school paper. A cassette tape with a 33-minute audio recording of the chat, that also includes an apparently unpublished song by the late Beatle, will be auctioned in Denmark later this month.

By AMY FORLITI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court has reversed the third-degree murder conviction of a former Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot a woman who had called 911 to report a possible rape behind her home. Mohamed Noor was convicted of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of

CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian official say Libya’s interim prime minister has arrived in Cairo for talks on future ties between the two African neighbors. Premier Abdul Hamid Dbeibah was greeted at the Cairo airport on Wednesday by Egypt’s Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly. The Libyan premier heads his country’s delegation in talks on the so-called

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — A former Georgetown University tennis coach accused of accepting more than $2 million in bribes to help kids get into the school will plead guilty in the sweeping college admissions scandal. Gordon Ernst’s decision to plead guilty comes as the first trial in the massive case

By MARY CLARE JALONICK, WILL GRAVES and MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles has told Congress that the FBI and gymnastics officials turned a “blind eye” to USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse of her and hundreds of other women. Biles told the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis says Catholic bishops must minister to politicians who back abortion with “compassion and tenderness,” not condemnation. And he is warning that they shouldn’t let politics enter into questions about receiving Communion. Francis was asked en route home from Slovakia about the debate

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press A GOP lawyer who advised former President Donald Trump in his campaign to overturn the 2020 election results is among speakers planned for a South Carolina gathering billed as a must-stop on the road to the state’s primary. The state GOP announced Wednesday that longtime Republican lawyer Cleta Mitchell was