Month: October 2021

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s High Court has dismissed an intellectual freedom claim by a university physicist who was fired in part over his public statements that scientists exaggerated damage to the Great Barrier Reef caused by climate change. Physicist Peter Ridd had argued he was unlawfully dismissed in 2018 by James Cook University in

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Rising inflation has triggered a jump in Social Security’s annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for 2022. The Social Security Administration revealed the new 5.9% COLA on Wednesday. Compare it with the last 10 years, when the cost-of-living adjustment averaged about 1.7% annually as inflation remained low. But

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has approved a short-term hike to the nation’s debt limit. The vote Tuesday evening ensures the federal government can continue fully paying its bills into December. The legislation next goes to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law. A default would have had

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — Progressive leaders in Congress are warning against what they say is a “false choice” over how to trim President Joe Biden’s now-$2 trillion proposal for beefing up social services and tackling climate change. That’s according to a letter Wednesday to Democratic congressional leaders and Biden, obtained

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — A wildfire raging through Southern California coastal mountains is a threat to ranches and rural homes and is keeping a major highway shut down. The Alisal Fire is covering more than 24 square miles in the Santa Ynez Mountains west of Santa Barbara. The number of firefighters has nearly doubled

By STEVE PEOPLES AP National Politics Writer RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic candidate for Virginia governor, is calling on leaders in Washington from both parties — including President Joe Biden — to “get their act together.” In a Tuesday interview with The Associated Press, he also pushed Senate Democrats to scrap the

By ZEKE MILLER and ELLIOT SPAGAT Associated Press SAN DIEGO (AP) — Beleaguered business owners and families separated by COVID-19 are celebrating after the Biden administration says it will reopen U.S. land borders to nonessential travel next month, ending a 19-month freeze. Travel across land borders from Canada and Mexico has been largely restricted to

BEIJING (AP) — China has reported its imports slowed in September while exports grew at a slightly faster pace. Customs data released Wednesday showed the country’s trade surplus pushing higher on sustained demand in the U.S. and Asia. Exports rose 28.1% to $305.7 billion. That was faster than the 26% increase logged in August. Imports

By JULIE WATSON Associated Press A recording shows that the pilot of a twin-engine plane was repeatedly warned to fly straight and to climb before he crashed into a San Diego suburb, killing himself and someone on the ground. An air traffic controller repeated warnings more than a dozen times to Dr. Sugata Das before

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Tropical depression Pamela has dissipated in northern Mexico after slamming into the country’s Pacific coast as a hurricane, though forecasters warn that its rainy remnants still pose a flooding threat to parts of Texas and Oklahoma. Pamela made landfall early Wednesday about 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of the resort and

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Two-time Olympic champion Shim Suk-hee has been cut from South Korea’s short track speedskating team after a reported text message exchange that suggested she may have intentionally tripped a teammate during the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang. The Korea Staking Union is preparing to launch