Author: Associated Press

Fighting wave of misinfo, YouTube bans false vaccine claims

Video-sharing platform YouTube has announced sweeping and immediate bans on false claims that vaccines are dangerous and cause health issues like autism, cancer or infertility. The company also booted accounts belonging to some of the most notable propagators of vaccine…

US says ivory-billed woodpecker, 22 other species extinct

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Death has come knocking a last time for the splendid ivory-billed woodpecker and almost two dozen other birds, fish and other species. The U.S. government is declaring them extinct. [field59_video account="WBBJ" key="eb0f92ff7cb847c9774ed87d094832cd3035f4de" vtitle="US says ivory-billed woodpecker,…

VIDEO: Lava from La Palma eruption finally reaches the Atlantic

LOS LLANOS DE ARIDANE, Canary Islands (AP) — Lava from a volcano on Spain’s Canary Islands has finally reached the Atlantic Ocean after wiping out hundreds of homes and forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents. [field59_video account="WBBJ" key="6613bb29c6a9f7a0ce5f96cdac21d01f4f68019b" vtitle="Lava…

TVA employees must be vaccinated by November 22

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The TVA, a federal utility, is requiring its workers to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Nov. 22. Tennessee Valley Authority spokesperson Jim Hopson says the nation's largest public utility is working on developing the processes…

Petito’s dad: Give same attention to all missing people

NEW YORK (AP) — The family of slain traveler Gabby Petito has implored the public and news media to put the same energy into helping find other missing people as they did Petito, a 22-year-old woman who vanished on a…

North Korea says hypersonic missile made 1st test flight

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says it successfully tested a new hypersonic missile as it continues to expand its military capabilities. The missile test early Tuesday was North Korea’s third round of launches this month and took place…

COVID-related attacks prompt hospital to issue panic buttons

Nurses and hundreds of other staff members will soon begin wearing panic buttons at a Missouri hospital where assaults on workers tripled after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cox Medical Center Branson is using grant money to add buttons…

Tom Hardy, Andy Serkis sink their teeth into ‘Venom’ sequel

NEW YORK (AP) — Not everything worked in the first “Venom” film, a darker, slimier spinoff adjacent to Sony Pictures’ “Spider-verse” Marvel world. But as led by Tom Hardy’s Jekyll and Hyde act, it managed to break free of some…

Burglar dies attempting to break into restaurant

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — Authorities say a man who apparently tried to break into a restaurant in a southern New Jersey strip mall died after he got trapped in an exhaust fan on the roof of the building. The…

Tennessee AG to appeal school mask opt-out rulings

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s Attorney General Herbert Slatery says his office would appeal the recent federal court decisions that blocked Gov. Bill Lee’s order allowing families to opt out of school mask mandates. Slatery says he would only appeal…

North Korea fires short-range missile to sea in latest test

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Seoul and Tokyo officials say North Korea fired a short-range missile into the sea in its latest weapon test. The South Korean government held an emergency National Security Council meeting and expressed regret over the…

Johnny Ramone’s guitar sells for more than $900,000

BOSTON (AP) — The guitar played by Johnny Ramone on all 15 Ramones albums and at nearly 2,000 live performances by the rock band sold at auction over the weekend for more than $900,000. Boston-based RR Auction said in a…

Facebook puts Instagram for kids on hold after pushback

Instagram is putting a hold on the development of Instagram kids, geared towards children under 13, so it can address concerns about the vulnerability of younger users. Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, wrote in a blog post Monday that…

Police: Gunman in grocery store shooting lost job that day

COLLIERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Law enforcement officials say the gunman who killed one person and wounded 14 others at a Tennessee supermarket before killing himself had been asked to leave his job at the grocery store earlier that day. In…

John Hinckley, who shot Reagan, to be freed from oversight

A federal judge says the man who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan four decades ago can be released unconditionally from the restrictions he's been living under next year if he remains mentally stable. John Hinckley Jr. was 25 when…

GOP blocks bill to keep government going; new try ahead

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican senators have blocked a bill to keep the U.S. government funded and allow borrowing. But Democrats determined to avoid a federal shutdown will likely try again. All this as Democrats also press ahead on President Joe…

Jury convicts R. Kelly in sex trafficking trial

NEW YORK (AP) — R. Kelly has been convicted in a sex trafficking trial after several accusers testified in lurid detail how he subjected them to perverse and sadistic whims when they were underage. A New York City jury of…

Woman convicted of vehicular homicide in Tennessee officer’s death

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — A jury has convicted a woman of vehicular homicide by intoxication in the hit-and-run death of a Chattanooga police officer. News outlets report jurors deliberated at the Hamilton County Courthouse for nearly 15 hours before returning…

Tennessee senator acquitted on 15 charges in federal theft case

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Court records show a Tennessee state senator charged with stealing $600,000 in federal grant money from a health care school she operated has been acquitted on 15 of 20 charges. Memphis news outlets report that U.S.…

6 improving at Tennessee hospital after grocery shooting

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A hospital spokeswoman says six people who were wounded in a mass shooting at a Tennessee supermarket are no longer in critical condition. Angie Golding, a spokeswoman for Regional One Health in Memphis, told news outlets…

Yale student’s winning run on ‘Jeopardy!’ makes history

NEW YORK (AP) — Matt Amodio’s historic run on “Jeopardy!” has now netted him more than $1 million in non-tournament play, making him the third person in the show’s history to pass that mark. The only other contestants to win…

Third judge blocks Gov. Lee’s mask opt out in schools

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A third federal judge has blocked Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s order allowing families to opt out of school mask mandates. The decision is the latest development in the ongoing legal battle over Lee’s order launched by…

Biden risks losing support from Democrats amid DC gridlock

NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden is losing support among critical groups in his political base as a Democratic-controlled Washington struggles to deliver on core campaign promises. The shift threatens to make a difficult political situation on the left…

Haitians heading to US change plans, ready to wait in Mexico

MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) — As U.S. authorities moved out the last of the more than 14,000 migrants who gathered beside a border bridge in Del Rio, thousands of other Haitians en route between the border and South America are coming…

He’s a viral GIF. So he’s using it to fundraise for charity

If you’ve been on social media, or texted with GIF-loving friends, Drew Scanlon’s face has likely appeared on your screen. His GIF, known as “Blinking Guy” or “Blinking White Guy,” is estimated to have been used more than 1.7 billion…

R. Kelly fate now in jury’s hands at sex trafficking trial

NEW YORK (AP) — R. Kelly’s fate is now in a jury’s hands after weeks of lurid testimony in a sexual misconduct trial. The panel of seven men and five women began deliberating racketeering and sex trafficking charges against the…

Officials: All migrants are gone from Texas border camp

DEL RIO, Texas (AP) — Federal and local officials say an encampment in a Texas border town where thousands of Haitian migrants gathered in recent days is now empty. Del Rio Mayor Bruno Lozano said at a news conference Friday…

Oregon school board ban on anti-racist, LGBT signs draws ire

NEWBERG, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon school board has banned educators from displaying Black Lives Matter and gay pride symbols, prompting a torrent of recriminations and threats to boycott the town and its businesses. Newberg is a town of 25,000…

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Cornelia Clark dies

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Supreme Court says Justice Cornelia Clark has died at the age of 71. She had been diagnosed with cancer. A news release Friday from the state's five-member high court says Clark died overnight. Clark…

Police: Kroger shooter ID revealed, was vendor with no target

COLLIERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A gunman who killed one person and wounded 14 others in a Tennessee Kroger didn’t appear to target anyone specifically as he rampaged through the building on a sunny Thursday afternoon. Police say the entire shooting…

Woman killed in Kroger shooting was mother of 3

COLLIERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The son of a woman killed in a Tennessee grocery store shooting Thursday says in a Facebook post that “this type of crime needs to stop being glossed over and…

CDC leader adds people with risky jobs to COVID booster list

(AP) -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has endorsed COVID-19 booster shots for millions of older or otherwise vulnerable Americans. The move opens a major new phase in the U.S vaccination drive against the coronavirus. A panel of…

Tom Felton of ‘Harry Potter’ fame collapses at Ryder Cup

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) — British actor Tom Felton is getting treatment in a Wisconsin hospital after collapsing at the Ryder Cup. Felton is best known for his portrayal of Draco Malfoy in the “Harry Potter” movies. He was playing a…

Oldest human footprints in North America found in New Mexico

WASHINGTON (AP) — Fossilized footprints discovered in New Mexico indicate that early humans were walking across North America around 23,000 years ago. The footprints were found in a dry lake bed in White Sands National Park. Scientists at the…

Boyfriend of slain Gabby Petito charged with bank card fraud

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Federal officials say the boyfriend of Gabby Petito, whose body was found at a national park in Wyoming after a cross-country trip with him, has been indicted for unauthorized use of a debit card. Thursday's announcement…

Tennessee grocery store attack: ‘He kept on shooting’

Police say a gunman attacked a grocery store in an upscale suburb of Memphis, Tennessee, and killed one person and wounded 12 others before the suspect was found dead. Authorities say the suspect in the shooting Thursday afternoon died of…

House Jan. 6 panel subpoenas Trump advisers, associates

WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol has subpoenaed four advisers and associates to former President Donald Trump who were in contact with him as hundreds of his followers violently broke into…

Ancient tablet acquired by Hobby Lobby going back to Iraq

WASHINGTON (AP) — It was looted from an Iraqi museum 30 years ago. Now, a 3,500-year-old clay tablet discovered in the ruins of the library of an ancient Middle Eastern king is finally headed back to Iraq. [caption id="attachment_552497" align="aligncenter"…

Memphis police respond to shooting at Kroger

UPDATE: COLLIERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Police say a shooting at a Tennessee grocery store east of Memphis has left one person dead and 12 others wounded, and the shooter has been found dead. Chief Dale Lane of the Collierville Police…

CDC advisers try to work out the details on booster shots

(AP) -- With booster doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine now authorized in the U.S., government advisers have reconvened to tackle the most contentious question yet: Exactly who should roll up their sleeves right away? Late Wednesday, the Food and Drug…

Fort Campbell soldier dies during diver training exercise

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — The Army says officials are investigating the death of a Fort Campbell soldier during a diver training exercise. Fort Campbell said in a statement that the soldier died Tuesday during the exercise at the Joe…

European Union demands all mobile phones use same charger

LONDON (AP) — The European Union is unveiling plans that would require smartphone makers to adopt a single charging method for mobile devices. The EU Commission proposed legislation Thursday that would mandate USB-C cables for charging, technology that many device…