SUEZ, Egypt (AP) – A canal service provider says workers have successfully set free a colossal container ship that for nearly a week has been stuck sideways across the Suez Canal, one of the world’s most crucial arteries for trade. Leth Agencies said the vessel had been refloated on Monday. Helped by the peak of…… MORE
Lawmakers Decry Violence Against Asians in Georgia Visit
ATLANTA (AP) – Members of Congress laid flowers at the three massage businesses in Georgia where a gunman killed eight people, six of them women of Asian descent. The congressional delegation that visited the sites on Sunday included members of the Asian Pacific American Caucus. The lawmakers said they wanted to experience the shooter’s roughly…… MORE
Average US Price of Gas Jumps to $2.94 a Gallon
CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) – The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline jumped a nickel per gallon over the past two weeks to $2.94. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey says Sunday that the price at the pump might be near its peak as gasoline supply evens out across the country. The price of…… MORE
Have COVID-19 Stress & Uncertainty Stalled Anti-Smoking Push?
WASHINGTON (AP) – A year after COVID-19 upended lives, there are troubling signs that the pandemic stalled efforts to get Americans to stop smoking. There were fewer calls made to quit-smoking hotlines last year. Some people reported smoking more. And there was an unusual bump in cigarette sales. Experts say unemployment, delayed medical care and…… MORE
Census Data Delay Scrambles Plans for State Redistricting
(AP) — A delay in census data is scrambling plans in some states to redraw districts for the U.S. House and state legislatures. The Census Bureau has said redistricting data that was supposed to be provided to states by the end of March won’t be ready until August or September. That’s after the deadline to…… MORE
Biden Planning Executive Action to Beef Up Gun Control Measures
The White House is confirming that President Joe Biden intends to push ahead with plans to increase gun control laws via executive order. The news comes in the wake of two mass shootings earlier this month, in Atlanta and Boulder, Colo., in which a total of 18 people were killed. The violent episodes have renewed…… MORE
Why is Media Access at the Border an Issue?
Access to government-run facilities housing young immigrants on the border with Mexico has caused one of the first tussles between news organizations and the two-month-old administration of Joe Biden. Before the doors opened slightly this week, the media was limited in depicting how people in U.S. custody were being treated, and how that compared to…… MORE
Romney Gets Profile in Courage Award for Impeachment Vote
BOSTON (AP) – U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah has been named this year’s recipient of the Profile in Courage Award for being the only Republican to vote to convict former President Donald Trump during his first impeachment trial. The honor was announced Friday on NBC’s “Today” show. Trump’s first trial in 2020 focused on…… MORE
Dominion Voting Sues Fox for $1.6B Over 2020 Election Claims
WASHINGTON (AP) – Dominion Voting Systems has filed a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, arguing the cable news giant falsely claimed in an effort to boost faltering ratings that the voting company rigged the 2020 election. Friday’s defamation lawsuit is the first filed against a media outlet by the Denver-based company at the…… MORE
In Shift, Oil Industry Group Backs Federal Price on Carbon
WASHINGTON (AP) – The oil and gas industry’s top lobbying group has endorsed a federal price on carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming. The move Thursday comes as the Biden administration has pledged dramatic steps to address climate change. The American Petroleum Institute, whose members include ExxonMobil and Chevron, announced the policy change…… MORE
