SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California would mandate that all businesses require their employees and independent contractors to receive the COVID-19 vaccine under legislation announced Friday by Democratic state lawmakers that was immediately criticized by Republicans as government overreach. Employees or contractors who qualify for medical or religious exemptions would have to be regularly tested under…
BRUSSELS (AP) — The chill of a Cold War hung over Eastern Europe again Friday, with Russian military maneuvers and drills close to Ukraine and the U.S. escalating its dire warnings about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying it could take place within days. Diplomats and government leaders, meanwhile, struggled ever more to jumpstart…
BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s Constitutional Court has refused to temporarily block the implementation of a coronavirus vaccine mandate for care and health workers that is due to come into force in mid-March. The country’s top court said Friday that it had rejected a bid to impose an injunction against the measure until a legal challenge…
NEW YORK (AP) — Super Bowl advertisers this year want Americans to forget about pandemic woes and focus on the future: of electric vehicles, mind reading Alexas, robots and cryptocurrency — and also to harken back to the nostalgic past of ’90s movies like “Austin Powers” and “The Cable Guy.” The Los Angeles Rams are…
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Health authorities in Denmark said Friday that they were considering “winding down” the country’s coronavirus vaccination program in the spring and see no reason now to administer a booster dose to children or a fourth shot to anymore residents at risk of severe COVID-19. The Danish Health Authority said in a…
MOSCOW (AP) — Britain’s defense secretary visited Moscow Friday for talks on easing tensions amid massive Russian war games near Ukraine. Ben Wallace’s trip comes a day after British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss held talks in Moscow, urging Russia to pull back over 100,000 troops amassed near Ukraine and warning that attacking its neighbor would…
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Traffic deaths decreased in Utah after the state enacted the strictest drunken driving laws in the nation five years ago, new research published Friday by a U.S. government agency shows. The findings, which pertain to fatalities involving and not involving alcohol, provide initial validation for conservative lawmakers who passed the…
GENEVA (AP) — An annual report from the United Nations labor agency Friday highlighted the work conditions of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in China’s Xinjiang region, noting signs of “coercive measures” that deprive workers of free choice in selecting jobs. It also called on Beijing to provide more information about how it’s respecting their…
NEW YORK (AP) — Several conservative media figures in the U.S. have taken up the cause of Canadian truckers who have occupied parts of Ottawa and blocked border crossings to protest COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates. Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity cheered the truckers on while showing four live reports from Ottawa this week. Tucker…
ISTANBUL (AP) — Mehmet Bogday says his jaw dropped when he saw his electricity bill — it was higher than the rent he pays for his Istanbul restaurant selling traditional Turkish wraps, and more than double what he paid a month ago. “This is unsustainable,” said Bogday, who owns the Asmali Mescit Durumcusu restaurant. “If…
