Warren Buffett again encourages investors to bet on America
OMAHA, Neb. — Billionaire Warren Buffett encouraged investors to maintain their faith in America’s economy and the businesses his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate owns in a reassuring letter to his shareholders Saturday.
Growing tension in Minneapolis as trial looms in Floyd death
MINNEAPOLIS — Barbed wire and concrete barriers surround the courthouse where the former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing George Floyd will soon go on trial, a sign of the deep uneasiness hanging over a city literally set ablaze almost a year ago in the anger over his death.
J&J’s 1-dose shot cleared, giving US 3rd COVID-19 vaccine
WASHINGTON — The U.S. is getting a third vaccine to prevent COVID-19, as the Food and Drug Administration on Saturday cleared a Johnson &Johnson shot that works with just one dose instead of two.
Students abducted from Nigerian school 2 weeks ago freed
LAGOS, Nigeria — Students, teachers and relatives abducted two weeks ago from a school in northern Nigeria have been freed.
NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn’t happen this week
Aroundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts:
US implicates Saudi crown prince in Khashoggi’s killing
WASHINGTON — Saudi Arabia’s crown prince likely approved the killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, according to a newly declassified U.S. intelligence report released Friday that instantly ratcheted up pressure on the Biden administration to hold the kingdom accountable for a murder that drew worldwide outrage.
At conservative conference, Trump is still the golden boy
WASHINGTON — A conference dedicated to the future of the conservative movement turned into an ode to Donald Trump on Friday as speakers declared their fealty to the former president and attendees posed for selfies with a golden statue of his likeness.
Hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls taken in mass abduction
LAGOS, Nigeria — Gunmen abducted 317 girls from a boarding school in northern Nigeria on Friday, police said, the latest in a series of mass kidnappings of students in the West African nation.
A bumpy day leaves stocks mostly lower; bond yields ease
A choppy day on Wall Street ended with stocks mostly lower Friday, helping push the S&P 500 to its second straight weekly loss.
Native American nominee’s grilling raises questions on bias
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — When Wyoming U.S. Sen. John Barrasso snapped at Deb Haaland during her confirmation hearing, many in Indian Country were incensed.
House nears relief bill passage
WASHINGTON — Democrats edged a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package to the brink of House passage early today, even as party leaders sought to assure agitated progressives that they’d revive their derailed drive to boost the minimum wage.
US advisers endorse single-shot COVID-19 vaccine from J&J
WASHINGTON — U.S. health advisers endorsed a one-dose COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson &Johnson on Friday, putting the nation on the cusp of adding an easier-to-use option to fight the pandemic.
Biden surveys Texas weather damage, encourages virus shots
HOUSTON — President Joe Biden heard firsthand from Texans clobbered by this month’s brutal winter weather on Friday and pledged to stick with them “for the long haul” as he made his first trip to a major disaster area since he took office.
Medical oxygen scarce in Africa, Latin America amid virus
DAKAR, Senegal — A crisis over the supply of medical oxygen for coronavirus patients has struck nations in Africa and Latin America, where warnings went unheeded at the start of the pandemic and doctors say the shortage has led to unnecessary deaths.
Iraq’s struggling Christians hope for boost from pope visit
Nasser Banyameen speaks about his hometown of Qaraqosh in the historical heartland of Iraqi Christianity with nostalgia. Before Islamic State group fighters swept through the Nineveh Plains in northern Iraq. Before the militants shattered his sense of peace. Before panicked relatives and neighbors fled, some never to return.
Tech rout pulls Nasdaq down 3.5%, biggest loss since October
Rising bond yields triggered a broad sell-off on Wall Street Thursday that erased the market’s gains for the week and handed the Nasdaq composite its biggest loss in nearly four months.
COVID-19 bill must drop minimum wage hike, arbiter decides
WASHINGTON — The Senate parliamentarian dealt a potentially lethal blow Thursday to Democrats’ drive to hike the minimum wage, deciding that the cherished progressive goal must fall from a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill the party is trying to speed through Congress, Senate Democratic aides said.
Never too late: Pandemic propels older shoppers online
NEW YORK — In November, Paula Mont did something new: The 86-year-old, who hasn’t left her New Jersey senior living community in nearly a year, went shopping — online.
Biden aims to distribute masks to millions in ‘equity’ push
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden plans to distribute millions of face masks to Americans in communities hard-hit by the coronavirus beginning next month as part of his efforts to ensure “equity” in the government’s response to the pandemic.
Bats, birds among wildlife pummeled during Southern freeze
DALLAS — As many people in the southern U.S. hosted neighbors who had no heat or water during the vicious February storm and deep freeze, Kate Rugroden provided a refuge for shell-shocked bats.
