Cut off: Britain hit with travel bans over new virus strain

LONDON (AP) — Trucks waiting to get out of Britain backed up for miles and people were left stranded at airports Monday as dozens of countries around the world slapped tough travel restrictions on the U.K. because of a new and seemingly more contagious strain of the coronavirus in England.

Report: gov't spyware targets phones of Al-Jazeera reporters

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dozens of journalists at Al-Jazeera, the Qatari state-owned media company, have been targeted by advanced spyware in an attack likely linked to the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a cybersecurity watchdog said Sunday.

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Navalny releases recording of call to his alleged poisoner

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Monday released a recording of a phone call he said he made to an alleged state security operative, who revealed some details of how the politician was supposedly poisoned and media identified as a member of a team that has reportedly trailed Navalny for years.

Newsom announces new leadership for his office in new year

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Change is coming to the top of Gov. Gavin Newsom's office as California faces its deadliest period yet in the coronavirus pandemic.

Hawaii hopes to avoid furloughs thanks to virus relief bill

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii's governor and legislative leaders expressed hope Monday that a new coronavirus relief package being voted on in the U.S. Congress will allow the state to either delay or avoid furloughing state employees.

Asia Today: Seoul area curbing public gatherings

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Gatherings of more than five people will be banned in South Korea’s capital region as an elevated step to suppress what authorities call an “explosive” surge in coronavirus infections.

Congress approves $900B COVID relief bill, sending to Trump

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress passed a $900 billion pandemic relief package that would finally deliver long-sought cash to businesses and individuals and resources to vaccinate a nation confronting a frightening surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths.

'I couldn't be silent': UN whistleblower on WHO Italy report

ROME (AP) — The U.N. epidemiologist who denounced the World Health Organization’s withdrawal of a report on Italy’s coronavirus response says he is suffering retaliation for having spoken out and is calling for the agency to live up to its obligations to protect whistleblowers.

NKorea vows to redevelop mountain tour site despite pandemic

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A top North Korea official has visited a mountain resort that had been jointly run with rival South Korea during past rapprochement and discussed efforts to unilaterally rebuild it into “a cultural resort envied by the whole world,” state media reported Sunday.

Legals for December, 22 2020

The Latest: Germany puts more curbs on travel from UK

Germany has expanded its ban on passenger flights from the U.K. to forbid passenger transport by rail, bus and ship.

Kendall Hinton's QB moment marked in Canton, across the NFL

DENVER (AP) — Wide receiver Kendall Hinton’s start at quarterback for Denver may have been forgettable, but it's memorialized in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and on practice fields across the NFL.

Welcome back, NBA: Here's 10 things to know about the season

And ... it’s back.

The Latest: Turkey has quarantined 4,600 arriving from UK

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey has identified and quarantined 4,603 airline passengers who arrived from the United Kingdom on and after Dec. 14, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Tuesday.

Israel on cusp of fourth national elections in two years

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel appeared headed to its fourth election in two years on Tuesday after a last-ditch effort to keep the government afloat and push off the automatic dissolution of parliament failed.

Australian regulator delays decision on Google-Fitbit merger

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s competition regulator on Tuesday delayed for three months its decision on Google’s plan to buy fitness gadget maker Fitbit for $2.1 billion despite the European Union giving conditional approval to the deal.

US public school enrollment dips as virus disrupts education

Fearful of sending her two children back to school as the coronavirus pandemic raged in Mississippi, Angela Atkins decided to give virtual learning a chance this fall.

Vaccine injury claims could face bureaucratic ‘black hole’

Lost in the U.S. launch of the coronavirus vaccine is a fact most don’t know when they roll up their sleeves: In rare cases of serious illness from the shots, the injured are blocked from suing and steered instead to an obscure federal bureaucracy with a record of seldom paying claims.

High court opening tops Pennsylvania's 2021 judicial races

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Statewide judicial races will be among Pennsylvania's most closely watched election contests in the coming year, with lawyers and judges around the state already lining up supporters and trying to figure out if they can raise enough money to win.