WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health secretary Xavier Becerra is ordering Medicare to reassess a big premium increase facing millions of enrollees this year. The increase was largely attributed to a pricey new Alzheimer’s drug with questionable benefits. Becerra’s directive on Monday comes days after drugmaker Biogen slashed the price of its $56,000-a-year medication, Aduhelm, to…
NEW YORK (AP) — Sidney Poitier, the groundbreaking actor and enduring inspiration who transformed how Black people were portrayed on screen, became the first Black actor to win an Academy Award for best lead performance and the first to be a top box-office draw, has died. He was 94. Few movie stars had such an…
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers have returned to the Capitol for their annual legislative session. The 2022 session began Wednesday and lasts through mid-May. The Republican-led Legislature’s priority will be to agree on new congressional districts based on 2020 census data. Lawmakers have until March 28 to send new maps to GOP Gov. Mike…
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The oldest World War II veteran in the United States has died at the age of 112. Lawrence N. Brooks died Wednesday in New Orleans. He was also believed to be the oldest living man in the country. Brooks was known for his good-natured sense of humor, positivity and kindness. He…
Authorities say a person is in custody in connection with the shooting death of an eastern Illinois deputy and a carjacking in St. Peters, Missouri. Indiana State Police spokesman Sgt. Todd Ringle said the person was arrested Wednesday afternoon in a home near Carlyle, Illinois, a Clinton County town about 45 miles east of St.…
MILL SHOALS, Ill. (AP) — Authorities in two states are searching for a gunman who killed an eastern Illinois deputy and is suspected in a carjacking in Missouri. The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office says Deputy Sean Riley responded to a motorist assist call on Interstate 64 early Wednesday. A second officer who arrived at the…
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The number of daily COVID-19 cases in St. Louis has tripled since the start of December, a trend the city’s health director calls “alarming.” Meanwhile, people seeking to get tested for the virus are struggling to find kits in stores or appointments at testing sites. Urgent care centers and pharmacies in…
CHICAGO (AP) — More than a year after the vaccine was rolled out, new cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. have soared to the highest level on record at over 265,000 per day on average. The surge has been driven largely by the highly contagious omicron variant. The previous mark was 250,000 cases per day,…
NEW YORK (AP) — Airlines canceled hundreds of flights Saturday as staffing issues tied to COVID-19 disrupted holiday celebrations during one of the busiest travel times of the year. FlightAware, a flight-tracking website, notes 875 flights entering, leaving or inside the U.S. canceled Saturday, up from 689 Friday. About 200 more flights were already canceled…
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France (AP) — France’s health minister says omicron infections are rapidly spreading and the variant will become the dominant infection in the last days of 2021. Olivier Veran ruled out additional restrictions on public life and said the government’s main effort to stop the spread of the virus is a robust vaccination campaign, including…