Month: December 2022

WASHINGTON (AP) — About 200 protesters in Washington have lit candles and shouted “Free China!” two blocks from the White House in a show of support for demonstrations in China demanding an end to severe anti-virus controls and political change. Protesters in Freedom Plaza held up signs saying, “No Dictatorship, No Censorship” and calling on

By SARA BURNETT Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Legislation that ensures same-sex and interracial marriages are recognized as legal unions appears headed for final approval and President Joe Biden’s signature, a bipartisan agreement that reflects a wider acceptance of gay rights in both Congress and the country. The measure, which would protect the rights of

By JOE McDONALD Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — China is easing some of the world’s most stringent anti-virus controls and authorities say new variants are weaker. But they have yet to say when they might end a “zero-COVID” strategy that confines millions of people to their homes and set off protests and demands for President

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand is launching a wide-ranging inquiry into whether it made the right decisions in battling COVID-19 and how it can better prepare for future pandemics. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday the coronavirus had posed the greatest threat to the nation’s health and economy

By HANNAH FINGERHUT and JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — The extended Senate campaign in Georgia gives Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker a second chance to persuade voters to send them to Washington. But without party control of Congress at stake and absent other candidates on the ticket, the runoff

By BILL BARROW Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Raphael Warnock is the first Black U.S. senator from Georgia, having broken the color barrier for one of the original 13 states with a special election victory in January 2021, almost 245 years after the nation’s founding. Now he hopes to add another distinction by winning a

By JESSICA GRESKO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is hearing the case Monday of a Christian graphic artist who objects to designing wedding websites for gay couples, a dispute that’s the latest clash of religion and gay rights to land at the highest court. The designer and her supporters say that ruling

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers are preparing to return to work for a special session on gas prices. State lawmakers are scheduled to convene on Monday to swear in new members and elect leaders for the 2023 legislative session. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has also called lawmakers into a

By JAKE BLEIBERG Associated Press FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A white former police officer is set to go on trial Monday for fatally shooting a Black woman through a rear window of her Texas home as the officer responded to a call about an open front door in 2019. The murder case has been