AP-National

By KANIS LEUNG and JOHNSON LAI Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — As Taiwan’s presidential election approaches, many immigrants from Hong Kong are supporting the governing Democratic Progressive Party after witnessing the alarming erosion of civil liberties at home. Beijing’s crackdown on dissent in the financial hub has cemented their preference for a party committed

By JOSH FUNK and HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press The parents of the 17-year-old who killed a sixth grader and wounded seven others in a shooting at his small-town Iowa high school last week said in a statement Monday that they “had no inkling he intended the horrible violence he was about to inflict.” Dylan Butler’s

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The longtime head of National Rifle Association operated as the “King of the NRA,” spending lavishly on himself, punishing dissent and showering allies with country club memberships and no-show contracts, a lawyer for the New York attorney general’s office told jurors Monday. Wayne LaPierre’s methods

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — The blowout of part of the fuselage on a Boeing 737 Max flying over Oregon is the latest in a string of safety problems — including two devastating crashes — for the aerospace giant based in Arlington, Virginia. The most serious issues have involved the 737 Max,

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer Young quarterbacks C.J. Stroud and Jordan Love passed their first NFL playoff tests in impressive fashion. As for the postseason performance of the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles? Let’s just say those two proud franchises have seen better days. The NFL’s wild-card round didn’t produce a lot of drama,

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley took aim Monday night at the Democrat she’d like to face in the November election, calling it “offensive” that President Joe Biden gave “a political speech” at the South Carolina church where nine Black parishioners were slain in a 2015

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — A man accused of a jailhouse attack on the convicted killer of California college student Kristin Smart has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder. Jason Budrow entered his plea Monday in Fresno County. Prosecutors say Budrow slashed Paul Flores in the neck last August at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga.

By HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — This year’s Iowa legislative session kicked off Monday with student protestors filling the Capitol rotunda to call for stricter gun laws just days after a school shooting in Perry, Iowa, that left one 11-year-old boy dead and seven other people wounded. High school and college

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says that President Joe Biden has renominated Julie Su to serve as labor secretary, whose confirmation languished in the Senate for more than 10 months. The decision to renominate was widely expected and was formally announced Monday. Biden announced Su as his pick to replace Marty Walsh last February.

By ADRIAN SAINZ Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A judge has declined to reduce a $1 million bond for a man charged with shooting at a contractor at a Jewish school in Memphis after his attorney requested a lower amount to allow him to secure his release and get proper mental health treatment outside

MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge in Montana has issued an arrest warrant for a man accused of killing thousands of birds, including bald and golden eagles, after he failed to show up for an initial court appearance. A second defendant pleaded not guilty Monday and was released pending further

CHICAGO (AP) — A 29-year-old Chicago woman has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder after authorities said she helped her mother kill a pregnant teenager whose baby was cut from her womb. Desiree Figueroa’s plea was made Monday. The Chicago Tribune reports that it stipulates that she testify against her mother, Clarisa Figueroa, whose first-degree murder

By KEVIN McGILL Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Advocates for LGBTQ rights have announced a lawsuit to block enforcement of Louisiana’s new ban on transgender health care procedures including hormone treatments, gender reassignment surgery or puberty-blocking drugs for anyone under 18. The lawsuit was prepared by Lambda Legal and other advocates on behalf of

NEW YORK (AP) — The CEO of JetBlue is stepping down, and he’s being replaced by the first woman to head a major U.S. airline. JetBlue said Monday that CEO Robin Hayes will leave the job on Feb. 12. He’ll be replaced by current JetBlue President Joanna Geraghty. She has been at JetBlue since 2005

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — A judge has dismissed a University of Notre Dame’s professor’s defamation lawsuit against a student-run publication over news coverage of her abortion-rights advocacy. St. Joseph County Superior Court Senior Judge Steven David said in his ruling Monday that sociology professor Tamara Kay’s assertions that the The Irish Rover’s coverage of

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A California man has been sentenced to four years in prison for seeking to win a $100 million lawsuit by making false sexual assault claims against Hollywood executives. Rovier Carrington was sentenced Monday in Manhattan federal court after he pleaded guilty to making a false declaration

By SARA CLINE Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Newly sworn-in Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has issued an executive order calling for a special redistricting session. It gives lawmakers the opportunity to draw and replace the state’s current congressional map that a federal judge says dilutes the power of Black voters. Louisiana is among

By FRANK BAJAK AP Technology Writer BOSTON (AP) — The U.S. retail mortgage lender loanDepot says it’s struggling with a cyberattack that has impacted loan processing and phone service. In a filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company says data was encrypted by an unauthorized third party who broke into company systems.

By HOLLY RAMER Associated Press CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire’s attorney general has ordered national Democratic party leaders to stop calling the state’s unsanctioned presidential primary “meaningless,” saying doing so violates state law. The cease-and-desist notice issued Monday came three days after the co-chairs of the Democratic National Committee’s rules committee told New Hampshire

By BEN FINLEY Associated Press Authorities say they’ve linked a smalltime fisherman who died in 2017 to three cold-case homicides in Virginia. Two of the killings were among a series of unsolved slayings of couples in the late 1980s that are known as the “Colonial Parkway Murders.” Virginia State Police said Monday that the suspect