AP National News

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press DUNNIGAN, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has ended some of the state water restrictions. Newsom made the announcement Friday after a series of powerful storms replenished the state’s reservoirs. California has been in a severe drought for the past three years. Newsom said he will stop asking people

MOSCOW (AP) — Two cosmonauts and an astronaut who were supposed to leave the International Space Station this month will be brought back to Earth in late September, doubling their time aboard the orbiting laboratory to more than a year, Russia’s space agency announced Friday. The return of Russians Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin, and

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan, long known as a mainstay of organized labor, on Friday became the first state in decades to repeal a union-restricting law known as “right-to-work” that was passed over a decade ago by a Republican-controlled Legislature. The state’s “right-to-work” law had allowed those in unionized workplaces

By STAN CHOE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Stocks are wavering on Wall Street Friday amid worries about banks on both sides of the Atlantic. The S&P 500 was 0.3% higher in afternoon trading after slipping for most of the morning, on pace for its second straight weekly gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average

CAIRO (AP) — A popular gay social networking application has issued a warning to its users in Egypt, as police impersonate community members to target and arrest LGBTQ individuals through digital platforms. When opened in the country, the application, Grindr, says the Egyptian police are “using fake accounts and have also taken over real accounts

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A private rocket company says an overheated engine nozzle is responsible for last year’s failed launch. Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin said Friday its quick trips to space from West Texas have been grounded since the accident and flights should resume later this year. The

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Kirkland Warren was out on bail pending a long-delayed murder trial in Arkansas. But when he was arrested in southwestern Washington state early this month on charges that he assaulted his ex-girlfriend and fired a gunshot into her apartment, he quickly posted bond and was released again.

By CARA ANNA and IGNATIUS SSUUNA Associated Press KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Rwanda’s government has commuted the 25-year sentence of Paul Rusesabagina, who inspired the film “Hotel Rwanda” for saving hundreds of countrymen from genocide but was convicted of terrorism offenses years later in a widely criticized trial. Government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo told The Associated

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian reports say members of the Islamic State group have kidnapped dozens of people in a central province and the bodies of some have been found with their throats slits. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the extremists kidnapped about 40 people Thursday and killed at least 15 people whose

By STEPHEN R. GROVES Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans on Friday narrowly passed legislation that would fulfill a campaign promise to give parents a role in what’s taught in public schools. It has little chance in the Democrat-run Senate and critics said it would propel a far-right movement that has led to book

By SYLVIE CORBET and THOMAS ADAMSON Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Ongoing unrest across France and calls for a new round of demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension plan persuaded officials to postpone a planned state visit next week by Britain’s King Charles III. Charles had been scheduled to arrive in France on Sunday to

By DEREK GATOPOULOS and THEODORA TONGAS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece has welcomed the return of ancient artifacts from the Acropolis, furthering a campaign to press the British Museum to hand back a collection of sculptures taken from the ancient site in Athens more than 200 years ago. Culture Minister Lina Mendoni led

By JOSH BOAK and ROB GILLIES Associated Press OTTAWA, ONTARIO (AP) — President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are set to announce an agreement that aims to stem the flow of asylum seekers at unofficial crossings on the countries’ border. The announcement on Friday comes as Biden is making his  first visit

By JULIE WATSON and LISA BAUMANN Associated Press SAN DIEGO (AP) — Federal officials are expected to prohibit king salmon fishing this season along much of the West Coast, which many predict could stretch into 2024 season as the drought and other factors take their toll on the iconic Chinook fish. In early April, the

By MICHAEL HILL Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A judge has ruled that parents cannot be required to pull their children from private schools in New York that don’t meet certain state standards. The decision Thursday strikes down a key provision of new rules that strengthened the state’s oversight of such schools, including those

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida judge has sentenced a 16-year-old Florida boy to life in prison for fatally stabbing a 13-year-old classmate. The Friday morning sentencing followed a two-day hearing for 16-year-old Aiden Fucci, who pleaded guilty in February to killing 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey on Mother’s Day in 2021. Judge Lee R. Smith

By WILSON RING Associated Press ST. JOHNSBURY, Vermont (AP) — The immigration deal expected to be announced by U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would end a legal process that has enabled tens of thousands of immigrants from across the world to move between the countries and pursue asylum cases without

LONDON (AP) — British antitrust regulators scrutinizing Microsoft’s blockbuster purchase of videogame maker Activision Blizzard have dropped concerns that the deal would hurt the console gaming market. The Competition and Markets Authority said Friday that it no longer thinks the $69 billion deal will result in a “substantial lessening of competition” for console games in

By CARLA BRIDI Associated Press BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — A representative of Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday handed a set of diamond jewelry he had received from Saudi Arabia to a state bank, as he was ordered to do by a government watchdog. The state bank Caixa Economica Federal says it received the

By JOE McDONALD and ZEN SOO AP Business Writers BEIJING (AP) — TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has endured a nearly six-hour grilling by U.S. lawmakers, some of whom are pushing to ban the popular short-video app nationwide. The lawmakers questioned 40-year-old Singaporean native Chew over data security and harmful content. Despite his assurances that