AP National News

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — A huge, high-altitude Chinese balloon sailed across the U.S. on Friday, drawing severe Pentagon accusations of spying on sensitive military sites despite China’s firm denials. Secretary of State Antony Blinken abruptly canceled a high-stakes Beijing trip aimed at easing U.S.-China tensions. Aside from the government response,

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s new law banning new oil and gas wells near homes, schools and other community sites has been put on hold until after voters decide next year whether to throw the law out. The secretary of state said Friday that opponents of Senate Bill 1137 have gathered enough voter signatures to

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — At least 13 people have died as a result of the more than 150 wildfires burning across Chile that have destroyed homes and thousands of acres of forest while the South American is in the midst of a heat wave. Four of the deaths took place in the Biobío region, around

By JAMIE STENGLE Associated Press DALLAS (AP) — The arrest of a 24-year-old man accused of taking two monkeys from the Dallas Zoo has shed some light on a mysterious string of events there as police said Friday that they’ve also linked him to the escape of a small leopard and a gash in the

By TERRY SPENCER, ELEONORE HUGHES and NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — Only a few weeks after his supporters stormed the seat of his country’s government, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday expressed bafflement at how he could have lost October’s election, then smiled silently as a crowd of supporters cried, “Fraud!” He

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer SAN FRANCISO (AP) — A jury on Friday decided Elon Musk didn’t defraud investors with his 2018 tweets about electric automaker Tesla in a proposed deal that quickly unraveled and raised questions about whether the billionaire had misled investors. The nine-member jury reached its verdict after less that two

By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska authorities say a skull found in a remote part of the state’s Interior in 1997 belongs to a New York man whose death was likely caused by a bear mauling. The Alaska State Troopers said in a statement that investigators used genetic genealogy to identify

By ADRIAN SAINZ and JONATHAN MATTISE Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A sixth Memphis officer was fired Friday after an internal police investigation showed he violated multiple department policies in the violent arrest of Tyre Nichols, including rules surrounding the deployment of a stun gun, officials said. Preston Hemphill had been suspended as he

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — As the Manhattan district attorney’s office again ramps up its yearslong investigation of Donald Trump, a new book by a former prosecutor who once led the probe details just how close the former president came to getting indicted — and laments friction with the new

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Children in California won’t have to get the coronavirus vaccine to attend schools, state public health officials confirmed Friday, ending one of the last major restrictions of the pandemic in the nation’s most populous state. Gov. Gavin Newsom first announced the policy in 2021, saying it

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Giant panda Le Le has died, the Memphis Zoo announced Friday. The panda, born July 18, 1998, died Wednesday, zoo spokesperson Rebecca Winchester said in an email. His cause of death has yet to be determined as a medical investigation is pending, the zoo said. “Le Le’s name translates to ‘happy

ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) — A newly minted Coast Guard rescue swimmer saved a man’s life at the mouth of the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington state just after a giant wave rolled the yacht he was piloting and threw him into the surf. Video from a Coast Guard helicopter captured some of the dramatic

By MATTHEW BROWN and AMY BETH HANSON Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Chinese balloon drifting high above the U.S. and first revealed over Montana has created a buzz down below among residents who initially wondered what it was — and now wonder what its arrival means amid a chorus of alarm raised by

By WILL WEISSERT and CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — President Joe Biden sounded like a candidate making his case for a second term as he rallied a raucous meeting of national Democrats who chanted, “Four more years!” The only thing missing was an official announcement — that’s not expected for at least several

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Associated Press HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) — Farmworkers at two mushrooms farms in California’s Half Moon Bay are back at work barely a week after seven of their colleagues were shot and killed. Three workers who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity say they need to earn

CINCINNATI (AP) — Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon no longer faces a misdemeanor charge of aggravated menacing over allegations that he threatened and pointed a gun at a woman. A Friday order dismissing the case in Hamilton County Municipal Court said only that the city prosecutor’s office requested the dismissal “in the interest of

By PAUL J. WEBER and DAVID SHARP Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Widespread power outages in the Texas capital stretched into a third day Friday for thousands of residents following a winter storm that was spiraling into a management crisis as city leaders remained unable to say when all the lights would come back

By JAMIE STENGLE Associated Press DALLAS (AP) — The man charged in the taking of two emperor tamarin monkeys from the Dallas Zoo has also been charged in two other recent incidents there involving holes that were cut in animal enclosure fences, authorities said Friday. Davion Irvin, 24, has been charged with two counts of

By ZEKE MILLER AP White House Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and his Cabinet will embark on a post-State of the Union “blitz” to visit at least 20 states next week to discuss his economic agenda after his Tuesday night address to Congress. The White House announced the travel plan Friday. Biden is

ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) — Customs agents say they discovered a dolphin skull in luggage left at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Friday that agents found the skull last week when they conducted a routine x-ray scan of the luggage, which had been inadvertently separated from owners during transit. The