AP National News

WILLOWBROOK, Ill. (AP) — The former operator of a suburban Chicago medical equipment cleaning plant has agreed to pay $408 million to settle hundreds of lawsuits alleging that the now-shuttered facility exposed residents to a toxic industrial gas and caused illnesses. Sterigenics announced Monday that a claims administrator will be appointed to distribute the money

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has projected a $22.5 billion budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year. That’s a sharp turnaround from the $98 billion surplus Newsom had to work with last year. Newsom announced the deficit Tuesday as he lays out his spending priorities for the

By ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Sarah Huckabee Sanders has been sworn in as Arkansas’ 47th governor, and the first woman to hold the office her father once held. The former White House press secretary took the oath of office Tuesday in the state House of Representatives. The 40-year-old Republican portrayed

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — After nearly three months of lottery losing, will someone break the trend Tuesday night and win a $1.1 billion Mega Millions jackpot? Regardless of how long it takes, the odds of winning the top lottery prize don’t change, and they’re formidable at 1 in 302.6 million. But someone will eventually

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A far-right internet personality who streamed live video while he stormed the U.S. Capitol has been sentenced to two months of imprisonment for joining the mob’s attack on the building. Anthime Gionet, known as “Baked Alaska” to his social media followers, declined to address the court before

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional a 2005 pact by China, the Philippines and Vietnam to jointly explore for oil in the disputed South China Sea. The decision by 12 of the court’s 15 justices voided the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking agreement by state-owned companies

By SUSAN HAIGH and PAT EATON-ROBB Associated Press MONTVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut’s first round of recreational cannabis sales for adults 21 and older have begun. Sales were allowed to start at 10 a.m. Tuesday at seven existing medical marijuana establishments. The new availability comes less than two years after Gov. Ned Lamont signed legislation

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Democratic Rep. Katie Porter of California said Tuesday she will seek the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a fellow Democrat and the oldest member of the chamber. “Especially in times like these, California needs a warrior in Washington,” Porter said in a video posted on Twitter. “That’s

By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer DENVER (AP) — Costly weather disasters kept raining down on America last year, pounding the nation with 18 climate extremes that caused at least $1 billion in damage each, totaling more than $165 billion, federal climate scientists calculated Tuesday. Even though 2022 wasn’t near record hot for the United

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press LUETZERATH, Germany (AP) — Several hundred climate activists have tried to prevent heavy machinery from reaching an abandoned village in Germany that’s due to be cleared for the expansion of a coal mine. Their efforts on Tuesday came even as police pushed back protesters and removed road blocks ahead of

GENEVA (AP) — The Swiss town of Davos will host 52 heads of state and government and nearly 600 CEOs as the World Economic Forum hosts its annual meeting in the Alps next week. Forum organizers said Tuesday that their latest lineup for the elite gathering of political leaders, business executives, cultural trend-setters and international

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — After weeks of hype and days of leaks, readers got a chance to judge Prince Harry’s book for themselves when it went on sale around the world on Tuesday. In Britain, a few stores opened at midnight to sell copies of “Spare” to diehard royal devotees and

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has sentenced a Belgian aid worker to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes after convicting him of espionage charges in a closed-door trial, state media reported Tuesday. The website of Iran’s judiciary said a Revolutionary Court sentenced 41-year-old Olivier Vandecasteele to 12.5 years in prison for espionage,

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s SAPO domestic security agency has warned that it expects Russia to increase activities threatening Swedish security in fields including telecoms and the power network. SAPO head Charlotte von Essen said Tuesday that Russia’s actions were “unpredictable,” but stressed that “we can expect that Russian security-threatening activities against Sweden will increase.” The

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer Less than 10 minutes into the first episode of “Break Point,” the Netflix docuseries about professional tennis that launches Friday, Nick Kyrgios is seen practicing before last year’s Australian Open and is heard contemplating aloud whether he ever will appear again at the tournament. “I don’t know if this

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER and DAVID MCHUGH Associated Press Writers WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve has only a limited role to play in combating climate change, Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday, a stance that puts him at odds with environmental activists who have pushed central banks worldwide to take steps to restrict lending to energy

By KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — Chinese embassies suspended issuing new visas for South Koreans and Japanese on Tuesday in apparent retaliation for COVID-19 testing requirements recently imposed by those countries on travelers from China. The embassies in Tokyo and Seoul announced the suspensions in brief online notices. The Seoul notice, posted on

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Officials say members of the Southern African Development Community military mission in Mozambique are being investigated after a video circulated on social media showing them throwing bodies on a pile of burning rubble. The soldiers are part of the mission deployed by the 16-nation regional bloc of

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — The divisive social media personality Andrew Tate arrived at a court in Romania in handcuffs on Tuesday morning to appeal a judge’s earlier decision to extend his arrest period from 24 hours to 30 days on charges of being part of an organized crime group, human trafficking and rape. Tate, a