AP National News

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Heading into a tough election year, Gov. Andy Beshear asserted Wednesday evening that Kentucky’s future is “brighter than it has ever been” while touting a record of economic development and resilience to make his case. The Democratic governor, delivering his fourth annual State of the Commonwealth

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Officials in California ordered evacuations in a high-risk coastal area where mudslides killed 23 people in 2018 as a huge storm barreled into the state on Wednesday, bringing high winds and rain that threatened to knock out power and flood roadways. California Gov. Gavin Newsom

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — The mastermind of the nationwide college admissions bribery scheme that ensnared celebrities, prominent businesspeople and other parents who used their wealth and privilege to buy their kids’ way into top-tier schools was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison Wednesday. The punishment for Rick Singer, 62,

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Jill Biden will undergo a medical procedure next week to remove a small lesion from above her right eye that was discovered during a routine skin cancer screening. Dr. Kevin O’Connor, physician to President Joe Biden, says the first lady will undergo the outpatient procedure next Wednesday,

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers for a former advice columnist who says Donald Trump raped her in a department store in the 1990s are fighting his efforts to toss out a lawsuit by reminding a judge of his own ruling in a similar lawsuit against Prince Andrew. The lawyers wrote

By SARA CLINE Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana’s Republican U.S. Sen. John Kennedy told supporters on Wednesday that he will not run for governor in October. The 2023 gubernatorial race is expected to attract several strong GOP candidates because term limits prevent current Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards from seeking a third

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — As a huge storm approached California, officials began asking people to evacuate in high-risk coastal areas, including where 23 died in 2018 in a series of mudslides. Powerful winds were roaring into California, toppling trees as crews rush to clear storm drains in preparation for flooding, and people scramble to find

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Former mixed martial arts fighter Phil Baroni has been arrested in Mexico for allegedly killing his girlfriend. The prosecutors’ office in the Pacific coast state of Nayarit said Wednesday that a woman was found dead on Jan. 1 in the beach town of San Fernando, just north of the resort of

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hundreds of handicraft vendors in southern Mexico have blocked access roads to the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza. The vendors are mainly Mayans from nearby towns who have long sold goods at the entrances and parking lots of the ruin site. The vendors set up protest lines on roads late Monday

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The name of a teenager killed in a shooting outside an Indianapolis shopping mall has been released. The Marion County Coroner’s Office identified him Wednesday as 16-year-old Michael Mason Jr. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department says Mason was killed and a man was wounded in the shooting that occurred Tuesday night outside

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hundreds of handicraft vendors in southern Mexico have blocked access roads to the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza. The vendors are mainly Mayans from nearby towns who have long sold goods at the entrances and parking lots of the ruin site. The vendors set up protest lines on roads late Monday

By ALI SWENSON, DAVID KLEPPER and SOPHIA TULP Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Unfounded claims about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines proliferated in the hours and days after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed during Monday’s game, revealing how pervasive vaccine misinformation remains three years after the pandemic began. Even before Hamlin was carried off

By JAMES BROOKS Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tech companies of all sizes are showing off their latest products at CES, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics show. The show is getting back to normal after going completely virtual in 2021 and seeing a significant drop in 2022 attendance because of the pandemic. On

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer The NFL is still considering various options following the suspension of the Bills-Bengals game, including possibly eliminating the bye week before the Super Bowl. The Bills-Patriots game set for Sunday in Buffalo and the rest of the Week 18 games remain on schedule. The pivotal Bills-Bengals game was

By MATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press ANNANDALE, Va. (AP) — Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares is launching an investigation into one of the state’s most prestigious high schools, acting on complaints that students there weren’t properly recognized for their achievements on a standardized test. Miyares said at a news conference Wednesday that his Office of Civil

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — More than 50 people were convicted in the sprawling college admissions bribery scheme that embroiled elite universities across the country and landed a slew of prominent parents and athletic coaches behind bars. The case dubbed Operation Varsity Blues by authorities revealed a scheme to get the

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has “strongly encouraged” its member states to impose pre-departure COVID-19 testing of passengers from China, in a move that is likely to upset Beijing and has already been criticized by the global airline industry. Following a week of talks between EU health experts, the

By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer In a world getting used to extreme weather, 2023 is starting out more bonkers than ever. Meteorologists say a roiling Pacific Ocean is the source of what’s happened in recent days. Natural forces such as La Nina are combining with a touch of climate change and a wavy jet

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A major winter storm approached California on Wednesday causing crews to rush to clear storm drains in preparation for flooding and strong winds, as parts of the Midwest dealt with snow, ice or tornadoes, and the South recovered from severe weather overnight. California officials asked