AP National News

By MICHAEL GOLDBERG Associated Press/Report for America JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi man who pleaded guilty to raping and killing a 16-year-old girl is scheduled to be put to death Wednesday evening. He would become the second inmate executed in Mississippi in 10 years. Thomas Edwin Loden Jr., 58, is set to receive a

By JAMIE STENGLE and STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press DALLAS (AP) — A destructive winter storm marched across the United States on Wednesday, delivering blizzard-like conditions to the Great Plains hours after tornadoes touched down in parts of Texas, Oklahoma and in Louisiana where a child was killed and his mother remains missing. Five tornadoes were

By DAKE KANG Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — China’s National Health Commission scaled down its daily COVID-19 report starting Wednesday in response to a sharp decline in PCR testing since the government eased antivirus measures after daily cases hit record highs. A notice on the commission’s website said it stopped publishing daily figures on numbers

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — After four straight three-quarter-point interest rate hikes, the Federal Reserve is set to announce a smaller half-point increase in its key rate Wednesday, a first step toward dialing back its efforts to combat inflation. At the same time, the Fed is expected to signal that it

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia has signed a new security deal with Oceania island country Vanuatu as part of an ongoing competition with China for influence in the Pacific. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who announced the deal, is leading a bipartisan delegation to Vanuatu and two other Pacific nations. The new security pact covers

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Stocks were mostly higher Wednesday in Asia after a rally on Wall Street spurred by news that inflation in the U.S. cooled more than expected last month. The 7.1% consumer price index reading for November raised hopes Tuesday for easing pressure on the economy ahead of

By JAY COHEN AP Sports Writer CHICAGO (AP) — Soaked with beer and still wearing his No. 8 jersey, Alex Ovechkin held three pucks in his right hand as he posed for a picture with the rest of the jubilant Washington Capitals in the visiting locker room at the United Center. Three pucks that added

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Nicaraguan government media site says a court has ordered a Roman Catholic bishop to remain under house arrest on charges of “conspiracy” and “spreading false news.” The government website El 19 Digital says Matagalpa Bishop Rolando Álvarez has been charged with those crimes and “damaging the Nicaraguan government and society.”

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Megan Thee Stallion took the stand in a Los Angeles courtroom Tuesday and told jurors that rapper Tory Lanez fired five shots at her feet, yelled at her to dance and wounded her as she tried to walk away from him in the Hollywood Hills more than two years ago. “I’m

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — A judge has set bail at $1 million for a man arrested on suspicion of carrying guns into a courthouse in Washington state. The Daily Herald reports a judge in Snohomish County set bail during a first court appearance Tuesday for 32-year-old David Hsu. Hsu’s attorney Lorcan Malone requested little to

KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers leading the negotiations on a bill to fund the federal government for the current fiscal year announced late Tuesday they’ve reached agreement on a “framework” that should allow them to complete work on the bill over the next week and avoid a government shutdown. Congress faces a

By REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press LIMA, Peru (AP) — A judge has ordered ousted Peruvian President Pedro Castillo to remain in custody, denying his appeal as authorities build a rebellion case against him. Supreme Court Judge Cesar San Martin Castro’s decision could further inflame violent protests across the country. Peruvians have been demanding Castillo’s

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — The body of a 23-year-old woman has been found in the ocean off Australia after she fell overboard from a cruise ship. Crew members aboard the Pacific Explorer reported the passenger missing at about midnight, when the ship was about 43 miles out to sea from Cape Jaffa in South Australia

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The famous Hollywood-roaming mountain lion known as P-22 is drastically underweight and was probably struck and injured by a car, wildlife experts who conducted a health examination on the big cat said Tuesday. The male cougar, whose killing of a leashed dog has raised concerns about its behavior, probably won’t be

By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon judge on Tuesday extended an order blocking a key part of a tough new voter-approved gun law intended to curtail mass shootings but did not immediately rule on its most controversial part — a ban on high-capacity magazines. Harney County Judge Robert Raschio let

By DANIEL POLITI Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The streets of Argentina turned into a party Tuesday as the national team beat Croatia by a comfortable 3-0 and earned this soccer-crazed South American country a spot in the World Cup final. Fans poured onto the streets of the capital of Buenos Aires as

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Australian police are investigating the extremist views of three people who shot and killed two officers and a neighbor at a rural property before they were killed hours later by police in a gunfight. Investigators will look at the possible extremist links of the killers after a series of posts under