AP National News

By ACACIA CORONADO Associated Press A wildfire whipped by gusty winds in a Central Texas state park has forced the evacuation of dozens of homes in the city of Bastrop, the site of a deadly blaze a decade ago. Officials said a prescribed burn Tuesday at Bastrop State Park may have been the cause. No

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. human rights chief says women seeking to participate in shaping and building peace and defending human rights face a “vastly worse” situation now than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic. Michelle Bachelet told the U.N. Security Council Tuesday that in 2020 her office

By RODOLPHE LAMY Associated Press FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique (AP) — An appeals court in the French Caribbean island of Martinique has dismissed a request from groups seeking slavery reparations in a blow to efforts that began more than 15 years ago. The court provided several reasons for its ruling issued Tuesday, including that there’s a statute

By DYLAN LOVAN Associated Press LONDON, Ky. (AP) — A convicted killer pardoned by Kentucky’s former governor is returning to prison to serve a 42-year federal sentence. Patrick Baker was convicted of a federal murder charge last year. Baker was freed from prison in 2019 when former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin pardoned him for the

By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota lawmakers weighing impeachment charges for the state’s attorney general are drilling into the investigation of his fatal car crash in 2020. They spent hours questioning the law enforcement officers and a specialist who analyzed the crash involving Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg. Nearly all of

By JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — The Biden administration has chosen Los Angeles to host a summit of leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean that is a key part of its outreach to a region increasingly being courted by U.S. adversaries such as Russia and China. It’s the first time the U.S.

By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Bernie Sanders is suggesting he’d support primary challengers against Democratic colleagues Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. The comment further intensifies a political battle pitting members of President Joe Biden’s party against one another. Sanders told reporters on Tuesday that he thinks “there is a very good

By JUSTIN KATUMWA Associated Press GOMA, Congo (AP) — Authorities in eastern Congo say they have arrested two men in connection with an ambush that killed the Italian ambassador last year. The suspects, identified as members of a rebel group, were presented to the military governor in North Kivu province on Tuesday. Police said that

By ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong activist Edward Leung, who coined the now-banned slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our Times,” has been released from prison. The 30-year-old Leung was convicted of assaulting a police officer and rioting during a 2016 protest that began over a crackdown on unlicensed hawkers

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick has become the newest member of the House. The Florida Democrat was sworn in Tuesday to fill the seat last held by Alcee Hastings, who died in April of pancreatic cancer. She’ll boost the Democrats’ slender House majority to 222-212. Cherfilus-McCormick will represent a

By EVENS SANON Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A Haitian magistrate tells The Associated Press that a request for more time to investigate the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse has been denied. Bernard Saint-Vil, dean of the Court of First Instance in Port-au-Prince, did not explain on Tuesday why he refused to grant an

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations says the military government in Mali has blocked many flights by the U.N. peacekeeping force in the West African nation and the U.N. has grounded all non-emergency flights since Friday. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday the U.N. mission in Mali is in talks with the military on

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man has been sentenced to three years and six months in prison for fraudulently collecting over $800,000 in COVID-19 relief funds. Court records show 63-year-old Louis Thornton III was sentenced Friday in Tampa federal court. He pleaded guilty in September to wire fraud. He must also pay back relief

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota man who authorities say is a self-proclaimed member of the anti-government “boogaloo” movement and had discussed a willingness to kill police has been sentenced to two years in prison. Michael Dahlager, of St. Cloud, pleaded guilty last summer to illegally possessing a machine gun. He admitted during his plea hearing

BASTROP, Texas (AP) — A wildfire has erupted in a Central Texas state park, forcing evacuations of residential areas in the city of Bastrop, the site of a deadly blaze a decade ago. The fire started in Bastrop State Park. The Bastrop Office of Emergency Management posted a wildfire notice just before 2 p.m. Tuesday.

By LEAH WILLINGHAM Associated Press CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia lawmakers have introduced a bill to ban abortion after 15 weeks — a proposal that’s nearly identical to the Mississippi law currently under review by the U.S. Supreme Court. The nation’s high court is expected to make a decision later this year in the

By BRIAN SLODYSKO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — For the fifth time in recent months, Senate Republicans this week are expected to block Democrats’ sweeping voting legislation by using a longstanding parliamentary tactic known as the filibuster. Democrats lament that Senate rules give outsize power to the chamber’s minority to “filibuster” the priorities of the

By KEVIN McGILL Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A candidate for the U.S. Senate in Louisiana has posted a video campaign ad that shows him smoking marijuana while decrying racial disparities in arrests for the drug. The 37-second ad shows Democrat Gary Chambers sitting in a chair in an empty field and puffing what

By MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A high-profile killing at New York City’s busiest subway station has injected fresh unease into the perception of whether the subway system is safe. Mayor Eric Adams made a point of taking the subway to City Hall on his first day to work on Jan.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A central Florida health official has been put on administrative leave as state officials investigate whether he tried to compel employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19 in violation of state law. The state health agency is conducting an inquiry into Orange County health director Raul Pino. A Florida Department of Health