AP National News

By JOHN PYE AP Sports Writer MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian Open has started without nine-time champion Novak Djokovic. The focus is finally on the tennis. Naomi Osaka opened her title defense with a straight-set win over Camila Osorio in the second match on Rod Laver Arena. Rafael Nadal is the only past champion

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has told parliament that fighting the pandemic and strengthening defense are his government’s top priorities. Kishida delivered a speech opening this year’s parliamentary session hours after North Korea test-fired two possible ballistic missiles — its fourth tests this month. He urged Japanese

By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Arab politician Mansour Abbas broke a longstanding taboo when he joined Israel’s governing coalition last year. The bold move appears to be paying dividends: Abbas is the linchpin of the shaky union, securing hefty budgets and favorable policies for his constituents and even being granted

By DARKO BANDIC Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Novak Djokovic is heading home to Serbia after his deportation from Australia over its required COVID-19 vaccination ended his hopes of defending his Australian Open title. An Emirates plane carrying Djokovic from Melbourne touched down in Dubai early Monday and a few hours later

By JAY REEVES Associated Press BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A new effort to preserve historic Black churches in the United States has received a $20 million donation that will go to help congregations. The National Trust for Historic Preservation says Lilly Endowment Inc. contributed the money to the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. It

By JAMIE STENGLE Associated Press DALLAS (AP) — The tight-knit congregation at a Texas synagogue where four people were held hostage by an armed captor during a 10-hour standoff over the weekend traces its roots back to a gathering organized over 20 years ago by a handful of families who were new to the area.

By JAKE BLEIBERG and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press COLLEYVILLE, Texas (AP) — U.S. and British authorities are continuing an investigation into the weekend standoff at a Texas synagogue that ended with an armed British national dead. The rabbi of Congregation Beth Israel was among four people taken hostage and credits past security training with everyone

BEIJING (AP) — Beijing’s first reported case of the omicron variant has prompted stepped-up measures in the nation’s capital, just weeks before it hosts the Winter Olympic Games. State media has said that following the positive test announced Saturday, more than 13,000 people and all places the patient may have visited over previous days have

ATLANTA (AP) — The annual Martin Luther King Jr. service is set to be held at his old congregation in Atlanta. Scheduled to attend are the city’s mayor, Georgia’s governor and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock. Monday’s service at Ebenezer Baptist Church and other events surrounding Martin Luther King Jr. Day commemorate what would have been

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — President Joe Biden  campaigned to help unite the country. But first lady Jill Biden says “healing” a nation wounded by a deadly pandemic, natural and other disasters and deep political polarization is among her chief roles, too. In an Associated Press interview looking back on her

NEW DELHI (AP) — Birju Maharaj, a legend of classical Indian dance and among the country’s most well-known performing artists, has died. He was 83. His granddaughter said Maharaj had a kidney ailment and had been undergoing dialysis. Known as Maharaj-ji by his many fans, he was considered an icon of the kathak form of

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has fired two short-range missiles into the sea in its fourth weapons launch this month. South Korea’s military said the suspected ballistic missiles flew around 236 miles on a maximum altitude of 26 miles before landing off the country’s northeastern coast. The U.S.

By JOHN PYE AP Sports Writer MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian Open has started without nine-time champion Novak Djokovic. Finally, the focus is on the tennis. Naomi Osaka opened her title defense with a win in straight sets over Camila Osorio in the second match on Rod Laver Arena. Fifth-seeded Maria Sakkari started the

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand and Australia have sent military surveillance flights to assess the damage caused by a huge undersea volcanic eruption in Tonga. Communications with the Pacific island nation have been limited since Saturday’s eruption. A British woman who was missing has been found dead, in

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — People who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are being banned from riding public transport in the Philippine capital region in a desperate move to curb spiking infections. The announcement Monday came as the Philippines’s vaccination campaign has been dogged by public hesitancy and delays. The highly contagious omicron variant has

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Shares are mixed in Asia after China reported that its economy expanded at an 8.1% annual pace in 2021, though growth slowed to half that level in the last quarter. Shortly before the growth data were announced, the Chinese central bank on Monday announced a rate

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand and Australia have military surveillance flights to Tonga to assess the damage a huge undersea volcanic eruption left in the Pacific island nation. A towering ash cloud since Saturday’s eruption had prevented earlier flights. New Zealand hopes to send essential supplies, including much-needed

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — China’s economy grew by 8.1% in 2021 but Beijing faces pressure to shore up activity after an abrupt slowdown in the second half. Government data show the economy expanded by 4% over a year earlier in the final three months of 2021. That is down from

By JOHN PYE AP Sports Writer MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian Open has started without nine-time champion Novak Djokovic. Finally, the focus was on the tennis. Fifth-seeded Maria Sakkari started the program on the main court with a 6-4, 7-6 (2) win over Tatjana Maria. Defending champion Naomi Osaka was due next on Rod

By DOUGLASS K. DANIEL Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — One of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen, Charles McGee, who flew fighter combat missions over three wars, has died. A family member says McGee died on Sunday at age 102 at his home in Bethesda, Maryland. The Tuskegee Airmen is the nickname of the first African