AP National News

By BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA and MEHDI EL AREM Associated Press TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Protestors have scuffled with police in Tunisia’s capital after crowds gathered, in defiance of new COVID-19 restrictions, to mark the 11th anniversary of the revolution that triggered the Arab Spring uprisings. Police fired water cannon and tear gas at a crowd

By ELENA BECATOROS and ANGELA CHARLTON Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — French presidential candidate Valerie Pecresse has stressed the need for strong European borders, during a speech in Athens. She spoke Friday at the start of a two-day visit to Greece that will also see her visiting a camp for asylum seekers on an

By DÉBORA ÁLVARES Associated Press BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil has begun giving COVID-19 vaccines to children, marking the start of an effort that was delayed several weeks by the federal government’s reluctance to endorse shots for kids. The first 15 doses were given at a ceremony Friday in Sao Paulo. The country’s health regulator

ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — A military inquiry has found that an air force helicopter crash that killed India’s military chief and 13 other people was caused by an unexpected change in weather that disoriented the pilot. The court’s preliminary finding released Friday said the pilot was flying through a valley when

By ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says the federal website where Americans can request free COVID-19 tests will begin accepting orders on Wednesday. The announcement on Friday comes as the administration looks to address nationwide shortages, but supplies will be limited to just four free tests per home. Americans shouldn’t

By TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The omicron variant is sickening so many sanitation workers around the U.S. that some cities have had to delay or suspend garbage and recycling pickup, angering residents shocked that governments can’t perform this most basic of functions. The slowdowns have caused recycling bins full of Christmas

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge has ordered Martin Shkreli to return $64.6 million in profits reaped from inflating the price of a lifesaving drug and barred him from the pharmaceutical industry for the rest of his life. The ruling Friday by a federal judge

By MATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — Outgoing Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring is leaving a progressive legacy behind when he steps down Saturday after eight years. Herring started in 2014 by reversing the state’s legal opposition to gay marriage. He wrapped up his term this week by overturning racist legal opinions

CHICAGO (AP) — An Illinois judge could be facing discipline after he mocked an attorney in comments that he apparently did not realize were being broadcast live on YouTube. Cook County Judge William Raines made the comments about attorney Jennifer Bonjean after she appeared before him during a court call. Bonjean is a New York-based

By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota legislative committee has approved a bill championed by Gov. Kristi Noem to ban transgender women and girls from participating in school sports leagues that match their gender identity. The Republican governor has aggressively pushed the bill this year. It received approval in the

By MARC LEVY and MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press McCONNELLSBURG, Pa. (AP) — An inspection of voting machines in a heavily Republican county in Pennsylvania is being stopped just as it was about to get underway. The state Supreme Court on Friday granted a request by lawyers for Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf over the Fulton County

By BABA AHMED Associated Press BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Thousands have joined in a government-sponsored rally in Mali’s capital to protest new regional economic sanctions and growing pressure from former colonizer France, after Mali’s military ruler pushed back promised elections by four years. The demonstrators in Bamako Friday shouted: “Down with imperialism, down with ECOWAS,

By ALEKSANDAR FURTULA and MIKE CORDER Associated Press VALKENBURG, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch government has eased its coronavirus lockdown, allowing non-essential stores, universities, sports clubs and “contact businesses” like hairdressers to reopen for the first time in nearly a month. But while many businesses can open Saturday until 5 p.m., bars, restaurants, museums and

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut state lawmaker says she plans to introduce legislation requiring all hockey players to wear a neck guard or a similar protective device during practice or games. The proposed legislation follows the death last week of a 10th-grade player, 16-year-old Benjamin Edward “Teddy” Balkind, whose neck was cut by a

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press LITCHFIELD, Conn. (AP) — A symbol of support for U.S. troops is now the centerpiece of a contentious free-speech debate in the small Connecticut town of Litchfield. Yellow ribbons had adorned trees on the Litchfield Town Green since the 2003 start of the war in Iraq. But the five remaining

PRAGUE (AP) — The new Czech government will allow some workers who have tested positive for the coronavirus to stay on the job, in an extraordinary measure to ease possible staff shortages caused by an anticipated surge of the omicron variant. Health Minister Vlastimil Valek said Friday the measure, which was also used during the

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Americans overlooked shortages, spiking prices and uncertainty over the omicron variant to break spending records during the critical holiday shopping season. But figures released Friday show that after spending robustly early in the holiday season, consumers sharply slowed their purchases from November to December. The

HOUSTON (AP) — A judge has found no probable cause to support a charge a Houston mother faces after being accused of placing her 13-year-old son in the trunk of her car in an attempt to isolate him after he tested positive for COVID-19. The 41-year-old mother had been charged by prosecutors with endangering a

By GLENN GAMBOA and HALELUYA HADERO AP Business Writers The late Betty White was a tireless advocate for animals for her entire life, from caring for homeless animals as a child to launching her own weekly TV show “The Pet Set” dedicated to her celebrity friends and their pets. Her biggest contribution, though, may be

By MICHAEL PHILLIS and SUMAN NAISHADHAM Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Biden administration is moving to tighten oversight of projects that benefitted from Trump-era loosened water protections. However, some projects including a controversial Georgia mine will likely be able to escape new scrutiny. It’s the latest twist in a long-running dispute over the