AP National News

MOSCOW (AP) — Kazakhstan is experiencing the fiercest street protests since the oil-rich Central Asian nation gained independence three decades ago. A sudden surge in the price of car fuel sparked demonstrations this week that quickly evolved into a broader stand against the former Soviet republic’s authoritarian leadership. Police in the country’s largest city said

GRANBURY, Texas (AP) — Police say a mother and her 1-year-old were shot in a Texas Walmart parking lot after her 2-year-old took a handgun and fired it accidentally. Police in Granbury, southwest of Fort Worth, said the gun discharged once when the 2-year-old took it from between a seat and the center console Wednesday.

By HARUKA NUGA and STEVE McMORRAN Associated Press SYDNEY (AP) — The leaders of Japan and Australia have signed a “landmark” defense agreement that allows closer cooperation between their militaries and stands as a rebuke to China’s growing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Israeli military says its forces shot and killed a Palestinian who had opened fire on them during an arrest raid in the occupied West Bank. The military says it was carrying out an operation to arrest a suspect early on Thursday when armed men began firing on troops. It

By LINDSEY TANNER AP Medical Writer Parents of children too young to be vaccinated are facing difficult choices as COVID cases fueled by the omicron variant rise to record levels and every encounter seems risky. Families are rethinking visits with grandparents, playtime with other toddlers and trips to the park or library. A setback last

By KATHY GANNON Associated Press PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have shown no sign of expelling multiple militant groups operating on its soil, and that is raising a dilemma for other nations as they ponder how to deal with them. China fears Uighur militants working from Afghanistan, while Russia and Central Asian neighbors

By KEVIN McGILL Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell helped usher in the city’s Carnival season by sampling a city delicacy — king cake — at a morning event. The weeks long celebration comes amid a surge of COVID-19 infections. Officials are stressing safety, even as plans for major parades

By BRIAN MELLEY and JOCELYN GECKER Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — California is struggling to staff hospitals and classrooms as a spike in coronavirus infections hits the state. The fast-spreading omicron variant is sidelining exposed or infected health care workers even as the number of people hospitalized jumps. The state’s health secretary warned Wednesday

By YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — The U.S. military is ordering personnel stationed in Japan to wear masks when going off base to curb the spread of COVID-19 infections. American forces have come under fire after a recent increase in coronavirus cases in areas where they are assigned in large numbers, including Okinawa

By MARY CLARE JALONICK, LISA MASCARO and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and members of Congress are solemnly marking the first anniversary of the U.S. Capitol insurrection. Lawmakers are holding a series of events Thursday to reflect on the violent attack by supporters of President Donald Trump one year ago.

By JILL COLVIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump’s excommunication from the Republican Party seemed a near certainty on Jan. 6, 2021, the day a raging band of his supporters breached the U.S. Capitol in a bid to overturn his election loss. Some of Trump’s closest allies warned he was “destroying” his legacy and

By NOMAAN MERCHANT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Many of the Jan. 6 rioters facing jail time have admitted they weren’t peaceful protesters and that they were wrong to participate in the U.S. Capitol attack. Some directly accuse former President Donald Trump of misleading them. While Trump continues to lie about the facts of the

By FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection by pro-Trump supporters and right-wing group members shattered the sense of security that many had long felt at the Capitol as rioters forcefully delayed the certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory. But for people of color, the attack was more

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP National Writer Novak Djokovic came within one victory of sweeping all four of last year’s Grand Slam tennis tournaments and entered 2022 needing one title to set the men’s record of 21 major championships. He might not get the chance to pursue that mark at the Australian Open when play begins

BEIJING (AP) — Hospital officials in the northern Chinese city of Xi’an have been punished after a pregnant woman miscarried after being refused entry, reportedly for not having current COVID-19 test results. The city government announced that the hospital’s general manager has been suspended and the heads of the outpatient department and medical department sacked.

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Basketball Writer Kyrie Irving was just the jolt the Brooklyn Nets needed to escape a midseason slump. He can only provide it on a part-time basis, as his refusal to get vaccinated against the coronavirus means he can’t play in New York. So for now, Irving will enjoy every chance he

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says it has conducted the second successful test of a hypersonic missile, days after leader Kim Jong Un vowed to bolster his military forces despite pandemic-related difficulties. Wednesday’s launch, the North’s first known weapons test in about two months, indicates the country will

By RON TODT and CLAUDIA LAUER Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia fire officials say two sisters and several of their children were among 12 people killed when a fire tore a rowhome that apparently had no working smoke detectors. Eight children lost their lives. Officials say it’s the city’s deadliest single fire in at

SYDNEY (AP) — Australia has seen another day of rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations amid fears that changes to testing requirements could mask the full scale of the outbreak. The country reported 72,000 cases nationwide Thursday, up from 64,000 a day earlier, while hospitalizations jumped to 3,267 from 2,990, and patients in intensive care rose

By FRED GOODALL AP Sports Writer TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Antonio Brown says he was forced to play injured by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and that an MRI on Monday revealed damage to his ankle. While not specifying which ankle was hurt, Brown — through a statement released by his attorney on Wednesday — said