AP National News

By LAURAN NEERGAARD and MIKE STOBBE Associated Press An influential government advisory panel is considering COVID-19 boosters for younger teens, as the U.S. battles the omicron surge. Boosters already are recommended for everyone 16 and older. Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration authorized an extra Pfizer shot for kids ages 12 to 15

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Just two weeks before it was to be held in Park City, Utah, the Sundance Film Festival is canceling its in-person festival and reverting to an entirely virtual edition due to the current coronavirus surge. Festival organizers announced Wednesday that the festival will start as

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — In a story published January 4, 2022, about the James Webb Space Telescope, The Associated Press erroneously reported when the universe’s first stars and galaxies were created. It was about 13.7 billion years ago, not 3.7 billion.

BOSTON (AP) — A California couple accused of paying $25,000 to cheat on their son’s college admissions test has abruptly agreed to plead guilty. Dr. Gregory Colburn and his wife, Amy Colburn, made the plea deal on Wednesday, six weeks before they were set to go on trial in federal court. The U.S. Attorney’s office

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Former Books-A-Million CEO Lew Burdette announced Tuesday that he is running for governor of Alabama. Burdette made the announcement Tuesday. He currently heads a nonprofit that provides shelters and group homes for abused women and children. Burdette joins a growing list of candidates challenging Gov. Kay

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors are urging the judge who presided over the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell to conduct an inquiry into a juror’s reported claims that he was a victim of sexual abuse. The claims were published in several interviews by press outlets with the juror only identified by

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve policymakers at a meeting last month said the U.S. job market was nearly at levels healthy enough that the central bank’s low-interest rate policies were no longer needed. That’s according to minutes of the meeting released Wednesday. The minutes also said that Fed officials

By SUDHIN THANAWALA and JEFF AMY Associated Press SMYRNA, Ga. (AP) — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp says he’ll push for a new state law that would loosen the state’s handgun requirements. Kemp announced the effort Wednesday at a gun shop in the Atlanta area city of Smyrna. He did not lay out specific changes he

By MARK PRATT Associated Press A Russian millionaire who U.S. authorities allege participated in a scheme to steal information on computer networks and use it to trade shares of companies, bringing in tens of millions of dollars illegally, has been denied bail. A federal judge ordered 41-year-old Vladislav Klyushin detained Wednesday given that he is

By SOPHIA TAREEN Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago schools have canceled classes after the teachers union voted to refuse in-person instruction and switch to remote learning due to record COVID-19 levels. The move comes amid an escalating battle over school safety protocols. Chicago Public Schools officials say they won’t switch back to online instruction

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — The IOC has promised Olympic teams worldwide that the Winter Games in Beijing will go ahead as planned next month. Switzerland’s team leader asked a day earlier for talks about possibly postponing the Olympics because of the coronavirus pandemic. Swiss team leader Ralph Stöckli had said

JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli committee has approved plans for building more than 3,500 settler housing units in east Jerusalem, nearly half in a particularly controversial area. That’s according to Peace Now, an anti-settlement monitoring group. Peace Now says the construction would largely cut off the city from the southern West Bank. That would further

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey has reported its highest number of daily COVID-19 infections since the start of the pandemic as the rapidly-spreading omicron variant takes hold. The Health Ministry on Wednesday recorded 66,467 new cases and 143 deaths in the past 24 hours. The previous peak, reached on April 16, was 63,082 infections. Despite

By LAURAN NEERGAARD and MIKE STOBBE Associated Press An influential government advisory panel is considering COVID-19 boosters for younger teens, as the U.S. battles the omicron surge. Boosters already are recommended for everyone 16 and older. Earlier this week, the Food and Drug Administration authorized an extra Pfizer shot for kids ages 12 to 15

WASHINGTON (AP) — Robert Santos has been sworn in as the head of the nation’s largest statistical agency. He became the first Hispanic director of the U.S. Census Bureau on Wednesday, as well as the bureau’s 26th director. The Senate had previously approved the third-generation Mexican American statistician from San Antonio, Texas. Santos will oversee

By RODRIQUE NGOWI, MICHAEL CASEY and DON THOMPSON Associated Press Hospitals across the U.S. are feeling the wrath of the omicron variant and getting thrown into disarray that is different from earlier COVID-19 surges. This time, they are dealing with serious staff shortages because so many workers are getting sick. People are showing up at

By JANET McCONNAUGHEY Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana’s governor has pardoned the Black man whose 1892 arrest for refusing to leave an all-white railroad car led to the ruling that cemented “separate but equal” into U.S. law for half a century. Gov. John Bel Edwards signed the pardon for Homer Plessy on Wednesday

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Thousands of people have gathered in Las Vegas for a tech conference that’s been scaled back because of COVID-19 precautions. The floor of the CES gadget show opened Wednesday with conference attendees required to wear masks and show proof of vaccination. The event’s organizer, the Consumer Technology Association, hasn’t disclosed attendance

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — University of Florida President Kent Fuchs has announced that 2022 will be his final year in office. The 67-year-old scholar made the announcement in a video address released Wednesday, saying he plans to return to the classroom to teach electrical and computer engineering after his replacement is chosen, which he expects

By MATTHEW LEE and FRANK JORDANS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and Germany say that Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine’s border poses an “immediate and urgent challenge” to European security and that any intervention will draw severe consequences. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock presented a unified