AP National News

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The governor of a central Philippine province devastated last week by Typhoon Rai has pleaded for the government to quickly send food and other aid. Governor Arthur Yap of Bohol province warned that without outside help, army troops and police would have to be deployed to

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden plans to stress in an upcoming speech the importance of getting vaccinated to protect from a wave of COVID-19 infections tied to the new omicron variant as Christmas approaches. The world is confronting the prospect of a second straight holiday season with COVID-19. Scientists

By AMY FORLITI and SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A jury will resume deliberations in the trial of a suburban Minneapolis police officer who says she meant to use her Taser instead of her gun when she shot and killed Black motorist Daunte Wright. The jury returns Tuesday after meeting for about a

By PAUL J. WEBER Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott isn’t saying whether he will posthumously pardon George Floyd for a 2004 drug arrest. Floyd spent much of his life in Houston before his death last year in Minneapolis led to a reckoning in the U.S. over race and policing. In

SYDNEY (AP) — New COVID-19 cases in Australia’s most populous state have surged past 3,000 for the first time, adding pressure on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to speed the rollout of booster shots. New South Wales reported a record 3,057 new coronavirus cases and two deaths on Tuesday. There were 284 people in hospitals, up

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares have bounced back from a worldwide slump in financial markets spurred by worries about how badly the omicron variant, inflation and other forces will hit the world economy. Tokyo gained 2.1% and other benchmarks in Asia also were higher. Oil prices also advanced. On

By DAVID dos SANTOS GUSMAO Associated Press OECUSSE, East Timor (AP) — A defrocked American priest accused of sexually abusing orphaned and disadvantaged young girls under his care in East Timor has been found guilty and sentenced to 12 years in prison, in the first case of its kind in the staunchly Catholic nation. Richard

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A New Jersey man who posed as a former New England Patriots player in order to buy and sell Super Bowl rings that he claimed were gifts to Tom Brady’s family will plead guilty to fraud. Federal prosecutors say the plea agreement with Scott Spina Jr. was filed Monday in Los

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has introduced a new member of the family. It’s a purebred German shepherd puppy named Commander. At the same time, the first lady’s office also said the cat that she promised more than a year ago will finally arrive in January. But the news

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — State regulators who three years ago issued an air quality permit for a proposed copper-nickel mine in northwestern Minnesota are standing by their decision. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said in a report issued Monday that the mine did not provide misleading on its construction plans. It’s a blow to

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Wisconsin’s governor has received a complaint seeking the removal of Milwaukee County’s district attorney because one his prosecutors recommended $1,000 bail for a man who authorities say later drove his SUV through a Christmas parade in a nearby county, killing six people. Darrell Brooks is being held on a $5 million bail

By PHILIP MARCELO and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — The nation’s second-largest city has called off its New Year’s Eve celebration, and its smallest state re-imposed an indoor mask mandate. The moves in Los Angeles and Rhode Island happened Monday as the omicron variant leaped ahead of other variants to become the dominant

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has introduced a new member of the family. It’s a pure-bred German shepherd puppy named Commander. At the same time, the first lady’s office also said the cat that she promised more than a year ago will finally arrive in January. But the news

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Omicron has raced ahead of other variants and is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the U.S. Federal health officials said Monday that omicron accounted for an estimated 73% of new infections last week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers show

PHOENIX (AP) — A month after his acquittal on murder charges, Kyle Rittenhouse was given a standing ovation at a conservative group’s conference in Phoenix where panelists discussed the 2020 deadly shootings in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Most of the comments during Monday’s discussion were made by other panelists, but the 18-year-old Rittenhouse reflected on how the

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chris Noth will no longer be part of the CBS series “The Equalizer” in the wake of sexual assault allegations against the actor. Universal Television and CBS made a joint announcement Monday that Noth would no longer be part of filming “effective immediately.” Noth has played a former CIA director on

By AMY FORLITI and SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The jury has concluded its first day of deliberations without reaching a verdict in the manslaughter trial of the white suburban Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed Black motorist Daunte Wright after she says she mistook her gun for her Taser. The jury