AP National News

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A powerful typhoon has left at least 19 people dead in the Philippines, knocked down power and cellphone services in entire provinces and wrought widespread destruction. A governor says her island was leveled to the ground. Typhoon Rai blew away Friday night into the South China

By NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian authorities have raised the alert level for the highest volcano on Java island, saying Mount Semeru could blow up again after a sudden eruption earlier this month left 48 people dead and 36 missing in villages that were buried in layers of mud. Indonesia’s geological

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The California Coastal Commission has approved a plan to poison invasive mice threatening rare seabirds on the Farallon Islands National Wildlife Refuge. The agency voted Thursday night to approve a plan to drop poisoned bait from helicopters onto the rocky islands off the San Francisco coast that are home to hundreds

SEATTLE (AP) — Voters in Seattle have retained socialist Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant, the controversial lawmaker and long-time foe of hometown tech giant Amazon. Sawant had faced a recall effort. King County Elections on Friday officially certified the Dec. 7 recall election, showing Sawant narrowly prevailing with 50.4% voting “no” on the recall question

By The Associated Press As 2021 comes to a close, Roe v. Wade — the historic 1973 Supreme Court ruling establishing a nationwide right to abortion — is imperiled as never before. The conservative-leaning Supreme Court has indicated in arguments that it would uphold Mississippi’s ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, and may

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — In a story published Dec. 16, 2021, about new workplace pandemic rules in California, The Associated Press erroneously reported that the rules taking effect in January erase distinctions between vaccinated and unvaccinated employees after close contact with someone who is infected. Unvaccinated employees still must quarantine, while vaccinated employees do not. 

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The family of an Oakland, California, man who died after police held him down has filed a wrongful death lawsuit, contending officers asphyxiated him during a confrontation that drew protests and comparisons to the death of George Floyd. The federal lawsuit filed Friday names the city of Alameda, where Mario Gonzalez

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The jury that will weigh 11 charges of fraud and conspiracy against former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes finally got the case late Friday after a three-month trial that captivated Silicon Valley. The hand-off came after lawyers for the opposing sides wrapped up a second

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The mayor of Long Beach, California, launched a campaign for a U.S. House seat in Southern California, a day after long-serving Democratic Rep. Alan Lowenthal announced he would retire at the end of his term. Mayor Robert Garcia began his run with an video in which he dedicated his campaign to

By The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York state is reporting its highest single-day total for new COVID-19 cases, with just over 21,000 people testing positive for the virus. The state’s previous one-day high for positive tests came on Jan. 14, 2021, when just under 20,000 people tested positive. Just under half of

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The former Afghan government’s ambassador to the United Nations has resigned after the country’s current Taliban rulers sought to replace him with their own envoy. The U.N. says Ghulam Isaczai informed the world body Thursday that he stepped down the day before. Afghanistan’s U.N. Mission tweeted that another diplomat, Naseer Faiq,

By The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — New York state is reporting its highest single-day total for new COVID-19 cases, with just over 21,000 people testing positive for the virus. The state’s previous one-day high for positive tests came on Jan. 14, 2021, when just under 20,000 people tested positive. Just under half of

By ANGELO FICHERA and SOPHIA TULP Associated Press Jake West was a seemingly healthy 17-year-old before he collapsed during football practice and died of sudden cardiac arrest. It happened in 2013, years before the coronavirus pandemic — but that hasn’t stopped headlines about his death from being misappropriated in a widely shared video seeking to

By PETER SMITH and CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN Associated Press All the former hostages from a U.S.-based missionary group kidnapped in Haiti have been flown out of the country after a two-month ordeal and are “doing reasonably well.” That’s according to a statement Friday by the head of Christian Aid Ministries, the Ohio-based missions organization. David Troyer,

FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) — Time is of the essence for the Salvation Army in New Mexico now that the Grinch has thrown a wrench into the group’s holiday toy program. A van loaded with $6,000 worth of toys set to be passed out to hundreds of children on Monday was stolen this week from a

By ALEXANDRA JAFFE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris has gotten into a testy exchange with media host Charlamagne Tha God, defending President Joe Biden from questions over roadblocks to passage of his social spending package. Harris sat for a taped interview with Charlamagne airing Friday night on Comedy Central’s “Tha God’s

By AMY FORLITI and SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The suburban Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed Black motorist Daunte Wright said she’s sorry it happened. Kim Potter was the last witness Friday before the defense rested in her trial. She’s charged with manslaughter in Wright’s death during an April 11 traffic