AP National News

By PATTY NIEBERG Associated Press/Report for America DENVER (AP) — The U.S. military’s new Southern Command Gen. Laura Richardson says she’s focused on strengthening military relationships with South American countries despite fraught politics. Richardson is the highest ranking female in the U.S. Army and was in Denver on Friday to speak at a graduation ceremony

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer SAN JOSE, Calif (AP) — A lawyer for former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes on Friday capped off his attempt to convince a a jury to acquit her of fraud charges by likening her final days running the troubled blood-testing startup to a captain valiantly trying to save a sinking

By TOM HAYS and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — After 12 days of testimony over three weeks, jurors heard from the final witnesses in the Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking trial. The British socialite told the judge Friday she wouldn’t testify because she was confident prosecutors hadn’t proved their case. Closing arguments are

A school bus crashed on a rural southeast Texas road, killing an adult bus aide and injuring the driver and three students, one seriously. The Texas Department of Public Safety says the Hempstead school district bus with four students and two adults aboard rolled over at 12:10 p.m. Friday on Farm-to-Market Road 1887, about 45

By CAROLYN THOMPSON Associated Press BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The National Labor Relations Board has confirmed a vote to form a union at a Starbucks store in Buffalo. That means the coffee retailer, for the first time, will have to bargain with organized labor at a company-owned U.S. store. The union has filed objections in

By DON THOMPSON Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he will seek more than $300 million in state funding over three years to boost law enforcement efforts to combat retail theft. The state has been stung by recent headline-grabbing smash-and-grab robberies. Newsom on Friday proposed giving $255 million in grants

BY JENNIFER PELTZ and BOBBY CAINA CALVAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. officials intensified calls for unvaccinated Americans to get inoculated in the face of the new omicron variant that contributed to a record number of infections in New York and threatened to wipe out a second holiday season in Europe. Friday had

By SARA BURNETT Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois’ governor has signed legislation to repeal a requirement that parents or guardians be notified when girls younger than 18 are seeking an abortion. Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker says it’s an effort to safeguard reproductive rights that are being stripped and threatened elsewhere. The bill Pritzker signed

ATLANTA (AP) — The U.S. Olympic team’s airline partner will charter a flight from Los Angeles to Beijing to bring about half the American athletes to the Winter Olympics. U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland said it had reached a deal with Delta Air Lines to bring between 80 and 100 Olympians straight

By MARGARET STAFFORD Associated Press Authorities say two men have died in wildfires that erupted across Kansas earlier this week. Leoti officials say 84-year-old rancher and farmer Richard Shimanek died at a hospital after being burned while trying to fight a fire near his home on Wednesday. And the Ellis County sheriff’s office says the

SEATTLE (AP) — Aerospace giant Boeing says it’s suspending a company vaccination requirement for all U.S.-based employees. The Seattle Times reports the company adopted a COVID-19 vaccine mandate in October to ensure compliance with the federal executive order that required all employees of federal contractors to be vaccinated. The mandate faced opposition from a vocal

By DAISY NGUYEN Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The mayor of San Francisco declared a state of emergency on Friday in the Tenderloin to bring down overdose deaths and violent crime in one of the city’s poorest and most drug-infested neighborhoods. Mayor London Breed said rapid drug intervention is needed because about two people

BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore police say they’ve arrested and charged two men in an ambush shooting that critically wounded a Baltimore police officer this week and a second shooting soon afterward that left a man dead. Police Commissioner Michael Harrison announced Friday that police have arrested Elliot Knox and Travon Shaw. He said the two

By BABACAR DIONE Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Several hundred demonstrators have taken to the streets of Senegal’s capital, accusing the government of treating opposition figures unfairly. The protesters said Friday that opponents of President Macky Sall have been subjected to lengthy detentions. There was no immediate response from the government, though Sall has

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer SAN JOSE, Calif (AP) — A lawyer for former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes on Friday capped off his attempt to convince a a jury to acquit her of fraud charges by likening her final days running the troubled blood-testing startup to a captain valiantly trying to save a sinking

NEW YORK (AP) — Ken Kragen, a top entertainment producer, manager and philanthropist who turned to such clients as Lionel Richie and Kenny Rogers in helping to organize the 1985 all-star charity single “We Are the World,” has died. He was 85.  A statement released by his family says Kragen died at his home in

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM Associated Press Federal environmental officials have announced a $1 billion infusion to the Superfund program. The money comes from the infrastructure bill that President Joe Biden recently signed into law. It’ll help officials tackle a backlog of highly polluted Superfund sites in 24 states. Nearly 50 toxic waste sites will be cleaned up,

By MARK THIESSSEN Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The newly crowned Miss America has made history. When 20-year-old Emma Broyles was crowned Thursday, she became the first Korean American and the first Alaskan to hold the title. She tells The Associated Press she was sure they had it wrong when the emcee read Alaska

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s major population centers of Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area have both lost population in the same year for the first time. California lost 173,000 people in the year ending July 1. It’s the second time ever the state has reported an annual