AP National News

By JOCELYN GECKER Associated Press The Los Angeles public school system became the latest in California to delay a deadline for mandatory student COVID-19 vaccinations. The board of the Los Angeles Unified School District voted Tuesday night to postpone a Jan. 10 deadline until fall 2022 for all students 12 and older to be vaccinated.

By DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers Stocks rose steadily on Wall Street Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it would accelerate its pullback of economic stimulus and would likely raise interest rates three times next year to tackle rising inflation. The Fed will shrink its monthly bond purchases at twice the

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A government report says U.S. health care spending rocketed to $4.1 trillion last year as Congress opened the spigot of federal dollars to battle the coronavirus pandemic across multiple fronts. National health spending jumped by 9.7% in 2020, more than double the usual growth rate, with health

By LORNE COOK and RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is urging European Union leaders to swiftly impose new sanctions on Russia before it invades his country. He warns that acting after any conflict has started would be far too late. Zelenskyy says Ukraine stands ready to enter into talks

MADRID (AP) — Spanish health authorities are stepping up efforts to give out coronavirus vaccine shots before Christmas and end-of-the-year gatherings that usually bring large groups together. On Wednesday, the same day that the rollout of vaccines for 3.3 million children aged between 5 and 11 began across Spain and in several other European Union

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Archives has made public nearly 1,500 documents related to the U.S. government’s investigation into the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The disclosure of secret cables, internal memos and other documents satisfies a deadline set in October by President Joe Biden and is in

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has called critical race theory “crap” and says he’ll ask the Legislature to pass a bill banning it in his state’s schools. DeSantis made his announcement Wednesday before a cheering crowd. While the Florida Board of Education has already banned critical

WASHINGTON (AP) — Officials say a Florida man has been arrested on charges related to storming the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection and attacking a police officer. Court records show that 26-year-old Mason Joel Courson was arrested Tuesday in South Florida and charged with eight federal offenses. He made his initial court appearance

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Council has voted to pay $2.9 million to a woman who was handcuffed by police officers during a February 2019 raid of her home. The unanimous vote Wednesday to pay Anjanette Young was widely expected after the city and Young’s attorneys agreed to the settlement amount and a City Council

By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A powerful storm system ushered in strong winds, heavy rain and a chance of tornadoes on Wednesday, with temperatures posed to set record highs in some places only days before the official start of winter. Much of Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and parts of Missouri could

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli government says it is donating 1 million coronavirus vaccines to the U.N.-backed COVAX program. The Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that the AstraZeneca vaccines would be transferred to African countries in the coming weeks. It says the decision is part of Israel’s strengthening ties with African countries. COVAX is a

NEW YORK (AP) — The founder of the American Film Institute and son of Oscar-winning director George Stevens has a memoir coming out next year. George Stevens Jr.’s “My Place in the Sun” will be published May 17. Stevens’ father was known for such classics as “Shane,” Woman of the Year” and “A Place In

By PIERRE-RICHARD LUXAMA and EVENS SANON Associated Press CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti (AP) — Nelly Joseph picked through the twisted metal roofing, overturned furnishings and rubble of her charred home, unsure of where her dead son had been buried or where she would sleep after blasts from a flipped gas tanker destroyed their house. Late Monday night,

By DANICA KIRKA and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The U.K. recorded the highest number of confirmed new COVID-19 infections Wednesday since the pandemic began, and England’s chief medical officer warned the situation is likely to get worse as the omicron variant drives a new wave of illness during the Christmas holidays. Professor

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Nannies, house cleaners, gardeners and other San Francisco domestic workers must be given paid sick leave under a groundbreaking law approved by city leaders this week. The Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the legislation, which the San Francisco Chronicle says is the first of its kind in the U.S. The law

By The Associated Press If 2020 was a pandemic-induced pause, 2021 was when things started up again, albeit slowly and timidly. But that doesn’t describe this year’s eight Associated Press’ Breakthrough Entertainers of the Year: They seized their masks — and the moment. They are Damson Idris, Simu Liu, Rachel Zegler, Rauw Alejandro, Adrienne Warren,

By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The Associated Press says a freelance video journalist accredited to the AP in Ethiopia has been detained by police in the capital of Addis Ababa. Amir Aman Kiyaro was detained under the country’s new war-related state of emergency powers on Nov. 28 after returning home from

By BRUCE SCHREINER and KIMBERLEE KRUESI Associated Press FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Sisters from western Kentucky who worked at the only funeral home in their small town. A father and son from Florida who had traveled to Tennessee for a duck hunting trip.  A grandfather who “stole the show” when he was around his grandchildren.

By ANITA SNOW Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Attorneys for a Mexican woman who was shot in the head by a Border Patrol agent and survived have filed a claim against the U.S government as a precursor to a lawsuit. The claim by Marisol García Alcántara against U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the June

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress has sent President Joe Biden a $768.2 billion defense bill that makes landmark changes to the way the military handles sexual assaults and keeps women out of the draft. It also lays the groundwork for a new war memorial on the National Mall, to honor