AP National News

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has brushed aside complaints about prosecutors’ move to shut down one of the country’s most prominent human rights groups, claiming that it listed Nazi collaborators among the victims of Soviet-era repression. Speaking during a video call Thursday with members of the Kremlin human rights council, Putin responded to

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Jill Biden says being first lady is “a little harder” than she imagined it would be. The revelation comes in an interview set to air on “CBS Sunday Morning.” The network released excerpts on Thursday. The first lady says her new role isn’t like a job that

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is moving ahead with a fast-track plan for raising the debt limit. A key hurdle was cleared on Thursday with the support of 14 Republicans and 50 Democrats, and that likely averts another last-minute rush to avoid a federal default. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer

HAZARD, Ky. (AP) — Police say a sheriff has been charged with assault after allegedly hitting a teenage girl while trying to break up a fight during a high school basketball game in eastern Kentucky. Kentucky State Police say in a statement that Owsley County Sheriff Brent Lynch is also part of Owsley County High

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE Associated Press DAVIS, Calif. (AP) — Food waste is California’s next target as the state seeks to lower greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. Banana peels, leftover veggies and other food scraps are among organic materials that emit methane as they decay in landfills. California wants to stop that by banning

MARQUETTE, Mich. (AP) — A Catholic diocese in Michigan is asking its pastors to deny baptism, confirmation and other sacraments to transgender and nonbinary people unless they have “repented,” a policy that’s possibly the most sweeping of its kind in the U.S. The guidance from the Diocese of Marquette also stipulates that transgender people may

By EMMA H. TOBIN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists say fossilized tracks from 120 million years ago show two-legged dinosaurs ran fast. The tracks from Spain join the ranks of one of the fastest known sets of dinosaur footprints. They also add to the growing evidence that two-legged meat-eating dinosaurs were highly agile.

By BRYAN ANDERSON Associated Press/Report for America RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker says he plans to remain in North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race through the end of the year. But the Republican is also considering returning to the U.S. House. He said he met with former President Donald Trump over the

By BRIAN WITTE Associated Press ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Gov. Larry Hogan has vetoed a redrawn Maryland congressional map. The Republican governor’s veto on Thursday sets the stage for potential veto overrides by the General Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats. Hogan says the map for the state’s eight U.S. House seats is drawn even

By LAURAN NEERGAARD and MIKE STOBBE Associated Press The U.S. is expanding COVID-19 boosters, opening a third dose of Pfizer’s vaccine to people as young as age 16. The U.S. and many other nations already urge adults to get a booster to pump up their immunity months after initial vaccination. In the U.S., the Pfizer

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) — A Texas jury has awarded a largely symbolic settlement of more than $301 billion in a lawsuit against a Corpus Christi bar. The suit stems from a 2017 crash that killed 59-year-old Tamra Kindred, her 16-year-old granddaughter Aujuni Anderson, and the other driver, Joshua Delbosque. Kindred’s daughters alleged Beer Belly’s

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chile’s President Sebastian Piñera has signed a law permitting same-sex couples to marry and adopt. The ceremony came a little more than six months after the conservative leader surprised many by saying he would smooth the way for a marriage equality law that had long been stuck in the nation’s Congress.

By BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA and FRANCESCA EBEL Associated Press TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A fire at Tunisia’s largest Islamist party’s headquarters in the capital Tunis Thursday killed one person and injured eighteen, authorities and the party said. The latter included a former prime minister who was hurt jumping out of a window. In a statement,

By CHRISTOPHER WEBER Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California woman faces criminal charges for telling her daughter “you better hit her” before the girl punched an opposing player in the head during a basketball game. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said Thursday the words were the “catalyst” for the attack. The punch

The Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Rapper Travis Scott says in an interview that he didn’t know that fans had died at his Astroworld festival in Houston until after his performance ended. In the interview with Charlamagne Tha God posted on Thursday, Scott said he paused the performance a couple of times but couldn’t hear

By DEE-ANN DURBIN and CAROLYN THOMPSON Associated Press BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Starbucks workers at a store in Buffalo, New York, voted to unionize on Thursday, a first for the 50-year-old coffee retailer in the U.S. and the latest sign that the labor movement is stirring after decades of decline. The National Labor Relations Board

By DEE-ANN DURBIN and CAROLYN THOMPSON AP Business Writer BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Starbucks workers have voted to unionize in Buffalo, New York over the company’s objections, pointing the way to a new labor model for the 50-year old coffee giant. The National Labor Relations Board said Thursday that workers voted 19-8 in favor of

By SYLVIE CORBET The Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French President Macron has vowed to work to make Europe “more powerful” as France’s turn in the European Union’s rotating six-month presidency starts Jan. 1 and overlaps with the country’s presidential election. Macron said Thrusday that France plans to use its EU tenure to promote “a

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press One casualty of this year’s congressional redistricting process across the country is the swing seat in a House district. Political lines are redrawn every 10 years to reflect population changes. Both parties, but especially Republicans, are trying to protect their congressional incumbents during the latest redistricting. To do that they’re