AP National News

SEATTLE (AP) — The vote in a recall effort against a socialist Seattle City Councilmember has tightened considerably as more mail ballots are counted. That means it will take least another day to determine whether the controversial lawmaker will be ousted or keep hear seat. Kshama Sawant Sawant is a 48-year-old economics professor and the

By DAVID PITT Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday issued a strong condemnation of the way Iowa treats people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, telling the state it must find ways to care for people in community settings and not in institutions or be sued. A federal

By SARAH RANKIN Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Republican Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin is promising to use his executive powers to withdraw the commonwealth from a multistate carbon cap-and-trade program he says has overburdened ratepayers and businesses. Youngkin said during a speech Wednesday that he would pull Virginia out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas

By LARRY NEUMEISTER and TOM HAYS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A former boyfriend of a woman who says she was paid to give sexual favors to Jeffrey Epstein starting at age 14 corroborated parts of her account at the sex trafficking trial of the millionaire’s longtime companion, Ghislaine Maxwell. The man said Wednesday

By SARAH RANKIN Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A recount for a Virginia state House seat has upheld the Republican candidate’s victory in last month’s election. The win cements what will be a 52-48 majority for the GOP when the chamber convenes in January. A court certified Wednesday that Republican A.C. Cordoza had defeated

By DON BABWIN and SARA BURNETT Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — A jury has completed deliberations for the day in the trial of actor Jussie Smollett on charges he staged a racist, anti-gay attack on himself and lied to Chicago police about it. After a weeklong trial, the jury deliberated for about two hours Wednesday

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says he’s tested positive for the coronavirus while traveling in Washington D.C. Joyce, who is fully vaccinated, said in a Facebook post that he’d been experiencing mild symptoms and decided to get tested. He says he’ll remain in isolation

By GRANT SCHULTE Associated Press LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Researchers at the University of Nebraska smashed an 80,000-pound tractor-tanker into a concrete barrier in a test that could lead to safer, more cost-effective barriers throughout the United States. The high-speed safety experiment was part of an effort by the university’s Midwest Roadside Safety Facility to

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has sued the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. The chairman of the panel has pledged to move forward with contempt charges now that Meadows is no longer complying with a subpoena.

ROMEO, Mich. (AP) — A 41-year-old Michigan man has been arrested and accused of using chemical spray on law enforcement officers as part of a mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. The U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C., says Tim Boughner was charged with engaging in physical violence in a restricted building

By BRIAN SLODYSKO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Progressive Democrats are ratcheting up pressure on Speaker Nancy Pelosi to punish firebrand conservative Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado for her recent comments likening a Muslim member of Congress to a bomb-carrying terrorist. Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley appeared with roughly a dozen other progressives at a news

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — President Joe Biden is rebranding his bipartisan infrastructure package with the new slogan “Building a Better America.” The White House unveiled the slogan as Biden visited Kansas City, Missouri, on Wednesday to promote the new $1 trillion infrastructure law. The law’s spending will cover upgrades

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is poised to approve a resolution overturning the Biden administration’s requirement that businesses with 100 or more workers have their employees be vaccinated against the coronavirus or submit to weekly testing. The Democratic-led House is unlikely to take it up, which means the mandate would

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — Diplomatic boycotts of the Olympics aim to snub host nations while keeping athletes free to compete. A small cascade of government boycotts hit China on Wednesday, less than two months before the Beijing Olympics open. Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada followed the United States in

By BECKY BOHRER Associated Press JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Native corporations face a year-end deadline to use federal coronavirus relief funds that the U.S. Supreme Court in late June ruled they were entitled to. But an official with the Alaska Native Village Corporation Association says some corporations have yet to receive funds and others

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials have authorized a new COVID-19 antibody drug for people with serious health problems or allergies who can’t get adequate protection from vaccination. The Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use Wednesday to the drug combo made by AstraZeneca. The drug could benefit cancer patients,

By AMY FORLITI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jurors at the manslaughter trial for the former suburban Minneapolis police officer who said she mistakenly drew her handgun when she fatally shot Daunte Wright will hear testimony about the kind of person he was – within limits. Prosecutors at the trial of Kim Potter intend to

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — A federal jury in Arkansas has begun deliberations in the trial of former reality TV star Josh Duggar, who is accused of receiving and possessing child pornography. The jury deliberated for five hours Wednesday, a week after the trial began, and will resume Thursday morning. Duggar faces up to 20 years

By ALAN FRAM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Pivotal Sen. Joe Manchin says he’d vote to uphold the Senate parliamentarian’s decision if she rules that immigration or other provisions should fall from Democrats’ huge social and environment bill. The remark by the moderate West Virginia Democrat underscores the uphill fight his party faces in keeping

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s highest court has delayed the state’s planned March 8 primary until May so state courts can review lawsuits claiming illegal gerrymandering. Wednesday’s decision by the state Supreme Court comes after a state Court of Appeals panel initially blocked filing for legislative and congressional