AP National News

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — The statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that drew violent protests to Charlottesville, Virginia, will be melted down and made into new art. The city decided to donate the bronze statue to an African American heritage center after a council meeting that stretched into Tuesday morning. The “Swords Into Plowshares”

By AAMER MADHANI and DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Russia’s Vladimir Putin are squaring off over the massive buildup of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border. The U.S. president is eager to use his video call with Putin to serve notice that Moscow will face economy-jarring sanctions if it

By CARLA K. JOHNSON AP Medical Writer An eight-year project to carefully repeat early but influential lab experiments in cancer research has reached a conclusion. About half the scientific claims didn’t hold up. The Reproducibility Project reported its results Tuesday. The team repeated 50 experiments from cancer biology papers published from 2010 to 2012 in

By ERIC TUCKER and MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — In an abrupt reversal, an attorney for former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows says Meadows will not cooperate with a House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, citing a breakdown in negotiations with the panel. Attorney George Terwilliger said in

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Judges at the United Nations’ top court have ordered Azerbaijan to protect all the prisoners it captured during the country’s war last year with neighboring Armenia and to prevent incitement of racial hatred against Armenians. The orders came at an early stage of a pair of cases Armenia and Azerbaijan

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press If the Supreme Court decides to overturn or gut the decision that legalized abortion, some fear that it could undermine other precedent-setting cases, including civil rights and LGBTQ protections. Legal scholars and advocates say overturning Roe v. Wade would have a bigger effect than most cases because it was reaffirmed

BEIRUT (AP) — A Lebanese court has cleared the way for the judge leading the investigation into last year’s massive blast at Beirut’s port to resume his work. It was suspended for more than a month following legal challenges by former officials who were charged. State-run National News Agency said an appeals court judge in

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has announced the completion of an enhanced security barrier around the Gaza Strip designed to prevent militants from sneaking into the country. The 65-kilometer (40-mile) barrier includes radar systems, maritime sensors and a network of underground sensors to detect militant tunnels. Existing fencing was replaced with a 6-meter (6.5-yard) high “smart

By RISDEL KASASIRA Associated Press KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Omicron cases have been confirmed in at least nine African countries, with some officials reporting that initial cases appear to be mild. Countries reporting omicron include: Botswana, Ghana, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe. South Africa remains the epicenter of the omicron outbreak,

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s health ministry has given the go-ahead for children between ages 5 and 11 to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The decision Tuesday comes amid a rise in coronavirus infections. The Spanish rollout is due to begin Dec. 15. That’s two days after the first of 3.2 million child vaccines arrive in Spain.

The Associated Press Stocks are off to a solid start on Wall Street Tuesday as investors continue to wager that the new variant of the COVID-19 virus won’t pose a big threat to the economy. The S&P 500 rose 1.4% in the first few minutes of trading, adding to its gains from a day earlier.

BRUSSELS (AP) — Thousands of Belgian health care workers have rallied in Brussels to voice their opposition to mandatory COVID-19 vaccines and to demand better working condition as a surge in new virus cases weighs heavily on hospitals. Brussels police said around 4,000 people took part in Tuesday’s march. The rally ended outside the Belgian

MOSCOW (AP) — Authorities and Russian media say a gunman opened fire in a Moscow government services center and killed two people, reportedly after being told to put on a face mask. Four other people were wounded. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Twitter that a suspect was detained. Sobyanin didn’t offer any details about

BERLIN (AP) — German investigators say a man suspected of killing his family and then himself left a note indicating that he was afraid of being arrested after procuring a fake vaccination certificate for his wife. The bodies of two 40-year-olds and their children aged 10, 8 and 4 were found with gunshot wounds at

By GLENN GAMBOA AP Business Writer Thousands of Airbnb hosts have agreed to house refugees as part of the online lodging marketplace’s philanthropic program to provide emergency temporary housing to those who need it. It’s a program so successful it is seen as a model for those working to resettle refugees and has become a

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — The city of Mobile, Alabama plans to celebrate its baseball and football hall of famers by erecting statues along its riverfront. The likenesses of local herods Hank Aaron, Willie McCovey, Satchel Paige, Billy Williams, and Ozzie Smith will be joined by football hall of famer Robert Brazile Jr. in Mobile’s Hall

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has written a children’s book about dyslexia. The book is titled “Ben & Emma’s Big Hit” and comes out on Tuesday. It tells the story of a young boy who uses baseball to cope with his dyslexia along with help from a

By JAMES BROOKS Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Workshops where non-professionals with a bug for fixing things can share equipment and experience with each other as well as the less handy are held on a regular basis in Denmark. The non-profit Repair Café Denmark stages up to 15 weekly “repair cafes” where volunteer repairers

MILAN (AP) — Carmaker Stellantis has announced a strategy to embed AI-enabled software in 34 million vehicles across its 14 brands. It hopes the tech upgrade will help it bring in 20 billion euros  in annual revenue by 2030. CEO Carlos Tavares on Tuesday heralded the move as part of a strategy that would transform

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $67.1 billion in October, the lowest in six months, after hitting a record high in September. A big rebound in exports helped to offset a much smaller rise in imports. The October deficit was 17.6% below the September record of