AP National News

By LINDSEY TANNER AP Medical Writer New government autism numbers suggest more U.S. children are being diagnosed with the developmental condition and at younger ages. In an analysis of 2018 data released Thursday, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers found that among 8-year-olds, 1 in 44 had been diagnosed with autism. That compares with

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press While all eyes are on the new and little-understood omicron variant, the delta form of the coronavirus isn’t finished wreaking havoc in the U.S., sending record numbers of patients to the hospital in some states, especially in the Midwest and New England. The U.S. recorded its first known omicron infection

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press RANYA, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi Kurds seem to make up the majority of Middle Eastern migrants seeking to move to Europe these days. Although northern Iraq is more prosperous than the rest of the conflict-scarred country, growing unemployment and frustration over corruption forces many to consider the risky journey. Last

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A University of Florida professor has filed a grievance against the school, saying administrators told him he couldn’t use the worlds ‘critical’ and ‘race’ together in describing a new study concentration. The grievance filed last week by Prof. Chris Busey says administrators told faculty members doing

NEW YORK (AP) — United Nations headquarters in New York City has been locked down after a man was seen pacing nearby with what police said appeared to be a shotgun. A police spokesperson said hostage negotiators were speaking with the man, who appeared to be in his 60s. They hoped to resolve the situation

By LAURA UNGAR AP Science Writer Scientists are using human stem cells to create a structure that mimics a pre-embryo and can serve as a research alternative to a real one. They’re called “blastoids.” Researchers say they provide an efficient, ethical way to study human development and pursue biomedical discoveries in fertility and contraception. The

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — More than 60 organizations are urging the U.N. General Assembly to establish an investigative body to gather and preserve evidence of serious human rights violations during Yemen’s seven-year conflict – including possible war crimes and crimes against humanity. The organizations, including Amnesty International and Human

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel says people who aren’t vaccinated will soon be excluded from nonessential stores, restaurants and sports and cultural venues. The restrictions announced Thursday are part of an effort to curb coronavirus infections. New cases in Germany again topped 70,000 in a 24-hour period. Merkel

By MICHELLE L. PRICE and BOBBY CAINA CALVAN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Health officials say the omicron variant of the coronavirus has been found in a Minnesota man who attended an anime convention in New York City in November. Officials said Thursday that the man tested positive after returning home and that his

By DON BABWIN and SARA BURNETT Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Jussie Smollett’s legal team is suggesting a star state witness who testified about how the former “Empire” actor recruited him and his brother to stage a fake attack was trying to further his career and make money off the actor. A defense attorney asked

By LORI HINNANT and MARIA CHENG Associated Press PARIS (AP) — The global initiative to share coronavirus vaccines fairly already scaled back its pledge to the world’s poor once. Now, to meet even that limited promise, COVAX would have to deliver more than a million doses every hour until the end of the year. That

By CHARLENE PELE Associated Press MILAN (AP) — Travelers through Milan’s main train station can take a break this week among reproductions of murals by street artist Banksy. “The Word of Banksy — The Immersive Experience” opens Thursday in the Mosaics Gallery, on the rail level of Milan’s monumental Central Station. It features some of

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel says it’s halting the use of a controversial phone tracking technology to trace possible cases of the new coronavirus variant. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office said Thursday that emergency measures authorizing “cellular monitoring” to locate people infected by the omicron variant, and those who might have been in contact with those

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The United States, European Union, Britain and Canada have imposed simultaneous sanctions on dozens of officials, organizations and companies in Belarus. The EU is taking special aim at those accused of participating in a “hybrid attack” on the bloc using migrants. The four have targeted Belarus since

CAMDEN, Ala. (AP) — Residents of a west Alabama county are remembering a retired sheriff’s deputy who was killed in the line of duty. Madison “Skip” Nicholson retired from his job as a deputy with the Wilcox County Sheriff’s Department, but he never really left. He was still around the office many days, partly because

By LEE KEATH Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A senior international aid official says Afghanistan is being hit by multiple crises that are “progressively getting worse,” with drought, economic collapse and displacement all pushing the population into catastrophic hunger. Alexander Matheou, Asia-Pacific regional director for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red

By MARK SHERMAN and JESSICA GRESKO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — After hours of public arguments, the Supreme Court’s justices will now embark on a private debate over what to do about possibly drastic abortion limits for pregnant women in the U.S. The justices will talk it over this week and hold a preliminary vote.

TOWSON, Md. (AP) — Baltimore County police say they’ve solved a 40-year-old homicide of a teenage girl. The department announced Wednesday that DNA evidence has proven that John Anthony Petrecca Jr. killed Heather Porter, a 13-year-old girl whose body was found in a wooded area of Towson in September 1981. County detectives reviewed the case

BELLEFONTAINE NEIGHBORS, Mo. (AP) — A police detective and a suspect both died in a head-on collision of their vehicles near St. Louis following a police attempt to stop the suspect’s car. Police say the crash happened Wednesday afternoon after police tried to stop a car that had been reported stolen. The car sped off.

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (AP) — Utah police say a man wanted by police was fatally shot and two officers were wounded in a shootout in a suburban Salt Lake City convenience store parking lot. West Valley City police say Anei Joker was wanted in a robbery and rape investigation. Officers found him Wednesday night