AP National News

By BEN FINLEY Associated Press VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — A grand jury has found that a Virginia Beach police officer was justified in fatally shooting a Black man armed with a gun during a chaotic night of violence on the city’s oceanfront. The death of Donovon Lynch has drawn heightened scrutiny because he is

By ROB GILLIES Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Canada is banning foreign nationals from three more countries because of concerns with the omicron COVID-19 variant and all air travelers coming to the country apart from the United States will have to be tested for COVID-19 upon arrival and will have to isolate themselves until they

Associated Press JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A former football player at the University of Central Florida was fatally shot during an altercation with his father. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that Otis Anderson Jr. was killed late Monday during the fight with his father, Otis Anderson Sr., at his parents’ home. Authorities say the

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health advisers have endorsed an antiviral drug from Merck to treat COVID-19. It sets the stage for an expected authorization of the first pill that Americans could take at home for the coronavirus. A Food and Drug Administration panel voted that the drug’s benefits in

By MIKE HOUSEHOLDER and RYAN KRYSKA Associated Press OXFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Authorities say a 15-year-old sophomore opened fire at his Michigan high school on Tuesday, killing three students, including a 16-year-old boy who died in a deputy’s patrol car on the way to a hospital. Eight other people were wounded, some critically. Oakland

By CURT ANDERSON AP Legal Affairs Writer BELLEAIR BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Police say serial Florida bank robber once dubbed the “I-4 bandit” has been arrested for a new holdup just months after his release from prison. Authorities said Tuesday that 55-year-old David Marc Ratcliff was caught after a chase in the Gulf coast town

By JOHN FLESHER AP Environmental Writer Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is abandoning a lawsuit aimed at shutting down an oil pipeline that runs through part of the Great Lakes. But she says the state will continue pursuing a separate case with the same goal. Michigan and Enbridge Energy sued each other last year over the

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health advisers have narrowly endorsed an antiviral drug from Merck to treat COVID-19. It sets the stage for an expected authorization of the first pill that Americans could take at home for the coronavirus. A Food and Drug Administration panel voted Tuesday that the drug’s

By RAF CASERT and CARLA K. JOHNSON Associated Press Brazil and Japan joined the rapidly widening circle of countries to report cases of the omicron variant, while new findings indicate the mutant coronavirus was already in Europe close to a week before South Africa sounded the alarm. It highlights the difficulty in containing the virus

By JESSICA GRESKO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court justices considering a major abortion case Wednesday will hear from just three lawyers: one representing the state of Mississippi, another representing Mississippi’s only abortion clinic and the last representing the Biden administration. The three are scheduled to appear before the justices for just over an

By ROB GILLIES Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Canada is banning foreign nationals from three more countries because of concerns with the omicron COVID-19 variant and all air travelers coming to the country apart from the United States will have to be tested for COVID-19 upon arrival and will have to isolate themselves until they

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell took a sharp and unexpected turn Tuesday toward tightening credit for consumers and businesses in the face of mounting concerns about high inflation. Powell signaled that the Fed will likely act more quickly to phase out its ultra-low-interest rate policies even

By GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers for a handful of states say members of the Sackler family who own OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma are abusing the bankruptcy process. They asked a federal judge Tuesday in New York to throw out a settlement between the company and thousands of other government entities

By MAURICIO SAVARESE Associated Press SAO PAULO (AP) — Health officials in Brazil have reported the country’s first confirmed cases of the omicron variant in two travelers returning from South Africa, the first such cases in Latin America. The Sao Paulo state health secretariat said a 41-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman are in isolation.

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court is directing the Justice Department to disclose certain redacted passages from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation report that relate to individuals who were investigated by prosecutors but not ultimately charged. The ruling came in a public records complaint from the news organization

By TERRY SPENCER Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The Democratic Florida congressional candidate who lost a special election primary by five votes has filed lawsuits asking that the result be thrown out. Dale Holness alleges Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick’s support of a proposal that would pay most U.S. adults $1,000 a month was an attempt

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma’s Pardon and Parole Board has denied clemency for a man convicted of killing two Del City hotel workers in 2001. The panel voted 4-1 on Tuesday against the clemency recommendation for 45-year-old Donald Grant. Two members of the panel who rejected clemency noted the particularly

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — The longtime president of Belarus says his country would be ready to host Russian nuclear weapons if NATO moves U.S. atomic bombs from Germany to Eastern Europe. In an interview on Tuesday, President Alexander Lukashenko also said for the first time that he recognizes the Crimean Peninsula

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — The European Commission has retracted internal communication guidelines that had proposed substituting the “Christmas period” with “holiday period” after an outcry by conservatives. The European Commissioner for Equality said the draft document had been intended to highlight European diversity and showcase the “inclusive nature of the European Commission.”

By ROBERT BURNS AP National Security Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says no member of the National Guard will be allowed to participate in drills or other training required to maintain their status in the Guard unless they are vaccinated against COVID-19 or are given an exemption. Austin spelled out the policy