AP National News

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press PARIS (AP) — A far-right former TV pundit with multiple hate-speech convictions has officially entered the race for France’s presidency. The launch of Eric Zemmour’s candidacy made official a campaign that had been gathering steam for months before it stumbled of late. Zemmour warned supporters in a video on Tuesday

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Jury selection is set to begin in former reality TV star Josh Duggar’s trial over federal child pornography charges. Duggar’s trial starts Tuesday in federal court in Arkansas. Duggar was charged in April with two counts of downloading and possessing child pornography. Duggar appeared in TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting.” A

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — The head of a team of vets is calling for urgent medical care for a pair of elephants in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi. Tuesday’s statement by Dr. Frank Goeritz comes after he and his colleagues examined four elephants at a zoo and a park. Four Paws, a global animal welfare

PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech Republic’s outgoing and incoming prime ministers have put aside their differences to support an initiative to administer 1 million COVID-19 booster shots in a week. Outgoing Prime Minister Andrej Babis and Prime Minister-designate Petr Fiala voiced their support Tuesday for the plan announced by the “Doctors help the Czech Republic”

By DAVID KEYTON and LORNE COOK Associated Press RIGA, Latvia (AP) — NATO foreign ministers are warning Russia that any attempt to further destabilize Ukraine would be a costly mistake. Concern is mounting that Russia could be preparing an invasion of Ukraine. Moscow denies that, but NATO is worried about a Russian buildup of heavy

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama woman who says she was falsely arrested for shoplifting at a Walmart and then threatened by the company after her case was dismissed has been awarded $2.1 million in damages. A Mobile County jury on Monday ruled in favor of Lesleigh Nurse of Semmes. AL.com reports her lawsuit said

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Official figures show that consumer prices across the 19 countries that use the euro currency are rising at a record rate. The European Union’s statistics agency said Tuesday that the eurozone’s annual inflation rate hit 4.9% in November, largely as a result of a huge spike in

By AMRITA JAYAKUMAR of NerdWallet If your finances are in better shape this giving season, you can be more strategic with your dollars. The same causes you felt strongly about last year may not be on your priority list now. Start by writing down the top two or three issues that matter most to you

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Dutch health authorities say the omicron variant was already in the Netherlands when South Africa alerted the World Health Organization about it last week. Tuesday’s announcement is adding to fear and confusion over the new version of the coronavirus in a weary world hoping it had left

MADRID (AP) — Spanish fashion giant Inditex says the founder’s daughter has been named as the next chairperson of the company that owns Zara, Massimo Dutti and other clothing chains. Inditex said Tuesday that its board of directors named Marta Ortega to replace Pablo Isla, who has led the company since founder Amancio Ortega stepped

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — Authorities say the bodies of four people were found in a northeastern Indiana home following a report of shots being fired inside the residence. Allen County sheriff’s Cpl. Adam Griffith says law enforcement responded about 9 p.m. Monday and medics confirmed that the four were dead just northwest of Fort

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s medical agency chief said Tuesday that it is ready to deal with the new omicron variant, and that it will take two weeks to have an indication whether the current COVID-19 vaccines will be able to deal with it.  Emer Cooke, the Executive Director

By DÁNICA COTO Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Barbados has stopped pledging allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II as it shed another vestige of its colonial past and became a republic for the first time in history. Several leaders, dignitaries and artists, including Prince Charles and Rihanna, attended a ceremony that stretched into

By CARLEY PETESCH Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Uganda’s army has launched joint air and artillery strikes against the Allied Democratic Forces rebel group in eastern Congo. Uganda People’s Defense Forces spokeswoman Brig. Gen. Flavia Byekwaso said via Twitter that the operations were carried out with Congo’s military against ADF camps. No further details

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The head of Britain’s foreign intelligence agency says China, Russia and Iran pose three of the biggest threats facing the U.K. in a fast-changing, unstable world. MI6 chief Richard Moore says the three countries and international terrorism make up the “big four” security issues confronting Britain’s spies.

PARIS (AP) — Dutch health authorities have announced that they found the new omicron variant of the coronavirus in cases dating back 11 days, indicating that it was already spreading in western Europe before the first cases were identified in southern Africa. Japan and France have confirmed their first cases of the new variant of

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — A former member of the Islamic State group has been convicted by a German court of genocide and committing a war crime over the death of a 5-year-old Yazidi girl he had purchased as a slave and then chained up in the hot sun to die.  The

COPENHAGEN, Denmark. (AP) — Sweden’s first female prime minister has presented her one-party minority government with only a few changes compared to her previous Cabinet. Magdalena Andersson had been Sweden’s finance minister and she picked Mikael Damberg to replace her in that role Tuesday. Damberg previously had been home affairs minister. Andersson is the leader

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — The United Kingdom’s antitrust watchdog has blocked Facebook’s acquisition of Giphy and ordered the social network to sell off the GIF-sharing platform. It said Tuesday that the deal hurts social media users and advertisers by stifling competition for animated images. The Competition and Markets Authority says

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British airline easyJet says it’s already seeing some impact on demand from the new omicron variant of the coronavirus in the days since it was first identified. The airline also revealed another full-year loss in excess of 1 billion pounds Tuesday. It says it’s seen signs that