AP National News

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Crown Prince Akishino, the emperor’s younger brother, has complained about harsh criticism of his daughter’s recent marriage and suggested that the imperial family should be allowed to refute false and extreme attacks. Currently, members of the family are generally expected to stoically weather any criticism with

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Atlanta voters are deciding the mayoral runoff between City Council President Felicia Moore and fellow council member Andre Dickens. The race leading up to Tuesday’s election has been largely focused on fears of crime. The two remaining candidates have also addressed concerns about affordable housing, struggling city

By DON THOMPSON Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California corrections officials have begun limiting medical parole only to inmates so ill they are on ventilators. They are citing a federal rule change as the reason inmates who are quadriplegic or have other severe permanent disabilities no longer can be placed in nursing homes. An

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Elena Ferrante adaptation “The Lost Daughter” won four Gotham Awards including best feature film at the 31st Gotham Awards, the annual New York independent film celebration that serves as a boozy kickoff to Oscar season. Gyllenhaal won breakthrough director and best screenplay for

By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press LANCASTER, Calif. (AP) — A father suspected of killing his four children and his mother-in-law is facing his first court appearance. Twenty-nine-year-old Germarcus David was jailed Sunday night after turning himself in to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department shortly after his wife discovered the bodies of their children and

By NOMAAN MERCHANT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers will try to persuade a federal appeals court to stop Congress from receiving call logs, drafts of speeches and other documents related to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol led by his supporters. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — A court in Myanmar has postponed its verdict in the trial of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to allow testimony from an additional witness, a senior member of her political party. A legal official says the court agreed with a defense motion that it allow the

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, attended a ceremony that began late Monday and

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ and MARTHA IRVINE Associated Press ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Next to a North Texas day care center is a site where Total Energies is pumping for natural gas. The French energy giant wants to drill three new wells on the property next to the center, which serves mainly Black and Latino children.

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN Associated Press TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — If Xiomara Castro’s wide lead in Honduras’ presidential election holds, her leftist government could present opportunities for a Biden administration. It has struggled with how to work on the country’s problems while keeping current President Juan Orlando Hernández at arm’s length. There will be some painful

By DON BABWIN and SARA BURNETT Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Testimony is set to begin in the trial of ex-“Empire” actor Jussie Smollett. Prosecutors said at Smollett’s trial in Chicago on Monday that he staged a homophobic and racist attack in January 2019. But his defense attorney says Smollett is “a real victim” of

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Attorneys have begun sifting through potential jurors for the trial of a suburban Minneapolis police officer who says she meant to use her Taser instead of her gun when she killed Daunte Wright, a Black motorist. They were expected to take a hard look at the potential

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Authorities in Mexico say gunmen pulled up in a boat and shot a man to death on a popular beach in the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco. Police in the southern state of Guerrero said the shooting attack occurred Monday at the Majahua beach in Puerto Marques, just off Acapulco’s main

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s conservative opposition party has chosen former businessman and political novice Christopher Luxon as its new leader, as it tries to rebuild from a huge election loss last year and continued infighting. Luxon is a close friend of former Prime Minister John Key and

BEIJING (AP) — A survey shows China’s manufacturing activity rebounded in November as orders improved and power shortages eased. An industry group and the national statistics agency said a monthly purchasing managers’ index rose to 50.1 from October’s 49.2 on a 100-point scale. The index spent the previous two months below 50, which shows activity

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — A court in Myanmar is preparing to issue its verdict in the trial of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi on charges of spreading information that could disturb public order and violating coronavirus restrictions. It is the first court verdict for the 76-year-old Nobel laureate since the

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer LSU is hiring Brian Kelly away from Notre Dame. It is a stunning move by one of the most accomplished coaches in college football jumping from the sport’s most storied program to a SEC powerhouse. A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press that Kelly

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares are mixed as investors continue to cautiously weigh how much damage the new omicron coronavirus variant may unleash on the global economy. Benchmarks in Japan and Australia rose, but shares fell in South Korea. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was trading lower, while the Shanghai