AP National News

BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — Localized flooding in Washington state from another in a series of rainstorms doesn’t appear to be as severe as when extreme weather hit the region earlier in the month. People in the small communities of Sumas and Everson in northwest Washington had been asked to evacuate voluntarily Saturday night. Both towns

By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The FBI says Dayton mass shooter Connor Betts fantasized about mass shootings and murder-suicide for at least a decade before his 2019 attack that left nine dead. The FBI says Betts didn’t share specific details with friends or family about his fantasies. The

By ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is urging Americans to get vaccinated, including booster shots, as he seeks to quell concerns over the newly identified COVID-19 variant named omicron. But he said Monday he won’t be seeking any severe business or other widespread lockdown. The new variant is “a cause

By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press LANCASTER, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say four children including an infant and their grandmother have been found shot to death in a Southern California home and that the children’s father was arrested on suspicion of killing them. Police say the children’s mother found the bodies Sunday night in the city

By KIYOKO METZLER Associated Press VIENNA (AP) — Negotiators in Vienna have resumed talks over reviving Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, with the United States taking part at arms length as in previous rounds since the Trump administration pulled out of the accord three years ago. Hopes of quick progress were muted after

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press ASBURY PARK, N.J. (AP) — Opinions are flying about a cardboard Christmas tree display on the boardwalk of a Jersey Shore town where Bruce Springsteen cut his musical teeth. Asbury Park’s Convention Hall typically has a large fresh-cut Christmas tree in its grand open space. But this year, two local

By DAMIAN J. TROISE, STAN CHOE and PAUL WISEMAN AP Business Writers NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is steadying itself Monday from last week’s slide caused by the newest coronavirus variant, as investors wait for more clues about just how much damage it may do to the economy. The S&P 500 was 1.6% higher

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Carrie Meek is being remembered as a trailblazer, a descendent of a slave who became one of the first Black Floridians elected to Congress since Reconstruction. Politicians and public figures on Monday recalled Meek’s pioneering career, with many noting her devotion to working class families in

NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists have detected a rare species of whale southeast of New York City, and the federal government is using a voluntary protected zone to try to keep them safe. The whales are North Atlantic right whales. There are fewer than 350 of them left. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN and TALI ARBEL AP Business Writer Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has stepped down as CEO of the social media platform. He has been succeeded by Twitter’s current chief technology officer, Parag Agrawal. Dorsey will remain on the board until his term expires in 2022. Agrawal joined Twitter in 2011 and has been

By RAF CASERT and MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Nations around the world sought to keep the new omicron variant at bay with travel bans and further restrictions, even as it remains unclear what it means for the COVID-19 pandemic. Japan announced Monday it would suspend entry of all foreign visitors. New cases

By PAUL NEWBERRY AP National Writer Golf pioneer Lee Elder has died at the age of 87. Elder broke down racial barriers as the first Black golfer to play in the Masters and he paved the way for Tiger Woods and others to follow. Elder made history in 1975 at Augusta National, which had held

FAIRFIELD, Iowa (AP) — Two southeastern Iowa teenagers have pleaded not guilty to killing their high school Spanish teacher. Sixteen-year-olds Willard Noble Chaiden Miller and Jeremy Everett Goodale are charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the killing Nohema Graber in Fairfield. The 66-year-old Graber was reported missing on Nov. 2 and

By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press MILAN (AP) — Bryan Adams took a break Monday from his coronavirus quarantine in Milan to virtually unveil the 2022 Pirelli Calendar that he shot featuring fellow musicians including Iggy Pop, Cher and Jennifer Hudson.  Adams tested positive for the virus on Thursday after arriving in Milan for events surrounding

DETROIT (AP) — An American journalist who was recently freed after spending nearly six months in jail in military-ruled Myanmar helped light one of eight Hanukkah candles during a holiday celebration in downtown Detroit. Thirty-seven-year-old Danny Fenster joined elected and community leaders Sunday night for the “Menorah in the D” event marking the start of

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Decorations unveiled for Joe and Jill Biden’s first White House Christmas honor frontline workers who persevered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses, doctors, teachers, grocery store workers and others who stayed on the job are recognized in this year’s Gingerbread White House. It was made into a gingerbread

By MICHELLE L. PRICE and MARINA VILLENEUVE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi is joining a competitive primary race for New York governor that became wide open when Andrew Cuomo resigned. Suozzi told reporters at a virtual news conference Monday that he’s jumping into the 2022 race. The 59-year-old congressman

MOSCOW (AP) — The developer of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine says it will work on adapting it to the new omicron COVID-19 variant. The Gamaleya Institute and the Russian Direct Investment Fund that has bankrolled Sputnik V and its one-shot Sputnik Light version said in a statement Monday that the existing vaccine should be efficient

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain is extending its COVID-19 booster vaccine program to millions more people as part of efforts to tackle the spread of the new omicron variant, which is feared to be more contagious and vaccine resistant. The British government said Monday that it would accept in full the

By FRANCIS KOKUTSE Associated Press ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Ghana’s government is ordering access to beaches, restaurants, night clubs and stadiums be limited to people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19, as part of its efforts to fight the spread of the virus. Ghana’s health service director-general Patrick Kuma-Aboagye said that while the omicron variant