AP National News

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A judge has convicted a white Kansas City police officer of involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the fatal shooting of a Black man in a case in which prosecutors said police planted evidence. Jackson County Judge Dale Youngs issued the verdict Friday against

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press DOHUK, Iraq (AP) — Hundreds of Iraqis have returned home after abandoning their journey to reach the European Union through Belarus, after they got stopped at the Polish border in a standoff that turned tense. Khari Hasan Kalo returned Thursday to northern Iraq with his wife, three young children and

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, MATTHEW PERRONE and MIKE STOBBE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is moving to open up COVID-19 booster shots to all adults, letting them choose another dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. Regulators authorized broader use of the shots Friday, seeking to simplify what has been a confusing list

By ROXANA HEGEMAN Associated Press BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge has ordered Kansas to suspend a new law prohibiting out-of-state groups from mailing advance ballot applications. The ruling sides with two national nonprofit groups who contend it disenfranchises voters. U.S. District Judge Kathryn Vratil granted on Friday the preliminary injunction against the

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A St. Louis couple who waved guns at demonstrators outside their home are seeking to keep their law licenses by arguing they were protecting their property from a violent mob. Mark and Patricia McCloskey made that argument in their response to a complaint seeking to have their law licenses suspended. They

By MICHAEL TARM, SCOTT BAUER and AMY FORLITI Associated Press KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Kyle Rittenhouse has been acquitted of all charges after testifying he acted in self-defense in the deadly Kenosha, Wisconsin, shootings that became a flashpoint in the nation’s debate over guns, vigilantism and racial injustice. The jury returned its verdict after close

FRUITLAND, Idaho (AP) — Police investigators in southwestern Idaho now say a 5-year-old boy missing since July was likely abducted. Fruitland Police Chief J.D. Huff said during a news conference Thursday that the search for Michael Vaughan won’t stop until the boy is found. Huff said no headway has been made despite exhaustive ground searches

By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State University has announced an initiative that would allow students to graduate debt-free after four years. The program known as the Scarlet and Gray Advantage will consist of increased scholarships, a paid internship program, more state and federal grants, and instruction in financial literacy. President

By LINDSEY TANNER AP Medical Writer Pregnant women with COVID-19 face increased chances for stillbirths compared with uninfected women. That’s according to a report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Friday. It involved 1.2 million deliveries from March 2020 through September 2021. Stillbirths were rare overall, totaling 8,154 among all deliveries.

By JOCELYN NOVECK AP National Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Three months after a damaging scandal forced the departure of its top leader, Time’s Up is announcing a “major reset,” pledging to rebuild from the ground up. The group also made public a report by an independent consultant which detailed structural flaws, muddled messaging, an

By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — A defense attorney in the murder trial over Ahmaud Arbery’s death is likening a large courthouse rally supporting the slain Black man’s family to a “public lynching” of the white defendants. Attorney Kevin Gough made the comments in again seeking a mistrial Friday, telling the judge

By MICHAEL TARM, SCOTT BAUER and AMY FORLITI Associated Press KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Kyle Rittenhouse has been acquitted of all charges after pleading self-defense in the deadly Kenosha, Wisconsin, shootings that became a flashpoint in the nation’s debate over guns, vigilantism and racial injustice. The jury came back with its verdict afer close to

By HOLLY RAMER Associated Press CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire lawmakers have accepted $22.5 million in federal COVID-19 vaccine funding that has sparked intense debate and angry protests for the last two months. The Joint Fiscal Committee in September tabled a request to spend the money to hire new workers to promote the vaccine

By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration is considering new measures to protect a ground-dwelling bird species once found across much of the U.S. West. The bird called the greater sage grouse suffered drastic declines in recent decades because of oil and gas drilling, grazing and other human pressures. Friday’s

By ZEKE MILLER Associated Press BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — The White House says President Joe Biden transferred power to Vice President Kamala Harris for one hour and 25 minutes while under anesthesia during a routine colonoscopy. Biden went early Friday to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for the colonoscopy and his first routine physical

By EUGENE GARCIA Associated Press INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Business is booming at a truck-driving academy in suburban Los Angeles amid a nationwide shortage of long-haul drivers. The California Truck Driving Academy in Inglewood has seen annual enrollment grow by almost 20% since last year, and has expanded to offering night classes. Experts credit the

CHICAGO (AP) — A man who was body-slammed by a Chicago police officer during a 2019 arrest has pleaded guilty to spitting into the officer’s face just before the incident. Thirty-one-year-old Bernard Kersh pleaded guilty Thursday to a misdemeanor count of battery. In exchange for his guilty plea, Cook County prosecutors dropped aggravated battery and

By The Associated Press The FBI’s confirmation Friday that it was looking at a former New Jersey landfill as a possible burial site for former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa is the latest development in a search that began when he disappeared in 1975. It’s a search and investigation that so far has turned up many

By EMILY SCHULTHEIS and KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press VIENNA (AP) — Austria has announced a national lockdown and a plan to mandate vaccinations as coronavirus infections hit a record high. The rising cases are forcing the government to walk back promises that strict shutdowns were a thing of the past. While the scope of the