AP National News

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has embraced “Let’s go Brandon.” The Republican governor’s campaign said they picked the small Tampa suburb of Brandon as the place for his signing of a bill opposing White House vaccine mandates Thursday, trolling President Joe Biden by referring to what has become a popular stand-in for

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has announced he is commuting the death sentence of condemned inmate Julius Jones, just hours before his scheduled execution. Stitt announced his decision on Thursday to commute Jones’ sentence to life in prison with no chance of parole. The state’s Pardon and

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Germany has approved new measures to rein in record coronavirus infections as Chancellor Angela Merkel has called the pandemic situation in the country “really worrying” and demanded “consequent action” to contain the spread of the virus. Merkel held a videoconference with Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Germany’s

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — Hundreds of pastors are rallying at the Georgia courthouse where three white men are on trial in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery. The mostly Black group gathered Thursday in response to a defense lawyer’s bid to keep Black ministers out of the courtroom. Many carried signs

By JEROME PUGMIRE AP Auto Racing Writer Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton says Formula One is “duty bound” to raise awareness of human rights issues as the series closes its season in the Middle East. F1 concludes with races in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. It has also raced since 2004 in Bahrain. Ahead

By DENISE LAVOIE AP Legal Affairs Writer CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. (AP) — Lawyers for nine people hurt during the “Unite The Right” rally in Charlottesville have told a jury that white nationalists “planned, executed and then celebrated” racially motivated violence that left one counterprotester dead and dozens more injured. The closing arguments came Thursday in the

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Two suspected Iranian computer hackers have been charged in a broad campaign of election interference aimed at intimidating American voters during last year’s presidential race and undermining confidence that the results of the contest could be trusted. Prosecutors say the activities exploited not only computer vulnerabilities but

CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s chief of police says security forces are using legal means to contain anti-coup protests in the country. He spoke a day after doctors said at least 15 people were killed by live fire during Wednesday’s demonstrations against last month’s military takeover. It was the highest daily count of people killed since

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Olympic officials have met with Taliban-appointed sports leaders from Afghanistan. The IOC says the talks led to a commitment that Afghanistan’s athletes and teams will continue to compete internationally. The outcome could mean Afghan athletes will compete at the Beijing Olympics in February. Hundreds of athletes and sports officials have left

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell surely expected to have some breathing room after taking the first step this month to dial back the Fed’s emergency aid for the economy. Just a week later, though, the government reported that consumer prices grew over the previous 12 months

By ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is signing an executive order aimed at limiting turnover for federal service contract workers by offering them right of first refusal when a contract changes hands. Under the order signed Thursday, when a federal service contract is transferred from one contractor to another, employees

By ZEINA KARAM, DARIA LITVINOVA and YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Hundreds of Iraqis have returned home from Belarus after abandoning their hopes of reaching the European Union in a repatriation that follows more than a week of tensions at Poland’s eastern border, where thousands of migrants were stuck in a cold and

By DAVE KOLPACK Associated Press FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A 35-year-old man has been charged with three counts of murder in the shooting deaths at a Fargo factory of a man and a woman who was eight months pregnant. Anthony Reese Jr., of Moorhead, Minnesota, is charged with killing 43-year-old Richard Pittman, 32-year-old April Carbone

By TOM DAVIES Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The company that runs the Kentucky Derby has been picked to take over the stalled project to build a casino in the western Indiana city of Terre Haute. Indiana Gaming Commission members voted Wednesday in favor of Louisville, Kentucky-based Churchill Downs Inc. over three other companies that

By ALAN FRAM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided House is debating Democrats’ expansive social and environment bill. Party leaders hope that cost estimates expected from Congress’ top fiscal analyst will nail down moderate lawmakers’ votes and allow passage by week’s end. Two weeks ago, centrists’ objections forced Democrats to delay the measure. But

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A detective in Florida investigating the disappearance of Carole Baskin’s second husband says that the “Tiger King” star has three times refused requests for interviews. He says the probe is ongoing. Cpl. Moises Garcia of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Tampa on Thursday provided an update on the investigation into

By BRYAN ANDERSON Associated Press/Report for America RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina congressman G.K. Butterfield, a Democrat, has announced he’ll retire from Congress next year after Republican-drawn map put him in a toss-up district. Butterfield is the second Democratic North Carolina congressman to decide against a reelection bid. Rep. David Price announced last month

By HOLLY RAMER Associated Press CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu has denounced a conservative group’s offer to pay $500 to the first person who “catches” a public school teacher violating New Hampshire’s new limits on the discussion of systemic racism and other topics. The budget the Republican governor signed in June

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Attorneys for Julius Jones have filed a last-minute emergency request seeking a temporary stop to his execution scheduled for Thursday afternoon. Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt has kept quiet about his decision on whether he will grant clemency. The request says Oklahoma’s lethal injection procedures post a

By The Associated Press The Academy of Country Music awards show is getting a NFL-sized upgrade next year, moving to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The country music awards show will be held on March 7 and exclusively live-streamed on Amazon Prime Video. The ACM Awards show was held for several years in the MGM