AP National News

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX is aiming to launch its futuristic, bullet-shaped Starship to orbit in January. That’s the latest from SpaceX founder and Chief Executive Elon Musk. He provided the update Wednesday night during a space science conference held virtually. Musk isn’t betting on success for that

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it is extending through May a timeline to decide how or whether to proceed with proposed restrictions on mining in Alaska’s Bristol Bay region. The agency’s acting regional administrator says the extension will allow time to consider available information and determine the next steps, which

By LEAH WILLINGHAM Associated Press/Report for America JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has overturned the approval of a massive flood-control project in the south Mississippi Delta that officials said was erroneously greenlit in the final days of the Trump administration. EPA officials said the past administration’s November 2020 decision to approve

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N.’s special representative for Afghanistan is warning that the country is “on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe” and its collapsing economy is heightening the risk of extremism. Deborah Lyons said Wednesday that the United Nations predicts that 60% of Afghanistan’s 38 million people

BEIJING (AP) — The head of the women’s professional tennis tour is questioning the legitimacy of a retraction Chinese state media says was from a Grand Slam doubles champion who has accused a former top government official of sexual assault. WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon said that a statement attributed to Peng Shuai “only

By JOHN O’CONNOR AP Political Writer SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A report says the director of the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board was fired this fall after an investigation found that he improperly issued a law enforcement certificate to an unqualified local philanthropist who’s also the son of billionaire investor Warren Buffett. The

BY JACQUES BILLEAUD Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Phoenix officials agreed Wednesday to pay $5 million to settle a lawsuit over the January 2017 death of a Black man during an arrest attempt in which he cried out that he couldn’t breathe as officers held him down. The 7-2 vote by the City Council ends

By PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Maria Ressa says much still remains uncertain about her life one month after her historic Nobel Peace Prize win. The 58-year-old journalist was named the first Filipino to win the prestigious award. But she still faces jail time in the Philippines and is unsure when she’ll

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press PARCHMAN, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi has executed a man who pleaded guilty to killing his estranged wife and terrorizing their family. Wednesday night’s lethal injection of 50-year-old David Neal Cox was the state’s first execution in nine years. Cox pleaded guilty in 2012 to the shooting death of his

By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Search warrants have been unsealed in the investigation into South Dakota billionaire T. Denny Sanford. The search warrants show investigators looked into his email account in 2019. Law enforcement also sought search warrants on his cellular and internet service providers. The investigation into Sanford was

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Republicans have approved a sweeping bill to hobble coronavirus vaccine mandates in businesses. They rejected claims they were sacrificing public health to hand Gov. Ron DeSantis a win in his fight against White House virus rules. The lawmakers in the GOP-controlled statehouse expedited the measure

By SARA CLINE Associated Press/Report for America PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Officials in Oregon’s largest city have approved of an additional $5.2 million in police spending, including hiring more officers and buying body-worn cameras. A year ago, Portland’s police department underwent significant budget cuts amid demands to defund the police. The about- face Wednesday comes

By KEN MILLER Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board has voted to recommend clemency for a death row inmate after questioning the state’s execution methods. The board voted 3-2 Wednesday to recommend that Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt commute the sentence of 79-year-old Bigler Jobe Stouffer II to life without

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — An independent review has concluded that the Defense Department and its top leaders acted appropriately before and during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Some local and congressional leaders have asserted that the military did not respond quick enough as protesters breached the building.

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press PARCHMAN, Miss. (AP) — The head of Mississippi’s prison system says a man who killed his estranged wife in 2010 appeared calm and expressed remorse ahead of his scheduled execution. David Neal Cox is set to receive a lethal injection Wednesday evening at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.

By JIM MORRIS and ROB GILLIES Associated Press VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The Canadian Pacific coast province of British Columbia has declared a state of emergency following floods and mudslides caused by extremely heavy rainfall, and officials say they expect to find more dead people. Every major route between the Lower Mainland of British

By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota lawmakers have issued a subpoena to the former head of the state agency at the center of questions over whether Gov. Kristi Noem used her office to influence her daughter’s application for a real estate appraiser license. The Executive Board ratified a subpoena

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana’s governor says he will posthumously pardon Homer Plessy, whose 1892 arrest  for refusing to leave a “whites only” railroad car wound up putting “separate but equal” into U.S. law. Gov. John Bel Edwards says he wants relatives of both Plessy and the judge whom he sued in “Plessy v.

BUFFALO, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say remains found at a southwest Missouri home were those of a missing woman who was photographed partially nude inside a cage. Two men were charged Wednesday with first-degree murder in the death of 33-year-old Cassidy Rainwater. James Phelps and Timothy Norton were arrested in September after authorities say photos

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Three members of the Sikh community affected by a mass shooting at an Indianapolis FedEx facility in April are seeking compensation from the city over claims that local officials failed to pursue a court hearing that could have prevented the shooter from accessing guns used in the attack. An Oct. 12 letter