AP National News

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares are mostly lower despite a rally on Wall Street after virtual talks between President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping. Benchmarks in Japan, South Korea and Australia fell. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell but the Shanghai Composite rose. The talks between Biden and Xi

By KEN RITTER Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — A federal judge in Las Vegas has begun a series of hearings about the constitutionality of the never-before-tried method and combination of drugs that prison officials want to use for Nevada’s first lethal injection in more than 15 years. U.S. District Judge Richard Boulware II on

By LISA BAUMANN Associated Press BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — As parts of western Washington began drying out after an atmospheric river dumped days of rain, waters in some areas continued rising, more people were urged to evacuate and crews worked to restore power and reopen roads. Officials in the small city of Sumas, Washington, near

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria’s state-run media says Israel has carried out an attack on the country’s south with two missiles targeting an empty house and causing no casualties. The state-run news agency SANA says the missiles came from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and aimed at the building south of the capital Damascus early Wednesday.

AURORA, Colo. (AP) — Police are asking the public for help in finding two vehicles believed to have been involved in a drive by shooting in a park near a suburban Denver high school that left six teenagers wounded. The victims in Monday’s shooting are boys and girls ranging in age from 14 to 18.

By EVA VERGARA Associated Press SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) —  The Chilean Senate has rejected an opposition-initiated impeachment process to remove President Sebastián Piñera over allegations that he favored the sale of a family property that hinged on the government not declaring the land a nature reserve. The lower house approved the impeachment charges, setting up

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea has reported 3,187 new cases of the coronavirus, nearly matching a one-day record set in September, a worrisome development in a country that eased social distancing rules in recent weeks to lessen the pandemic’s economic impact. Officials are now pushing to speed up the administration of booster shots

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Over 60 governments and 50 U.N. agencies and organizations have joined forces to press for restoration of school lunches to all 388 million primary school children who were receiving lunch before the COVID-19 pandemic. They also will push for school meals to be started for

BEIJING (AP) — China and the U.S. have agreed to ease restrictions on each other’s journalists amid a slight easing of tensions between the two sides. The announcement in the official China Daily newspaper on Wednesday says the agreement was reached ahead of Tuesday’s virtual summit between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles couple who were convicted of trying to steal $20 million in COVID-19 relief funds have been sentenced to federal prison, although they remain fugitives. A judge on Monday sentenced Richard Ayvazyan to 17 years and his wife, Marietta Terabelian, got six years. Prosecutors say they and others used

By DON THOMPSON Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A U.S. immigration judge in California says an Iraqi refugee initially accused of committing a killing for the Islamic State group is eligible to be deported because he lied on his immigration papers. However, Omar Ameen has several avenues for appeal. His attorneys say he faces

SIGOURNEY, Iowa (AP) — A 32-year-old Iowa man has been found guilty in the death of a Black man whose body was found burning in a ditch last year. Steven Vogel, of Grinnell, was convicted Tuesday of first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse. Prosecutors said he killed 44-year-old Michael Williams, whose body was found

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican Mark McCloskey, a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Missouri, has been photographed outside the courthouse where Kyle Rittenhouse was on trial for murder with two people flashing a sign associated with white supremacists. McCloskey and his wife were both in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Monday

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press The upcoming verdict in Kyle Rittenhouse’s murder trial for shooting three men during street unrest in Wisconsin comes against a backdrop of deep political divisions and expanded access to guns in the United States – factors that some fear could lead to more dangerous encounters. Everytown for Gun Safety says

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi state auditor says retired NFL player Brett Favre has missed a deadline to pay $228,000 in interest on welfare money he received for a public speaking contract he did not fulfill. Auditor Shad White says Tuesday he’s turning the matter over to the

By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s daughter says she will quit the real estate appraiser business following scrutiny over whether her mother used her influence to aid her application for an appraiser license. Noem’s daughter, Kassidy Peters, slammed a legislative inquiry in a letter that was

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Ohio man sent to prison for driving his car into a crowd of counterprotestors during a white nationalist rally in Virginia four years ago has lost his bid to appeal his conviction. The Court of Appeals of Virginia announced the opinion on Tuesday. James Alex Fields Jr. was convicted of

By JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — A University of Miami expert on financial crimes in Latin America was sentenced Tuesday to six months in prison for a career-ending decision to hide $3 million in proceeds from a corruption scheme run by a businessman connected to Venezuela’s socialist government. Bagley’s transition from writing textbooks

By KEVIN FREKING and LISA MASCARO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona is facing censure in the House over a violent video he posted online. The House will vote Wednesday on a resolution that would censure Gosar for tweeting an animated video that depicted him striking Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of

By MARCY GORDON AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s choice to lead enforcement of competition laws at the Justice Department has won Senate approval. The vote comes as Biden’s administration pursues action against outsized market power it has condemned in several industries, including Big Tech, health care, airlines and agriculture. The vote