AP National News

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — A team from the U.N. nuclear agency has arrived in Japan to assess preparations for the release into the ocean of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant. Japanese officials say the experts are to meet with Japanese officials and visit the Fukushima Daiichi plant

By SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia has reopened its borders to fully vaccinated travelers two weeks earlier than originally planned, as it emerges from a lengthy lockdown bolstered by one of the world’s highest rates of immunization against COVID-19. The program allows visitors to skip quarantine measures if they are

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer Shares are mixed in Asia, with the specter of inflation weighing on sentiment. Shares rose in Tokyo and Seoul but fell in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Japan reported that its economy contracted in the July-September quarter amid tighter pandemic restrictions that hit consumer spending. China reported a mixed bag

By AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has held up his relationship with China’s Xi Jinping as an example of his heartfelt belief good foreign policy starts with building personal relationships. The two spent hours together when both were vice presidents traveling across the U.S. and China. But as the leaders

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The $1 trillion infrastructure bill that President Joe Biden signs into law represents a historic achievement at a time of deeply fractured politics. A splashy bipartisan signing ceremony is planned Monday on the White House lawn. But the compromises needed to bridge the political divide suggest that

By COLLIN BINKLEY and PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press A new survey finds that international students are returning to U.S. colleges in stronger numbers, but the rebound has yet to make up for last year’s historic declines. Nationwide, American colleges saw a 4% annual increase in international students this fall, but that follows a decrease of

By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi surprised advocates, and even many of her Democratic colleagues, when she revived a long-sought paid family and medical leave plan and said it would be part of a massive social and environmental spending bill in the House. Ahead of eventual votes in

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson is taking the state’s case against the nation’s three biggest drug distributors to trial Monday. Ferguson had rejected a half-billion-dollar settlement offer. He says they must be held accountable for their role in the opioid crisis. But his gamble isn’t without risk,

By RANDALL CHASE and MIKE CATALINI Associated Press A 9-year-old Dallas boy has died from injuries during a crowd surge at Astroworld, bringing the death toll from the Houston music festival to 10. Nine-year-old Ezra Blount, of Dallas, had been in a medically induced coma since Nov. 5. Ben Crump, an attorney representing the Blount

HOUSTON (AP) — A 9-year-old Dallas has become the youngest person to die from injuries sustained during a crowd surge at the Astroworld music festival in Houston. Ezra Blount of Dallas died Sunday at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, family attorney Ben Crump said. He was placed in a medically induced coma after he suffered

By DÉBORA REY and ALMUDENA CALATRAVA Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentine President Alberto Fernández has suffered a severe setback in  midterm elections held amid widespread anger over high inflation and rising poverty. The official count from Sunday’s voting indicates the president’s governing coalition will lose control of the Senate and is threatened

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — A stock exchange set up in the Chinese capital to serve entrepreneurs has opened trading with 81 companies amid a crackdown on tech giants that has wiped more than $1 trillion off their market value abroad. The Beijing Stock Exchange joins other mainland Chinese exchanges in

By TERRY TANG Associated Press At only 7 years old, Ji-Young is making history as the first Asian American muppet in the “Sesame Street” canon. She is Korean American and has two passions: rocking out on her electric guitar and skateboarding. The children’s TV program, which first aired 52 years ago this month, gave The

By DÉBORA REY and ALMUDENA CALATRAVA Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentine President Alberto Fernández has suffered a severe setback in  midterm elections held amid widespread anger over high inflation and rising poverty. The official count from Sunday’s voting indicates the president’s governing coalition will lose control of the Senate and is threatened

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — The National Weather Service says at least three tornadoes hit Rhode Island and southeast Connecticut. The twisters Saturday were the first since at least 1950 to strike the area in November. The service confirmed an EF-1 near Stonington, Connecticut, and Westerly, Rhode Island; an EF-0 in North Kingstown, Rhode Island;

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s economy shrank at a 3% annual rate in the July-September quarter, as private consumption and auto production took a hit from the ongoing efforts to curb the coronavirus pandemic. The government Cabinet Office says the gross domestic product, or GDP, which measures the sum of

By ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has chosen a former New Orleans mayor, Mitch Landrieu, to supervise his $1 trillion infrastructure plan. The White House says Landrieu will be tasked with coordinating across federal agencies to work on roads, ports, bridges and airports. Landrieu is a longtime public servant who

WASHINGTON (AP) — The books editor for National Public Radio has died at 46. Colleagues remember Petra Mayer for her reporting at Comic-Con and helping put together a thorough annual guide that filters books for readers based on specific interests. Mayer was an occasional guest on “Pop Culture Happy Hour” podcast episodes. Her colleagues said