AP National News

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Cleo Smith is back to her laughing, bubbly self as she plays in the backyard of her Australian west coast family home while police consider when to interview the 4-year-old about the 18-day ordeal that followed her abduction from a camping tent. Police visited the young

By NASSER KARIMI Associated Press TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The son of an Iranian war hero burned himself to death last month outside a building where officials who help relatives of veterans had failed to find him a job. The desperate act by the father of three in southern Iran shocked many and threw a

The Associated Press The woman in charge of weapons on the movie set where actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins said Wednesday night that she had inspected the gun Baldwin shot but doesn’t know how a live bullet ended up inside. “Who put those in there and why is the central question,” Hannah

By KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — A seemingly innocuous government notice encouraging Chinese people to store necessities for a potential emergency sparked panic-buying and online speculation almost immediately: Is China going to war with Taiwan? Probably not, but the attention the advice drew shows how much Chinese people are thinking about the possibility.

By KRUTIKA PATHI Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Indians across the country are celebrating the Diwali festival amid concerns over the coronavirus pandemic and rising air pollution. Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is typically celebrated by socializing and exchanging gifts with family and friends. Many light oil lamps or candles to symbolize a

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A New Zealand couple have unearthed a huge potato that is quite possibly the largest on record. Colin and Donna Craig-Brown were weeding their garden in New Zealand when Colin’s hoe struck something huge just beneath the soil’s surface. The couple weighed the potato at

By LISA MASCARO, MARY CLARE JALONICK and FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is preparing to debate and vote on a revised draft of President Joe Biden’s now-$1.85 trillion domestic policy package as well as a companion $1 trillion infrastructure bill. House votes are possible Thursday. The Democrats have bolstered the package

By WILL WEISSERT and STEVE PEOPLES Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A resounding loss in Virginia and a too-close-for-comfort victory in New Jersey have Democrats fretting about a blowout in next year’s midterm elections. The party’s House members in perennial swing districts are likely to be first line of defense against such an outcome. But

By JILL COLVIN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Republicans have struggled to deal with Donald Trump since the day he announced his candidacy for president. But after Glenn Youngkin’s stunning victory in the Virginia governor’s race and a close loss in New Jersey’s, party leaders believe they have settled on a model that can

By AAMER MADHANI and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The hazard lights are blinking for President Joe Biden after Democratic setbacks in this week’s elections, but the president professes to see no reason for panic. In the aftermath of what some on the left saw as a five-alarm fire, Biden is making the

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. authorities are expecting arrests and criminal charges related to ransomware in the coming weeks. That’s according to Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, who spoke to The Associated Press about the U.S. government’s response to the ransomware threat. She declined to be specific, but said that “in

By EMMA H. TOBIN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — COVID-19 boosters use the same recipe as the original vaccines, and weren’t tweaked since they still work well against the delta and other variants. The vaccines work by training your body to recognize and fight the spike protein that coats the coronavirus. And despite mutations

By TAMMY WEBBER, MICHAEL TARM and AMY FORLITI Associated Press KENOSHA, Wis. (AP) — Kyle Rittenhouse shouted “Friendly! Friendly! Friendly!” as he was being chased by a man he eventually shot to death during street protests against racial injustice. That’s according to a police detective who testified at his murder trial Wednesday in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A shallow undersea earthquake has shaken part of eastern Indonesia but no serious damage or casualties have been reported so far. The U.S. Geological Survey says the 5.7-magnitude quake struck off the coast of an island in North Maluku province. The Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency said the quake was

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Cars already know how to park themselves, warn drowsy drivers, steer back into the right lanes and propose map routes to destinations. The cars Mazda has in the works for next year in Japan know when drivers have a stroke or heart attack. By 2025, the

By FELICIA FONSECA Associated Press FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — An iconic Western starring Clint Eastwood has been dubbed in the Navajo language. The movie, “A Fistful of Dollars,” or “Béeso Dah Yiníłjaa’” in Navajo, will be screened on or near the reservation this month. A premiere for the cast and crew is scheduled Nov. 16

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares are rising, boosted by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s announcement on winding down the extraordinary aid for the economy it has been providing since early in the pandemic. Benchmarks in Japan, South Korea, Australia and China are all rising in afternoon trading. Analysts say the

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Police expect to charge a local man with abducting a 4-year-old girl from her family’s camping tent 18 days before police smashed into a locked house and rescued her in an outcome celebrated around Australia. The suspect was arrested early Wednesday around the time that police

HAMMOND, Ind. (AP) — A man has been charged with murder after shots were fired at a group of trick-or-treaters on Halloween, killing a 13-year-old boy and wounding another 13-year-old in northwestern Indiana. The (Northwest Indiana) Times reports that 23-year-old Desmond Crews is also charged with attempted murder in connection with the death of Thomas